FLUENT - Flat Plate Boundary Layer - Pre-Analysis & Start-Up

Step 1: Pre-Analysis and Start-Up

Pre-Analysis

For an external flow like this, one needs to determine where to place the outer boundary. For the flat plate we will use a rectangular domain. The height of the rectangular domain will be determined by the expected boundary layer thickness. For a flat plate boundary layer, one can use the following approximation.

Start ANSYS FLUENT

Prior to opening ANSYS, create a folder called FlatPlateCFD in a convenient location. We'll use this as the working folder in which files created during the session will be stored. For this simulation FLUENT will be run within the ANSYS Workbench Interface. Start ANSYS workbench:

Start> All Programs> Ansys 12.1> Workbench

The following figure shows the workbench window.

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Management of Screen Real Estate

This tutorial is specially configured, so the user can have both the tutorial and ANSYS open at the same time as shown below. It will be beneficial to have both ANSYS and your internet browser displayed on your monitor simultaneously. Your internet browser should consume approximately one third of the screen width while ANSYS should take the other two thirds as shown below.

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Go to Step 2: Geometry

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