Fan Blade Flow Analysis

[CP_10883249]

Hi. I have been trying to conduct flow analysis on a fan blade for quite a while now and I can't seem to get the right specifications. I have looked all over the internet and have only found flow analysis of internal structures, not external ones. I have tried so many things and can't seem to get it correctly. My project is due in a week and I am getting very stuck. Someone please help. Thanks

[tmoser]

You will end up with two fluid domains. One of them will be cylindrical and encapsulate the fan geometry. The other domain will represent the rest of your system. The cylindrical system will rotate at whatever your fan speed is. You'll have to define the axis of rotation and the rotation speed. 

I think there is some documentation for this on the PTC website.

It's been a while since I've done anything with a rotating component, so that's about all I can offer.

[CP_10883249]

Thank you. Regarding the system, would that be a box around? and if so what would all the walls be? Is there an inlet and outlet pressure? This is what I have done already but it doesn't seem right. I am solving for velocity

[tmoser]

There is a little demo in this video astarting at about the 10 minute mark. I know there is some documentation and tutorials on the PTC site, but I don't have the time to look for them. One of them is a mixer with rotating blades that would be perfect to review for this project.

https://community.ptc.com/t5/Analysis/Creo-Flow-Analysis-CFD-201-Webcast-Replay/m-p/707431

[CP_10883249]

Yes i have just watched that video. It was very helpful. I think the one problem was that it doesn’t let me select a non inertial part and idk why. If you could help trouble shoot that would be great! Thanks

[tmoser]

I don't think I have enough expertise to help any more. Maybe the people on here from PTC can help.

I have been able to consult directly with Simerics on some projects in the past. Maybe that is another option. My contact is Alex Jaing, aj@simerics.com

[tmoser]

What level of Creo Flow Analysis are you using? I ask because you mentioned that you can't select a non inertial part. If you are using Basic, I don't think you can perform a moving/sliding mesh problem.

[CP_10883249 · Accepted solution]

I’m not sure. It is a student account from my school so it might be the basic one. I may have figured out my solution tho. I set a pressure of 1.00001 atm going through as an inlet and a pressure of 0.99995 coming out. It seems to be working well as far as I understand. Do you think that makes sense?

[tmoser]

There is a demo in this video that might also be helpful starting at about 15 minutes and goint to 30 minutes.

https://community.ptc.com/t5/Analysis/Creo-Flow-Analysis-Using-CFD-in-Creo-to-Accelerate-Prototypes/m-p/796356

You never really said what you're trying to learn from this analysis. Are you just trying to see how much flow this fan will generate at a certain speed?

[CP_10883249]

Thank you so much. Yes I am trying to get the air velocity from the fan so I can calculate volumetric flux. Then I will print my best model and test it with an anemometer.