The Database Manager allows the user to set up user defined chemical reactions and volume condition properties. It comes with predefined data, but you can build and maintain your own local database and setup and store commonly used data (property values, chemical reactions, species, etc…) for rapid re-use in any simulation.

In this tip, you will learn how to create your own Gas, Liquid or Species inside this Database Manager.To launch the Database Manager window in CFD-ACE GUI, select Database from the Tools menu:

Below is a snapshot of the Database Manager:

On the File menu, you can create new entries in the database or import external data files. Using the Edit menu, you can copy, paste, and delete database entries. There is also a units tab so you can change the units to those that you most like to work with.

In order to create your own entry, you first have select which mode would like to use. If you want to define material properties, then you need to be in the Material Properties mode (i.e. you can create gases, liquids and solids). If you are going to be working with reactions or mixtures, then you will need to be in the Chemistry mode. In the Chemistry mode, you can define all of your mixtures, volume reactions, surface reactions, etc. The last mode is for Biochemistry, where you can define your buffers, analytes, and reactions. In this tip, we will demonstrate how to create a new gas and enter the material properties. Below is a snapshot of how to create a new gas.

In order to create a new gas, you must first select the folder in which it will be placed. Note that, gases, species, reactions, etc. that are placed in the "Local" folder will be available to all the simulations that you run. Once you have chosen the folder, you can now create your gas by going to the File -> New -> Gas or by clicking on the new gas icon in the toolbar (shown above).

The first thing to do is name you gas.Once you have named the gas, you can now define its properties by switching between the following tabs: Physical, Fluid, Thermal, Electric/Magnetic, Plasma, Kinetic, Semiconductor.

Under each tab, you can enter the relevant properties. In the physical tab, you can define the density of the gas. Various options are available for defining the density. In this tip, we will define the density using "Ideal Gas law" and set the molecular weight to 39.

Although not shown in this tip, you can continue this procedure to set up the rest of the properties under each tab. Once you have finished defining your properties, click "Apply" in the lower right hand corner. You settings are now saved into the manager.

The process is exactly the same if you want to make a new entry for a liquid or a solid, only the properties will be slightly different for each case. The procedure for defining species, reactions, and mixtures in the Chemistry or Biochemistry mode is the same as in the Material Properties mode, only properties will be different.

If you have any questions about this feature or would like us to discuss some other topic in the future, please let us know.

Emmanuel Bot
Applications Engineer
ESI CFD Customer Support