When an OpenFOAM simulation runs in parallel, the data for decomposed fields and
mesh(es) has historically been stored in multiple files within separate
directories for each processor. Processor directories are named 'processorN',
where N is the processor number.
This commit introduces an alternative "collated" file format where the data for
each decomposed field (and mesh) is collated into a single file, which is
written and read on the master processor. The files are stored in a single
directory named 'processors'.
The new format produces significantly fewer files - one per field, instead of N
per field. For large parallel cases, this avoids the restriction on the number
of open files imposed by the operating system limits.
The file writing can be threaded allowing the simulation to continue running
while the data is being written to file. NFS (Network File System) is not
needed when using the the collated format and additionally, there is an option
to run without NFS with the original uncollated approach, known as
"masterUncollated".
The controls for the file handling are in the OptimisationSwitches of
etc/controlDict:
OptimisationSwitches
{
...
//- Parallel IO file handler
// uncollated (default), collated or masterUncollated
fileHandler uncollated;
//- collated: thread buffer size for queued file writes.
// If set to 0 or not sufficient for the file size threading is not used.
// Default: 2e9
maxThreadFileBufferSize 2e9;
//- masterUncollated: non-blocking buffer size.
// If the file exceeds this buffer size scheduled transfer is used.
// Default: 2e9
maxMasterFileBufferSize 2e9;
}
When using the collated file handling, memory is allocated for the data in the
thread. maxThreadFileBufferSize sets the maximum size of memory in bytes that
is allocated. If the data exceeds this size, the write does not use threading.
When using the masterUncollated file handling, non-blocking MPI communication
requires a sufficiently large memory buffer on the master node.
maxMasterFileBufferSize sets the maximum size in bytes of the buffer. If the
data exceeds this size, the system uses scheduled communication.
The installation defaults for the fileHandler choice, maxThreadFileBufferSize
and maxMasterFileBufferSize (set in etc/controlDict) can be over-ridden within
the case controlDict file, like other parameters. Additionally the fileHandler
can be set by:
- the "-fileHandler" command line argument;
- a FOAM_FILEHANDLER environment variable.
A foamFormatConvert utility allows users to convert files between the collated
and uncollated formats, e.g.
mpirun -np 2 foamFormatConvert -parallel -fileHandler uncollated
An example case demonstrating the file handling methods is provided in:
$FOAM_TUTORIALS/IO/fileHandling
The work was undertaken by Mattijs Janssens, in collaboration with Henry Weller.
The calculation of the max and min limits are now only performed if required,
i.e. specified in fvSolution.
Also resolves bug-report https://bugs.openfoam.org/view.php?id=2566
See tutorials/compressible/rhoPimpleFoam/RAS/squareBendLiq for exapmle
pimpleControl: Added SIMPLErho option for running in SIMPLE mode
with large time-step/Courant number and relaxation. With this option the
density is updated from thermodynamics rather than continuity after the pressure
equation which is better behaved if pressure is relaxed and/or solved to a
loose relative tolerance. The need for this option is demonstrated in the
tutorials/compressible/rhoPimpleFoam/RAS/angledDuct tutorial which is unstable
without the option.
This tutorial demonstrates moving mesh and AMI with a Lagrangian cloud.
It is very slow, as interaction lists (required to compute collisions)
are not optimised for moving meshes. The simulation time has therefore
been made very short, so that it finishes in a reasonable time. The
mixer only completes a small fraction of a rotation in this time. This
is still sufficient to test tracking and collisions in the presence of
AMI and mesh motion.
In order to generate a convincing animation, however, the end time must
be increased and the simulation run for a number of days.
terms of the local barycentric coordinates of the current tetrahedron,
rather than the global coordinate system.
Barycentric tracking works on any mesh, irrespective of mesh quality.
Particles do not get "lost", and tracking does not require ad-hoc
"corrections" or "rescues" to function robustly, because the calculation
of particle-face intersections is unambiguous and reproducible, even at
small angles of incidence.
Each particle position is defined by topology (i.e. the decomposed tet
cell it is in) and geometry (i.e. where it is in the cell). No search
operations are needed on restart or reconstruct, unlike when particle
positions are stored in the global coordinate system.
