OpenFOAM Overview

Introduction to
OpenFOAM
Feng Chen
HPC User Services
LSU HPC & LONI
[email protected]
Louisiana State University

Baton Rouge
February 24, 2016
Selected CFD codes
2/24/2016 Introduction to OpenFOAM 2

Topics to be covered today
OpenFOAM general overview
Lid driven cavity example walk through
Pre-processing OpenFOAM cases
OpenFOAM case configuration
Running OpenFOAM case
Post-processing OpenFOAM cases
Stress analysis of plateHole example
Create custom solver
Adding a transport equation to icoFoam

Introduction to OpenFOAM
OpenFOAM General Overview
2/24/2016 4
OpenFOAM overview
Open Field of Operation And Manipulation (FOAM)
Free, open source CFD software package
The GNU Public License (GPL) gives freedom to contribute to any or all
of these projects.
Open architecturewill be detailed later
Low(Zero)-cost CFD
Problem-independent numerics and discretization
Efficient environment for complex physics problems
C++ programming language
A set of libraries for continuum mechanics
Based on Finite Volume Method (FVM)

OpenFOAM History Review
History of OpenFOAM:
Original development started in the late 1980s at Imperial College,
London (FORTRAN),
Later changed to C++, OpenFOAM 1.0 released on 10/12/2004
Major releases: 1.4-1.7.x, 2.0.x, 2.1.x-2.4.x, v3.0.(1), v3.0+
Wikki Ltd. Extend-Project: 1.4-dev, 1.5-dev, 1.6-ext, foam-extend-3.2

OpenFOAM and OpenFOAM+
How does it compare to OpenFOAM and OpenFOAM+?
The OpenFOAM project managed by the OpenFOAM Foundation is
similar to RHEL.
The OpenFOAM+ project managed by OpenCFD Limited (ESI Group) is
similar to Fedora.
How are OpenFOAM and OpenFOAM+ similar?
OpenFOAM Foundation ( http://www.openfoam.org/) is aiming to
maintain versions that are meant to be of high quality standards, future-
proof and easy to maintain.
OpenCFD Limited (http://www.openfoam.com/) has its own
development cycle and provides new features, while keeping as close
as possible to the same standards, as announced: OpenCFD is pleased
to announce the release of OpenFOAM-v3.0+OpenFOAM Foundation:
(OpenFOAM-v3.0+)
Which version/fork/variant to choose?
Check the release notes of each one and compare with your needs.
Or simply try them all without spending a single dime in licenses??

OpenFOAM theoretical background
Theoretical background
Finite Volume Method (FVM)
Unstructed grid
Pressure correction methods (SIMPLE, PISO, and their combination
PIMPLE), for more information about FVM, see:
Partankar, S. V. (1980) Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow,

McGraw-Hill.
H. Versteeg and W. Malalasekra, (2007) An Introduction to
Computational Fluid Dynamics: The Finite Volume Method
Approach
Ferziger, Joel H., Peric, Milovan, (2002) Computational Methods for
Fluid Dynamics

OpenFOAM features overview
Physical Modeling Capability:
Basic: Laplace, potential flow, passive scalar/vector/tensor
transport
Incompressible and compressible flow: segregated pressure-
based algorithms
Heat transfer: buoyancy-driven flows, conjugate heat transfer
Multiphase: Euler-Euler, VOF free surface capturing and surface
tracking
Pre-mixed and Diesel combustion, spray and in-cylinder flows
Stress analysis, fluid-structure interaction, electromagnetics,
MHD, etc.

OpenFOAM features overview
Straightforward representation of partial differential equations (PDEs):
U
UU U p
t
solve
(
fvm::ddt(rho, U)
+ fvm::div(phi, U)
- fvm::laplacian(mu, U)
==
- fvc::grad(p)
);

OpenFOAM toolbox overview
Applications:
Utilities: functional tools for pre- and post-processing, e.g. blockMesh,
sampling tool
Solvers: calculate the numerical solution of PDEs
Standard libraries
General libraries: those that provide general classes and associated
functions;
Model libraries: those that specify models used in computational
continuum mechanics;
Use the following commands to check:
cd $FOAM_APPBIN && ls
cd $FOAM_LIBBIN && ls

OpenFOAM toolbox overview
Standard Solvers
Basic CFD codes: e.g. laplacianFoam, potentialFoam
Incompressible flow: e.g. icoFoam, simpleFoam
Compressible flow: e.g. rhoSimpleFoam, sonicFoam
Multiphase flow: e.g. interFoam
Direct numerical simulation (DNS) and large eddy simulation
(LES)
Combustion
Particle-tracking flows (PIC): e.g. DPMFoam, MPPICFoam

Mesh Generation
blockMesh
For simple geometries, there is blockMesh, a multi-block mesh
generator that generates meshes of hexahedra from a text configuration
file.
Look at the OpenFOAM distribution files which contains numerous
example configuration files for blockMesh to generate meshes for flows
around simple geometries, e.g. a cylinder, a wedge, etc.
snappyHexMesh
For complex geometries, meshes to surfaces from CAD
Can run in parallel
Automatic load balancing
Other mesh generation tools
extrudeMesh
polyDualMesh

Mesh Conversion
From: http://www.openfoam.org/features/mesh-conversion.php
Part of the mesh converters

Converts an ANSYS input mesh file, exported from I-DEAS, to
ansysToFoam
OPENFOAM format
cfx4ToFoam Converts a CFX 4 mesh to OPENFOAM format
Reads in a datToFoam mesh file and outputs a points file. Used in
datToFoam
conjunction with blockMesh
fluent3DMeshToFoam Converts a Fluent mesh to OPENFOAM format
Converts a Fluent mesh to OPENFOAM format including multiple region
fluentMeshToFoam
and region boundary handling
foamMeshToFluent Writes out the OPENFOAM mesh in Fluent mesh format
Reads an OPENFOAM mesh and writes a PROSTAR (v4) bnd/cel/vrt
foamToStarMesh
format
Reads an OPENFOAM mesh and writes the boundaries in a surface
foamToSurface
format
gambitToFoam Converts a GAMBIT mesh to OPENFOAM format
gmshToFoam Reads .msh file as written by Gmsh
See http://www.openfoam.org/features/mesh-conversion.php for complete list

Run OpenFOAM under HPC

Environment

Changes to your .soft file
Add the following keys to ~/.soft and then resoft
On SuperMike2:
+Intel-13.0.0
+openmpi-1.6.3-Intel-13.0.0
+OpenFOAM-2.2.1-Intel-13.0-openmpi-1.6.3
On Eric:
+gcc-4.7.0
+openmpi-1.6.3-gcc-4.7.0
+OpenFOAM-2.2.2-gcc-4.7.0-openmpi-1.6.3
On SuperMIC or QB2:
module load openfoam/2.3.0/INTEL-140-MVAPICH2-2.0
Start an interactive session:

qsub -I -l nodes=1:ppn=16,walltime=02:00:00 A your_allocation_name

Run First OpenFOAM case
Steps of running first OF case on Mike:
$ mkdir -p /work/$USER/foam_run
$ cd /work/$USER/foam_run
$ wget http://www.hpc.lsu.edu/training/weekly-materials/Downloads/intro_of.tar.gz
$ tar zxf intro_of.tar.gz
$ cd /work/$USER/foam_run/intro_of/cavity
$ blockMesh (generate mesh information)
$ icoFoam (running the PISO solver)
$ foamToVTK (convert to VTK format, optional)

First case: Lid-driven cavity flow

First OpenFOAM case overview
Lid-driven cavity flow using icoFoam

Lid-driven cavity flow
The cavity domain consists of a square of side length d=0.1m in the x-
y plane. A uniform mesh of 20x20 cells will be used initially.
20
20

Inside case configuration
File structure of OpenFOAM cases
$ ls -R /work/$USER/foam_run/intro_of/cavity

