Mechanical Engineering

Introduction

Mechanical engineering is the mother of all engineering disciplines, yet it is also the most diverse and flexible. It includes crucial components of aeronautical, electrical, civil, chemical, and even material science and bio-engineering, in addition to physics and mathematics. Mechanical engineering touches virtually every aspect of modern life, from mobile phones and biomedical devices to aircraft and power plants.

Engineers in this field work in sales, engineering management, and corporate management, among other fields. In a world where continual economic, political, industrial, and social change, versatility is another distinct advantage. Mechanical engineers have been trained and are in a position to define and direct adaptation.

Mechanical engineering covers a wide range of topics, including:

Acoustics	Design
Aerospace	Energy
Automation	Ergonomics
Automotive	Human health
Autonomous Systems	Manufacturing and additive manufacturing
Biotechnology	Mechanics
Composites	Nanotechnology
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)	Production planning
Control Systems	Robotics
Cyber security	Structural analysis

How to Improve Mechanical Engineering using CFD Simulations?

Technology has recently transformed mechanical engineers’ operations, and their tools have grown highly significant. CAE is an umbrella word that covers everything from traditional CAD (Computer-Aided Design) techniques to computer-aided manufacturing to computer-aided engineering, including finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

These and other tools have broadened mechanical engineering’s scope. As we all know, the central subfield of mechanical engineering is fluid mechanics. Computational fluid dynamics is the most used approach for forecasting fluid mechanic behavior. CFD is a technology that can produce an accurate result early in the design process, allowing the designer to experiment with numerous possibilities without incurring high financial or time costs. We use the word “could” since this isn’t always the case. A CFD simulation is not simple to carry out and necessitates using pricey commercial software.

A mechanical engineer may model any phenomenon that can be seen naturally or artificially using the CFD approach.

 

CFD on Simulation of PCM Heat Exchangers

Solar thermal systems have been widely used in the generation of home hot water due to their long-term viability and reliability. Thermal energy storage and utilization are critical in these systems due to the intermittent nature of solar energy supplies. Sensible heat, thermochemical, and latent heat storage are the three types of energy storage systems.

In Latent heat storage, when heat is applied or released, phase change material (PCM) changes from one phase to another, such as solid to liquid, liquid to solid, or solid to solid.

Thermal energy storage in PCM occurs during the phase change (solid to liquid or vice versa), such that when the phase changes from solid to liquid, it receives heat from the environment and returns heat to the environment when the phase changes from liquid to solid. These phase change materials have different melting or freezing temperatures and are thus used in cooling and heating systems; for example, these materials receive ambient heat in the form of latent heat on a hot day and melt, and then return to the environment by changing the phase and freezing process on a cool night.

CFD modeling methodologies provide several benefits over experimental studies regarding time savings and the number of planned possibilities that may be analyzed. The outcomes of a verified CFD model can be significant and thorough simulations. Dynamic profiles of PCM temperature, melting/solidification rate, energy stored/released, and so on are among them.

However, several crucial characteristics must be supplied in order to set up an appropriate CFD model for PCM heat exchangers, such as the equivalent thermal parameters when various heat transfer enhancement materials are mixed with the PCM. In addition, a suitable phase change model to characterize the PCM melting and solidification behaviors must be used in the CFD model.

CFD Usage for Centrifugal Compressors

Every industry employing turbomachinery needs to produce its high-performance products as quickly as possible in today’s environment when “time is money.” Computational fluid dynamics substitute a large number of testing needs, which not only reduces development costs but also shortens the design cycle time.

CFD has evolved into a powerful tool for the design phase of a project, thanks to advances in computer resources, numerical methodologies, and the availability of commercial solutions. CFD has become a key tool for the aerodynamic designer to evaluate the design and understand the flow physics inside a compressor’s flow path, thanks to a huge number of validations and benchmarks available on the applicability of CFD for centrifugal compressors. However, CFD is still computationally costly, and getting meaningful results needs a high level of user expertise and experience. Including viscosity in the flow adds to the difficulty of determining the best turbulence closure model.

On the other hand, CFD has some limits due to mistakes introduced during modeling, mainly when the actual physics are unknown and difficult to describe or when many approximations and model errors are presented throughout the computation process.

 

 

Acoustic Prediction using CFD

Environmental noise can significantly affect our everyday lives, including interference with communication, sleep disturbance, learning acquisition, annoyance responses, performance effects, and our health through cardiovascular and psychophysiological effects. Product designers and engineers at the world’s most innovative and successful companies have recognized this and incorporated practical noise mitigation elements into their product design process.

Nowadays, CFD is an important technique in developing and manufacturing industrial products. This is now possible thanks to two primary factors: the improved performance of relatively inexpensive personal computers and network facilities and the development made in general-purpose CFD software in terms of modeling complexity and practicality in the industrial environment.

While CFD approaches are well established for many applications such as aerodynamics, heat transfer, and so on, aeroacoustics CFD simulations remain a problem, particularly in industrial applicability. In recent years, the automobile industry has made significant expenditures in worldwide aeroacoustics consortia, in which all of the leading car makers collaborate to explore the limitations and benefits of aeroacoustics CFD.

