OpenFOAM Simulation of flow past FERRARI F 50

snappyHexMesh proves to be a big boon when you have a CAD file ready. Yesterday I tried to study the external aerodynamics of flow past a FERRARI F 50. To get CAD files use this website ( https://sites.google.com/site/garcfd/stl ), you can find some cool CAD files.

I would like to share some of the important things I learnt  while using snappyHexMesh utility.

1. Always use a ".stl" CAD file. Check for any holes in it, if any close them as this can cause issues later while running snappyHexMesh. ( basically a CAD clean up is always good)

2. Use a simple name for your CAD file. Do not name it too complex since we need to use this name multiple times in snappyHexMeshDict file. ( eg, car.stl - short and simple)

3. When you run the case always keep Allrun and Allclean script files ready. This will help you to save time while running the simulations.

4.Finally the most important point. When we create a blockMeshDict file please see to it that the size of the mesh should be uniform in X, Y and Z direction i.e. uniform cube.

Solver : simpleFoam ( implicit solver for incompressible and turbulent flow)

Domain size : 20m X 8m X 8m

 After snappyHexMesh

Velocity Contour : StreamLines

The simulation finally end, and they end quickly since its an implicit solver. For more details please post your comments here.