[cbrian]

Hello,

I'm attempting a 2D sliding mesh simulation of a vertical-axis wind turbine. First I'd like to perform an MRF case to get an initial solution.

My mesh was generated in Pointwise (Figs. 1 & 2). I've set an "Interface" boundary condition between the rotating core and static freestream (Fig. 3).

Fluent reads the grid with no issues and successfully runs both MRF and unsteady sliding mesh cases. However, it appears that flow is not passing through the interface. Instead, it seems that Fluent thinks the interface is a solid wall. Fig. 4 shows a contour of velocity magnitude.

I've defined the Mesh Interface within Fluent. This has generated wall-type boundary conditions on either side of the interface, but other posts indicate this is normal. Fig. 5 shows a list of BCs. If I "Preview Mesh Motion" the mesh movement seems to work as expected. I've tried checking Interface Options such as Matching or Mapped but they don't seem to do anything.

Has anyone experienced a problem like this? I've spent quite a bit of time going through other cfd-online posts and various tutorials with no solution to be found. I'm experienced with other CFD solvers but this is my first time using Fluent, so it's entirely possible I'm missing something obvious.

Thanks in advance for any help, it is much appreciated.

[Mess]

Check that the zone is set as fluid type in cell zone conditions

[cbrian]

Yes, both zones are fluid type. There is fluid on the inside of the rotating core, it just doesn't seem to pass through the interface.

[Mess]

Perhaps u could send me ur mesh file. I could quickly take a look and try n figure out what the problem is

[cbrian]

Thanks for the offer, Mess.

I ended up running the sliding mesh case overnight to see if anything changed. Looks like the flow did pass through the interface. I think there was something wrong with my MRF setup but my sliding mesh configuration was fine, it just took a few hours of running for that to be clear.