[CFD Post] – Defining appropriate analyzing method
 

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding the post-processing of my simulation data.

1: I have succesfully simulated a cold-flow setup for multiple slices of a 3D axisymmetric cylindrical geometry using ANSYS FLUENT version 2019 R3. These configurations are multiples of a single defined periodic slice, ultimately altogether resulting into the final full 360 degree geometry. My ultimate research goal is aimed to quantify the differences in performance between these slices and select the optimal number of slices in terms of accuracy and simulation time required compared to the full 360 degree geometry.

2: In order to quantify these performances I have created several planes in CFD post and determined the area averaged velocity on these selected locations. I have also created volumes in CFD post and determined the volume averaged velocities. I then compared the error percentage of these values relatively to the full 360 degree configuration. Both of these methods have their flaws because information might get lost due to averaging and therefore do not fully answer my main question: How to quantify between the different configurations?

3: A possible solution opted by my professor was to look at a certain set of points within the volume of a slice, calculating the average velocity per slice by adding the velocities at those points and dividing them by the total number of points within a slice. However extracting data manually by entering coordinates using the probe tool would be an impossible task. Therefore I was thinking the point cloud feature might be suitable, however I am not familiar with it.

What I would like to know is:
- Is the opted method by my professor indeed the simplest way of quantifying the differences between my configurations or are there other methods?
- Is there a way to automate this in CFD Post?

Thanks in advance!

Kevin