openfoam-skills

Generate, review, debug, and recover OpenFOAM case files for CFD workflows. Use when working with OpenFOAM dictionaries, case structure, turbulence fields, boundary conditions, decomposition, numerics, or OpenFOAM runtime errors.

HPC OpenFOAM

Follow a progressive loading workflow.

Start

1. Read references/case-setup.md before creating or editing any OpenFOAM case.
2. Read references/solver-selection.md when selecting a solver family or pressure convention.
3. Read references/boundary-condition-playbook.md when mapping physical boundaries to field files.
4. Read references/turbulence-bc-recipes.md when selecting turbulence models, wall treatment, or near-wall fields.
5. Read references/turbulence-and-numerics.md when choosing schemes, algorithm controls, turbulence models, or decomposition.
6. Read references/case-recipes.md when assembling a canonical internal-flow, external-aero, or free-surface case.
7. Read references/function-object-recipes.md when instrumenting a case with forces, probes, or solver diagnostics.
8. Read references/validation-parallel-and-observability.md when validating, instrumenting, or post-processing a case.
9. Read references/cluster-execution-playbook.md when staging an OpenFOAM case for scheduler-backed cluster execution.
10. Read references/error-recovery.md when a log contains crashes, divergence, or bounded-field warnings.

Work sequence

1. Classify the case first: steady or transient, incompressible or compressible, single-phase or multiphase, laminar or turbulent.
2. Generate the minimum consistent file set across 0/, constant/, and system/. Do not edit one layer in isolation if it changes the required fields elsewhere.
3. Match solver family and fields:
   • simpleFoam: steady incompressible RANS; expect U, p, and turbulence fields if RAS.
   • pimpleFoam: transient incompressible; review timestep control and outer correctors.
   • interFoam: multiphase; control both maxCo and maxAlphaCo.
4. Validate mesh and numerics before a long run:
   • run blockMesh or the mesh generator
   • run checkMesh
   • refuse to keep orthogonal-only schemes on poor-quality meshes
5. Keep parallel settings aligned:
   • make numberOfSubdomains match the intended MPI rank count
   • prefer scotch for complex geometries unless the user requests a manual layout

Guardrails

• Do not invent dictionary keys, patch types, or solver names.
• Do not use turbulence fields that do not match the chosen model family.
• Do not keep aggressive second-order convection schemes during first-pass stabilization on a fragile case.
• Do not treat checkMesh warnings as optional if the log is already diverging.

Additional References

Load these on demand:

• references/mesh-and-blockmeshdict-manual.md for mesh generation, vertex ordering, and mesh-quality workflow
• references/heat-transfer-and-compressible-cases.md for thermophysical, buoyant, and compressible setups
• references/fvsolution-and-residual-control.md for algorithm loops, solver blocks, and case termination logic
• references/field-and-dictionary-matrix.md for solver-to-field and file-to-parameter matrices
• references/cluster-execution-playbook.md for decomposition, solver launch, reconstruction, and restart sequencing on clusters

Reusable Templates

Use assets/templates/ when a concrete case skeleton is needed, especially:

• simplefoam-minimal/ for a minimal steady incompressible case
• interfoam-minimal/ for a minimal two-phase transient case
• openfoam-parallel-slurm.sh for a minimal scheduled parallel run scaffold

Outputs

Produce a short case summary that states:

• solver and physics family
• required fields and dictionaries touched
• validation commands run or still needed
• stability risks and the next recovery step if the case is failing