The minimum set of files required to run an OpenFOAM case
constant directory:
description of the case mesh (geometry): e.g. polyMesh
physical properties files: e.g. transportProperties
system directory: solution procedure settings
controlDict
fvSchemes
fvSolution
time directories: U, p
initial conditions (I.C.)
boundary conditions (B.C.)
Future result files (typically determined by controlDict)

constant directory:
polyMesh
blockMeshDict: mesh description, will be detailed next few slides
boundary: list of patches with BCs definition
faces: list of mesh faces (list of points)
can be
neighbour: list of neighboring cell labels
generated using
owner: list of owning cell labels blockMeshDict
points: list of mesh points with their coordinates
transportProperties
Physical/material properties: e.g. viscosity

Edit blockMeshDict file (0)
OpenFOAM file header:
/*--------------------------------*- C++ -*----------------------------------*\

| ========= | |
| \\ / F ield | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox |
| \\ / O peration | Version: 2.2.1 |
| \\ / A nd | Web: www.OpenFOAM.org |
| \\/ M anipulation | |
\*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
FoamFile
{
version 2.0;
format ascii;
class dictionary;
object blockMeshDict;
}

17 convertToMeters 0.1;
18
19 vertices
20 (
21 (0 0 0) //0
22 (1 0 0) //1
23 (1 1 0) //2
24 (0 1 0) //3
25 (0 0 0.1) //4
26 (1 0 0.1) //5
27 (1 1 0.1) //6
28 (0 1 0.1) //7
29 );

31 blocks
32 (
33 hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7) (20 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
34 );
35
36 edges
37 (
38 );

40 boundary
41 (
42 movingWall
43 {
44 type wall;
45 faces
46 (
47 (3 7 6 2)
48 );
49 }

50 fixedWalls
51 {
52 type wall;
53 faces
54 (
55 (0 4 7 3)
56 (2 6 5 1)
57 (1 5 4 0)
58 );
59 }

53 frontAndBack
54 {
55 type empty;
56 faces
57 (
58 (0 3 2 1)
59 (4 5 6 7)
60 );
61 }
62 );
63
64 mergePatchPairs
65 (
66 );

Solver settings
constant directory may also contain:
Files which define some mesh properties, e.g. dynamicMeshDict
Files which defines turbulent properties RASProperties

Solver settings constant directory
dimensions/units in OpenFOAM
Representation of SI system
//dimensions [kg m sec K mol A cd ];
dimensions [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0];
Note: for incompressible solvers it is not needed to specify density.
Pressure is then represented as p/
transportProperties-representation of SI system
transportModel Newtonian; //viscosity options: newtonian/non-newtonian
nu nu [ 0 2 -1 0 0 0 0 ] 0.01; // kinematic viscosity

Solver settings system directory
system directory contains:
Files concerning solver parameters, as well as definition files for utility
tools e.g.
controlDict simulation control and parameters, additional libraries to
load and extra functions
fvSchemes definition of discretization schemes
fvSolution definitions of solver type, tolerances, relaxation factors
decomposeParDict for parallel domain decomposition

Solver settings-controlDict
controlDict: (basic time step control, how your results are written, etc.)
application icoFoam;
startFrom startTime;
startTime 0;
stopAt endTime;
endTime 0.5;
deltaT 0.005;
writeControl timeStep;
writeInterval 20;
purgeWrite 0;
writeFormat ascii;
writePrecision 6;
writeCompression off;
timeFormat general;
timePrecision 6;
runTimeModifiable true;

Solver settings - fvSchemes
fvSchemes: laplacianSchemes
{
// time schemes (Euler , CrankNicholson,
backward, steadyState ) default none;
ddtSchemes laplacian(nu,U) Gauss linear orthogonal;
{ laplacian((1|A(U)),p) Gauss linear
orthogonal;
default Euler;
}
}
// gradient schemes (Gauss , leastSquares,
fourth, cellLimited, faceLimited )
gradSchemes
{
default Gauss linear;
grad(p) Gauss linear;
}
// convection and divergence schemes (
interpolation schemes used: linear,
skewLinear, cubicCorrected, upwind,
linearUpwind, QUICK, TVD, SFCD, NVD)
divSchemes
{
default none;
div(phi,U) Gauss linear;
}

Solver settings - fvSchemes
fvSchemes: default no;
p;
// interpolation schemes to calculate
values on the faces (linear, }
cubicCorrection, midPoint , upwind,
linearUpwind, skewLinear , QUICK, TVD,
limitedLinear , vanLeer , MUSCL,
limitedCubic, NVD, SFCD, Gamma )
interpolationSchemes
{
default linear;
interpolate(HbyA) linear;
}
// schemes for surface normal gradient on
the faces ( corrected, uncorrected,
limited, bounded, fourth )
snGradSchemes
{
default orthogonal;
}
// lists the fields for which the flux is
generated in the application
fluxRequired
{

Solver settings - solution control
fvSolution: // PISO ( Pressure Implicit with Splitting
of Operators )
solvers
// PIMPLE ( Combination of SIMPLE and PISO
{ )
p PISO
{ {
solver PCG; nCorrectors 2;
preconditioner DIC; nNonOrthogonalCorrectors 0;
tolerance 1e-06; pRefCell 0;
relTol 0; pRefValue 0;
} }
U http://www.openfoam.org/docs/user/fvSolutio
{ n.php
solver PBiCG;
preconditioner DILU;
tolerance 1e-05;
relTol 0;
}
}
// pressure - velocity coupling
// SIMPLE (Semi - Implicit Method for
Pressure - Linked Equations )

Solver settings-decomposeParDict
decomposeParDict: (Parameters for breaking up the geometry and
fields for parallel processing)
numberOfSubdomains 20;
method simple;
simpleCoeffs
{
n ( 4 5 1 );
delta 0.001;
}

Solver settings-time directory
Time directories contain field files (e.g. U, p, k, epsilon, omega, T etc.)
Fields files store field solution values on all cells and boundary
conditions on the computational domain
0 time directory is initial directory containing field files with initial field
values and boundary conditions
Common parts for all field files are:
header
dimensions
internalField
boundaryField

Boundary Conditions (BCs)
base type (described purely in terms of geometry):
patch, wall, empty, symmetry, cyclic
primitive type (base numerical patch condition assigned to a field
variable on the patch):
fixedValue, fixedGradient, zeroGradient, mixed, directionMixed,
calculated
derived type (complex patch condition, derived from the primitive
type, assigned to a field variable on the patch):
inletOutlet

Initial and Boundary conditions: Velocity
U
dimensions [0 1 -1 0 0 0 0];
internalField uniform (0 0 0);
boundaryField
{ movingWall
{
type fixedValue;
value uniform (1 0 0);
}
fixedWalls
{
type fixedValue;
value uniform (0 0 0);
}
frontAndBack
{
type empty;
}
}

Initial and Boundary conditions: Pressure
p
dimensions [0 2 -2 0 0 0 0];
internalField uniform 0;
boundaryField
{
movingWall
{
type zeroGradient;
}
fixedWalls
{
type zeroGradient;
}
frontAndBack
{
type empty;
}
}

Running cavity in parallel
cd /work/fchen14/foam_run/intro_of/cavity_parallel_is
decomposePar //specify the parallel run params
mpirun --hostfile <machines> -np <nProcs>
<foamExec> <otherArgs> -parallel > log
Examples on Mike:
mpirun --hostfile $PBS_NODEFILE -np 16 icoFoam -parallel > log
Examples on Eric:
mpirun --hostfile $PBS_NODEFILE -np 8 icoFoam -parallel > log
reconstructPar //merge time directories sets from each processor

See:
/work/$USER/foam_run/intro_of/cavity_parallel_is
/work/$USER/foam_run/intro_of/cavity_parallel

Running cavity in parallel
On interactive session:
$ cd /work/$USER/foam_run/intro_of/cavity_parallel_is
$ blockMesh
$ vi system/decomposeParDict
$ decomposePar
$ mpirun --hostfile $PBS_NODEFILE -np 16 icoFoam -parallel
$ reconstructPar
Via batch mode:

