Periodic flow occurs when the physical geometry of interest and the expected pattern of the flow/thermal solution have a periodically repeating nature. Two types of periodic flow can be modeled in Ansys Fluent. In the first type, no pressure drop occurs across the periodic planes. In the second type, a pressure drop occurs across translationally periodic boundaries, resulting in “fully-developed” or “streamwise-periodic” flow.

This section discusses streamwise-periodic flow. A description of no-pressure-drop periodic flow is provided in Periodic Boundary Conditions in the Fluent User's Guide, and a description of streamwise-periodic heat transfer is provided in Modeling Periodic Heat Transfer in the Fluent User's Guide. For more information about setting up periodic flows in Ansys Fluent, see Periodic Flows in the Fluent User's Guide.