ANSYS Fluent in ANSYS Workbench User's

Guide

ANSYS, Inc. Release 17.2

Southpointe August 2016
2600 ANSYS Drive
Canonsburg, PA 15317 ANSYS, Inc. is
[email protected] certified to ISO
9001:2008.
http://www.ansys.com
(T) 724-746-3304
(F) 724-514-9494
Copyright and Trademark Information

© 2016 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

ANSYS, ANSYS Workbench, Ansoft, AUTODYN, EKM, Engineering Knowledge Manager, CFX, FLUENT, HFSS, AIM
and any and all ANSYS, Inc. brand, product, service and feature names, logos and slogans are registered trademarks
or trademarks of ANSYS, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. ICEM CFD is a trademark
used by ANSYS, Inc. under license. CFX is a trademark of Sony Corporation in Japan. All other brand, product,
service and feature names or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Disclaimer Notice

THIS ANSYS SOFTWARE PRODUCT AND PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION INCLUDE TRADE SECRETS AND ARE CONFID-
ENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY PRODUCTS OF ANSYS, INC., ITS SUBSIDIARIES, OR LICENSORS. The software products
and documentation are furnished by ANSYS, Inc., its subsidiaries, or affiliates under a software license agreement
that contains provisions concerning non-disclosure, copying, length and nature of use, compliance with exporting
laws, warranties, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and remedies, and other provisions. The software products
and documentation may be used, disclosed, transferred, or copied only in accordance with the terms and conditions
of that software license agreement.

ANSYS, Inc. is certified to ISO 9001:2008.

U.S. Government Rights

For U.S. Government users, except as specifically granted by the ANSYS, Inc. software license agreement, the use,
duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions stated in the ANSYS, Inc.
software license agreement and FAR 12.212 (for non-DOD licenses).

Third-Party Software

See the legal information in the product help files for the complete Legal Notice for ANSYS proprietary software
and third-party software. If you are unable to access the Legal Notice, Contact ANSYS, Inc.

Published in the U.S.A.

Table of Contents
Using This Manual ........................................................................................................................................ ix
1. The Contents of This Manual ............................................................................................................... ix
2. The Contents of the Fluent Manuals .................................................................................................... ix
3. Typographical Conventions ................................................................................................................. xi
4. Technical Support ............................................................................................................................. xiii
1. Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench ............................................................................................. 1
1.1. Introduction to Workbench ............................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1. Limitations ............................................................................................................................... 2
1.2. The Workbench Graphical User Interface ........................................................................................... 2
1.3. Creating Fluent-Based Systems ......................................................................................................... 4
1.3.1. Fluent-Based Analysis Systems ................................................................................................. 4
1.3.2. Fluent-Based Component Systems ........................................................................................... 6
1.4. Understanding Cell States with Fluent in Workbench ......................................................................... 8
1.5. Starting Fluent in Workbench ............................................................................................................ 9
1.5.1. Starting Fluent from a Fluent-Based System .............................................................................. 9
1.5.2. Specifying Fluent Launcher Settings Within Workbench .......................................................... 10
1.5.2.1. Specifying Fluent Launcher Settings Using Cell Properties .............................................. 11
1.5.2.2. Copying Fluent Launcher Property Settings ................................................................... 16
1.5.3. Specifying Other Setup and Solution Cell Settings .................................................................. 16
1.6. Registering and Unregistering Startup Scheme Files ........................................................................ 17
1.7. Saving Your Work in Fluent with Workbench .................................................................................... 18
1.8. Exiting Fluent and Workbench ......................................................................................................... 18
1.9. An Example of a Fluent Analysis in Workbench ................................................................................ 19
1.10. Getting Help for Fluent in Workbench ............................................................................................ 22
2. Working With Fluent in Workbench ...................................................................................................... 25
2.1. Importing Fluent files in Workbench ................................................................................................ 25
2.1.1. Importing files from Workbench Project Schematic ............................................................... 25
2.1.1.1. Importing Mesh and Case Files ....................................................................................... 26
2.1.1.2. Importing Solution Files ................................................................................................. 27
2.1.1.2.1. Importing Fluent Solution Files for the Purpose of Initialization .............................. 27
2.1.1.2.2. Importing Data Files as Final Results ...................................................................... 29
2.1.1.3. Importing Case and Data Files ........................................................................................ 30
2.1.2. Importing Files Directly in Fluent ............................................................................................ 31
2.2. Using the Update Command ........................................................................................................... 31
2.3. Refreshing Fluent Input Data ........................................................................................................... 35
2.4. Reloading Data and Synchronizing Fluent with Workbench ............................................................. 36
2.5. Deleting Solution and Setup Cell Data for Fluent-Based Systems ...................................................... 36
2.5.1. Using the Clear Generated Data Command ............................................................................. 36
2.5.2. Using the Reset Command from the Setup and Solution Cells of Fluent-Based Systems ............ 37
2.5.3. Using the Clear Old Solution Data Command from the Solution Cells of Fluent-Based Sys-
tems ............................................................................................................................................... 37
2.6. Interrupting, Restarting, and Continuing a Calculation ..................................................................... 37
2.6.1. Interrupting a Calculation ....................................................................................................... 38
2.6.2. Continuing and Restarting a Calculation ................................................................................. 38
2.6.3. Recovering Case and Data Files after an Unexpected Interruption ........................................... 39
2.7. Monitoring Fluent Solutions in Workbench ...................................................................................... 39
2.8. Generating Fluent Project Reports ................................................................................................... 43
2.9. Connecting Systems in Workbench ................................................................................................. 44
2.9.1. Connecting Multiple Upstream Meshes to a Setup Cell of a Fluent-Based System ..................... 46

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. v
Fluent in Workbench User's Guide

2.9.2. Connecting Systems by Dragging and Dropping a System from the Toolbox onto Another
System ........................................................................................................................................... 46
2.9.3. Connecting Systems By Dragging and Dropping Fluent-Based Solution Cells Onto Other Sys-
tems ............................................................................................................................................... 49
2.10. Duplicating Fluent-Based Systems ................................................................................................. 50
2.11. Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh Incompatibility in Fluent ............... 51
2.12. Changing the Settings and Mesh in Fluent ..................................................................................... 56
2.12.1. Changing Case and Mesh Settings Before Beginning a Calculation ........................................ 56
2.12.2. Changing Case and Mesh Settings After a Calculation Has Started ......................................... 58
2.13. Case Modification Strategies with Fluent and Workbench .............................................................. 61
2.14. Working With Input and Output Parameters in Workbench ............................................................ 63
2.15. Viewing Your Fluent Data Using ANSYS CFD-Post ........................................................................... 64
2.16. Understanding the File Structure for Fluent in Workbench ............................................................. 66
2.16.1. Fluent File Naming in Workbench ......................................................................................... 70
2.17. Working with ANSYS Licensing ...................................................................................................... 71
2.17.1. Shared Licensing Mode ........................................................................................................ 71
2.18. Using Fluent With the Remote Solve Manager (RSM) ...................................................................... 71
2.19. Using Custom Systems .................................................................................................................. 71
2.20. Using Journaling and Scripting with Fluent in Workbench .............................................................. 72
2.21. Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench ............................................ 73
2.21.1. Supported Capabilities and Limitations ................................................................................ 73
2.21.2. Variables Available for System Coupling ................................................................................ 75
2.21.2.1. Force transferred to System Coupling from a Wall Boundary ......................................... 76
2.21.2.2. Force transferred to System Coupling from a Porous Jump Boundary ............................ 76
2.21.2.3. Displacement transferred from System Coupling .......................................................... 77
2.21.2.4. Displacement transferred from System Coupling to a Sliding Mesh Zone ...................... 78
2.21.2.5. Absolute Pressure Example .......................................................................................... 78
2.21.3. System Coupling Related Settings in Fluent .......................................................................... 79
2.21.4. How Fluent’s Execution is Affected by System Couplings ....................................................... 80
2.21.5. Restarting Fluent Analyses as Part of System Couplings ......................................................... 80
2.21.5.1. Generating Fluent Restart Files ..................................................................................... 80
2.21.5.2. Specify a Restart Point in Fluent ................................................................................... 80
2.21.5.3. Making Changes in Fluent Before Restarting ................................................................ 81
2.21.5.4. Recovering the Fluent Restart Point after a Workbench Crash ....................................... 81
2.21.6. System Coupling case with Fluent using Patched Data .......................................................... 82
2.21.7. Running Fluent as a System Coupling Participant from the Command Line ............................ 82
2.21.8. Troubleshooting Two-Way Coupled Analysis Problems .......................................................... 83
2.21.9. Product Licensing Considerations when using System Coupling ............................................ 83
2.22. Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench ................................................................... 84
2.22.1. One–Way Coupling Between Ansoft and Fluent Within Workbench ....................................... 85
2.22.2. Two–Way Coupling Between Ansoft and Fluent Within Workbench ....................................... 86
2.22.3. Handling Coupling Iterations Between Ansoft and Fluent ...................................................... 88
3. Getting Started with Fluent Meshing in Workbench ............................................................................ 91
3.1. Limitations ..................................................................................................................................... 91
3.2. Starting Fluent (in Meshing Mode or Solution Mode) in Workbench ................................................. 91
3.3. Saving Your Work in Fluent Meshing with Workbench ...................................................................... 93
3.4. Exiting Fluent Meshing and Workbench .......................................................................................... 93
3.5. An Example of a Fluent Meshing Analysis in Workbench .................................................................. 93
3.6. Using Parallel Fluent Meshing ......................................................................................................... 95
3.7. Connecting to Upstream Geometry ................................................................................................. 95
3.8. Using a Journal File for the Mesh Cell .............................................................................................. 97
3.9. Using a Journal File to Parameterize Fluent Meshing Inputs ............................................................. 97

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
vi of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Fluent in Workbench User's Guide

3.10. Getting Help for Fluent Meshing in Workbench .............................................................................. 99

A. The Fluent Ribbon Tab Under Workbench .............................................................................................. 101
A.1. File/Refresh Input Data ............................................................................................................... 101
A.2. File/Recorded Mesh Operations... .............................................................................................. 101
A.3. File/Save Project ......................................................................................................................... 101
A.4. File/Reload .................................................................................................................................. 101
A.5. File/Sync Workbench .................................................................................................................. 102
A.6. File/Import/Mesh... ..................................................................................................................... 102
A.7. File/Import/Case... ...................................................................................................................... 102
A.8. File/Import/Data... ...................................................................................................................... 102
A.9. File/Import/Case and Data... ....................................................................................................... 102
A.10. File/Export/... ............................................................................................................................ 102
A.11. File/EM Mapping/Volumetric Energy Source... .............................................................................. 103
A.11.1. Maxwell Mapping Volumetric Dialog Box ............................................................................ 103
A.12. File/EM Mapping/Surface Energy Source... ................................................................................... 104
A.12.1. Maxwell Mapping Surface Dialog Box ................................................................................. 104
A.13. File/Close Without Save ............................................................................................................ 105
B. The Fluent Meshing Menu under Workbench ......................................................................................... 107
B.1. File/Refresh Input Data ............................................................................................................... 107
B.2. File/Save Project ......................................................................................................................... 107
B.3. File/Import .................................................................................................................................. 107
B.4. File/Export .................................................................................................................................. 107
C. The Workbench Tools Toolbar Commands ............................................................................................ 109
Index ........................................................................................................................................................ 113

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. vii
 Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
viii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Using This Manual
This preface is divided into the following sections:
1.The Contents of This Manual
2.The Contents of the Fluent Manuals
3.Typographical Conventions
4.Technical Support

1. The Contents of This Manual

This document provides information about using the Fluent application within Workbench.

A brief description of what is in each chapter follows:

• Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench (p. 1), describes an overview of Fluent within Workbench.

• Working With Fluent in Workbench (p. 25), describes the details of using Fluent within Workbench.