$ cd /work/$USER/foam_run/intro_of
$ ./cavity_parallel_run.sh

Second case: stress analysis

of plateHole
2/24/2016 44
Stress analysis of plateHole
Analytical Solution: R 2 3R 4
1 2 4 for y R
xx x 0 2y 2y
0 for y R

Part of the solidDisplacementFoam code
do // loop for residual and iterations
{
if (thermalStress)
{
volScalarField& T = Tptr();
solve
(
fvm::ddt(T) == fvm::laplacian(DT, T)
);
}
{
fvVectorMatrix DEqn // not a N-S equation
(
fvm::d2dt2(D)
==
fvm::laplacian(2*mu + lambda, D, "laplacian(DD,D)")
+ divSigmaExp
);
...
} while (initialResidual > convergenceTolerance && ++iCorr < nCorr);

Run stress analysis case
Steps of running plateHole on Mike:
$ cd /work/$USER/foam_run/intro_of/plateHole
$ blockMesh #generate geometry
$ checkMesh #tool for checking the mesh quality
$ solidDisplacementFoam #running the stress analysis solver
$ foamToVTK #convert VTK format, optional
$ paraFoam #post-processing

Post-processing
Most used post-processing software for OpenFOAM data visualization
is Paraview
paraFoam script for automatic import of OpenFOAM results into
Paraview
OpenFOAM Data transformation in other formats: e.g. foamToVTK
(Results can also be used by Paraview)

Post-processing
sample utility used for sampling
Sample setups are defined in system/sampleDict
Sample data are stored in the new (automatically) created subdirectory
sets
Example:
$ cd /work/$USER/foam_run/intro_of/plateHole
$ foamCalc components sigma #calculates new fields from existing ones.
$ sample

sampleDict for the plateHole case
along the left line
/*OpenFOAM file header*/
interpolationScheme cellPoint;
setFormat raw;
sets
(
leftPatch
{
type uniform;
axis y;
start ( 0 0.5 0.25 );
end ( 0 2 0.25 );
nPoints 100;
}
);
fields ( sigmaxx );

sampleDict for the plateHole case for
the entire surface
/*OpenFOAM file header*/
interpolationScheme cellPoint;
surfaceFormat vtk;
surfaces
(
sigmaxx
{
type plane;
basePoint ( 0 0 0.25 );
normalVector ( 0 0 1 );
}
);
fields ( sigmaxx );

Exercise
Run the cavity case and sample:
1. along middle-y axis
2. surface

Create customized OpenFOAM

solver
2/24/2016 53
Before trying to develop your own solver...
Understand the background, e.g. go through commented icoFoam
PISO solver, see http://openfoamwiki.net/index.php/IcoFoam

Simple tutorial on customizing the solver
Overview of the OpenFOAM code structure
A look at icoFoam
Customizing an application
Implementing a transport equation in a new application

OpenFOAM Code Structure
The OpenFOAM code is structures as follows (type foam and then ls).
applications: source files of all the executables:
solvers
utilities
bin
test
bin: basic executable scripts.
doc: pdf and Doxygen documentation.
Doxygen
Guides-a4
lib: compiled libraries.
src: source library files.
test: library test source files.
tutorials: tutorial cases.
wmake: compiler settings.

Navigating the OpenFOAM source code
Some useful commands to navigate inside the OpenFOAM sources:
app = $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications
sol = $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications/solvers
util = $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications/utilities
src = $WM_PROJECT_DIR/src
Environment variables:
$FOAM_APP = $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications
$FOAM_SOLVERS = $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications/solvers
$FOAM_UTILITIES = $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications/utilities
$FOAM_SRC = $WM_PROJECT_DIR/src
OpenFOAM source code serves two functions:
Efficient and customized top-level solver for class of physics. Ready to run
in a manner of commercial CFD software
ls $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications/solvers
Examples showing the usage of OpenFOAM classes and library functions
ls $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications/test

