Supersonic and compressible
Supersonic and compressible flow in OpenFOAM
Shock-capturing density-based and pressure-based compressible flow with rhoCentralFoam, sonicFoam, rhoSimpleFoam and rhoPimpleFoam.
What it is
Once density varies significantly with pressure, the incompressible assumption fails. Density-based schemes capture shocks; pressure-based compressible solvers suit subsonic and transonic internal flow where shocks are not the point.
What the application sets up
- Compressible thermophysical properties
- Numerical schemes appropriate to shock capturing
- Total-pressure and total-temperature boundary conditions
- Courant control suited to a density-based run
Typical uses
- Nozzle and diffuser design
- Shock structure on a supersonic body
- High-speed valve and relief-line flow
- Transonic internal ducting
Industries
Sectors where this analysis is routinely asked for.
- Aerospace & defence
- Turbomachinery
- Safety relief systems
- Research & academia
What comes out
- Shock positions and angles
- Mach and pressure fields
- Wave drag contribution
- Nozzle thrust and exit conditions
OpenFOAM solvers
rhoCentralFoamsonicFoamrhoSimpleFoamrhoPimpleFoam
Selected and configured for you from the analysis type. You can still see every dictionary the application writes.
In every tier
This analysis type is in the free build. The free tier limits mesh size to 250,000 cells and solving to one core — not which physics you may use.
On accuracy, plainly.
Every analysis type is exercised end to end on every pass — its case is generated, meshed and run — which establishes that the setup is right, not that the answer matches your geometry. No CFD result is evidence until it is checked against something you trust: a measurement, a hand calculation, or a mesh-refinement study the application will run for you. Treat these results with the judgement you would apply to any CFD you set up yourself.