• Appendix A (p. 101), describes the differences in the Fluent File ribbon tab within Workbench.

• Appendix B (p. 107), describes the differences in the Fluent Meshing File menu within Workbench.

• Appendix C (p. 109), describes the Workbench Tools toolbar that is available in Fluent when running within
Workbench.

2. The Contents of the Fluent Manuals

The manuals listed below form the Fluent product documentation set. They include descriptions of the
procedures, commands, and theoretical details needed to use Fluent products.

• Fluent Getting Started Guide contains general information about getting started with using
Fluent and provides details about starting, running, and exiting the program.

• Fluent Migration Manual contains information about transitioning from the previous release of Fluent,
including details about new features, output changes, and text command list changes.

• Fluent User's Guide contains detailed information about running a simulation using the solution
mode of Fluent, including information about the user interface, reading and writing files, defining
boundary conditions, setting up physical models, calculating a solution, and analyzing your results.

• ANSYS Fluent Meshing Migration Manual contains information about transitioning from the previous
release of Fluent Meshing, including descriptions of new features and text command list changes.

• ANSYS Fluent Meshing User's Guide contains detailed information about creating 3D meshes
using the meshing mode of Fluent.

Related video help can be found on the ANSYS How To Videos page.

• Fluent in Workbench User's Guide contains information about getting started with and using Fluent
within the Workbench environment.

• Fluent Theory Guide contains reference information for how the physical models are implemented in
Fluent.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. ix
Using This Manual

• Fluent Customization Manual contains information about writing and using user-defined functions
(UDFs).

• Fluent Tutorial Guide contains a number of examples of various flow problems with detailed instructions,
commentary, and postprocessing of results.

The ANSYS Fluent tutorials were last updated for Release 17.0, and are available on the ANSYS
Customer Portal. To access tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to
http://support.ansys.com/training.

• The ANSYS Fluent Meshing tutorials were last updated for Release 17.0, and are available on the
ANSYS Customer Portal. To access tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer Portal,
go to http://support.ansys.com/training.

• Fluent Text Command List contains a brief description of each of the commands in Fluent’s solution
mode text interface.

• ANSYS Fluent Meshing Text Command List contains a brief description of each of the commands in
Fluent’s meshing mode text interface.

• ANSYS Fluent Advanced Add-On Modules contains information about the usage of the different advanced
Fluent add-on modules, which are applicable for specific modeling needs.

– Part I: ANSYS Fluent Adjoint Solver contains information about the background and usage of Fluent's
Adjoint Solver Module that allows you to obtain detailed sensitivity data for the performance of a
fluid system.

– Part II: ANSYS Fluent Battery Module contains information about the background and usage of Fluent's
Battery Module that allows you to analyze the behavior of electric batteries.

– Part III: ANSYS Fluent Continuous Fiber Module contains information about the background and usage
of Fluent's Continuous Fiber Module that allows you to analyze the behavior of fiber flow, fiber
properties, and coupling between fibers and the surrounding fluid due to the strong interaction that
exists between the fibers and the surrounding gas.

– Part V: ANSYS Fluent Fuel Cell Modules contains information about the background and the usage
of two separate add-on fuel cell models for Fluent that allow you to model polymer electrolyte
membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), and electrolysis with Fluent.

– Part VI: ANSYS Fluent Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Module contains information about the back-
ground and usage of Fluent's Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Module that allows you to analyze the
behavior of electrically conducting fluid flow under the influence of constant (DC) or oscillating (AC)
electromagnetic fields.

– Part VII: ANSYS Fluent Population Balance Module contains information about the background and
usage of Fluent's Population Balance Module that allows you to analyze multiphase flows involving
size distributions where particle population (as well as momentum, mass, and energy) require a balance
equation.

• Fluent as a Server User's Guide contains information about the usage of Fluent as a Server which allows
you to connect to a Fluent session and issue commands from a remote client application.

• Running ANSYS Fluent Using a Load Manager contains information about using third-party load managers
with ANSYS Fluent.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
x of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Typographical Conventions

– Part I: Running ANSYS Fluent Under LSF contains information about using Fluent with Platform
Computing’s LSF software, a distributed computing resource management tool.

– Part II: Running ANSYS Fluent Under PBS Professional contains information about using Fluent with
Altair PBS Professional, an open workload management tool for local and distributed environments.

– Part III: Running ANSYS Fluent Under SGE contains information about using Fluent with Univa Grid
Engine (formerly Sun Grid Engine) software, a distributed computing resource management tool.

3. Typographical Conventions
Several typographical conventions are used in this manual’s text to help you find commands in the
user interface.

• Different type styles are used to indicate graphical user interface items and text interface items. For
example:

Iso-Surface dialog box

surface/iso-surface text command

• The text interface type style is also used when illustrating exactly what appears on the screen to distin-
guish it from the narrative text. In this context, user inputs are typically shown in boldface. For example,
solve/initialize/set-fmg-initialization

Customize your FMG initialization:

set the number of multigrid levels [5]

set FMG parameters on levels ..

residual reduction on level 1 is: [0.001]

number of cycles on level 1 is: [10] 100

residual reduction on level 2 is: [0.001]

number of cycles on level 2 is: [50] 100

• Mini flow charts are used to guide you through the ribbon or the tree, leading you to a specific option,
dialog box, or task page. The following tables list the meaning of each symbol in the mini flow charts.

Table 1: Mini Flow Chart Symbol Descriptions

Symbol Indicated Action

Look at the ribbon

Look at the tree

Left-click to open task page

Select from task page

Right-click the preceding item

For example,

Setting Up Domain → Mesh → Reorder → Domain

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xi
Using This Manual

Indicates selecting the Setting Up Domain ribbon tab, clicking Reorder (in the Mesh group
box) and selecting Domain, as indicated in the figure below:

Setup → Models → Viscous Model → Realizable k-epsilon

Indicates expanding the Setup and Models branches, right-clicking Viscous, and selecting
Realizable k-epsilon from the Model sub-menu, as shown in the following figure:

And

Setup → Boundary Conditions → wall-bottom

Indicates opening the task page as shown below:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
xii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Technical Support

In this manual, mini flow charts usually accompany a description of a dialog box or command,
or a screen illustration showing how to use the dialog box or command. They show you how to
quickly access a command or dialog box without having to search the surrounding material.

• In-text references to File ribbon tab selections can be indicated using a “/”. For example
File/Write/Case... indicates clicking the File ribbon tab and selecting Case... from the Write submenu
(which opens the Select File dialog box).

4. Technical Support
If you encounter difficulties while using ANSYS Fluent, please first refer to the section(s) of the manual
containing information on the commands you are trying to use or the type of problem you are trying
to solve. The product documentation is available from the online help, or from the ANSYS Customer
Portal. To access documentation files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to http://support.ansys.com/
documentation.

If you encounter an error, please write down the exact error message that appeared and note as much
information as you can about what you were doing in ANSYS Fluent.

Technical Support for ANSYS, Inc. products is provided either by ANSYS, Inc. directly or by one of our
certified ANSYS Support Providers. Please check with the ANSYS Support Coordinator (ASC) at your
company to determine who provides support for your company, or go to www.ansys.com and select
Contacts> Contacts and Locations.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xiii
Using This Manual

If your support is provided by ANSYS, Inc. directly, Technical Support can be accessed quickly and effi-
ciently from the ANSYS Customer Portal, which is available from the ANSYS Website (www.ansys.com)
under Support > Customer Portal. The direct URL is: support.ansys.com.

One of the many useful features of the Customer Portal is the Knowledge Resources Search, which can
be found on the Home page of the Customer Portal. To use this feature, enter relevant text (error
message, etc.) in the Knowledge Resources Search box and click the magnifying glass icon. These
Knowledge Resources provide solutions and guidance on how to resolve installation and licensing issues
quickly.

NORTH AMERICA
All ANSYS Products except Esterel, Apache and Reaction Design products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
Toll-Free Telephone: 1.800.711.7199 (Please have your Customer or Contact ID ready.)
Support for University customers is provided only through the ANSYS Customer Portal.

GERMANY
ANSYS Mechanical Products
Telephone: +49 (0) 8092 7005-55 (CADFEM)
Email: [email protected]
All ANSYS Products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
National Toll-Free Telephone: (Please have your Customer or Contact ID ready.)
German language: 0800 181 8499
English language: 0800 181 1565
Austria: 0800 297 835
Switzerland: 0800 564 318
International Telephone: (Please have your Customer or Contact ID ready.)
German language: +49 6151 152 9981
English language: +49 6151 152 9982
Email: [email protected]

UNITED KINGDOM
All ANSYS Products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
Telephone: Please have your Customer or Contact ID ready.
UK: 0800 048 0462
Republic of Ireland: 1800 065 6642
Outside UK: +44 1235 420130
Email: [email protected]
Support for University customers is provided only through the ANSYS Customer Portal.

JAPAN

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
xiv of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Technical Support

CFX and Mechanical Products

Telephone: +81-3-5324-7305
Email:
Mechanical: [email protected]
Fluent: [email protected];
CFX: [email protected];
Polyflow: [email protected];
Icepak
Telephone: +81-3-5324-7444
Email: [email protected]
Licensing and Installation
Email: [email protected]

INDIA
All ANSYS Products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
Telephone: +91 1 800 209 3475 (toll free) or +91 20 6654 3000 (toll) (Please have your Customer or
Contact ID ready.)

FRANCE
All ANSYS Products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
Toll-Free Telephone: +33 (0) 800 919 225 Toll Number: +33 (0) 170 489 087 (Please have your Customer
or Contact ID ready.)
Email: [email protected]
Support for University customers is provided only through the ANSYS Customer Portal.

BELGIUM
All ANSYS Products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
Toll-Free Telephone: (0) 800 777 83 Toll Number: +32 2 620 0152 (Please have your Customer or Contact
ID ready.)
Email: [email protected]
Support for University customers is provided only through the ANSYS Customer Portal.

SWEDEN
All ANSYS Products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
Telephone: +46 (0) 10 516 49 00
Email: [email protected]
Support for University customers is provided only through the ANSYS Customer Portal.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xv
Using This Manual

SPAIN and PORTUGAL

All ANSYS Products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
Spain: Toll-Free Telephone: 900 933 407 Toll Number: +34 9178 78350 (Please have your Customer or
Contact ID ready.)
Portugal: Toll-Free Telephone: 800 880 513 (Portugal)
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Support for University customers is provided only through the ANSYS Customer Portal.

ITALY
All ANSYS Products
Web: Go to the ANSYS Customer Portal (http://support.ansys.com) and select the appropriate option.
Toll-Free Telephone: 800 789 531 Toll Number: +39 02 00621386 (Please have your Customer or Contact
ID ready.)
Email: [email protected]
Support for University customers is provided only through the ANSYS Customer Portal.

TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Telephone: 866 22725 5828

K0REA
Telephone: 82-2-3441-5000

CHINA
Toll-Free Telephone: 400 819 8999 Toll Number: +86 10 82861715

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
xvi of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Chapter 1: Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench
This document is designed to provide information about using Fluent within ANSYS Workbench. Some
basic information about using Workbench is provided here, but the majority of the information about
using Workbench can be found in the Workbench online documentation.

This chapter provides some basic instructions for getting started with using Fluent in Workbench.
1.1. Introduction to Workbench
1.2.The Workbench Graphical User Interface
1.3. Creating Fluent-Based Systems
1.4. Understanding Cell States with Fluent in Workbench
1.5. Starting Fluent in Workbench
1.6. Registering and Unregistering Startup Scheme Files
1.7. Saving Your Work in Fluent with Workbench
1.8. Exiting Fluent and Workbench
1.9. An Example of a Fluent Analysis in Workbench
1.10. Getting Help for Fluent in Workbench

1.1. Introduction to Workbench

ANSYS Workbench combines access to ANSYS applications with utilities that manage the product
workflow.

