OpenFOAM

OpenFOAM is a free, open source CFD software developed primarily by OpenCFD Ltd since 2004. OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation and Manipulation, www.openfoam.com) is a C++ toolbox that can be used to develop Finite Volume (FV) Method based solvers for general continuum mechanics problems, mostly for fluid flow and heat transfer.

OpenFOAM has a wide range of functions, such as:

The ability to simulate anything related to the CFD area, such as: turbulent flows in automotive aerodynamics, through to fires and fire suppression in buildings, involving combustion, chemical reactions, heat transfer, liquid sprinklers and films.

It includes tools for dealing with complex geometries (e.g., a fish pass) and for data processing and visualization.

It performs parallel calculations allowing to take full advantage of today’s multicore processors and multiprocessor computers.

The basic directory structure for an OpenFOAM case that contains the minimum set of files required to run an application is shown in Fig. 155:

Fig. 155 OpenFOAM case directory structure.#

The constant directory contains all values that remain constant during the calculation. These are files that specify the physical properties (e.g., transport properties and turbulence models). The subdirectory polyMesh contains all information concerning the mesh.

Fig. 156 Example of the constant directory contents.#

In this directory, it is possible to modify the parameters associated with the solution procedure. It contains at least the following files:

controlDict including parameters like the start/end time, time step and data output are set;

fvSchemes where the discretization schemes can be selected;

fvSolution in which the parameters and solver choice are set for the run.

Fig. 157 Example of the system directory contents.#

These directories contain the data files for every field of the simulation.

Fig. 158 Example of the zero time step directory contents.#

The list below provides further sources where more information regarding OpenFOAM can be found, including tutorials and lecture notes.

General information about running OpenFOAM, compilation, solvers, models, mesh generation, and post-processing in the OpenFOAM User Guide and OpenFOAM Programmers Guide

OpenFOAM Wiki

The CFD Online OpenFOAM Forum at: https://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/openfoam/

More tutorials, videos and the book “Mathematics, Numerics, Derivations and OpenFOAM” can be found at: https://holzmann-cfd.com/

Video tutorials with detailed step-by-step instructions can be found at: youtube.com/OpenFOAMJozsefnagy

Lecture notes of a PhD course CFD with openSource Software, available at: tfd.chalmers.se