Learning Forum

[Dino]

Hello,

I have a container with metal sides except for the top one. The top is covered by a tarp. Due to the fact that the tarp is not 100% tight, it billows because of the wind. This billowing cause the gas inside the container to escape with time. 

What is the best way to simulate the lose in gas because of that billowing effect that caused by wind?

Fluid-Structure-Interaction or is it possible to use dynamic mesh for this problem to capture the tarp movement and the gas lose as a result? any ideas, please?  

I'd appreciate your help. 

Thank you,

[Dino]

Any help please?

[Karthik R]

Hello Dino,

You can use Fluid - Structure interaction if you want to model the movement / deformation of the tarp due to the motion of wind. You have to solve the air flow (external) and estimate the forces on the tarp due to the this flow. You should be able to do this using a FSI mode. You could either use one or two way coupling depending on the complexity of your model set-up. If you decide that the deformation due to the tarp is going to impact the fluid flow, I recommend you use a two-way coupling. I'd strongly recommend that you start with a one-way coupling and move to two-way later. I have attached two videos which should help you understand the set-up.

About modeling the gas leakage, you can first treat this gas as air. This way you will have simplified the problem by avoiding using two fluids in your simulation. Once you obtain some satisfactory results, you can try and change this fluid. I'd recommend you use a 2D approximation first before testing out a 3D case. I'd also recommend that you conduct a brief literature review. You might be able to find a simpler model to start with.

I hope this provides you with a starting point.

Thank you.

Best Regards,

Karthik 

[Raef.Kobeissi]

Fluid - solid interface is what you need to use (system coupling). Please have a look at this tutorial: