Rida S.N. Mahmudah, Restu Widiatmono, Denny Darmawan
Investigating turbulent natural convection is essential for comprehending heat transfer in confined cavities and enhancing the design and functioning of industrial systems. OpenFOAM, a widely used open-source CFD software, offers a buoyantCavity tutorial case to simulate this phenomenon. However, the simulation often fails to converge and exhibits a relatively high root-mean-square error (RMSE), which could lead to inaccurate usage and hinder further advancements. This research proposes a practical approach to refine the buoyantCavity tutorial. By modifying the convergence criteria, implementing the SIMPLEC algorithm, optimizing the under-relaxation values, and adjusting boundary conditions based on the dimensionless wall distance, y+, the simulation achieved convergence in just 371 steps, and the RMSE was reduced by 73.43%. The methodologies delineated in this study can be employed to enhance turbulent natural convection simulations and may serve as a standard guide for refining other OpenFOAM tutorial cases. ©2023 The Physical Society of Japan.
Physics Study Program, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Jl. Colombo No. 1, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia
