Numerical simulation and validation of laminar flow through a 2D pipe using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

In modern times, there has been a significant increase in the use of software to simulate fluid dynamics. There exist a variety of closed-source software packages that are utilized for both modeling and simulating fluid behavior. These proprietary programs have become increasingly common and are widely utilized in numerous industries that require advanced simulations. This work focuses on the use of a commercial software package designed for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) problems to model laminar flow through a pipe, with the objective of gaining a deeper understanding of the dynamic structures and interactions that occur within the laminar flow. In this paper, an accurate computation of two-dimensional flow is performed using the Time Volume Element Methodology. A grid sensitivity analysis with Richardson extrapolation is conducted to determine the grid-independent solutions, ensuring that the results obtained are reliable and accurate. The findings of this study suggest that the relationship between various parameters, such as velocity and pressure, is heavily influenced by the position and shape of the pipe through which the flow occurs. The investigation utilized a grid sensitivity analysis with Richardson extrapolation to determine the percentage error between the analytical and grid-independent solutions for different parameters, revealing that the errors are on the order of 10-1 %.