Applications that can be accessed from Workbench include: ANSYS DesignModeler (for geometry creation);
ANSYS Meshing (for mesh generation); ANSYS Fluent or CFX (for setting up and solving fluid dynamics
analyses); and ANSYS CFD-Post (for postprocessing the results). In Workbench, a project is composed
of a group of systems. The project is driven by a schematic workflow that manages the connections
between the systems. From the schematic, you can interact with workspaces that are native to Work-
bench, such as Design Exploration (parameters and design points), and you can launch applications
that are data-integrated with Workbench (such as ANSYS Fluent or CFX). Data-integrated applications
have separate interfaces, but their data is part of the Workbench project and is automatically saved and
shared with other applications as needed. This makes the process of creating and running a CFD simu-
lation more streamlined and efficient.

Workbench allows you to construct projects composed of multiple dependent systems that can be up-
dated sequentially based on a workflow defined by the project schematic. For instance, you can construct
a project using two connected Fluent-based systems where the two systems share the same geometry
and mesh; and the second system uses data from the first system as its initial solution data. When you
have two systems connected in this way, you can modify the shared geometry once and then update
the results for both systems with a single mouse click without having to open the ANSYS Meshing ap-
plication or Fluent. Some examples of when this is useful include: performing a reacting flow analysis
starting from the solution obtained from a cold flow analysis; performing a second order analysis
starting from the solution obtained from a first order analysis; and performing a transient simulation
starting from the solution obtained from a steady-state analysis.

In addition, Workbench also allows you to copy systems in order to efficiently perform and compare
multiple similar analyses. Workbench also provides a parametric modeling capabilities in conjunction

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 1
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

with optimization techniques to allow you to efficiently investigate the effects of input parameters on
selected output parameters.

For more information, see the following section:

1.1.1. Limitations

1.1.1. Limitations
The following limitations are known when using Fluent in Workbench:

• Workbench units and options are not passed to Fluent.

• The text user interface (TUI) shortcuts, or aliases, for reading case and data files for Fluent in Workbench are
disabled by design. For example, file read-case, f read-case, and f r-c can be used, however
f rc cannot be used.

• The version of Fluent used under Workbench must always be the version of Fluent that was packaged and
installed with that version of ANSYS Workbench. It is not possible to use previous versions of Fluent under
Workbench even through a Fluent Inc. environment variable.

• Graphical user interface (GUI) journal files in Fluent 17.2 are not backwards compatible. That is, Workbench
journal files (*.wbjn files) created in version 12.0 or version 12.1 that contain Fluent GUI commands may
need to be recreated if they fail due to a change in the Fluent graphical user interface or a string used therein.

• For older Fluent in Workbench projects (prior to version 17.2), when making any changes to the mesh using
ANSYS Meshing (for example, renaming a surface), you should first open Fluent using the Setup cell of the
Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system in order for Fluent to be aware of the upstream mesh changes (for example,
when detecting upstream zone name changes).

• Under Workbench, the Microsoft Job Scheduler cannot be used to run Fluent in serial.

• The coupling between Ansoft and Fluent in Workbench is not supported on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
10. On Linux, the coupling is supported for Red Hat 5, Red Hat 6, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11.

• Changing the meshing method to "Assembly Meshing" methods (for example, CutCell) from other meshing
methods may not preserve the previously defined contact regions. Currently, the Fluent simulation workflow
does not support this type of change.

Note

ANSYS Fluent only allows a period to be used as a decimal separator. If your system is set
to a European locale that uses a comma separator (for example, Germany), fields that accept
numeric input may accept a comma, but may ignore everything after the comma. If your
system is set to a non-European locale, numeric fields will not accept a comma at all.

ANSYS Workbench accepts commas as decimal delimiters. These are translated into periods
when data is passed to ANSYS Fluent.

1.2. The Workbench Graphical User Interface

The Workbench graphical user interface (Figure 1.1: The Workbench Graphical User Interface (p. 3))
consists of the Toolbox, the Project Schematic, the Toolbar, and the Menu bar. The most common way
to begin work in Workbench is to drag an item, such as a component system (application) or an analysis

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
2 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 The Workbench Graphical User Interface

system, from the Toolbox to the Project Schematic, or to double-click an item to initiate the default
action. You will view your component and/or analysis systems – the pieces that make up your analysis
– in the Project Schematic, including all connections between the systems. The individual applications
in which you work will display separately from the Workbench graphical interface, but the actions you
take in the applications will be reflected in the Project Schematic.

Important

Note that Fluent can be accessed in Workbench as either a component system or as an ana-
lysis system. Details for using both are described throughout this document.

Figure 1.1: The Workbench Graphical User Interface

Important

Note that Fluent in Workbench uses informational, question, and warning dialog boxes that
are designed to guide you in various ways as you work through your CFD analysis. Informa-
tional dialog boxes display messages that assist you in a specific task, or provide additional
information relating to the task at hand. Question dialog boxes present questions concerning
a task that is about to be performed, displaying an OK and a Cancel button in order to enable
you to choose from one of two options (to proceed or not to proceed). Warning dialog boxes

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 3
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

contain only an OK button and are designed to display a cautionary message indicating that
you need to be aware that the application is about to change something or has internally
changed something to maintain the consistency.

Note

You can set various Fluent–specific preferences in Workbench (for example, Launcher settings,
color scheme, and so on). For more information, see Configuring ANSYS Workbench in the
Workbench User's Guide.

1.3. Creating Fluent-Based Systems

There are two basic types of systems: analysis systems and component systems. The following Fluent-
based systems are available in Workbench:

• The Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system enables you to perform a complete CFD analysis and contains cells
that allow you to create geometry, generate a mesh, specify settings in Fluent, run the Fluent solver, and
visualize the results in CFD-Post.

• The Fluent component system enables you to access the Fluent application from within Workbench and
contains only the cells needed to specify settings in Fluent and run the Fluent solver. When using a Flu-
ent component system, a mesh must be imported into the system or provided through a connection from
an upstream system.

• The Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system enables you to generate a mesh, specify settings in
Fluent, and run the Fluent solver. For this system, you can provide a geometry through the upstream con-
nection and use a journal file to automatically generate a mesh for your application.

Note

A separate cell for results visualization is only needed when using CFD-Post. The postpro-
cessing capabilities in Fluent can be accessed from both the Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis
system and the Fluent component system.

To create an analysis or component system in Workbench: In the Toolbox, double-clicking the desired
system under Analysis Systems or Component Systems, respectively. Or you can click the system and
drag it onto the Project Schematic. Notice that when you hover over systems in the Toolbox, a tool
tip appears.

For more information, see the following sections:

1.3.1. Fluent-Based Analysis Systems
1.3.2. Fluent-Based Component Systems

1.3.1. Fluent-Based Analysis Systems

The Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system is found in the Toolbox under Analysis Systems.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
4 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Creating Fluent-Based Systems

Figure 1.2: Selecting the Fluid Flow (Fluent) Analysis System in Workbench

When you create the new Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system in Workbench (as described above), it
appears in the Project Schematic as a box containing several cells (Figure 1.3: A Fluid Flow (Fluent)
Analysis System (p. 5)). Each cell corresponds to a typical task you would perform to complete a CFD
analysis.

Figure 1.3: A Fluid Flow (Fluent) Analysis System

The following cells are available in a Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system:

Geometry
allows you to define the geometrical constraints of your analysis. You can use the context menu (by right-
clicking the cell) to import a pre-existing geometry into the system. Double-clicking the Geometry cell
opens ANSYS DesignModeler where you can create a new geometry or modify an existing geometry.

Mesh
allows you to define and generate a computational mesh for your analysis. Double-clicking the Mesh cell
opens ANSYS Meshing and loads the current mesh database (or the geometry defined by the Geometry
cell) if you have not yet begun working on the mesh. Alternatively, you can use the context menu (by right-
clicking the Mesh cell) to import a pre-existing Fluent mesh into the system.

Important

• Importing a Fluent mesh file into the Mesh cell results in the Mesh cell becoming the starting
point for your analysis (and the name of the Mesh cell changes to Imported Mesh). Therefore,
the Geometry cell (and data it contains) will be deleted from the system. The deleted Geo-
metry cell can be retrieved by selecting Reset from the context menu of the Imported Mesh
cell.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 5
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

• Fluent meshes imported into the Mesh cell cannot be modified by the ANSYS Meshing ap-
plication.

Setup
allows you to define the boundary conditions, physical models and solver settings for the Fluent analysis.
Double-clicking the Setup cell opens Fluent and loads the mesh defined by the Mesh cell as well as any
Fluent settings that have already been specified. Alternatively, you can use the context menu (by right-
clicking the Setup cell) to import a pre-existing Fluent case or mesh file into the system. After you specify
the file you want to import, Fluent will open and load the file.

Important

• If you open Fluent before defining a mesh, Fluent will open without loading any files. You
can then choose to import files from the File ribbon tab in Fluent.

• Importing a Fluent case or mesh file into the Setup cell or the Fluent application results in
the Setup cell becoming the starting point for your analysis. Therefore, the Geometry and
Mesh cells (and any data they contain) will be deleted from the system.

Solution
allows you to calculate a solution in Fluent. Double-clicking the Solution cell opens Fluent and loads the
current Fluent case and data files. If you have not yet performed any calculations, Fluent will load the mesh
file as well as any settings that have been specified.

Important

You can also use the Solution cell context menu to import a pre-existing Fluent data file
to use for initial solution data. If you have not yet performed any calculations, Fluent will
load this data file in addition to the mesh and settings.

Results
allows you to display and analyze the results of the CFD analysis. Double-clicking the Results cell opens
CFD-Post and loads the current Fluent case and data files as well as the current CFD-Post state file.

Note

While it is possible to apply different names for the Setup or the Solution cells by right-
clicking either cell, and selecting the Rename command in the context menu, it is not gen-
erally recommended to do so.

1.3.2. Fluent-Based Component Systems

The Fluent and Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component systems are found in the Toolbox under
Component Systems.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
6 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Creating Fluent-Based Systems

Figure 1.4: Selecting the Fluent Component System in Workbench

Fluent Component System

When you create a new Fluent component system in Workbench (as described above), it appears in
the Project Schematic as a box containing two cells: Setup and Solution (Figure 1.5: A Fluent Com-
ponent System (p. 7)).

Figure 1.5: A Fluent Component System

The Setup and Solution cells in a Fluent component system work in the same manner as described
above for the Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system (see Fluent-Based Analysis Systems (p. 4)). The only
difference is that the mesh must originate from a file imported into the Setup cell or the Fluent applic-
ation, or it must be provided through a connection from an upstream system.

Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) Component System

When you create a new Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system in Workbench, it appears in
the Project Schematic as a box comprising three cells : Mesh, Setup, and Solution.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 7
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

Figure 1.6: A Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) Component System

By double-clicking the Mesh cell, you can access Fluent Meshing, and define and generate a computa-
tional mesh for your problem. Upon opening, Fluent Meshing will automatically load either the current
mesh data or, if the mesh data is not available, the geometry defined in the upstream Geometry cell.
Otherwise, you can import input data file(s) directly into Fluent Meshing.

The Setup and Solution cells work in the same way as in the Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system (see
Fluent-Based Analysis Systems (p. 4)).

1.4. Understanding Cell States with Fluent in Workbench

Workbench integrates multiple data-integrated (for example, Fluent) and native applications into a
single, seamless project flow, where individual cells can obtain data from and provide data to other
cells. Workbench provides visual indications of a cell’s state via icons on the right side of each cell. Brief
descriptions of the each possible state are provided below. For more information about cell states, see
the Workbench online help:

• Unfulfilled ( ) indicates that required upstream data does not exist. For example, when you first create a
new Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system, all cells downstream of the Geometry cell appear as Unfulfilled
because you have not yet specified a geometry for the system.

• Refresh Required ( ) indicates that upstream data has changed since the last refresh or update. For example,
after you assign a geometry to the Geometry cell in your new Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system, the
Mesh cell appears as Refresh Required since the geometry data has not yet been passed from the Geometry
cell to the Mesh cell.

