I am performing a CFD analysis in ANSYS Discovery (2026 R1) for an onion storage system. The setup consists of a cylindrical container with a central ventilation pipe having multiple nozzle outlets. The space between the pipe and the container wall is filled with onions, which I have modeled as a porous medium.
The objective of my study is to evaluate how uniformly air is distributed throughout the entire porous region (onion bed).
Currently, I am using the Flow Uniformity monitor. However, I observe that:
The uniformity value is only calculated on selected surfaces (planes).
Since my geometry is axisymmetric, the uniformity value on a single plane does not fully represent the airflow distribution across the entire container.
My questions are:
- How can I evaluate or represent airflow uniformity across the entire porous volume, rather than just a single plane?
- Is there a way in ANSYS Discovery to obtain a global uniformity metric for a 3D region?
- What is the recommended approach to demonstrate uniform airflow distribution in porous media (e.g., multiple planes, volume statistics, or other metrics)?
- Are there best practices or accepted methods (e.g., coefficient of variation, velocity distribution, or dead zone analysis) to quantify airflow uniformity in such systems?
Additionally, I am comparing different nozzle configurations (number of holes, spacing, and diameter) to identify the best-performing design.
What is the recommended methodology to compare different nozzle patterns quantitatively?
Which parameters should be prioritized (e.g., uniformity index, pressure drop, mass flow distribution, dead zones)?
How can I ensure a fair and consistent comparison between designs?
Any guidance on correct methodology or post-processing techniques would be very helpful.
Thank you.
