Hi all !

Is it possible to compute the flow past a rotating wheel in Fluent, that is, a wheel on ground and with spokes ? As far as I understand, the tire must be flattened a bit at the ground as it can't be tangential. The faces on the outside of the tire then get rotating-wall-bc's, but what about the 'inside' of the wheel (rim, spokes, hub)... I would like to use a rotating mesh here, what do you think ? The interface-zone whould have to be cut in the middle (contact between rim and tire), how does one model this ? What zone do I assign to the tire-faces that contact the rim ?

Thanks a lot, E.T.

Hi Turner,

Your question is not clear. Rotating mesh?.

As far as i understand create the tyre, rim and spokes as one volume1. Create a big block (volume 2) to cover the volume 1.

subtract the volumev from volume 2.

You dont need to hav a flat part at the bottom. it can be tangential.

Make sure the tyre,rim and spokes are as simple as possible to get a good clean mesh.

Don know what you are really trying to simulate, so iam unable to suggest you with any more options.

Please elaborate you problem precisely to discuss further.

Thanks

Regards

Rajit

Fluent can handle the tangential surface, but usually the mesh quality is very low due to the small angles near the ground-tyre interface. To avoid highly skewed cells it is better to model a contact pad. I would use a rotating mesh for this problem. Be careful in choosing the turbulence model, some models will not work with rotating sliding meshes, see Fluent User Guide for more details.