EOF-Library

Libraries for coupling Elmer FEM and OpenFOAM + test cases. For detailed information how this software works check our article:

Juris Vencels, Peter Råback, Vadims Geža, EOF-Library: Open-source Elmer FEM and OpenFOAM coupler for electromagnetics and fluid dynamics, SoftwareX, Volume 9, 2019, Pages 68-72, ISSN 2352-7110, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2019.01.007.

About

This software is maintained by Juris Vencels from University of Latvia in cooperation with CSC - IT Center for Science Ltd. (Finland).

Software improvements and suggestions are very welcome.
If you find this software useful then drop me a message, we could promote each other work.
The best way to support development of this library is buying consulting services.
GPL v3 license allows commercial use of this software.

Introduction

We use EOF-Library for solving magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) problems, e.g., electromagnetic induction melting, stirring, levitation and other cases where metals interact with electromagnetic fields.

Other users have found it useful for plasma physics, convective cooling of electrical devices and other applications. EOF-Library allows coupling internal fields between almost any Elmer and OpenFOAM solvers.

Requirements

Both Elmer and OpenFOAM must use the same OpenMPI version!

How to

There are two options to install and use this software:

Docker install (best for beginners and running on clouds) - Linux, Windows, MacOS
Complete install (best for developers and advanced users) - Linux

Performance-wise these two options are comparable. Docker installation comes with OpenFOAM and Elmer installed, and environment is set. This is preferred option for most users and for running simulations on multiple computers or cloud.

On the other hand complete installation gives users more flexibility, it is preferred option for developers who want to work on their own solvers or have full control over software and its source code.

1. Docker

First, you will need to install docker on your OS:

Ubuntu/Linux (preferred) - https://docs.docker.com/install/linux/docker-ce/ubuntu/
Windows - https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/install/ https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/install/
MacOS - https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/install/

Then, follow commands below to install the software & run demo simulation.

Create an empty folder

mkdir runs
cd runs

Run Docker image and bind mount current host system folder ${PWD} to newly created EOF-Library/runs folder

docker run --rm -it -e HOST_USER_ID=$(id -u) -e HOST_USER_GID=$(id -g) -v ${PWD}:/home/openfoam/EOF-Library/runs eoflibrary/eof_elmer84_of6:latest

Update EOF-Library and compile it

eofUpdate

Compile OpenFOAM solver

cd EOF-Library
wmake solvers/mhdInterFoam6

Copy test simulation

cp -r tests/levitation2D runs

Prepare case

cd runs/levitation2D
setFields
decomposePar
ElmerGrid 2 2 meshElmer -metis 2

Run simulation on 2 physical cores:

mpirun -n 2 mhdInterFoam -parallel : -n 2 ElmerSolver_mpi case.sif

Simulation results will appear in host system runs folder

2. Manual installation

Get git, cmake, gfortran, blas and lapack.

sudo apt-get install git cmake gfortran libblas-dev liblapack-dev

Download OpenFOAM 6.0 source code, configure and compile it (https://openfoam.org/download/6-source/)
Download Elmer from developers repo (https://github.com/ElmerCSC/elmerfem).
Configure and compile Elmer with -DWITH_MPI=TRUE by following these steps (https://www.csc.fi/web/elmer/sources-and-compilation). In short .., we create build folder and call CMake from this folder:

cmake -DWITH_MPI=TRUE -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=../mpi-install ../elmerfem
make -j install

Download EOF-Library:

git clone https://github.com/jvencels/EOF-Library

Update environment

. EOF-Library/etc/bashrc

Check the MPI implementation and version (it is important that Elmer and OpenFOAM was compiled with the same version!)

which mpirun
mpirun --version

Compile EOF-Library

eofCompile

Colmpile OpenFOAM solver

cd EOF-Library/solvers/mhdInterFoam
wmake

Copy test

cd ../..
mkdir runs
cd runs
cp -r ../tests/levitation2D .

Prepare test

cd levitation2D
setFields
decomposePar
ElmerGrid 2 2 meshElmer -metis 2

Run OpenFOAM on 2 processes and Elmer on 2 processes

mpirun -np 2 mhdInterFoam -parallel : -np 2 ElmerSolver_mpi