The particle positions file now contains particles' local coordinates
and topology, rather than the global coordinates and cell. This change
to the output format is not backwards compatible. Existing cases with
Lagrangian data will not restart, but they will still run from time
zero without any modification. This change was necessary in order to
guarantee that the loaded particle is valid, and therefore
fundamentally prevent "loss" and "search-failure" type bugs (e.g.,
2517, 2442, 2286, 1836, 1461, 1341, 1097).
The tracking functions have also been converted to function in terms
of displacement, rather than end position. This helps remove floating
point error issues, particularly towards the end of a tracking step.
Wall bounded streamlines have been removed. The implementation proved
incompatible with the new tracking algorithm. ParaView has a surface
LIC plugin which provides equivalent, or better, functionality.
Additionally, bug report <https://bugs.openfoam.org/view.php?id=2517>
is resolved by this change.
except turbulence and lagrangian which will also be updated shortly.
For example in the nonNewtonianIcoFoam offsetCylinder tutorial the viscosity
model coefficients may be specified in the corresponding "<type>Coeffs"
sub-dictionary:
transportModel CrossPowerLaw;
CrossPowerLawCoeffs
{
nu0 [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 0.01;
nuInf [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 10;
m [0 0 1 0 0 0 0] 0.4;
n [0 0 0 0 0 0 0] 3;
}
BirdCarreauCoeffs
{
nu0 [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 1e-06;
nuInf [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 1e-06;
k [0 0 1 0 0 0 0] 0;
n [0 0 0 0 0 0 0] 1;
}
which allows a quick change between models, or using the simpler
transportModel CrossPowerLaw;
nu0 [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 0.01;
nuInf [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0] 10;
m [0 0 1 0 0 0 0] 0.4;
n [0 0 0 0 0 0 0] 3;
if quick switching between models is not required.
To support this more convenient parameter specification the inconsistent
specification of seedSampleSet in the streamLine and wallBoundedStreamLine
functionObjects had to be corrected from
// Seeding method.
seedSampleSet uniform; //cloud; //triSurfaceMeshPointSet;
uniformCoeffs
{
type uniform;
axis x; //distance;
// Note: tracks slightly offset so as not to be on a face
start (-1.001 -0.05 0.0011);
end (-1.001 -0.05 1.0011);
nPoints 20;
}
to the simpler
// Seeding method.
seedSampleSet
{
type uniform;
axis x; //distance;
// Note: tracks slightly offset so as not to be on a face
start (-1.001 -0.05 0.0011);
end (-1.001 -0.05 1.0011);
nPoints 20;
}
which also support the "<type>Coeffs" form
// Seeding method.
seedSampleSet
{
type uniform;
uniformCoeffs
{
axis x; //distance;
// Note: tracks slightly offset so as not to be on a face
start (-1.001 -0.05 0.0011);
end (-1.001 -0.05 1.0011);
nPoints 20;
}
}
Radiative heat transfer may now be added to any solver in which an energy
equation is solved at run-time rather than having to change the solver code.
For example, radiative heat transfer is now enabled in the SandiaD_LTS
reactingFoam tutorial by providing a constant/fvOptions file containing
radiation
{
type radiation;
libs ("libradiationModels.so");
}
and appropriate settings in the constant/radiationProperties file.
For example the porosity coefficients may now be specified thus:
porosity1
{
type DarcyForchheimer;
cellZone porosity;
d (5e7 -1000 -1000);
f (0 0 0);
coordinateSystem
{
type cartesian;
origin (0 0 0);
coordinateRotation
{
type axesRotation;
e1 (0.70710678 0.70710678 0);
e2 (0 0 1);
}
}
}
rather than
porosity1
{
type DarcyForchheimer;
active yes;
cellZone porosity;
DarcyForchheimerCoeffs
{
d (5e7 -1000 -1000);
f (0 0 0);
coordinateSystem
{
type cartesian;
origin (0 0 0);
coordinateRotation
{
type axesRotation;
e1 (0.70710678 0.70710678 0);
e2 (0 0 1);
}
}
}
}
support for which is maintained for backward compatibility.
