Engine Simulation Using Layering and Sliding Interfaces Mesh Dynamics Technologies

Abstract

The optimization of internal combustion engines is an important strategy to reduce the global energy requirements and pollutant emissions. The design of new engines needs to use efficient engineering tools to reduce development time and economic resources. Regarding to this, computational fluid dynamics in general and the OpenFOAMR suite in particular have shown to be adequate tools for the development of engines with the advantages for the latter of being a free code with a large users community.
Typical engine simulation cases involve multiple fluid regions with relative motion. The engine kinematics requires a mesh adaptation in order to preserve the connection between the subdomain interfaces and to manage large mesh deformations. In this context, this work presents an extension of the OpenFOAMR ’s dynamic mesh library which performs automatic mesh topological actions for engine problems. The implementation combines the mesh topological modifiers like layering for the treatment of mesh large deformations and sliding interfaces to accomplish the connection of fixed and moving subdomains. Further, a set of new features are added on the layering mesh modifier to allow the configuration of multiple motion regions and the use of different mesh size zones.
The library is used within a compressible flow solver for the resolution of a real problem. A new design of an opposite piston engine is tested and the performance of the in-house code is evaluated.