• Attention Required ( ) indicates that the current upstream data has been passed to the cell, however, you
must take some action to proceed. For example, after you launch Fluent from the Setup cell in a Fluid Flow
(Fluent) analysis system that has a valid mesh, the Setup cell appears as Attention Required because ad-
ditional data must be entered in Fluent before you can calculate a solution.

• Update Required ( ) indicates that local data has changed and the output of the cell must be regenerated.
For example, after you launch ANSYS Meshing from the Mesh cell in a Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system
that has a valid geometry, the Mesh cell appears as Update Required because the Mesh cell has all the
data it needs to generate a Fluent mesh file, but the Fluent mesh file has not yet been generated.

• Up-To-Date ( ) indicates that an update has been performed on the cell and no failures have occurred (or
an interactive calculation has been completed successfully). For example, after Fluent finishes performing
the number of iterations that you request, the Solution cell appears as Up-to-Date.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
8 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Starting Fluent in Workbench

• Interrupted, Update Required ( ) indicates that you have interrupted an update (or canceled an interactive
calculation that is in progress). For example, if you select the Cancel button in Fluent while it is iterating,
Fluent completes the current iteration and then the Solution cell appears as Interrupted, Update Required.

• Input Changes Pending ( ) indicates that the cell is locally up-to-date, but may change when next updated
as a result of changes made to upstream cells. For example, if you change the Mesh in an Up-to-Date Fluid
Flow (Fluent) analysis system, the Setup cell appears as Refresh Required, and the Solution and Results
cells appear as Input Changes Pending.

• Pending ( ) indicates that a batch or asynchronous solution is in progress. When a cell enters the Pending
state, you can interact with the project to exit Workbench or work with other parts of the project. If you
make changes to the project that are upstream of the updating cell, then the cell will not be in an up-to-
date state when the solution completes.

If a particular action fails, Workbench provides a visual indication as well. Brief descriptions of the failure
states are described below.

• Refresh Failed, Refresh Required ( ) indicates that the last attempt to refresh cell input data failed, and so
the cell must be refreshed.

• Update Failed, Update Required ( ) indicates that the last attempt to update the cell and calculate output
data failed, and so the cell must be updated.

• Update Failed, Attention Required ( ) indicates that the last attempt to update the cell and calculate output
data failed, and so the cell requires attention.

If an action results in a failure state, you can view any related error messages in the Messages window
by clicking the Show Messages button on the lower right portion of Workbench.

1.5. Starting Fluent in Workbench

This section describes how to start Fluent in Workbench using Fluent-based systems and how you can
use Fluent Launcher within Workbench.

For more information, see the following sections:

1.5.1. Starting Fluent from a Fluent-Based System
1.5.2. Specifying Fluent Launcher Settings Within Workbench
1.5.3. Specifying Other Setup and Solution Cell Settings

1.5.1. Starting Fluent from a Fluent-Based System

You can start ANSYS Fluent by double-clicking the Setup cell in a Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system
or a Fluent component system. Fluent launches and loads the Setup cell’s input data (for example,
mesh) and the Setup cell’s local data, if it exists (for example, Fluent settings or setup output case file).
If no mesh has been specified, Fluent launches and waits for your input.

You can also start ANSYS Fluent by double-clicking the Solution cell in a Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis
system or a Fluent component system. Fluent launches and loads the current case and data files, as well
as the Setup cell’s input data (for example, mesh), the Setup cell’s local data, if it exists (for example,

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 9
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

Fluent settings), and the Solution cell’s initial data, if it exists. If no mesh has been specified, Flu-
ent launches and waits for your input.

Important

When Fluent is launched from the Setup cell, it loads only the mesh and settings that served
as the starting point for your analysis and are associated with the Setup cell. In order to load
the current case and data files or the initial data file, you must launch Fluent from the Solution
cell.

1.5.2. Specifying Fluent Launcher Settings Within Workbench

You can use Fluent in Workbench on either Windows or Linux machines, both interactively and in batch
mode. You can also start Fluent on Linux from a Workbench session running on Windows and you can
use the same Fluent-specific project (and related files) in Workbench using both Linux and Windows
hardware interchangeably. The information is this section is the same for both Windows and Linux,
except where noted.

When you start ANSYS Fluent from either type of Fluent-based system within Workbench, Fluent
Launcher will appear by default. Most Fluent Launcher settings are available, except for the following
options:

• Version (disabled)

• Working Directory (disabled)

• Use Journal File (not available)

The Do not show this panel again option allows you to bypass Fluent Launcher for subsequent Flu-
ent sessions. This option is only available when running Fluent in Workbench.

Important

When using LSF to schedule a Fluent run from Workbench, by default the working directory
is used for checkpointing. You can specify an alternate directory for checkpointing using the
LSB_CHKPNT_DIR environment variable.

Important

Note that, when using Fluent with Workbench on Linux, the Fluent Root Path option is
disabled in the General tab of Fluent Launcher.

To start your Fluent simulation on a Linux cluster from a Workbench session running on Windows, use
the Use Remote Linux Nodes option in Fluent Launcher. This option is available when the Parallel
option is enabled under Processing Options. Once this option is enabled, the Remote tab is visible
when you click the Show More Options button.

Important

The Remote tab of Fluent Launcher can only be used for 64-bit Linux machines.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
10 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Starting Fluent in Workbench

For more information about Fluent Launcher, see Starting ANSYS Fluent Using Fluent Launcher. For
more information about using Fluent Launcher to access remote Linux clusters, see Setting Remote
Options in Fluent Launcher.

1.5.2.1. Specifying Fluent Launcher Settings Using Cell Properties

You can view the properties of a selected cell in Workbench by selecting the Properties option under
the View menu, or by right-clicking a cell and selecting Properties from the context menu. The prop-
erties of the selected cell are displayed in the Properties Window in Workbench.

Figure 1.7: Properties for Fluent-Based Systems in Workbench

The Fluent-based system Setup and Solution cells have the following properties that you can set for
Fluent Launcher:

Use Setup Launcher Settings

(for Solution cells only) allows you to specify that the current systems Solution cell should use the Fluent
Launcher property settings from the current system’s Setup cell. By default, the Fluent-based system Setup
and Solution cells share Fluent Launcher settings, however, if required, these settings can be set
autonomously using this property.

Precision
allows you to choose either the single-precision or the double-precision solver

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 11
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

Show Launcher at Startup

allows you to show or hide Fluent Launcher when Fluent starts.

Display Mesh After Reading

allows you to show or hide the mesh after the mesh or case/data is read into Fluent.

Embed Graphics Windows

allows you to embed the graphics windows in the Fluent application window, or to have them free-
standing.

Use Workbench Color Scheme

allows you to use either the classic black background color in the graphics window, or to use the Workbench
color scheme.

Set up Compilation Environment for UDF

allows you to specify compiler settings for compiling user-defined functions (UDFs) with Fluent.

Use Job Scheduler

allows you to specify settings for running Fluent with the available job scheduler. On Linux, you can use
either LSF, SGE, or PBS Pro, as the job scheduler. On Windows, you can use the Microsoft Job Scheduler,
or, when Run Parallel Version and Use Remote Linux Nodes are selected, you can use the LSF, SGE, or
PBS Pro job schedulers.

Run Parallel Version

allows you to choose to run the parallel version of Fluent or not.

UDF Compilation Script Path

(if Set up Compilation Environment for UDF is selected) allows you to specify the path to the UDF
compilation script.

Initialization Method
allows you to initialize your Fluent simulation. Available options are:

• Program Controlled (default) allows Fluent to use any existing results (solution data) to initialize the
solution.

– For a new calculation, if no results are available, then the system initializes the solution using the
settings specified in Fluent.

– For existing projects, if the system is not connected to another upstream system through the Solution
cell, then the system uses results available from the previous calculation. If the results are not compat-
ible with the mesh, then the system initializes the solution using the settings specified in Fluent.

– For existing projects, if the system is connected to another upstream system through the Solution
cell, then the Initialization Method is not available for the downstream Solution cell. In this case,
the downstream Solution cell always uses results coming from the upstream Solution cell to initialize
its solution for the initial design point (DP0) as well as any other design points. If the solution data
file from the upstream Solution cell is not available or not compatible with the mesh, then Workbench
uses the upstream data interpolation (*.ip) file for solution initialization. If the *.ip file is also not
available, or the results are not compatible with the mesh, then the system initializes the solution
using the settings specified in Fluent.

• Solver Controlled allows Fluent to always initialize the solution using settings specified in Fluent, en-
forcing the initialization method available in Fluent for new and existing projects. This option is not
available for Solution cells connected with upstream Solution cells.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
12 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Starting Fluent in Workbench

• Use Solution Data from File allows you to import a solution data file (*.dat) or data interpolation file
(*.ip) that Fluent will use to initialize the solution. If selected, you are prompted to provide an Initial
Data File. For new and existing calculations, the Solution cell uses a registered file as the initial data in
Workbench.

For more information, see Using the Update Command (p. 31).

Use Remote Linux Nodes

(available only when Run Parallel Version is selected) allows you to run your Fluent simulation on 64-bit
Linux machines.

If Run Parallel Version is selected, the following additional properties are available:

Number of Processors
allows you to set the number of processors you want to use for the parallel calculations (for example, 2,
4, and so on).

Interconnect
allows you to set the interconnects you want to use for the parallel calculations (for example, ethernet,
myrinet, infiniband, and so on).

MPI Type
allows you to set the MPI type you want to use for the parallel calculations (for example, MPICH2, Platform,
and so on).

Use Shared Memory

allows you to specify if shared memory is to be used or not.

Machine Specification
(if Use Shared Memory is not selected) allows you to specify a list of machine names, or a file that contains
machine names.

Machine List
(if Use Shared Memory is not selected and Machine List is selected as the Machine Specification) allows
you to specify a list of machine names to run the parallel job.

Machine Filename
(if Use Shared Memory is not selected and File Containing Machine List is selected as the Machine
Specification) allows you to specify the name of the file that contains a list of machines to run the parallel
job.

If Use Remote Linux Nodes is selected, the following additional properties are available (for 64-bit
Linux machines only):

Remote Fluent Root Path

allows you to specify the remote Fluent Linux installation root path.

Use Specified Remote Working Directory

allows you to specify a directory other than temp directory as the working directory for the remote Linux
nodes. When this property is selected, you can specify the directory in the Remote Working Directory
property that appears.

Remote Spawn Command

allows you to specify the command to connect to the remote node (the default is RSH).

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 13
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

Use Remote Cluster Head Node

allows you to specify the remote node that Fluent will connect to for spawning (for example, via rsh or
ssh). When this property is selected, you can specify the remote node in the Remote Host Name property
that appears.

Important

When the PBS Pro option is selected for the Job Scheduler, the host specified in the
Use Remote Cluster Head Node field should be the PBS Pro submission host.

If Use Job Scheduler is selected, the following additional properties are available:

Computer Cluster Head Node Name

allows you to specify the name of the compute cluster head node.

Job Template
(available only when running Windows HPC 2008 Server Scheduler) allows you to create a custom submission
policy to define the job parameters for an application. The cluster administrator can use job templates to
manage job submission and optimize cluster usage.

Node Group
(available only when running Windows HPC 2008 Server Scheduler) allows you to specify a collection of
nodes. Cluster administrators can create groups and assign nodes to one or more groups.

Processor Unit
(available only when running Windows HPC 2008 Server Scheduler) allows you to choose the following:

• Core refers to a single, named host in the cluster.

• Socket refers to a set of processors with a dedicated memory bus. This is also known as a non-uniform
memory access (NUMA) node.

• Node refers to an individual CPU on a node. For example, a dual-core processor is considered two cores.

For more information about running Fluent jobs using the Windows HPC 2008 Server Scheduler,
see the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Customer Portal.

Start When Resources Are Available

allows you to start the job when resources are available.

Create Job Submission XML

allows you to create the job submission XML file.

Job Submission XML File

(if Create Job Submission XML is selected) allows you to specify the name of the job submission XML
file.

If Use Job Scheduler and Use Remote Linux Nodes are selected, the following additional properties
are available:

Job Scheduler
allow you to specify the job scheduler for the remote Linux nodes. Available options are LSF (the default),
SGE, or PBS Pro.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
14 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Starting Fluent in Workbench

If LSF is selected as the job scheduler, the following additional properties are available:

Use LSF Queue

allows you to use an LSF queue.

LSF Queue
(when Use LSF Queue is selected) allows you to specify the name of the LSF queue.

Use Checkpointing
allows you to use checkpointing with LSF.

Enable Automatic Checkpointing

(when Use Checkpointing is selected) allows you to automatically checkpoint within a specific period
of time.

Checkpointing Period
(when Use Checkpointing and Enable Automatic Checkpointing are selected) allows you to specify
a time period for automatic checkpointing.

Important

When using LSF to schedule a Fluent run from Workbench, by default the working direct-
ory is used for checkpointing. You can specify an alternate directory for checkpointing
using the LSB_CHKPNT_DIR environment variable.

If SGE is selected as the job scheduler, the following additional properties are available:

SGE Qmaster
allows you to set the machine in the SGE job submission host list.

SGE Queue
allows you to set the queue where you want to submit your Fluent jobs. Leave this field blank if you
want to use the default queue.

SGE PE
allows you to set the parallel environment where you want to submit your Fluent jobs. Leave this field
blank if you want to use the default parallel environment.

Use SGE Settings

allows you to use SGE settings.

SGE Settings
(when Use SGE Settings is selected) allows you to specify SGE settings.

Important

When running Fluent in Workbench via SGE, there may be instances when not enough
time is allotted for Fluent to start. By default, Workbench performs two steps: starting
the Fluent process and establishing initial contact, with a default wait time of one
minute; completing the Fluent start up process and establishing a final connection
(for example, to spawn parallel nodes, to checkout licenses, and so on), with a default
wait time of five minutes. You can change the waiting time increments for each step
by defining the Fluent_WB_MAX_STARTUP_WAIT environment variable before

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 15
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

starting Workbench. Note that you cannot define this environment variable within
Fluent Launcher. The value of this environment variable is equivalent to the wait
time in minutes for each start up step. So, the overall wait time is double the value
specified for the environment variable. Fractions are allowed as values for the envir-
onment variable, and any value less than or equal to zero will let Workbench wait
indefinitely for Fluent to start. Note that while Workbench is waiting for Fluent to
start, the Workbench interface is locked, and if, for some reason Fluent fails to start,
you will have to manually kill the Workbench session.

If PBS Pro is selected as the job scheduler, the following additional property is available (on Linux
only):

PBS Submission Host

(optional) allows you to specify the name of the PBS Pro submission host if the machine you are using
to run Workbench cannot submit a job to PBS Pro.

These properties are the same as the settings within Fluent Launcher. For more information about Fluent
Launcher, see the Fluent Getting Started Guide.

Properties for Setup and Solution cells related to problem setup and solution processes are discussed
in Specifying Other Setup and Solution Cell Settings (p. 16).

1.5.2.2. Copying Fluent Launcher Property Settings

Typically, Fluent Launcher settings are specified in the Fluent Launcher dialog box when Fluent is
launched from the Setup cell.

By default, the Solution cell uses the same Fluent Launcher property settings as the Setup cell. If you
want the Solution cell’s Fluent Launcher settings to be different than those specified for the Setup cell,
you can disable the Use Setup Launcher Settings property setting (see Specifying Fluent Launcher Set-
tings Within Workbench (p. 10)) and then set the Solution cell’s Fluent Launcher property settings
without impacting the settings for the Setup cell.

You can copy the Setup cell’s Fluent Launcher settings to the Solution cell by selecting the Copy
Launcher settings to Solution cell command from the Setup cell’s context menu (available only when
the Use Setup Launcher Settings property setting is disabled). Note that the values that are written
are retained, even if you later disable this setting. Likewise, you can also copy the Solution cell’s Fluent
Launcher settings to the Setup cell by selecting the Copy Launcher settings to Setup cell command
from the Solution cell’s context menu (available only when the Use Setup Launcher Settings property
setting is disabled).

1.5.3. Specifying Other Setup and Solution Cell Settings

The Setup cell has the following property related to the problem setup process:

• Others

– Generate Output Case File: enables or disables the generation of the setup output case file,
name-Setup-Output.cas. If the state for the Setup cell is Update Required and the upstream mesh
has not been modified, Fluent will read the output case file (name-Setup-Output.cas) as opposed to
the mesh and settings files when editing the Setup cell. This way you can improve the Fluent run
time speed provided the upstream mesh data has not changed.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
16 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Registering and Unregistering Startup Scheme Files

The output case file will be generated when

→ recorded mesh operations (Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh
Incompatibility in Fluent (p. 51)) have been performed prior to running the simulation in
Fluent, or

→ Fluent session is started with a mesh file only

This setting overrides the Enable Generation of Setup Output Case File preference in the
Options settings.

The Solution cell contains additional general properties and some specific properties related to the
solution process:

• General

– Component ID: the name of the cell (not editable).

– Directory Name: the name of the directory (“FFF”) where solution files are located (not editable).

– Use Setup Launcher Settings: enables or disables the use of the Setup cell's Fluent Launcher settings
(see above).

– Solution Monitoring: allows you to be able to graphically view Fluent solution convergence and
monitor data without having Fluent open. When this option is enabled, you can use the Show
Solution Monitoring option in the Solution cell context menu to display a convergence and mon-
itor charts. This property overrides the Enable Solution Monitoring preference in the Options set-
tings.

– Generate Solution Monitor Plots for Report: when selected, Fluent will automatically generate the
report images during a Solution cell update or project report export. See Generating Fluent Project
Reports (p. 43) for information about exporting project reports and the types of report images. This
option is disabled by default.

– Data Interpolation: enables or disables the interpolation file generation at the end of the Fluent
solver run. The solver will automatically create an *.ip file that can be used when restarting the
Fluent session, even if the project mesh or case file has been modified and is no longer compatible
with the existing data file (if available). This setting overrides the Enable Generation of Interpolation
File preference in the Options settings. Note, that you can use the Clear Generated Data command
to delete the generated interpolation file (see Using the Clear Generated Data Command (p. 36) for
details).

• Solution Process

– Update Option: enables the solution process to be either Run in Foreground (solutions are run
within the current Workbench session), Run in Background (solutions are run in the background
on the local machine), or Submit to Remote Solve Manager (solutions are run in the background
by submitting the solution to Remote Solve Manager (RSM)). For more information about these options
and the Remote Solve Manager, refer to Submitting Solutions in the ANSYS Workbench User's Guide.

1.6. Registering and Unregistering Startup Scheme Files

You can register or unregister a customized Scheme file through your Fluent setup using the context
menu for the Fluent Setup cell. Fluent loads this registered scheme file at startup. To register a scheme

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 17
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

file, use the Register Startup Scheme File... command from the context menu for the Fluent Setup
cell. Likewise, to unregister a scheme file, use the Unregister Startup Scheme File... command. If Fluent
is already started, these menu commands are disabled and grayed out.

1.7. Saving Your Work in Fluent with Workbench

Data that is read into and written by Fluent when it is run within Workbench is split into two parts:

• Setup data

• Solution data

Setup data is the data used to start a simulation over from the beginning. This data is associated with
the Setup cell and includes the mesh (.msh) file and the settings (.set) file.

Important

• The settings file is a file used when Fluent is run under Workbench. It contains the case settings
but does not contain mesh data. The settings file and the mesh file are read by Fluent whenever
Fluent is launched from the Setup cell.

• Note that sometimes, instead of a mesh file, a case file (.cas) is used to represent the mesh. In
this situation, Fluent reads the case file first and then reads the settings file if it exists. Therefore,
the settings stored in the settings file will overwrite any settings that might be contained in the
case file.

Solution data is the data that results from performing a calculation and is used to restart a simulation
from existing data. This data is associated with the Solution cell and includes the current case (.cas)
file and the current data (.dat) file.

Important

The case file and the data file are read by Fluent whenever Fluent is launched from the
Solution cell.

When working in Workbench, your work in Fluent is automatically saved as needed. For example,
whenever you close Fluent or save your Workbench project, your unsaved data is automatically saved.

You can save your Workbench project directly from Fluent by selecting Save Project command under
the File ribbon tab.

File → Save Project

Alternatively, you can save your Workbench project by selecting the Save command under the File
menu within Workbench or by clicking the Save Project icon ( ) from the Workbench toolbar.

1.8. Exiting Fluent and Workbench

You can end your Fluent session by using the Close Fluent command under the File ribbon tab.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
18 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 An Example of a Fluent Analysis in Workbench

File → Close Fluent

If you want to end your Fluent session without saving your work, you can use the Close Without Save
command under the File ribbon tab. You can also use the corresponding text command (file/close-
without-save).

File → Close Without Save

Alternatively, to discard unsaved changes in Fluent and load the setup files into the current Fluent
session, you can use the Reload command in the Fluent File ribbon tab (see Reloading Data and Syn-
chronizing Fluent with Workbench (p. 36) for details).

File → Reload

You can end your Workbench session by using the Exit command under the Workbench File menu.

File → Exit

All open applications that are associated with your Workbench session, including any open instances
of ANSYS Fluent, are automatically closed upon exiting Workbench. If there is any unsaved data in
Workbench or any of the open applications associated with your Workbench session, you will be
prompted to save your project before exiting Workbench.

Important

There are several other circumstances in which open instances of Fluent as well as other
applications are automatically closed:

• Whenever you close the current project in Workbench, all open applications are automatically
closed.

• Whenever you open a different project in ANSYS Workbench, all open applications associated
with the original project are automatically closed.

• Whenever a system is deleted, all open applications associated with that system are auto-
matically closed.

• Whenever data is reset or cleared from a cell, all open applications associated with that cell
are automatically closed.

1.9. An Example of a Fluent Analysis in Workbench

This example describes when the files that are generated and used by Fluent are written and how the
cell states change as you work with a Fluent-based system in Workbench.

1. Add a new Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system to the Project Schematic. The state of the Geometry cell
is Attention Required and that the states for the Mesh, Setup, Solution, and Results cells are Unfulfilled.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 19
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

2. Import a geometry file by using the context menu on the Geometry cell. The state of the Geometry cell
becomes Up-to-Date and the state of the Mesh cell becomes Refresh Required.

3. Double-click the Mesh cell. The ANSYS Meshing application launches and loads the geometry file. The
state of the Mesh cell becomes Update Required.

4. In the ANSYS Meshing application, specify settings for the mesh, then select the Update command. The
mesh is generated, the mesh (.msh) file is written, the state of the Mesh cell becomes Up-to-Date, and
the state of the Setup cell becomes Refresh Required.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
20 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 An Example of a Fluent Analysis in Workbench

5. Double-click the Setup cell. Fluent launches and loads the mesh file. The state of the Setup cell becomes
Attention Required.

6. In Fluent, specify boundary conditions, initialize the solution, and enter a nonzero number of iterations on
the Run Calculation task page. The state of the Setup cell becomes Up-to-Date, and the state of the
Solution cell becomes Refresh Required.

7. In the Fluent application, select the Calculate button. The settings (.set) file is written and iterations
begin. The state of the Solution cell becomes Update Required.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 21
Getting Started With Fluent in Workbench

Iterations are completed, or the solution meets the convergence criteria. The state of the Solution
cell becomes Up-to-Date and the state of the Results cell becomes Refresh Required.

8. Double-click the Results cell. CFD-Post launches.

The case (.cas) and data (.dat) files are written, CFD-Post loads the case and data files, and the
state of the Results cell becomes Up-to-Date.