Simple solver walk-through: icoFoam
Types of files
Header files
Located before the entry line of the executable
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
Contain various class definitions
Grouped together for easier use
Include files
Often repeated code snippets, e.g. mesh creation, Courant number
calculation and similar
Held centrally for easier maintenance
Enforce consistent naming between executables, e.g. mesh, runTime
Local implementation files
Main code, named consistently with the executable, e.g.:
createFields.H

Walk through icoFoam: file organization
sol -> cd incompressible -> cd icoFoam
The icoFoam directory consists of what follows (type ls):
createFields.H icoFoam.C icoFoam.dep Make/
The Make directory contains instructions for the wmake compilation
command.
icoFoam.C is the main file, while createFields.H is included by
icoFoam.C.
The file fvCFD.H, included by icoFoam.C, contains all the class
definitions which are needed by icoFoam. See the file Make/options to
understand where fvCFD.H is included from:
$FOAM_SRC/finiteVolume/lnInclude/fvCFD.H, symbolic link to:
$FOAM_SRC/finiteVolume/cfdTools/general/include/fvCFD.H
Use the command find PATH -iname "*LETTERSINFILENAME*" to find
where in PATH a file name containing LETTERSFILENAME in its file name
is located.
Example: find $WM_PROJECT_DIR -iname "*fvCFD.H*"

Walk through icoFoam: A look into
icoFoam.C
case setup and variable initialization
icoFoam starts with
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
// where int argc and char *argv[] are the number of parameters
// and the actual parameters used when running icoFoam.
The case is initialized by:
# include "setRootCase.H"
# include "createTime.H"
# include "createMesh.H"
# include "createFields.H"
# include "initContinuityErrs.H"
where all the included files except createFields.H are in
$FOAM_SRC/finiteVolume/lnInclude.
createFields.H is located in the icoFoam directory. It initializes all the
variables used in icoFoam. Have a look inside it and see how variables
are created.

Walk through icoFoam:
A look into icoFoam.C the time loop code
while (runTime.loop()) {
Info<< "Time = " << runTime.timeName() << nl << endl;
#include "readPISOControls.H"
#include "CourantNo.H"
fvVectorMatrix UEqn // Note the equation representation
(
fvm::ddt(U)
+ fvm::div(phi, U)
- fvm::laplacian(nu, U)
);
solve(UEqn == -fvc::grad(p));
// --- PISO loop
for (int corr=0; corr<nCorr; corr++)
{
volScalarField rAU(1.0/UEqn.A());
...
}
}

A look into icoFoam.C
time-loop code
The time-loop starts by:
while (runTime.loop()) // and the rest is done at each time-step
The fvSolution subdictionary PISO is read, and the Courant Number is
calculated and written to the screen by (use the find command):
#include "readPISOControls.H"
#include "CourantNo.H"
The momentum equations are defined and a velocity predictor is solved
by:
fvVectorMatrix UEqn
(
fvm::ddt(U)
+ fvm::div(phi, U)
- fvm::laplacian(nu, U)
);
solve(UEqn == -fvc::grad(p));

the PISO loop
A PISO corrector loop is initialized by:
// --- PISO for loop
for (int corr=0; corr<nCorr; corr++)
// Or a while loop (newer versions)
while (runTime.loop())
The PISO algorithm uses these member functions:
A() returns the central coefficients of an fvVectorMatrix
H() returns the H operation source of an fvVectorMatrix
Sf() returns cell face area vector of an fvMesh
flux() returns the face flux field from an fvScalarMatrix
correctBoundaryConditions() corrects the boundary fields of a
volVectorField
Identify the object types (classes) and use the OpenFOAM Doxygen (
http://foam.sourceforge.net/doc/Doxygen/html) or the OpenFOAM wiki
to better understand what they do.

write statements
At the end of icoFoam there are some write statements
runTime.write();
Info<< "ExecutionTime = " << runTime.elapsedCpuTime() << " s"

<< " ClockTime = " << runTime.elapsedClockTime() << " s"
<< nl << endl;
write() makes sure that all the variables that were defined as an
Ioobject with IOobject::AUTO_WRITE are written to the time directory
according to the settings in the $FOAM_CASE/system/controlDict file.
elapsedCPUTime() is the elapsed CPU time.
elapsedClockTime() is the elapsed wall clock time.

