Throughout the past few months, I've been diving deep into the solar concentrated thermal energy and I've been heavily interested to contribute to the advancement of parabolic dish research.
One problem I'm facing is in the topic of conducting an accurate Optical analysis. I chose to do optical simulation using Monte Carlo R.T in SolTrace, but I don't know how I can import a complicated 3D Design of the receiver into this software.
Another Problem is on the thermal analysis. Once the heat flux data is created and exported as a .csv format, I've been struggling to get enough workflow guides on User Defined Functions, UDScalars and UD Memory to interpolate the data into a volumetric heat source as a cell zone boundary condition to the receiver in ANSYS Fluent.
I would appreciate it deeply if you provide insights towards solving my issue.
Thank you!!
To tackle your challenges effectively, here’s a structured approach:
1. Optical Analysis in SolTrace
- Importing a Complex 3D Receiver Design: SolTrace does not natively support importing complex 3D CAD designs. However, you can simplify your geometry using the following workflow: Simplify the geometry in a CAD tool (like SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or Blender) to approximate the receiver with facets or basic shapes. Export the geometry as a text-based description of its surfaces (e.g., STL format). Use a pre-processing script or tool to convert the geometry into a series of triangular or planar facets. SolTrace accepts planar surfaces for ray tracing. Alternatively, consider software like Tonatiuh or TracePro, which support more complex imports but may have limitations in specific ray-tracing capabilities.
- Alternative Software: If you need precise optical modeling, consider coupling SolTrace with other tools like OptiSLang or MATLAB for geometric modifications and ray path verification.
2. Thermal Analysis in ANSYS Fluent
- Interfacing Heat Flux Data: Once you have the heat flux data in .csv format: Create a custom script (e.g., Python) to interpolate the heat flux data onto your Fluent mesh. Export the heat flux data into a format Fluent can understand, ensuring the coordinates align with the mesh.
- User Defined Functions (UDFs): Develop a UDF to read and map the heat flux data to the cell zones. Fluent’s UDF documentation provides examples of interpolating external data as a volumetric heat source. Use macros like DEFINE_SOURCE for volumetric heat sources and DEFINE_PROFILE for surface heat flux. Load the heat flux data into UD Memory arrays for use across iterations.
- Workflow Guide: Import the mesh into Fluent and ensure it matches the coordinate system used for the heat flux data. Use UDFs to read the .csv file during initialization. This requires programming in C and leveraging Fluent’s interpreter. Assign interpolated data to the receiver’s cell zones via DEFINE_INIT or during runtime.
- Additional Resources: ANSYS Fluent UDF Manual. Tutorials on mapping external data onto Fluent meshes (search for guides on Fluent external data interpolation). Examples of similar workflows from ANSYS forums or research papers.
3. General Recommendations
- Software Integration: Consider using middleware tools like MATLAB or Python to bridge data formats between SolTrace and Fluent.
- Validation: Validate the optical simulation results with experimental or analytical benchmarks to ensure accuracy before proceeding with thermal analysis.
- Collaboration: Reach out to experts or community forums for both SolTrace and Fluent for detailed advice on advanced features.
Let me know if you need further clarification on any specific part!
- Badges
- Science method