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Quickstart Guide: Shardian Aero

This guide describes how to integrate and run an OpenFOAM simulation using the high-performance zonal turbulence model Shardian Aero (libShardianAero.so).

1. Load the Library in OpenFOAM

To use the zonal solver within the standard OpenFOAM workflow, you must instruct the engine to load the Shardian dynamic library.

Open the system/controlDict file of your OpenFOAM case and add the libs directive at the beginning or end of the file:

libs ("libShardianAero.so");

This allows any OpenFOAM solver (such as simpleFoam, pimpleFoam, or rhoSimpleFoam) to access Shardian's zonal turbulence model.

2. Configure the Turbulence Model

You must activate the AdvancedZonalModel within the physical turbulence configuration of your case.

Open constant/turbulenceProperties (or constant/momentumProperties in recent OpenFOAM versions) and configure it as follows:

simulationType RAS;

RAS
{
    // Select Shardian's advanced zonal solver
    RASModel        AdvancedZonalModel;
    turbulence      on;
    printCoeffs     on;
}

3. Prepare Input Fields (Boundary Conditions)

The AdvancedZonalModel calculates and resolves turbulent viscosity using zonal equations. It requires standard input files for \(k-\omega\)-based RANS meshes:

  1. 0/U (Velocity)
  2. 0/p (Pressure)
  3. 0/k (Turbulent Kinetic Energy)
  4. 0/omega (Specific Dissipation Rate)
  5. 0/nut (Turbulent Kinematic Viscosity)

Example Configuration for 0/nut:

Ensure that the boundary condition at the wall (walls) is defined to be calculated dynamically using the wall functions associated with the model:

dimensions      [0 2 -1 0 0 0 0];

internalField   uniform 1e-5;

boundaryField
{
    inlet
    {
        type            calculated;
        value           uniform 1e-5;
    }
    outlet
    {
        type            calculated;
        value           uniform 1e-5;
    }
    walls
    {
        // Use the standard wall function compatible with the model
        type            nutkWallFunction;
        value           uniform 0;
    }
}

4. Run the Simulation

Ensure you have your license key exported in the current session (echo $SHARDIAN_API_KEY) and execute your OpenFOAM solver as usual:

simpleFoam

In the console output, during turbulence initialization, you should see confirmation that Shardian has loaded:

Selecting incompressible transport model Newtonian
Selecting turbulence model type RAS
Selecting RAS turbulence model AdvancedZonalModel

If the simulation runs without aborting after the first time step, it confirms that your license has been validated successfully and the zonal solver is computing the turbulent coupling.