On the Implementation of Open Source CFD System to Flow Visualization in Fluid Mechanics

Ricardo Medina; Ashkan Motamedi; Murat Okcay; B. Uygar Oztekin; Gustavo Borel Menezes; Arturo J. Pacheco-Vega

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Simulations and Visualizations
Tagged Division: Mechanical Engineering
Page Count: 11
Page Numbers: 25.995.1 - 25.995.11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--21752
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/21752
Download Count: 656

Murat Okcay, CEO, obtained his doctorate in mechanical engineering, specializing in fluid mechanics, in 1993 from Bristol University, England. After several years as a lecturer teaching fluid mechanics in the classroom and laboratories at the University he joined Smiths Industries Plc. and has continually pushed the envelope in the field of fluid mechanics as a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, publishing papers and receiving patents for his designs. He was then recruited by Allied Signal, in the U.S., as a Project Engineer during which time he completed his master's of business administration (MBA) at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He then moved to Minneapolis working as a Sales Manager at TSI responsible for sales and marketing of research-grade PIV products in the U.S., Canada and Brazil. As the PI, he directed an NSF SBIR-funded project with Phase I and Phase II grants. During Phase II, the company generated more than $0.25 million income from sales and received Phase 2B funding. He published several papers in this field. He not only has strong business background and technical expertise in mechanical design and teaching fluid mechanics, but he also provides his vision, strategic direction, very broad experience, nationally and internationally, and industry contacts to Interactive Flow Studies.

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B. Uygar Oztekin Interactive Flow Studies Corporation

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Gustavo Borel Menezes California State University, Los Angeles

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Gustavo Borel Menezes is an Assistant Professor of civil engineering at California State University, Los Angeles, where he has been since 2009. During 2007-2009, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Spelman College. He received a B.S. from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in 2001, and an M.S. from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, in 2004. He received his Ph.D. in infrastructure and environmental systems in 2007 from UNC Charlotte. His research interests are in the area of geoenvironmental engineering, focusing on fate and transport of contaminant in the subsurface. His recent work looks into characterization of transport under unsaturated and low conductivity condition using steady-state centrifugation method. He is an Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Energy Engineering and a board member of the International Society for Environmental Geotechnology (ISEG).

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Arturo J. Pacheco-Vega California State University, Los Angeles

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Arturo Pacheco-Vega completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at the University Iberoamericana in Leon, Mexico. After receiving master's degrees in mechanical engineering at the University of Guanajuato in Salamanca, Mexico, and at the University of Notre Dame, he received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in early 2002, funded by a Fulbright-CONACYT-Garcia Robles scholarship. From 2003 to 2008, he was a tenured full-time Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi (UASLP) in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Currently, Pacheco-Vega is a tenured faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at California State University, Los Angeles. His research is situated broadly in the fluid mechanics and heat transfer fields. His current interest is in simulation, optimization and control of thermal systems, and the applications of soft computing techniques in complex systems.

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Abstract

2012 American Society of Engineering Education Conference Abstract Submission On the Implementation of Open Source CFD System to Flow Visualization in Fluid Mechanics Ricardo Medina1, Ashkan Motamedi2, Murat Okcay3, Uygar Oztekin3, Gustavo Menezes1,*, Arturo Pacheco-Vega2 1Department of Civil Engineering 2Department of Mechanical Engineering California State University-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032 3 Interactive Flow Studies Corp. P.O. Box 748, Waterloo IA 50704 *gmeneze@calstatela.edu AbstractThe study of fluid mechanics is essential to many industrial and commercial applications. It is, therefore, necessary that engineering students have a good understanding of the concepts behind the design and use of fluid flow systems. Although theory is absolutely necessary to understand real‐life problems involving fluids, experiments form an excellent supplement to provide students with opportunities for visual appreciation of the complexity of flow phenomena, allowing such knowledge to be less abstract. However, the ever increasing challenge of designing more efficient engineering systems that address environmental concerns, and energy demand, requires students to have access to additional tools. While experimental data are useful for specific scenarios, engineering design of fluid flow systems often require sets of iterative calculations in which a design is tested under different conditions of operation. A cost‐effective solution is the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. CFD is a fast growing branch of fluid mechanics, in which one seeks solutions of mathematical models of physical systems by numerical integration of the governing equations. In this contribution, we present an approach that combines CFD analysis with laboratory experiments, to supplement the traditional teaching method based on a theoretical approach, with the aim to provide a well‐rounded experience for the students to learn and apply fluid mechanics concepts in the design of engineering systems. The integration of theory, physical experiments, and mathematical/numerical models is done via an open source CFD system, called OpenFoam. The OpenFoam software, grounded on finite volumes technique, will be linked to an educational interactive flow visualization set comprised of two systems: (FLOWCOACH and ePIV, currently used to provide students with opportunities for visual appreciation of the of flow phenomena. A main advantage of using OpenFoam is that building the geometry and setting the boundary and initial conditions is straightforward. Assessment of the accuracy of the OpenFoam scheme is carried out by direct comparison of for the solution to two fluid‐flow problems; named, flow around a square obstruction and flow in an divergent channel, against two well‐known CFD software: Gerrys and COMSOL Multiphysics.

