Sod Shock Tube - Simulation Example

Overview

As we discussed in the lesson, a Sod shock tube has numerous practical applications such as the study of high-pressure, high-temperature chemistry, the design of supersonic vehicles and high power lasers, etc. Another very important application of a shock tube is its use in validating computational fluid dynamics codes. In this example, we will study how the flow evolves in a Sod shock tube after the diaphragm is taken off at t=0 s.

Objectives

In this example, you will learn how to simulate the transient flow inside a shock tube using the density-based solver in Ansys Fluent. You will explore the physics of transient normal shock and expansion waves as they move across the tube. You will also learn how to improve the resolution of the traveling shock waves using dynamic grid adaption and improve the solution accuracy.

Setup

Download the Mesh file required for setting up the simulation and associated Case and Data files here. Follow the instructions below to set up this simulation in Ansys Fluent starting with the Mesh file. In case you face any issues setting up or running the simulation, refer to the corresponding initial and final Case and Data files.



Alternate video link.


Results

Let’s now analyze the simulation and understand the physics of transient shocks and expansion waves.