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CFD-VIEW User Tips

Particle Tracing in CFD-VIEW

A Particle Trace or Streamline is the trajectory of a particle moving in a fluid. Being able to visualize/analyze this trajectory can be very helpful in understanding flow patterns and flow distribution. A Particle Trace of a steady state problem will show how a particle (or set of particles), released at a particular point, moves through the flow domain.

We will use an Intake Manifold model to demonstrate how a Particle Trace is set up. The flow domain is shown below:

Use the following steps to create the particle trace animation.

Import the DTF file into VIEW. You should see a wire frame as shown.

Click the Select all Volumes icon below the entity Explorer Window

Click the Trace feature from the Operator Palette, as shown below. This creates a release point in the fluid domain together with a streamline passing through it.

Move the release point so that it lies in the solution domain. You should have a red cross in the domain, as shown in the picture to the right.

You could also create a rake or net of streamlines by increasing the number NX, NY, or NZ and adjusting the spacing between the release points.

You can color a trace by any solution variable by choosing a variable under the Color option in the Tool Bar. In this example, the variable W has been chosen.
If you do not want to see the handles, click on the Handles Off button

in the Tool Bar to blank the release point handles.

You can either draw pixels, cubes, balls, or vectors on the stream traces. In this example, Balls are drawn on the stream traces. To draw balls on the traces, click the Points On

button in the tool bar. Once you have turned the points on, you can adjust the Point Size as well as the Points/Vector Stride.

With all the above options, your model may look like the one below.

Animation of the points on a particle trace is a neat way to show the dynamics of the flow.
To animate the points or vectors, under the Animation tab

press the Register Initial Configuration. Go back to the Points tab and input a higher number for Starting Point Offset, say 20. Next, return to the Animation tab and click Register Final Configuration. Finally, press the Play button

to animate the movement of the points along the streamlines.

To view the animation for this example, click the picture below.

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

Santosh Kini
Applications Engineer
ESI US R&D

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