In the current post, we will be focusing on introducing XFlow CFD by demonstrating an aerodynamic effect primarily observable in spheres or cylinders following certain trajectories while spinning at the same time.
This effect is known as the Magnus effect, associated with spinning objects. A sphere for example travelling through mid-air while spinning at the same time , will drag air faster around one of its sides. This will consequently create a pressure gradient between the sides of the sphere, thus creating a lift force that will alter the sphere’s trajectory compared to a case with no spin. The lift force generated is equivalent to that of an airfoil, only the origin of the necessary air recirculation around the body is by mechanical rotation (the spin) and not by aerodynamic design ( the airfoil).
XFlow is a next generation CFD software based on the Lattice-boltzmann method designed for a broad range of computational fluid dynamics simulations. XFlow’s latest release supports coupling with Abaqus for performing fluid structure interaction analyses.
The Magnus effect will be demonstrated with a spinning football analysis in XFlow.