1.10. Getting Help for Fluent in Workbench

Accessing help from within ANSYS Workbench:
Workbench offers three levels of help:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
22 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Getting Help for Fluent in Workbench

• Quick help - available for most cells in a system. Click the blue triangle in the bottom right corner of the cell
to see a brief help description on that cell. For Fluent-based systems, Fluent-specific quick help is available
for the Setup and Solution cells, providing you with instructions for proceeding further. For example:

• Sidebar or context-sensitive help - available at any time by clicking F1.

• Online help - available from the Help menu, or from any of the links in the quick help or sidebar help.

For more information about Workbench help, see the online documentation.

Accessing help from within Fluent:

Fluent documentation and help can be accessed by clicking once the Fluent application is running.
The documentation is automatically installed when you install Workbench.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 23
 Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
24 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Chapter 2: Working With Fluent in Workbench
This chapter provides instructions for using Fluent in Workbench.
2.1. Importing Fluent files in Workbench
2.2. Using the Update Command
2.3. Refreshing Fluent Input Data
2.4. Reloading Data and Synchronizing Fluent with Workbench
2.5. Deleting Solution and Setup Cell Data for Fluent-Based Systems
2.6. Interrupting, Restarting, and Continuing a Calculation
2.7. Monitoring Fluent Solutions in Workbench
2.8. Generating Fluent Project Reports
2.9. Connecting Systems in Workbench
2.10. Duplicating Fluent-Based Systems
2.11. Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh Incompatibility in Fluent
2.12. Changing the Settings and Mesh in Fluent
2.13. Case Modification Strategies with Fluent and Workbench
2.14. Working With Input and Output Parameters in Workbench
2.15. Viewing Your Fluent Data Using ANSYS CFD-Post
2.16. Understanding the File Structure for Fluent in Workbench
2.17. Working with ANSYS Licensing
2.18. Using Fluent With the Remote Solve Manager (RSM)
2.19. Using Custom Systems
2.20. Using Journaling and Scripting with Fluent in Workbench
2.21. Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench
2.22. Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench

2.1. Importing Fluent files in Workbench

In ANSYS Workbench, you can import Fluent mesh, case, and data files into a Fluent-based system in
one of the following ways:

• from the Workbench Project Schematic

• from within the active Fluent session

The information about importing Fluent files in Workbench is described in details in the following sec-
tions:
2.1.1. Importing files from Workbench Project Schematic
2.1.2. Importing Files Directly in Fluent

2.1.1. Importing files from Workbench Project Schematic

The details of how you can import various file types into a Fluent-based system from Workbench Project
Schematic are provided in the following sections:
2.1.1.1. Importing Mesh and Case Files
2.1.1.2. Importing Solution Files
2.1.1.3. Importing Case and Data Files

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 25
Working With Fluent in Workbench

2.1.1.1. Importing Mesh and Case Files

You can import Fluent mesh (*.msh) and case (*.cas, *.cas.gz) files into Fluent-based system using
the Import Fluent Case command in Setup cell context menu as follows:

1. Right-click the Setup cell.

2. From the cell’s context menu, point to Import Fluent Case and then click Browse....

3. (For mesh files only) In the Open dialog box, select the Fluent Mesh File type from the drop-down menu
next to File name.

4. Browse to the location of a specific case or mesh file and select the file.

Expected Outcome:

• Mesh file import: Once the import operation is complete, the Setup cell status becomes Attention Required
( ).

You can launch Fluent to commence the setup procedure.

• Case file import: Once the import operation is complete, the Setup cell status becomes one of the following:

– Attention Required ( ) – if the iterations or time step of the imported case is set to 0.

You can launch Fluent to commence the setup procedure.

– Up-To-Date ( ) – if the case iterations or time step of the imported case is set to a positive value.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
26 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Importing Fluent files in Workbench

You can either proceed directly to the solution stage, or you can first alter the setup settings by
editing the Setup cell.

If the Setup cell already has setup information associated with it, the setup information is deleted.

If your Fluent-based system contains a Mesh cell, ANSYS Workbench informs you that the imported
information will not be compatible with the information coming from the Mesh cell and asks whether
the Mesh cell (and Geometry cell, if it also exists) should be deleted and replaced by the mesh from
the imported file.

If your Fluent-based system has a connection to a Mesh cell in an upstream system, ANSYS Workbench
informs you that the mesh is being provided to the current system from an upstream system and asks
whether the connection should be deleted and the mesh replaced with the mesh from the imported
file.

2.1.1.2. Importing Solution Files

You can import Fluent solution files as start-up files or as final results as described below.

2.1.1.2.1. Importing Fluent Solution Files for the Purpose of Initialization

If you want to use the solution file as a start-up file, you can import the following files:

• *.dat or *.dat.gz – if imported results match the mesh used at the setup stage

• *.ip (interpolation file) – if imported results do not match the mesh used at the setup stage

To import the solution file as a start-up file into the Fluent-based system:

1. In the Properties view for the Solution cell, select Use Solution Data from File from the Initialization
Method drop-down list.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 27
Working With Fluent in Workbench

2. In the Initial Data File cell that appears below Initialization Method enter the filename (including path)
or navigate to the file location and select the file.

For the alternative procedure on importing initial results within Fluent, see Importing Files Directly in
Fluent (p. 31).

Expected Outcome:

Importing an initial data file does not affect the state of the system. When case and "initial" data files
are imported into Fluent, ANSYS Workbench treats them as start-up files and not results files. Therefore,
the state of the Solution cell becomes Refresh Required ( ) and not Up-to-Date ( ).

Important

The Use Solution Data from File option is not available if the Solution cell is connected to
the up-stream component.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
28 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Importing Fluent files in Workbench

2.1.1.2.2. Importing Data Files as Final Results

You can also import a Fluent final data set (for example, a legacy Fluent data or a large data set solved
on an external cluster) into a Fluent-based system. Using this approach, you can:

• Immediately perform postprocessing on the results using ANSYS CFD-Post, or

• Directly transfer the data to another system in ANSYS Workbench (for example, to perform one-way fluid-
structure interaction (FSI) analysis).

To import the solution file as final results into the Fluent-based system:

1. Right-click the Solution cell.

2. From the cell’s context menu, point to the Import Final Data and then click Browse....

3. When prompted, browse to the location of a specific data file and select the file.

4. If the Data Interpolation option is enabled for the Solution cell, then you will be prompted about .ip
file generation.

If you click Yes in the dialog box, then the Solution cell becomes Update Required, otherwise it will
remain Up-to-Date.

Expected Outcome:

The state of the Solution cell becomes Up-to-Date ( ).

For unsteady cases only:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 29
Working With Fluent in Workbench

• If the last time-step data file is imported as a final data set, then ANSYS CFD-Post can load all the previous
time-step data as well, provided:

– All case/data file pairs are originally generated by Fluent, and their base names are same.

– All these previous time-step data files are stored at the same location as the last data file and have the
same base filename as the last data file (assuming that the case file also has a consistent base filename).

– The case file imported into the Setup cell is the same as that of original case file (including the filename).

• If you want to use ANSYS CFD-Post (the Results cell or component system) downstream of your Fluent
system into which you have imported a pair of case and data files with different names, then you need to
perform at least one iteration in Fluent in Workbench. When you close Fluent or save the Workbench project,
ANSYS Workbench automatically saves the new data file with the same name as the case file. Alternatively,
you can manually rename the case and data files to have the same base filename prior to importing the final
data set.

• The Solution cell does not extract any of the solution history information from the imported data file, and
further calculations will result in loss of this information. Performing additional calculations changes the
solution history, however, it does not affect the data that has been loaded into ANSYS CFD-Post.

2.1.1.3. Importing Case and Data Files

You can also import Fluent final result files with corresponding case files into Fluent-based system in
a single step using the Import Fluent Case And Data command in the Setup cell context menu:

1. Right-click the Setup cell.

2. From the cell’s context menu, point to Import Fluent Case And Data and then click Browse....

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
30 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Using the Update Command

3. When prompted, browse to the location of a specific case or mesh file and select the file.

4. If the Data Interpolation option is enabled for the Solution cell, then you will be prompted about .ip
file generation.

If you click Yes in the dialog box, then the Solution cell becomes Update Required, otherwise it will
remain Up-to-Date.

Expected Outcome:

The states of the Setup and Solution cells become Up-to-Date ( ).

Important

Imported case and data files must share the same name for the importing operation to work
properly.

2.1.2. Importing Files Directly in Fluent

Alternatively, you can also import pre-existing mesh, case, and data files from within Fluent by using
one of the following ribbon tab items:

File → Import → Case...

File → Import → Data...

File → Import → Case and Data...

When mesh and case files are imported from within Fluent using these commands, the behavior is exactly
the same as when files are imported from the Project Schematic.

When data file is imported directly into Fluent using these commands, they are treated as initialization
data. In this case, the behavior is the same as when using the Use Solution Data from File option in
the Properties view for the Solution cell (for details, see Importing Fluent Solution Files for the Purpose
of Initialization (p. 27)).

In addition, you can also import the mesh from pre-existing mesh and case files from within Fluent by
using the following ribbon tab item:

File → Import → Mesh...

When using this command, Fluent gives you the following two options:

• Discard Case, Read New Mesh: discards any settings information currently in Fluent and imports the specified
file. If the specified file is a case file, the settings information from that case file is also imported.

• Replace Mesh: preserves the settings information currently in Fluent and imports only the mesh from the
specified file.

2.2. Using the Update Command

The Update command is available from:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 31
Working With Fluent in Workbench

• the context menu of all cells

• the context menu for the system

• the Workbench toolbar

• the Workbench Tools menu

• the context menu for the Project Schematic

• the Workbench Tools toolbar in Fluent ( ) (not available for Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component
systems) (For more information, see Appendix C (p. 109).)

When selected from a cell, the Update command updates the current cell and all upstream cells that
must be updated to bring the current cell Up-to-Date. When a cell is updated, any new upstream data
is passed to it before performing the update command.

When selected from the system, the Update command updates all of the out-of-date cells in the current
system, as well as any cells in upstream systems that must be updated to bring the current system Up-
to-Date.

When selected from the Workbench Toolbar, the Workbench Tools menu, or the context menu for the
Project Schematic, the Update command updates all out-of-date cells in the project.

When updating the Solution cell in a Fluent-based system, the following steps take place:

1. Fluent launches in the background.

2. Fluent performs either the number of iterations (or time-steps) specified in the settings or case file or the
number of iterations required to reach convergence.

3. Fluent writes the following files:

• case file

• data file

• data interpolation file, name.ip

The data interpolation file will be generated when Data Interpolation is selected in the Solution
cell properties. Fluent will use this file as a restart data file in future sessions, but only if the
solution data file becomes incompatible with the mesh.

If you select the Data Interpolation property after completing calculations, the state of the
Solution cell will change to Update Required. Upon the next update, Fluent will only write the
.ip file.

Note

If the data interpolation file is not available and the upstream mesh has not been
modified, Fluent will use the regular data file (.dat) as a restart file.

• output case file, name-Setup-Output.cas

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
32 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Using the Update Command

The output case file will be generated when

– the Setup cell property Generate Output Case File is enabled, and

– mesh operations have been performed prior to running the simulation in Fluent.

• solution transcript file Solution.trn

• residual file SolutionMonitor.gz (if Solution Monitoring is enabled in the Properties view for the
Solution cell) and miscellaneous files for generating reports (see Generating Fluent Project Reports (p. 43)
for details).

4. If Data Interpolation is cleared in the Solution cell properties, Fluent removes the existing .ip file (if
available).

5. Fluent exits.

If Fluent is already open, you can use the Update toolbar command from the Update
Mesh/Setup/Solution tool ( ) drop-down menu to bring the state of the system cells Up-To-Date.

