OpenFOAM Installer

In this guide we will setup OpenFOAM for Windows through Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Linux users may follow this guide as well but skip the steps that are related to WSL. MacOS users should look elsewhere.

Step 1: Installing Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

1a) First, follow the official guide to install WSL.

1b) Go to Microsoft Store and install Ubuntu.

1c) Open the Ubuntu App and go through the installation process, e.g. choose WSL Ubuntu username and password. Note that the password remains hidden when you enter it.

1d) When referred to a terminal throughout this guide, open a WSL terminal.

Step 2: Installing Visual Studio Code

2a) First, install the text editor Visual Studio Code.

2b) Associate OpenFOAM files by installing the OpenFOAM extension by Zhikui Guo in the left pane.

2c) Click the OpenFOAM extension and copy the lines:

"files.associations": {
    "*Dict": "OpenFOAM",
    "*Properties": "OpenFOAM",
    "fvSchemes": "OpenFOAM",
    "fvSolution": "OpenFOAM",
    "**/constant/g": "OpenFOAM",
    "**/0/*": "OpenFOAM"
    }

2d) Open the settings.json file by going File -> Preferences -> Settings. Then search for json and edit the settings.json file.

2e) Within this file, add the lines you copied in 2d (leave any content that is already there). Remember to save after you add the lines:

2f) Open a new WSL terminal. In the menu choose Terminal -> New terminal.

2g) In the newly opened terminal, choose the dropdown menu and choose Ubuntu (WSL).

To confirm you opened a WSL terminal a green text should appear:

We should now be ready to install OpenFOAM.

Step 3: Installing OpenFOAM

The following commands should be entered in the WSL terminal that you opened in step 2g.

3a) Open a terminal and add the OpenFOMA repository:

curl https://dl.openfoam.com/add-debian-repo.sh | sudo bash 

sudo apt-get update 

3b) Install the latest version of OpenFOAM

sudo apt-get install openfoam-default

Alternatively, you may choose to install a specific version, e.g.:

sudo apt-get install openfoam2312-default 

Step 4: Set paths for OpenFOAM

The following commands should be entered in the WSL terminal that you opened in step 2g.

4a) Copy/paste the following into the terminal to add a function to your .bash_aliases file:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jakobhaervig/openfoam-installer/main/.bash_aliases -O - >> $HOME/.bash_aliases

4b) Next, source your .bashrc file (or reopen the terminal):

source $HOME/.bashrc

Step 5: Test OpenFOAM installation by running a tutorial

After having done step 1-4 you are now ready to test the installation.

5a) Source OpenFOAM. If you installed the lastest version of OpenFOAM, simply type

of

If you get an output like the following, OpenFOAM has been sourced correctly and you are now ready to start doing simulations:

If you want another version than the latest, you can type (assume you have installed that version in step 3b:

of 2312

5b) Create a directory for our simulation data:

mkdir -p $FOAM_RUN

run

Note, you can see its location by typing:

pwd

5c) Copy a tutorial:

cp -r $FOAM_TUTORIALS/incompressible/simpleFoam/squareBend .

5d) Go to the new folder and run the simulation:

cd squareBend

./Allrun

If you get an output like the following, it means the simulation is running:

When it's done you can find the results in your newly created folder, C:\Users\jakob\openfoam-data (Windows) or /home/jakob/openfoam-data (Linux).