For example the actuationDiskSource fvOption may now be specified
disk1
{
type actuationDiskSource;
fields (U);
selectionMode cellSet;
cellSet actuationDisk1;
diskDir (1 0 0); // Orientation of the disk
Cp 0.386;
Ct 0.58;
diskArea 40;
upstreamPoint (581849 4785810 1065);
}
rather than
disk1
{
type actuationDiskSource;
active on;
actuationDiskSourceCoeffs
{
fields (U);
selectionMode cellSet;
cellSet actuationDisk1;
diskDir (1 0 0); // Orientation of the disk
Cp 0.386;
Ct 0.58;
diskArea 40;
upstreamPoint (581849 4785810 1065);
}
}
but this form is supported for backward compatibility.
Main changes in the tutorial:
- General cleanup of the phaseProperties of unnecessary entries
- sensibleEnthalpy is used for both phases
- setTimeStep functionObject is used to set a sharp reduction in time step near the start of the injection
- Monitoring of pressure minimum and maximum
Patch contributed by Juho Peltola, VTT.
The standard naming convention for heat flux is "q" and this is used for the
conductive and convective heat fluxes is OpenFOAM. The use of "Qr" for
radiative heat flux is an anomaly which causes confusion, particularly for
boundary conditions in which "Q" is used to denote power in Watts. The name of
the radiative heat flux has now been corrected to "qr" and all models, boundary
conditions and tutorials updated.
Description
Temperature-dependent surface tension model in which the surface tension
function provided by the phase Foam::liquidProperties class is used.
Usage
\table
Property | Description | Required | Default value
phase | Phase name | yes |
\endtable
Example of the surface tension specification:
\verbatim
sigma
{
type liquidProperties;
phase water;
}
\endverbatim
for use with e.g. compressibleInterFoam, see
tutorials/multiphase/compressibleInterFoam/laminar/depthCharge2D
These models have been particularly designed for use in the VoF solvers, both
incompressible and compressible. Currently constant and temperature dependent
surface tension models are provided but it easy to write models in which the
surface tension is evaluated from any fields held by the mesh database.
Demonstrates meshing a cylinder with hemispehrical ends using snappyHexMesh with
a polar background mesh that uses the point and edge projection feature of blockMesh.
The case prescribes a multiMotion on the cylinder, combining an oscillatingLinearMotion
and transverse rotatingMotion.
The pitzDaily case uses a lot of mesh grading close to walls and the shear layer.
Prior to v2.4, blockMesh only permitted grading in one direction within a single block,
so the pitzDaily mesh comprised of 13 blocks to accommodate the complex grading pattern.
blockMesh has multi-grading that allows users to divide a block in a given direction and
apply different grading within each division. The mesh generated with blockMesh using
13 blocks has been replaced with a mesh of 5 blocks that use multi-grading. The new
blockMeshDict configuration produces a mesh very similar to the original 13-block mesh.
including support for TDAC and ISAT for efficient chemistry calculation.
Description
Eddy Dissipation Concept (EDC) turbulent combustion model.
This model considers that the reaction occurs in the regions of the flow
where the dissipation of turbulence kinetic energy takes place (fine
structures). The mass fraction of the fine structures and the mean residence
time are provided by an energy cascade model.
There are many versions and developments of the EDC model, 4 of which are
currently supported in this implementation: v1981, v1996, v2005 and
v2016. The model variant is selected using the optional \c version entry in
the \c EDCCoeffs dictionary, \eg
\verbatim
EDCCoeffs
{
version v2016;
}
\endverbatim
The default version is \c v2015 if the \c version entry is not specified.
Model versions and references:
\verbatim
Version v2005:
Cgamma = 2.1377
Ctau = 0.4083
kappa = gammaL^exp1 / (1 - gammaL^exp2),
where exp1 = 2, and exp2 = 2.
Magnussen, B. F. (2005, June).
The Eddy Dissipation Concept -
A Bridge Between Science and Technology.
In ECCOMAS thematic conference on computational combustion
(pp. 21-24).
Version v1981:
Changes coefficients exp1 = 3 and exp2 = 3
Magnussen, B. (1981, January).
On the structure of turbulence and a generalized
eddy dissipation concept for chemical reaction in turbulent flow.
In 19th Aerospace Sciences Meeting (p. 42).
Version v1996:
Changes coefficients exp1 = 2 and exp2 = 3
Gran, I. R., & Magnussen, B. F. (1996).
A numerical study of a bluff-body stabilized diffusion flame.
Part 2. Influence of combustion modeling and finite-rate chemistry.
