Laminar Flow Simulation Between Parallel Flat Plates using OpenFOAM

Abstract

Internal flow is a type of flow present in many industrial applications. A particular case of internal flow is the flow between parallel flat plates also known as plane channel flow. This is a bidimensional flow which has analytical solution for the case of fully developed flow. In the present work this flow is simulated and compared with analytical solution. The finite volume method was used by means of open-source software OpenFOAM. Due to the geometry of the problem a structured mesh was used. In addition, a mesh sensitivity analysis was done which serves as a guide for the elaboration of meshes for the simulation of laminar flow in internal flow in general. The pressure in the flow direction, velocity profile, friction factor and maximum velocity to average velocity ratio were determined. Simulation results are perfectly in agreement with the analytical solution.