Usage:

The process described below for using this application is very specific. Please follow the procedure carefully to obtain the desired output. Please review all entered text carefully because the app expects several specific, case-sensitive names when it executes. For example, if asked to type ‘Inlet’ make sure you type in the name exactly as given.

Ribbon Buttons:

The “Add-Ins” ribbon contains four new buttons. These buttons are shown below with the workflow following from left to right.

Setup:

The setup of your model follows the standard procedure described in the Simulation CFD WikiHelp for most of the tasks associated with Turbomachinery applications. 

Here are the key exceptions: 

1) Do not add any flow boundary conditions (velocity, pressure, volume flow rate, etc) to the inlet or outlet. The application automates this for you. 

2) You need to create two CAD Entity groups to define where your inlet and outlet are located: a. Select the single inlet surface, and call the group “Inlet”. b. Select the single outlet surface, and call the group “Outlet”. 

3) On the Solve dialog, ignore the time step size and number of time steps. These are adjusted automatically based on other inputs. 

4) There should be only 1 scenario in your design. When finished setting up your model, click on the Setup button in the Add-Ins tab to automate the process of creating scenarios for each operating point: 

Explanation of Inputs 

· Enter the number of pump curve points: This is the number of operating points that you would like to simulate. The default number is 10. The minimum is 3. 

o The first data point is simulated with a pressure = 0 at both the inlet and outlet. This is considered the ‘Full Flow’ Scenario. 

o The middle points are a series of scenarios with defined flow rates. The nomenclature for each of these scenarios is ‘OP# - GPM’ (ex. ‘OP3 – 325.0 GPM’). 

o The last data point is the ‘No flow’ condition and has no boundary condition assigned to the outlet. · How many blades does your pump have? 

o Enter the number of blades in the device. · What is the RPM of your pump? 

o Enter the rotating speed of your device. This is the same value defined in your rotating region material. 

· Estimation on Full Flow Rate (GPM)? 

o Without running the full flow rate model, the amount of flow the device moves is unknown. Enter your estimation in GPM. If you are unsure, try to underestimate so you do not try to simulate beyond the limits of the device. 

· How many revolutions do you want to run blade to blade time step? (0 is viable option – Suggest at least 100) 

o The “blade to blade” time is the amount of time required for a blade to rotate to the neighboring blade. 

o Example: If you enter 100 with a 4 bladed system, the application runs for 400 time steps. For an 8 bladed system, it runs for 800 time steps. 

· Enter specific degree increment o Many times users want to simulate a blade passing through a specific number of degrees instead of through a blade passage. 3° is the recommended default. 

· How many revolutions of the above degree increment o Leave this at zero to use the Blade to Blade (BTB) setup. 

o To override the BTB setup, specify a value. 

o The application does not automate the process of running BTB followed by a specific degree increment). To do this, use the ‘Setup’ option first until all your jobs are finished, and then use the ‘Continue’ option as outlined below. Once all the values have been entered correctly, click Run. While this is running do not interrupt the user interface. Based on your configuration all your needed scenarios are setup automatically. The message window will indicate when the setup has completed. Use the ‘Solver Manager’ to start all your jobs. After all your jobs are finished, you should cycle through all your scenarios manually. This ensures that all your scenarios are complete. Now use either the ‘Continue’ or the ‘Process Data’ functions.

Continue:

You should only use the ‘Continue’ function after you have used the ‘Setup’ function and solved all scenarios to completion. You can delete any scenario that you do not need, but you must keep the ‘Full Flow’, ‘No Flow’, and at least one intermediate scenario. This function is intended to run additional time steps after you models are finished. It automates the adjustment of ‘number of time steps’ and ‘time step size’ for each scenario in the active design. Explanation of Inputs 

· How many blades does your pump have? 

o Enter the number of blades that are in your device. 

· What is the RPM of your pump? 

o Enter the RPM of your pump as defined in your rotating region material. 

· How many revolutions do you want to run blade to blade time step? (0 is viable option – Suggest at least 100) 

o The “blade to blade” time is the amount of time required for a blade to rotate to the neighboring blade. 

o Example: If you enter 100 with a 4 bladed system, the application runs for 400 time steps. For an 8 bladed system, it runs for 800 time steps. 

· Enter specific degree increment o Many times users want to simulate a blade passing through a specific number of degrees instead of through a blade passage. 3° is the recommended default. 

· How many revolutions of the above degree increment o Leave this at zero to use the Blade to Blade (BTB) setup. 

o To override the BTB setup, specify a value. 

o The application does not automate the process of running BTB followed by a specific degree increment). To do this, use the ‘Setup’ option first until all your jobs are finished, and then use the ‘Continue’ option as outlined below. Once all the values have been entered correctly, click Run. While this is running do not interrupt the user interface. Based on your configuration all your needed scenarios are setup automatically. The message window will indicate when the application is complete. Use the ‘Solver Manager’ to start all your jobs. After all your jobs are finished, you should cycle through all your scenarios manually. This ensures that all your scenarios are complete. Now use either the ‘Continue’ again or the ‘Process Data’ functions. Process Data The ‘Process Data’ function only works with completed simulations. The primary goal is to output a significant portion of the data for each scenario into a single Excel workbook. This includes, but is not limited to: 

· Basic operating data 

· Average torque (based on the last 100 iterations solved) 

· Power 

· WHP · Efficiency 

· Raw torque data and associate plots 

· Performance Curve Each scenario has an associated sheet with all the key data only for the scenario. Another sheet includes a plot with trends of each torque curve. The last sheet includes the performance curve. While this function is running do not interact with Excel. Doing so interrupts the API calls from the application. Explanation of Inputs 

· What is the specific gravity of your fluid? 

o Use 1.0 for water.

Install: Run .msi To uninstall the add-in

1. Open the Autodesk Exchange App Manager from the Windows Start menu. (Start > All Programs > Autodesk > Autodesk Simulation CFD <version> Autodesk Exchange App Manager.)

2. Select the SimCFD Pump Calculator app.

3. Click Uninstall.

The automation only supports models with a single inlet and outlet.