Due to turbulence in the surrounding airflow, wind noise is created on the vehicle’s exterior surface. The air flowing past the automobile is disrupted by obstructions such as the A-pillar, side-view mirror, and wipers, resulting in extreme turbulence. As turbulent eddies pass by or impact flat surfaces, pressure variations on the side window, windshield, and other body panels are created.

This post just looked at a few CFD applications that can help improve Mechanical Engineering. The Mechanical business has a plethora of CFD applications, ranging from Well Drilling, Mud, and Sand Separator to modeling a Truck Aerodynamic, Container Effect, and Mixer Tank to assess the main parameters such as velocity and pressure, all of which are key challenges in the industry.

Most aspects of the Mechanical industry rely on fluid dynamics. Although physical prototypes are required for later phases of development, CFD studies may significantly speed up design and optimization in the early stages.

MR-CFD Services

The MR-CFD team conducted numerous outsourcing simulation projects for industrial and researched Mechanical Engineering applications. With several years of experience simulating a wide range of problems in various CFD fields using ANSYS Fluent software, the MR-CFD team is ready to offer extensive services of simulation configurations. For example, a Well Drilling, Mud, and Sand Separator simulation is freelanced and carried out to achieve the solution’s key parameters.

A cylindrical hole is used as a well in this simulation, and a spinning body in the shape of a cylinder is placed within. A Non-Newtonian substance for drilling operations flows within the cavity, mixing the mud particles inside. This rotating cylindrical body can separate and lift the mud particles mixed in the non-Newtonian fluid with its rotational motion of 100 rpm. As a result, the flow in the well was defined using a multiphase model. This multiphase flow has a main phase related to a non-Newtonian fluid named CMC and a secondary phase related to drilling mud particles.

The following research uses ANSYS Fluent software to simulate airflow around a truck. Aerodynamics is a branch of mechanics that plays a crucial role in automobile design. This is especially more important when building a truck. Because these vehicles are heavier, the air resistance in their movement should be lowered as much as possible to allow for better forward movement. One of the most significant forces to consider is the drag force, defined as air resistance to forwarding motion.

The truck’s aerodynamic CFD simulation and drag force computation aid in accurately forecasting various forces, particularly the drag force around the truck. This directly influences the truck’s fuel usage and is thus crucial from an energy and environmental standpoint.

Mixing is a process in the industry that includes mixing heterogeneous materials to make them more homogenous. A machine that combines homogenizes and mixes different materials into a single product is known as an industrial mixer. Mixers mix almost any solid or liquid required to create the final product. Heat and/or mass transfer between one or more components or phases is accomplished by mixing.

Mixing is nearly always required in modern industrial processes since it is needed during production or processing. Mixers can handle a wide range of materials because of their strong motors and blades. These machines are employed in various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agriculture, food and beverage, and so on.

A mixer tank is modeled in this research, and the impact of its rotating impeller on the mixing process is explored.

MR-CFD, an expert in the field of Mechanical simulations

With several years of experience in simulating various problems in various CFD fields using ANSYS Fluent software, the MR-CFD Company is ready to offer extensive modeling, meshing, and simulation services. Our simulation Services for Mechanical simulations are categorized as follows:

• Aerodynamic CFD simulation of cars, planes, etc.
• CFD Simulation of engines and spinning and transitional systems
• CFD Simulation of cooling systems, including air conditioner and refrigerator
• Analysis of noise reduction and silencer, on airfoils, cars, drones, etc.
• CFD Simulation of pumps, compressors, fans, turbines, fan drop, diffusers, …
• CFD Simulation of  shell and tube, plate, double pipe, dry cooling towers, and wet cooling towers heat exchangers
• 2-stroke and 4-stroke engine, store separation, etc analysis
• CFD simulation of injection devices such as injectors, sprays, dust dispersion, …
• CFD Simulation of heating systems (water heaters, central heating, the heat transfer from the floor, …)
• CFD Simulation of ventilation, air conditioning, etc.
• Modeling Solidification and melting phenomenon
• CFD Simulation of orifice and fluid measurements
• CFD Simulation of open channel flow (boats, ships, and submarines)
• Chemical reactions such as combustion, NOx removal, etc CFD simulation
• Heat transfer CFD simulation, electronic cooling, thermal management, etc.
• Analysis of Multiphase flows (spillway, sedimentation, …)
• …

You may find the related products to the Mechanical simulation category in Training Shop.

Our services are not limited to the mentioned subjects, and the MR-CFD is ready to undertake different and challenging projects in the Mechanical Engineering modeling field ordered by our customers. We even accept carrying out CFD simulation for any abstract or concept design you have in your mind to turn them into reality and even help you reach the best design for what you may have imagined. You can benefit from MR-CFD expert consultation for free and then order your project to be simulated and trained.

By outsourcing your project to the MR-CFD as a CFD simulation freelancer, you will not only receive the related project’s resource files (Geometry, Mesh, Case & Data, …), but also you will be provided with an extensive tutorial video demonstrating how you can create the geometry, mesh, and define the needed settings(pre-processing, processing and post-processing) in the ANSYS Fluent software all by yourself. Additionally, post-technical support is available to clarify issues and ambiguities.