OpenFOAM work space General information
OpenFOAM is a library of tools, not a monolithic single-executable
Most changes do not require surgery on the library level: code is
developed in local work space for results and custom executables
Environment variables and library structure control the location of the
library, external packages (e.g. gcc, Paraview) and work space
For model development, start by copying a model and changing its
name: library functionality is unaffected
Local workspace:
Run directory: $FOAM_RUN. Ready-to-run cases and results, test loop
etc. May contain case-specific setup tools, solvers and utilities.
Local work space: $WM_PROJECT_USER_DIR. Contains applications,
libraries and personal library and executable space.
[fchen14@qb1 ~]$ echo $FOAM_RUN

/home/fchen14/OpenFOAM/fchen14-2.3.0/run
[fchen14@qb1 ~]$ echo $WM_PROJECT_USER_DIR
/home/fchen14/OpenFOAM/fchen14-2.3.0

Creating your own OpenFOAM applications
General steps:
1. Find appropriate code in OpenFOAM which is closest to the new use or
provides a starting point
2. Copy into local work space and rename
3. Change file name and location of library/executable: Make/files
4. Environment variables point to local work space applications and
libraries:
$FOAM_PROJECT_USER_DIR, $FOAM_USER_APPBIN and
$FOAM_USER_LIBBIN
5. Change the code to fit your needs

Creating your OpenFOAM applications
Creating the application icoScalarTransportFoam. It is an
incompressible solver with a scalar transport equation (species mass
fraction, temperature, . . . ).
To do this, we need to create a new application based on the icoFoam
code.

Setting up new solver directory and compile
The applications are located in $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications
cd $WM_PROJECT_DIR/applications/solvers/incompressible
Copy the icoFoam solver and put it in the
$WM_PROJECT_USER_DIR/applications directory
cp -r icoFoam $WM_PROJECT_USER_DIR/applications
Rename the directory and the source file name, clean all the
dependencies and
mv icoFoam icoScalarTransportFoam
cd icoFoam
mv icoFoam.C icoScalarTransportFoam.C
wclean
Go the Make directory and change files as follows:
icoScalarTransportFoam.C
EXE = $(FOAM_USER_APPBIN)/icoScalarTransportFoam
Now compile the application with wmake in the icoScalarTransportFoam
directory.

icoScalarTransportFoam
Physical/numerical model modeling
We want to solve the following transport equation for the scalar field T
It is an unsteady, convection-diffusion transport equation. is the
thermal diffusion constant.
T
UT T 0
t
What to do:
Create the geometric field T in the createFields.H file
Solve the transport equation for T in the icoScalarTransportFoam.C file
after the PISO correction loop.

icoScalarTransportFoam: Creating field T
Modify createFields.H adding this volScalarField constructor for T:
// Adding the Temperature field ...
Info<< "Reading field T\n" <<endl;
volScalarField T
(
IOobject
(
"T",
runTime.timeName(),
mesh,
IOobject::MUST_READ,
IOobject::AUTO_WRITE
),
mesh
);

Modify createFields.H, adding the thermal diffusion constant DT after
nu:
//Add here...
dimensionedScalar DT
(
transportProperties.lookup("DT")
);
//Done for now...

We have created a volScalarField object called T.
T is created by reading a file (IOobject::MUST_READ) called T in the
runTime.timeName() directory. At the beginning of the simulation,
runTime.timename() is the startTime value specified in the
controlDict file.
T will be automatically written (IOobject::AUTO_WRITE) in the
runTime.timeName() directory according to what is specified in the
controlDict file of the case.
T is defined on the computational mesh (mesh object):
It has as many internal values (internalField) as the number of mesh
cells
It needs as many boundary conditions (boundaryField) as the mesh
boundaries specified in the constant/polyMesh/boundary file of the case.

