[jhco]

Hello,

I'm running heat exchange simulations on pin fin arrays using FLUENT with varying tapered pin geometries. These tests are all between Reynold's number 0 to ~20k, corresponding to velocity inlets of 0-14 m/s.

I've gotten good data out of most of the pin geometries I've tested, where the mesh looks like below (top view)

http://i.imgur.com/8U6r9db.png

However, some of the geometries have much higher aspect ratios and sharper angles, such as the fin array below. I have struggled to create a mesh with acceptable minimum quality (~1e-3) while maintaining inflation layers within the pins.

http://i.imgur.com/2REGT3U.png

http://i.imgur.com/Jg2Uhrv.png

I've exhausted all of my ideas for this. For example, the following image is a mesh with inflation control applied separately to the fluid and solid geometries. Whether I try to size by first-layer thickness or smooth transition, the interior cells at the tail end are too large, resulting in highly skewed inflation layer cells.

I'm a relative novice at meshing for CFD (my background is mechanical)-- what would be the recommended strategy for mesh control or settings?

http://i.imgur.com/9stmK3p.png

These images are also attached to the post. Thank you for any advice you can offer.