Combustion Science and Technology, 119(1-6), 191-217.
Version v2016:
Use local constants computed from the turbulent Da and Re numbers.
Parente, A., Malik, M. R., Contino, F., Cuoci, A., & Dally, B. B.
(2016).
Extension of the Eddy Dissipation Concept for
turbulence/chemistry interactions to MILD combustion.
Fuel, 163, 98-111.
\endverbatim
Tutorials cases provided: reactingFoam/RAS/DLR_A_LTS, reactingFoam/RAS/SandiaD_LTS.
This codes was developed and contributed by
Zhiyi Li
Alessandro Parente
Francesco Contino
from BURN Research Group
and updated and tested for release by
Henry G. Weller
CFD Direct Ltd.
Using
decomposePar -copyZero
The mesh is decomposed as usual but the '0' directory is recursively copied to
the 'processor.*' directories rather than decomposing the fields. This is a
convenient option to handle cases where the initial field files are generic and
can be used for serial or parallel running. See for example the
incompressible/simpleFoam/motorBike tutorial case.
Both stardard SIMPLE and the SIMPLEC (using the 'consistent' option in
fvSolution) are now supported for both subsonic and transonic flow of all
fluid types.
rhoPimpleFoam now instantiates the lower-level fluidThermo which instantiates
either a psiThermo or rhoThermo according to the 'type' specification in
thermophysicalProperties, see also commit 655fc78748
Both stardard SIMPLE and the SIMPLEC (using the 'consistent' option in
fvSolution) are now supported for both subsonic and transonic flow of all
fluid types.
rhoSimpleFoam now instantiates the lower-level fluidThermo which instantiates
either a psiThermo or rhoThermo according to the 'type' specification in
thermophysicalProperties, e.g.
thermoType
{
type hePsiThermo;
mixture pureMixture;
transport sutherland;
thermo janaf;
equationOfState perfectGas;
specie specie;
energy sensibleInternalEnergy;
}
instantiates a psiThermo for a perfect gas with JANAF thermodynamics, whereas
thermoType
{
type heRhoThermo;
mixture pureMixture;
properties liquid;
energy sensibleInternalEnergy;
}
mixture
{
H2O;
}
instantiates a rhoThermo for water, see new tutorial
compressible/rhoSimpleFoam/squareBendLiq.
In order to support complex equations of state the pressure can no longer be
unlimited and rhoSimpleFoam now limits the pressure rather than the density to
handle start-up more robustly.
For backward compatibility 'rhoMin' and 'rhoMax' can still be used in the SIMPLE
sub-dictionary of fvSolution which are converted into 'pMax' and 'pMin' but it
is better to set either 'pMax' and 'pMin' directly or use the more convenient
'pMinFactor' and 'pMinFactor' from which 'pMax' and 'pMin' are calculated using
the fixed boundary pressure or reference pressure e.g.
SIMPLE
{
nNonOrthogonalCorrectors 0;
pMinFactor 0.1;
pMaxFactor 1.5;
transonic yes;
consistent yes;
residualControl
{
p 1e-3;
U 1e-4;
e 1e-3;
"(k|epsilon|omega)" 1e-3;
}
}
This allows single, multi-phase and VoF compressible simulations to be performed
with the accurate thermophysical property functions for liquids provided by the
liquidProperty classes. e.g. in the
multiphase/compressibleInterFoam/laminar/depthCharge2D tutorial water can now be
specified by
thermoType
{
type heRhoThermo;
mixture pureMixture;
properties liquid;
energy sensibleInternalEnergy;
}
mixture
{
H2O;
}
as an alternative to the previous less accurate representation defined by
thermoType
{
type heRhoThermo;
mixture pureMixture;
transport const;
thermo hConst;
equationOfState perfectFluid;
specie specie;
energy sensibleInternalEnergy;
}
mixture
{
specie
{
molWeight 18.0;
}
equationOfState
{
R 3000;
rho0 1027;
}
thermodynamics
{
Cp 4195;
Hf 0;
}
transport
{
mu 3.645e-4;
Pr 2.289;
}
}
However the increase in accuracy of the new simpler and more convenient
specification and representation comes at a cost: the NSRDS functions used by
the liquidProperties classes are relatively expensive to evaluate and the
depthCharge2D case takes ~14% longer to run.