Citation
Format

Medina, R., & Motamedi, A., & Okcay, M., & Oztekin, B. U., & Menezes, G. B., & Pacheco-Vega, A. J. (2012, June), On the Implementation of Open Source CFD System to Flow Visualization in Fluid Mechanics Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21752

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                2012 American Society of Engineering Education Conference                                   Abstract Submission     On the Implementation of Open Source CFD System to Flow Visualization in Fluid                                     Mechanics                 Ricardo Medina1, Ashkan Motamedi2, Murat Okcay3, Uygar Oztekin3,                             Gustavo Menezes1,*, Arturo Pacheco-Vega2                                        1Department  of Civil Engineering                                    2Department   of Mechanical Engineering                        California State University-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032                                         3 Interactive   Flow Studies Corp.                                         P.O. Box 748, Waterloo IA 50704                                            *gmeneze@calstatela.edu                                                    AbstractThe study of fluid mechanics is essential to many industrial and commercial applications. It is, therefore, necessary that engineering students have a good understanding of the concepts behind the design and use  of  fluid  flow  systems.  Although  theory  is  absolutely  necessary  to  understand  real‐life  problems involving fluids, experiments form an  excellent supplement to provide students with opportunities for visual appreciation of the complexity of flow phenomena, allowing such knowledge to be less abstract. However,  the  ever  increasing  challenge  of  designing  more  efficient  engineering  systems  that  address environmental  concerns,  and  energy  demand,  requires  students  to  have  access  to  additional  tools. While experimental data are useful for specific scenarios, engineering design of fluid flow systems often require sets of iterative calculations in which a design is tested under different conditions of operation. A  cost‐effective  solution  is  the  use  of  computational  fluid  dynamics  (CFD)  simulations.  CFD  is  a  fast growing  branch  of  fluid  mechanics,  in  which  one  seeks  solutions  of  mathematical  models  of  physical systems  by  numerical  integration  of  the  governing  equations.  In  this  contribution,  we  present  an approach  that  combines  CFD  analysis  with  laboratory  experiments,  to  supplement  the  traditional teaching method based on a theoretical approach, with the aim to provide a well‐rounded experience for the students to learn and apply fluid mechanics concepts in the design of engineering systems. The integration  of  theory,  physical  experiments,  and  mathematical/numerical  models  is  done  via  an  open source CFD system, called OpenFoam. The OpenFoam software, grounded on finite volumes technique, will  be  linked  to  an  educational  interactive  flow  visualization  set  comprised  of  two  systems: (FLOWCOACH and ePIV, currently used to provide students with opportunities for visual appreciation of the of flow phenomena. A main advantage of using OpenFoam is that building the geometry and setting the  boundary  and  initial  conditions  is  straightforward.  Assessment  of  the  accuracy  of  the  OpenFoam scheme is carried out by direct comparison of for the solution to two fluid‐flow problems; named, flow around  a  square  obstruction  and  flow  in  an  divergent  channel,  against  two  well‐known  CFD  software: Gerrys and COMSOL Multiphysics.  
AU  - Ricardo Medina
AU  - Ashkan Motamedi
AU  - Murat Okcay
AU  - B. Uygar Oztekin
AU  - Gustavo Borel Menezes
AU  - Arturo J. Pacheco-Vega
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - On the Implementation of Open Source CFD System to Flow Visualization in Fluid Mechanics
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/21752
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--21752
ER  -