CFxDSimulate simply!

Quick Start

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Your first simulation: flow through a pipe.

Create a cylinder, generate a mesh, run the solver and view the velocity results.

Start CFxD from the Start Menu or the Desktop shortcut, then follow the five stages below.

1Geometry

In the Geometry tab, use the Input panel to create three points with the following coordinates:

  • P1 (0, 0, 0)
  • P2 (10, 0, 0)
  • P3 (0, 1, 0)
Geometry creation tools
Geometry creation tools

Select Create Cylinder in the Geometry creation panel, then pick the three points in the View window in order: P1 → P2 → P3 (left mouse button (LMB)). Navigation tips: rotate with MMB, pan with RMB, and zoom with the mouse wheel.

Create the cylinder from the three points
Create the cylinder from the three points

Enable naming mode: right-click (RMB) on empty space in the View window, then select the front face with RMB. In the dialog, set the name to inlet.

Name the inlet face
Name the inlet face

Repeat for the back face and set the name to outlet. The names will appear in the Geometrical Entities tree.

Check inlet and outlet in the geometry tree
Check inlet and outlet in the geometry tree

Click To Mesh to proceed to the next stage. The remaining face will be automatically assigned as wall.

2Mesh

Keep the default settings in the Mesh panel and click Generate Mesh.

Generate the mesh with the default settings
Generate the mesh with the default settings

The meshed cylinder will appear in the View window.

The meshed cylinder
The meshed cylinder

Click To Setup to proceed.

3Setup

Keep the default settings in the Fluid model panel and in the Materials tree. Use Air as the material.

Fluid model and material settings
Fluid model and material settings

In the Boundaries panel:

  • Select Inlet and confirm the default settings in the Inlet dialog (the face name inlet should already be selected).
  • Do the same for Outlet and Wall.
Configure the boundary conditions
Configure the boundary conditions

Click To Solution.

4Solution

In the Input panel, add a Monitoring Point at (9, 0, 0).
In the Monitoring Entities tree, click the new point and choose Variable → Ux to monitor the X-direction velocity.

Add a monitoring point and select Ux
Add a monitoring point and select Ux

Click Run.

Run the simulation
Run the simulation

After the run finishes, click To Result.

5Result

Create a Post Plane using point (0, 0, 0). In the Post Entities tree, select the new plane and choose Variable → Ux.

Create a post-processing plane
Create a post-processing plane

The velocity contour will appear in the View window.

View the velocity contour
View the velocity contour

Finally, click Report to generate a PDF report containing key input data and images.

Generate the PDF report
Generate the PDF report

You can now save and close your first project. By default, CFxD saves projects under an auto-generated name (e.g., Project1) on the C: drive.

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