CFD 3D Floc Tank Simulation Challenges for Fall 2009
Subteam Leader: (Wenqi has graduated, but can help with training new members)
Number of team members needed: 2~3
Important team member skills:
- Fundamental fluid mechanics
- Basic idea of flocculation mechanisms, easier to learn with fundamentals of fluid mechanics
- Rough idea about computational fluid dynamics or numerical methods, but not a must
- Previous experience with FLUENT is great, but not a must
- Basic programming skills, C is great but not a must at all (sometimes we will use C to write some user-defined-function)
Challenges
The long-term goal of the CFD team is to help augment our understanding of hydraulic flocculator, and together with other research teams, to provide for a guideline for design and operation of hydraulic flocculators.
- More simulation for 2D performance parameter analysis: we had some encouraging results and possible future topics are:
- Further analysis for the current data: change within one flocculator from baffle to baffle, etc.
- Simulations with different Reynolds number
- Other ways of varying the geometry: different numbers of baffles, baffle spacing, etc,that encoutered in design
- Further develop the formulation of parameters
- Extend to 3D model:
- Improve convergence, to which energy dissipation rate is very sensitive
- Congifuration of parallel computing for 3D simulations
- Modify the mesh: check the regional convergence of the mesh, coarsen the mesh in some region
- Validation
- Sensitivity analysis of other parameters when necessary
- Find some experimental data to compare (or some better idea?)