[LarryHowman]

Hello, and I'll apologise first, as I'm sure there is a proper forum for this, so if someone could point me in the right direction, I'll follow that advice.

In the meantime I'll just state my intentions, abilities (or lack thereof) and software available. I won't go into hardware spec, as I'm only at a VERY basic level.

I want to learn more about CFD. I have no intentions of trying to revolutionise anything. All I want to do is learn more about this amazing technology, so that it can help me learn more about everyday items/machines/processes etc. I'm curious, and would like to know more, and hopefully understand it better.

I have been dabbling in CAD for a few years, mainly Alibre/Geomagic, but have been using AutoCAD in my job since January. I've had 6/7 years experience on a CNC machine, so have some understanding of coding, but nothing like this.

I have my home PC with Alibre and ParaVIEW4.2 installed (I also have a VM set up on it with OpenFOAM2.4). I do have a slightly lower spec PC that was a hand-me-down, which I formatted and installed Ubuntu (Saucy)onto, before adding OpenFOAM2.3 & ParaVIEW4.1. So, for basic modelling I should be alright.

I am printing copies of instructions so I can add notes if needed, and keeping them in a ring-binder for reference.

I have run one of the tutorials (Motorbike) a few times, so I know the software works nicely, but as I don't understand how to change anything, or import my own models, I'm stuck looking at pretty pictures.

To start with if I could import a model, say a cube, into a virtual wind-tunnel, and change any of the factors, understanding what they are etc, I'd be a very happy man.

I look forward to any and all advice, and hopefully speak to you soon.

Regards,
Larry

[kmooney]

Have you read the sticky?

http://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/ope...-openfoam.html

[D_LEE]

Hi Larry,

Have you come across the chalmers university openfoam pages? they put all their lectures in there, but the best bits are the student reports and some lectures slides there because they are written like tutorials that you follow line by line, I am sure there will be some that will go through the different ways of importing geometry for their case setup.

http://www.tfd.chalmers.se/~hani/kurser/OS_CFD_2013/
(there's a page for every year since 2008?, so plenty of tutorials)

How familiar are you with the theory? IDK you experience here so in case you need to look that stuff up, I think the usual route people learn it in the uk is something like this:

->coming to know the N-S: Bird/Stewart/Lightfoot chapters 'shell momentum balances&velocity distributions in liminar flow' & 'the equation of change for isothermal systems' the book is really long-winded IMO these are the only good bits if you just want the kernel of fluid flow understanding.

->solving PDE numerically: versteeg malalasekeera, on google seems the first result is a PDF of it:https://ekaoktariyantonugroho.files....s-versteeg.pdf usually done to learn coding on Matlab/octave

If you want to have a cube in a windtunnel then you could use blockmesh: http://cfd.direct/openfoam/user-guid...#x23-1280005.1
4 blocks@bottom with your gap in the middle, 5blocks@top, then refine the mesh near the block copying stuff from the cavitatingFoam tutorial case.

[LarryHowman]

Thank you for replying.

K: I haven't, but will read the sticky and follow the links. Why is it called a sticky? (Glaringly obvious, but I'm not used to forums either.) I did a quick search when I first registered, but there were so many options I didn't know where to start.

D: Great idea on the Lecture notes, I'll download and try to make sense of them after I've read the sticky above. It could take some time, as I don't have much free time. I didn't go to University, so may need to adjust the way I think a little for it to make sense?

Again, thank you both, and the mystery member who moved my post to a more suitable area. I hope that I can make some progress, and that the early reading doesn't take me years

PS Does this site time-out on replies? I had to look after my son earlier, and the reply I'd mostly typed up wouldn't submit when I came back to it a few minutes ago.