While updating the Solution cell, you can visually monitor the solution convergence data for your Fluent
simulations in Workbench using the solution monitoring charts, if Solution Monitoring is enabled in
the Property view for the Solution cell. See Monitoring Fluent Solutions in Workbench (p. 39) for more
information.

Important

When an update is performed on a Solution cell and a Fluent session from the same system
as that Solution cell is open, the calculation will be performed in that open Fluent session.
This may not result in the action that you intended, therefore it is recommended that you
close any open Fluent sessions before executing an Update command. For example, if you
have specified initial data using either a connection from an upstream solution cell or by
importing initial data into the Solution cell and you open Fluent from the Setup cell of the
system, the initial data is not loaded (see Starting Fluent from a Fluent-Based System (p. 9)).
If you subsequently perform an Update, the calculation will be performed in the open Flu-
ent session and the initial data you specified will not be used as the starting point.

The Update command is particularly useful when you make changes to upstream data that impact
downstream data. For example, if you start with an Up-to-Date Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system
and then modify the mesh in the ANSYS Meshing application, you can simply select Update from the
system’s context menu to generate the new results.

When performing an Update, you can specify whether the Solution cell in a Fluent-based system should
be updated starting from existing solution data, case file data, or from an imported data file. This is
specified by selecting an appropriate Initialization Method option from the Solution cell Properties
view (see Specifying Fluent Launcher Settings Using Cell Properties (p. 11)).

The Initialization Method options for the Solution cell in a Fluent-based system will always have the
highest priority.

If you perform parametric studies, you can use the following Design Point Initiation options in Prop-
erties of Schematic for Parameter Set:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 33
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Figure 2.1: The Property View of the Parameter Set

• From Current: Fluent uses the Initialization Method specified in the Solution cell properties (see Specifying
Fluent Launcher Settings Using Cell Properties (p. 11)). Additionally, if Program Controlled or Use Solution
Data from File options are selected and the mesh compatible solution data file is available, Fluent uses this
data to initialize subsequent design point studies, or

• From Previous Updated: Fluent uses the last computed design point’s data file to initialize the solution for
the next design point (that is, DP2 uses DP1's data file, DP5 uses DP4's data file, and so on).

If the solution data is not available, or if the solution data is not compatible with the updated solution
mesh, Fluent initializes the solution using the methods set in the case file. The available initialization
methods in Fluent, relevant to Design Point studies in Workbench, consist of the following:

• The Initialization Method set in the Solution Initialization task page in Fluent.

• Specify a case modification strategy (see Case Modification Strategies with Fluent and Workbench (p. 61)).

Initial data can also be specified by:

• Importing an initial data file into the Solution cell or the Fluent application (see Importing Fluent files in
Workbench (p. 25)).

• Creating a connection from an upstream Solution cell (see Connecting Systems in Workbench (p. 44)).

If you have imported an initial data file or created a connection to specify initial data, that data will
override the initialization method specified on the Solution Initialization task page. If you have a case

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
34 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Refreshing Fluent Input Data

modification strategy defined, the initialization step in that strategy will always be performed regardless
of whether initial data is specified in any other way.

Important

• There is also an Update command in the ANSYS Meshing application which generates the mesh
and creates the input files required by downstream cells. The Generate Mesh command in the
ANSYS Meshing application generates the mesh but does not produce any input files. If a con-
nection is made from an up-to-date Mesh cell, the state of the Mesh cell may become Update
Required, indicating that the ANSYS Meshing application needs to generate an additional input
file. This file can be generated by selecting the Update command from the context menu of the
Mesh cell. If you try to open Fluent before the Mesh cell is updated, a warning message is dis-
played informing you that you must update the Mesh cell before you can start Fluent, since the
mesh file required for Fluent does not yet exist.

• Whether you edit the project through the Setup or Solution cells, your project’s postprocessing
settings in Fluent (including any surface definitions that you may have created), are saved at the
start of iteration or when you close Fluent. When Fluent is later opened from either cell, these
new settings will be available. Changes made to postprocessing settings in Fluent do not affect
cell state.

2.3. Refreshing Fluent Input Data

You can refresh the input data for a cell by right-clicking the cell and selecting the Refresh command
from the context menu. The Refresh command passes modified upstream data to the cell but does not
conduct any long-running operations to regenerate the cell’s output data.

For example, you can refresh the mesh by right-clicking the Setup cell in Workbench and selecting the
Refresh command from the context menu. The state of the Setup cell becomes Update Required. It
will become Up-to-Date the next time you launch Fluent from the Setup cell, or if you select the Update
command from the context menu of the Setup cell.

You can refresh the input data for the Setup cell in a Fluent-based system by using either the Refresh
command from the cell’s context menu or, if Fluent is already open, by selecting the Refresh Input
Data option in the Fluent File ribbon tab, or using the Refresh Input Data of Mesh/Setup/Solution
toolbar button ( ).

Important

• Selecting the Update command from the context menu performs a Refresh command (if needed)
before performing the Update command. You do not need to perform a Refresh and an Update
in two separate steps.

• If you open Fluent after making a modification to the mesh and without refreshing the input
data, you will be asked whether you want to load the modified mesh before Fluent launches.

• If Fluent is open and you make a modification to the mesh, you will be informed that the upstream
mesh has changed and asked whether you want to load the new mesh before proceeding.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 35
Working With Fluent in Workbench

2.4. Reloading Data and Synchronizing Fluent with Workbench

When performing multiple preliminary investigative analyses with Fluent in Workbench (for example,
establishing the most suitable solver settings) your Fluent settings are changed multiple times. In order
to quickly and safely discard recently unsaved changes in your Fluent settings and to read input data
from the Setup cell, you can use the Reload command in the Fluent File ribbon tab:

File → Reload

or the corresponding Reload toolbar command from the drop-down menu of the Mesh ( ), Setup

( ), or Solution ( ) Cell Commands. Reloading information will discard any changes performed in
the current session and will delete any corresponding generated data from the Solution cell. This
command is available only if input data is present. See Appendix C (p. 109) for more details.

In addition, you can directly update Workbench with the most recent Fluent changes using the Sync
Workbench option in the Fluent File ribbon tab, or the corresponding Synchronize WB cell status
toolbar button ( ). You can also use the corresponding text command (file/sync-workbench).

2.5. Deleting Solution and Setup Cell Data for Fluent-Based Systems
The following sections describes how to delete solution and setup data for your Fluent-based systems
by using the Clear Generated Data command, the Reset command, and the Clear Old Solution Data
command.
2.5.1. Using the Clear Generated Data Command
2.5.2. Using the Reset Command from the Setup and Solution Cells of Fluent-Based Systems
2.5.3. Using the Clear Old Solution Data Command from the Solution Cells of Fluent-Based Systems

2.5.1. Using the Clear Generated Data Command

You can delete all past and current generated files associated with a Mesh, Setup, or Solution cell by
right-clicking the cell and selecting the Clear Generated Data command from the context menu. The
following actions will be performed:

Solution cell: All past and current generated case and data files associated with the cell are deleted
and the Fluent application is closed if it is open. All solution monitoring data generated during the run
will be cleared from the Scene view (if applicable).

Setup cell: output case file name-Setup-Output.cas (if available)

Mesh cell: generated mesh file (if available)

If the cell status is Up-to-Date, it will become Update Required when the Clear Generated Data
command is executed.

If Fluent is already open, you can use the corresponding Clear Generated Data command from the

drop-down menu of the Mesh ( ), Setup ( ), or Solution ( ) Cell Commands. See Ap-
pendix C (p. 109) for more details.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
36 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Interrupting, Restarting, and Continuing a Calculation

2.5.2. Using the Reset Command from the Setup and Solution Cells of Fluent-
Based Systems
For either type of Fluent-based systems, you can delete all local and generated data from the Setup
cell or from the Solution cell by right-clicking either cell and selecting the Reset command from the
context menu.

For Setup cells, the Reset command removes the Setup cell’s references to the mesh file, deletes the
settings file associated with the Setup cell, sets the cell property values to their defaults, and closes
the Fluent application if it is open. If the Setup cell is Up-to-Date, it will become Refresh Required
when the Reset command is executed.

For Solution cells, the Reset command deletes all past and current case and data files (not including
imported initial data files) associated with the cell, sets the cell property values to their defaults, and
closes the Fluent application if it is open. If the Solution cell is Up-to-Date, it will become Refresh
Required when the Reset command is executed.

If Fluent is already open, you can use the corresponding Reset command from the drop-down menu

of the Mesh ( ), Setup ( ), or Solution ( ) Cell Commands. See Appendix C (p. 109) for more
details.

2.5.3. Using the Clear Old Solution Data Command from the Solution Cells of
Fluent-Based Systems
For either type of Fluent-based systems, you can delete all older local and generated data from the
Solution cell by right-clicking the cell and selecting the Clear Old Solution command from the context
menu.

For Solution cells, the Clear Old Solution Data command retains only the most recent solution files
associated with the Solution cell, and removes older case and data files that are not part of the current
solution history. This command is only available if there are already solutions associated with the cell,
in addition to the most recent solution.

Note

• Archived projects will only contain the most current solution files, and all solution files that are
associated with the current run (that is, solution history).

• While importing design points, the next design point (dp1) will contain only the last data file of
the current solution from the last design point (dp0).

2.6. Interrupting, Restarting, and Continuing a Calculation

The following topics are discussed in this section:
2.6.1. Interrupting a Calculation
2.6.2. Continuing and Restarting a Calculation
2.6.3. Recovering Case and Data Files after an Unexpected Interruption

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 37
Working With Fluent in Workbench

2.6.1. Interrupting a Calculation

To interrupt the calculation in an interactive Fluent session, do one of the following:

• Click Cancel in the Working dialog box

• Press Ctrl+c

To interrupt an ongoing Fluent calculation from Workbench, click the icon in the Progress view
(see Progress View in the Workbench User's Guide for more details). This displays a prompt, asking if you
would like to interrupt or stop the calculations.

You can select from the following options:

• Interrupt: Stops the calculation at the next point where data can be safely stored for later use.

• Abort: Stops the calculation immediately without concern for whether data associated with the current
action can be stored.

Important

When the calculation is interrupted from within an interactive Fluent session, it always stops
the data at the next point where data can be safely stored for later use.

When a calculation is interrupted, the state of the Solution cell becomes Interrupted, Update Required.
If a background calculation is interrupted, Fluent writes the case and data file and then closes.

If you interrupt a calculation, review the results, and decide that the solution is converged, you can
force the Solution cell state to be Up-to-Date by right-clicking the Solution cell and selecting the
Accept Interrupted Solution as Up-to-Date command from the context menu.

2.6.2. Continuing and Restarting a Calculation

You can continue a previously interrupted Fluent calculation from within Workbench by right-clicking
the Solution cell and selecting Continue Calculation or Update from the context menu. This will allow
you to continue the calculation from the current case and data files, performing the total number of
iterations (or time-steps) specified in the case file.

If Fluent is already open, you can use the corresponding Continue toolbar command from the Update
Mesh/Setup/Solution tool ( ) drop-down menu. If you want to start the interrupted simulation over,

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
38 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Monitoring Fluent Solutions in Workbench

you can use the Restart toolbar command from the Update Mesh/Setup/Solution tool ( ) drop-
down menu. See Appendix C (p. 109) for more details.

2.6.3. Recovering Case and Data Files after an Unexpected Interruption

To recover the missing latest matching/compatible case and data files from the system folder:

1. Open Fluent from the Solution cell.

Warning

Opening Fluent from the Setup cell will clear all solution data.

2. Select the File/Solution Files... ribbon tab item.

3. In the Solution Files dialog box, click Recover Missing Solution...

4. From the Solution Files at list, select the desired restart point, click Read and close the Solution Files
dialog box.

For more information, see Managing Solution Files in the Fluent User's Guide.

2.7. Monitoring Fluent Solutions in Workbench

You can visually monitor solution convergence data for your Fluent simulations in Workbench using
solution monitoring charts. To control the display of the solution monitoring charts, select the Solution
Monitoring option in the Properties view for the Solution cell.

