KIVA Visualization

KIVA-3 and KIVA-4 software from the Department of Energy is a block-structured program for engines with vertical or canted valves. KIVA-4, the newest version of the KIVA code, has many new capabilities including parallelization and unstructured mesh simulations. These features present a great potential for efficient computations with complex geometry on high-end cluster systems. However, KIVA-4 has different data structure than previous versions of KIVA. Thus, the EnSight converter also needs to be different. Song-Charng Kong from Iowa State University collaborated with CEI to develop an EnSight converter for this new version of the KIVA code. The following is the zipped file that users can download and insert to KIVA-4 to output files for EnSight post-processing. Download files, EnSight 5 format. An option is provided in the KIVA-3 to output data into EnSight5.

Carbon Monoxide in Internal Combustion Engines . Modeling was done with KIVA-3 by Randy Hessel at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"EnSight visualizations are invaluable in the investigation of fluctuations in the drop concentration. In addition, the visualization of many gas phase properties, such as the fuel vapor mass fraction and the ignition locations, have proven to be very useful in assessing the spray behavior for evaporating and reacting sprays," says Franz Tanner, associate professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Michigan Technological University.

Application Stories
Ting-Ting Zhu, "Explosive Results: Simulating a Four-Stroke Engine Cycle," IEEE Computational Science and Engineering, vol. 02, no. 3,  pp. 4-5,  Fall,  1995

Michigan Tech Uses CFD, Visualization to Help Design Cleaner Diesel Engines

Kettering University Researchers Visualize Environmentally Friendly Combustion Engines

"Using KIVA with EnSight allows us to generate results and visualize them in an efficient and useful format," Bassem Ramadan, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Kettering University says. "We can tailor plots or animations to suit our own preferences and needs."

ERC Uses CFD Visualizations on Quest For Cleaner, More Fuel-Efficient Engines

KIVA-3 simulation of in-cylinder temperature iso-surfaces in a DICI diesel engine at ignition. Courtesy of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

Featured Animations and Images and Other Useful Information

Randy Hessel from University of Wisconsin-Madison ERC Home Page

University of Wisconsin-Madison Engine Research Center Visualization Page

Song-Charng Kong from Iowa State University’s KIVA-4 to EnSight Page

Where can I find more EnSight FAQs?

Knowledge Base

This section below searches the Knowledge Base for information about using EnSight with KIVA: