New Input File Syntax

There is a new input file syntax for Aither now in use in the develop branch of the code. This syntax makes it easy to specify initial conditions by grid block, and boundary conditions by boundary condtion tag. This is a huge upgrade in usability as it now allows for problems such as Sod’s shock tube to be simulated. It also allows for easy implementation of various viscousWall boundary conditions such as adiabatic, isothermal, and constant heat flux. The new input file syntax is based off of three new objects (vectors, lists, & states) which will be discussed in detail below.

Vectors

Vectors are now input in a comma separated list enclosed in brackets like below. Vectors must be defined entirely on one line in the input file.

velocityRef: [1.0, 0.0, 0.0]


Valid vector inputs have three components. If three components are not specified, Aither will throw and error. Vector inputs are now used wherever vector quantities are needed such as for velocity (above), or specifiying a direction as is done with the stagnationInlet boundary condition.

States

States are a group of properties that apply to an initial condition state or a boundary condtion state. States are identified by name, enclosed in parenthesis, and individual properties within a state are assigned with the equals operator and separated by semicolons. States must be defined entirely on one line in the input file. Below is an example of icState which is used to specify a flow state for initial condtions.

icState(tag=0; pressure=101325; density=1.225; velocity=[100, 0, 0])


The supported properties depend on the type of state. There are optional turbulence properities tubulenceIntensity and eddyViscosityRatio that may be specified for states used for inflow boundary conditions or icState. If either of the optional turbulence properties are specified, both must be specified. For icState the tag property is special. It refers to the block number in which the icState will be applied. A value of -1 functions as the default state in the event that there is not an icState with a tag pointing to a given block. An explicity specified tag takes precedence over the default state. For example for a four block grid with two icStates defined, one with a tag of -1, and another with a tag of 0, blocks 1-3 will use the default icState with tag -1, and block 0 will use the icState with the tag of 0.

In addition to initial conditions, states are used for boundary conditions that may require additional information. An example of each such boundary condition is shown below. For boundary conditions, the tag property in each state refers to the boundary surface tag that is specified in the boundary condition definition.

Inflow boundary conditions. These may optionally specify the turbulence properties.

characteristic(tag=0; pressure=101325; density=1.225; velocity=[100, 0, 0])

stagnationInlet(tag=0; p0=101325; t0=300; direction=[1, 0, 0])

supersonicInflow(tag=0; pressure=101325; density=1.225; velocity=[100, 0, 0])

subsonicInflow(tag=0; density=1.225; velocity=[100, 0, 0])


Outflow boundary conditions.

pressureOutlet(tag=0; pressure=101325)

subsonicOutflow(tag=0; pressure=101325)


Wall boundary condtions. One of heatFlux or temperature may be specified. The default behavior is zero velocity and zero heat flux which corresponds to a stationary adiabatic wall.

viscousWall(tag=0; heatFlux=100)

viscousWall(tag=0; temperature=400)

viscousWall(tag=0; velocity=[10, 0, 0])


Lists

Lists are a comma separated group of properties that are enclosed in angle brackets. Lists may be specified across multiple lines. Lists are most commonly used to specify the variables to output, the initial condition states, and the boundary condition states. Examples are shown below.

outputVariables: <density, vel_x, vel_y, vel_z, pressure, temperature, mach>

initialConditions: <icState(tag=0; pressure=101325; density=1.225; velocity=[0, 0, 0]),
icState(tag=1; pressure=10132.5; density=0.153125; velocity=[0, 0, 0])>

boundaryStates: <characteristic(tag=0; pressure=101325; density=1.225; velocity=[100, 0, 0]),
viscousWall(tag=1; velocity=[10, 0, 0])>


Summary

The new input syntax in Aither is more intuitive and now allows for a wider variety of problems to easily be simulated. All of the test cases in the develop branch have been updated to support this new syntax. Grab the develop branch from Github and try it out today. This will be merging into the master branch shortly.