Release Notes for CastNet 3.1
The update for CastNet basically had the aim to support OpenFOAM 2.3 for the ESI version
and the BlueCFD version. More functionally extensions for OpenFOAM and CalculiX are
planned for the next release.
The user can select the version as usual in
the “General models”.
The update covers all solvers except the
twoPhaseEulerFoam.
The
twoPhaseEulerFoam received a complete
different setup in OF 2.3. Therefore it is
rather likely that more changes in the solvers
syntax will follow. For this reason we decided
to wait until the definition of the case setup is
stable.
Significant changes occur in the setup of multiphase solvers (free surfaces, VOF). Here
changes have been conducted in the field definition for the phases and the solver settings.
Some settings for the alpha in the PIMPLE-entry have been moved to the solver settings
(new alpha-solver in OF 2.3). For compatibility reason the user has still to define these
settings (alpha subcycles etc.) in the PIMPLE settings in CastNet.
Beside this many smaller changes had to be conducted for
SnappyHexMesh (e.g. edge-resolution)
Pressure treatment for solvers with “g” (buoyantPressure-BC no longer available)
Particle tracking (needs stochasticCollisionModel entry)
…
CastNet-Changes


The usage of cell zones has been strongly improved in CastNet 3.1: In general
OpenFOAM does not allow that a single cell belongs to more than one cellZone. This
may cause issues if the user would like to define partial overlapping zones, e.g. a flow
resistance for pressure loss with partially including a heat exchanger zone. CastNet
will handle this issue internally and break the overlapping regions into more regions
during the execution of the pre-script. So the user does not need to take care of this
restriction in OpenFOAM.
Furthermore a heat exchanger zone can be defined. This zone needs an additional
effectiveness table which can be defined in the cell-Zone. Furthermore an inflow face







has to be defined for the mass flow calculation into the heat exchanger. For the inflow
face a “general face set” at the entry of the zone has to be defined. This zone can be
referenced in the heat exchanger definition. There is new example showing the
new features for region definition (advanced tutorial 4). It is strongly
recommended to take a look at this tutorial.
The “timeStart” and “duration” options are available in the region settings
All zones (heat exchanger, porous, MRF) can be used for CHT cases now.
Furthermore some improvement have been implemented in the RunGui-scheme
optimizer
SonicFoam is better supported with better boundary conditions for compressible flow
and a special template
New and better sorted templates are available
New tutorials for 2d case, particle modelling and AMI cases are available (user area
and CastNet release). These tutorials cover additional functionality for meshing and
OpenFOAM settings compared to the base tutorials and it is recommended to take a
look at them.
Minor improvements:
o Support of porous zones with cylindrical coordinates
o Jayatikelle Wallfunction
o Total temperature for compressible flows
o Support of “symmetry” and “symmetryPlane” boundary conditions