Problems that involve multiple moving parts cannot be modeled with the Single Reference Frame approach. For these problems, you must break up the model into multiple fluid/solid cell zones, with interface boundaries separating the zones. Zones that contain the moving components can then be solved using the moving reference frame equations (Equations for a Moving Reference Frame), whereas stationary zones can be solved with the stationary frame equations. The manner in which the equations are treated at the interface lead to two approaches that are supported in Ansys Fluent:

Both the MRF and mixing plane approaches are steady-state approximations, and differ primarily in the manner in which conditions at the interfaces are treated. These approaches will be discussed in the sections below. The sliding mesh model approach is, on the other hand, inherently unsteady due to the motion of the mesh with time. This approach is discussed in Flows Using Sliding and Dynamic Meshes.