Solving the transport equation for T
Create a new empty file, TEqn.H:
echo > TEqn.H
Include it in icoScalarTransportFoam.C at the end of the PISO loop:
...
#include "continuityErrs.H"
U = HbyA - rAU*fvc::grad(p);
U.correctBoundaryConditions();
}
//add TEqn to the time loop
#include "TEqn.H"
runTime.write();
Now we will implement the scalar transport equation for T in

icoScalarTransportFoam...

Solving the transport equation for T
This the transport equation:
T
UT T 0
t
This is how we implement and solve it in TEqn.H after the PISO
correction loop:
fvScalarMatrix TEqn
(
fvm::ddt(T)
+ fvm::div(phi, T)
- fvm::laplacian(DT, T)
);
Now compile the application with wmake in the
icoScalarTransportFoam directory.

icoScalarTransportFoam:
setting up the case
Copy the cavity tutorial case in your $FOAM_RUN directory and rename
it:
cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/icoFoam/cavity $FOAM_RUN
mv cavity cavityScalarTransport
Introduce the field T in cavityScalarTransport/0 directory:
cp p T

icoScalarTransportFoam:
case setup
startTime
modify T as follows:
dimensions [0 0 0 1 0 0 0];
internalField uniform 300;
boundaryField {
movingWall
{
type fixedValue;
value uniform 350;
}
fixedWalls
{
type fixedValue;
value uniform 300;
}
frontAndBack
{
type empty;
}
}

case setup
system/fvSchemes
Modify the subdictionary divSchemes, introducing the discretization
scheme for div(phi,T)
divSchemes
{
default none;
div(phi,U) Gauss linear;
div(phi,T) Gauss upwind;
} //NOTICE: there is no space between the comma and the variables

case setup
system/fvSolution
Introduce the settings for T in the solvers subdictionary
T
{
solver BICCG;
preconditioner DILU;
tolerance 1e-7;
relTol 0;
}

case setup
constant/transportProperties
add the following line under the definition of nu:
DT DT [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 0.002;

Run and Post-processing
Run the case:
icoScalarTransportFoam -case cavityScalarTranport
Post-processing
foamToVTK -case cavityScalarTranport
Render results in Paraview (on local machine)

Run in Parallel
The modified icoScalarTransportFoam is capable of running in parallel
without additional change to the source code
need to edit cavityScalarTransport/system/decomposeParDict:
//part of decomposeParDict
numberOfSubdomains 20;
method simple;
simpleCoeffs
{
n ( 4 5 1 );
delta 0.001;
}
Then run the solver by using the following commands:
cd cavityScalarTransport
decomposePar
mpirun -np 20 icoScalarTransportFoam parallel
reconstructPar

Documentation and Help
OpenFOAM course: http://www.tfd.chalmers.se/~hani/kurser/OS_CFD/
OpenFOAM homepage: www.openfoam.com
OpenFOAM User Guide, Programmers Guide, Doxygen
OpenFOAM Wiki: www.openfoamwiki.net
OpenFOAM-extend:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/openfoam-extend/,
http://www.foam-extend.org
http://extend-project.de
OpenFOAM Forum: http://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/openfoam/
OpenFOAM workshop: www.openfoamworkshop.org
CoCoons project: http://www.cocoons-project.org/
User forum:
http://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/openfoam/

Thank you for your attention!
Any questions?

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Introduction to

Louisiana State University

2/24/2016 Introduction to OpenFOAM 2

2/24/2016 Introduction to OpenFOAM 3

OpenFOAM General Overview

2/24/2016 Introduction to OpenFOAM 5

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Partankar, S. V. (1980) Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow,

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Part of the mesh converters

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Run OpenFOAM under HPC

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Start an interactive session:

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First case: Lid-driven cavity flow

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reconstructPar //merge time directories sets from each processor

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Via batch mode:

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Second case: stress analysis

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/--------------------------------- C++ -----------------------------------\