Once this option is enabled, you can open the solution monitor workspace from within Workbench by
right-clicking a Fluent-based system Solution cell and selecting the Show Solution Monitoring command
from the context menu.

The Show Solution Monitoring command opens the Solution tab with an Outline view for the Solution
Monitors cell (see Figure 2.2: Example of the Solution Monitors Outline View Within Workbench (p. 40))
and a chart for the system (see Figure 2.3: Example of a Fluent Scene View within Workbench (p. 42)).

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 39
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Figure 2.2: Example of the Solution Monitors Outline View Within Workbench

The Outline View

The following types of monitors are available in the Outline of Solution Monitor view:

• Residual convergence monitors, such as Continuity, Energy, Velocity, and so on

• User-defined monitors that have been defined in Fluent, such as Surface, Volume, Lift, Drag, and Moment
based monitors.

The residual convergence monitors are grouped under the Residual group. User-defined monitors are
listed with their names specified in Fluent under corresponding monitor groups. The default names for
monitor groups have the following pattern: type-name, where type is the type of user-defined
monitor and name is the monitor name defined in Fluent. You can edit the names of the monitor groups
directly in the cells. The monitor names can only be edited in Fluent.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
40 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Monitoring Fluent Solutions in Workbench

The Scene View

As the Fluent simulation progresses, the convergence graphs are plotted interactively in the Scene
view. By default, Workbench displays a fully populated residual convergence chart (for example, con-
tinuity, energy, velocity, and so on). The user-defined monitor charts (that is, force, moment, and integrals)
are not displayed by default. To view user-defined monitor plots, click the corresponding cell in the
Outline of Solution Monitor view.

Once the solution is complete, or while the solution is progressing, right-click the cell for the appropriate
monitor group and select Remove Variable, Add Variables, or Add All Variables (if applicable) from
the context menu to add or remove available residual and/or user-defined monitors in the Fluent Scene
view (see Figure 2.3: Example of a Fluent Scene View within Workbench (p. 42)). You can create a new
residual or user-defined chart by right-clicking the Solution Monitors cell in the Outline view and se-
lecting Create Residual Monitor Chart or Create User-Defined Monitor Chart respectively from the
context menu.

The solution monitor chart is embedded in the Workbench Scene view and once it is visible, it can be
hidden and displayed by disabling or enabling the View > Scene menu option, respectively. You can
save the chart that you are viewing as a graphic by right-clicking the background of the chart and se-
lect Save Image As from the context menu. You can alter the appearance of individual plots by changing
Color, Line Width and Symbol Size in the Properties view for the correspondent plot cells. You can
control the settings for the monitor charts in the Scene view using the Properties view for the monitor
groups as described in Setting Chart Properties in the Workbench User's Guide.

Note

Solution monitoring in ANSYS Workbench provides only basic insight into the convergence
process of your simulation. To access full spectrum of solution monitoring features available
in ANSYS Fluent, you need to run an interactive session in Fluent.

You can also monitor the solution convergence of any design points in your simulation. When you
perform an update of all design points during the calculation, the Design Point value (as shown in
Figure 2.2: Example of the Solution Monitors Outline View Within Workbench (p. 40)) changes internally
and will be in read-only mode. Once all of the design points are updated, you can change the Design
Point value (using the corresponding drop-down menu) to view the data of any design point. Once
the Design Point is selected, then the data of the selected system will be displayed in the Scene view.

Note

• For the following situations, solution monitoring data will become available only at the
end of the calculation and the chart will not be updated during the calculation:

– when you run a parametric study in the foreground and you update the Solution
cell in the background, or

– when you remotely run a parametric study, for example, calculating design points
using the Remote Solve Manager (RSM) for the parameter set.

• All residual monitoring data is plotted with iteration number as X axis data. User-defined
monitors can be plotted with Iteration, Flow Time, or Time Step as the X axis quantity.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 41
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Figure 2.3: Example of a Fluent Scene View within Workbench

For more information about using charts in Workbench, see Working with the Chart View.

The Fluent Transcript View

The Fluent Transcript view displays the content of the Fluent solution transcript. To close the Fluent
Transcript view, deselect it from the View menu of the Solution tab.

In a design point study, you can review the solution transcript for each design point (if available) by
selecting the design point in the Properties view for the Design Point cell as shown in Figure 2.2: Ex-
ample of the Solution Monitors Outline View Within Workbench (p. 40). By default, the transcript for
the current design point is displayed.

When simulating multiple systems, you can review the transcript for each system (if available) by clicking
any cell relevant to the system of interest in the Outline view.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
42 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Generating Fluent Project Reports

During the foreground or component-level local Remote Solve Manager (RSM) update of the system,
the Fluent Transcript view will continue being updated with the solution progress information.

You can use the following standard keyboard short-cuts to navigate through the content displayed in
the Fluent Transcript view:

• Page Up and Page Down to scroll up or down one page, respectively

• Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End to jump to the top or the bottom of the transcript, respectively

The Fluent Result Image View

The Fluent Solution Images view displays contour and vector plots that have been previously defined
in Fluent (see Creating and Using Contour Plot Definitions and Creating and Using Vector Plot Definitions
in the Fluent User's Guide for details). To access the Fluent Solution Images view, select Fluent Solution
Images from the View menu of the Solution tab. You can use the scroll bar or standard navigation
keyboard buttons (Page Up, Page Down, Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End) to view a desired plot.

Similar to the Fluent Transcript view, if you are running a design point study, you can review solution
plots for each design point by selecting the desired design point in the Properties view for the Design
Point cell.

To close the Fluent Solution Images view, deselect it from the View menu of the Solution tab.

To return to viewing the Project Schematic, click the Project tab above the Workbench toolbar.

2.8. Generating Fluent Project Reports

When you update a Solution cell or interrupt an ongoing Fluent calculation, Fluent automatically
generates the following files:

• report.xml that contains the information about the current design point.

• .png images of residuals and any solution monitors that have been defined in ANSYS Fluent (if Generate
Solution Monitor Plots for Report is selected in the Properties view for the Solution cell.

• (if available) .png images of contour and/or vector plots that have been previously defined in ANSYS Fluent.

Fluent saves these files in appropriate file directories within the Workbench project. These files appear
in the Files view.

The Fluent project report XML file contains the following information in a tabular format:

Version
displays the information about the solver version.

Models
lists the ANSYS Fluent models and their status.

Material Properties
lists all the materials defined in the case and their properties.

Cell Zone Conditions

displays information about cell zones defined in the problem and their setup conditions.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 43
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Boundary Conditions
displays information about boundary zones that exist in the problem and their specific conditions.

Solver Settings
shows information about solution controls, discretization schemes, and other solution-related settings
specified in the simulation.

When you export the project report as HTML as described in Working with Project Reports in the
Workbench User's Guide, the content of the Fluent project report file will be added to the end of the
generated project report. In addition, the following sections will be included at the end of the project
report:

Solution Monitor Plot Images

display the convergence history and available solution monitor plots (if Generate Solution Monitor Plots
for Report is selected in the Properties view for the Solution cell). Note that the solution monitor plot
images can be created only if the SolutionMonitor.gz file has been generated during the update.

Post Processing Graphics Object Images

(if available) display contour and vector plots that have been previously defined in Fluent.

2.9. Connecting Systems in Workbench

In Workbench, you can create connections between multiple systems that enable the systems to access
the same data. This is useful, for instance, when you want to compare the results from multiple Fluent-
based systems in the same ANSYS CFD-Post session. In this case, you would connect the various Solution
cells to one Results cell (either in one of your Fluent-based systems or in a separate Results system).
When you double-click that Results cell, the results from all connected systems will be loaded into
ANSYS CFD-Post at the same time.

Another example would be where you want to load multiple meshes created in the ANSYS Meshing
application to your Fluent-based system. See Connecting Multiple Upstream Meshes to a Setup Cell of
a Fluent-Based System (p. 46) for further information on such connections.

Workbench supports two different types of connections:

• Shared data connections

– Used when the inputs and outputs of the two connected cells are identical

– Can only be created between two cells of the same type

A shared data connection is represented in the Project Schematic by a line with a square on its right
(target) side (see Figure 2.4: Connected Systems Within Workbench (p. 45)).

• Transfer data connections

– Used when the output of one cell is used as the input to the connected cell

– Usually created between two cells of different types. One exception is that a transfer data connection can
be used between the Solution cells of two Fluent-based systems when you want to use the current data
from one system as the initial data for the other system.

A transfer data connection is represented in the Project Schematic by a line with a circle on its right
(target) side (see Figure 2.4: Connected Systems Within Workbench (p. 45)).

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
44 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Connecting Systems in Workbench

There are four ways to create connected systems in Workbench.

• Click a cell in one system, then drag and drop it onto a compatible cell in another system.

• Click a system in the Toolbox, then drag and drop it onto a compatible system in the Project Schematic.

• Create a duplicate system (see Duplicating Fluent-Based Systems (p. 50)).

• Right-click a cell and select one of the options under Transfer Data From New... or Transfer Data To New...
(these options are not available for all cells). Transferring data from the Solution cell to a new Fluent system's
Setup cell transfers the mesh (but not the settings) to the Setup cell.

When you click and hold down the mouse button at a system in the Toolbox, Workbench highlights all
of the compatible drop targets in the Project Schematic. As you move the mouse over a drop target,
it is highlighted in red and a message appears in the Project Schematic that informs you what the
result will be if you drop the system onto that target.

There are usually several compatible drop targets on empty space in the Project Schematic. Dropping
the system onto one of these targets will create a stand-alone system in that location.

Similarly, when you highlight a cell and begin to drag it, Workbench highlights all of the compatible
drop targets in the Project Schematic. As you move the mouse over a drop target, it is highlighted in
red and a message appears in the Project Schematic that informs you what the result will be if you
drop the cell onto that target.

Figure 2.4: Connected Systems Within Workbench

For more information about connecting systems, see the Workbench online help, as well as the following
sections:
2.9.1. Connecting Multiple Upstream Meshes to a Setup Cell of a Fluent-Based System
2.9.2. Connecting Systems by Dragging and Dropping a System from the Toolbox onto Another System
2.9.3. Connecting Systems By Dragging and Dropping Fluent-Based Solution Cells Onto Other Systems

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 45
Working With Fluent in Workbench

2.9.1. Connecting Multiple Upstream Meshes to a Setup Cell of a Fluent-Based

System
You can connect multiple Mesh cells of Mesh component systems to the Setup Cell of a Fluent-based
system. The mesh data, including the mesh input parameters that you may have defined in the ANSYS
Meshing application, will then be transferred to the Setup cell. When you start Fluent from the Setup
cell, Fluent will read the mesh data from the connected Mesh cells in the order in which the connections
were created. If your Fluent-based system contains a Mesh cell, Fluent will read this data first.

Note the following limitation with these connections:

• If any upstream mesh is modified while the currently open Fluent session is running, then on refresh, Fluent
will reload all mesh files.

Important

If you change the zone topology of one of the upstream meshes, Fluent may report a mesh
incompatibility. You must then resolve the mesh incompatibility issue in order to proceed
with the case setup.

2.9.2. Connecting Systems by Dragging and Dropping a System from the

Toolbox onto Another System
The following example demonstrates the procedure for creating connected systems by dragging a
system from the Toolbox and dropping it onto a compatible system in the Project Schematic. (See
Figure 2.5: Applying the Mesh Settings to a New Fluent-Based Component System by Dragging and
Dropping Systems (p. 47))

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
46 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Connecting Systems in Workbench

Figure 2.5: Applying the Mesh Settings to a New Fluent-Based Component System by Dragging
and Dropping Systems

1. Starting from a project with an up-to-date Mesh component system, select the Fluent-based component
system from the Toolbox; the compatible drop targets are highlighted in green.

2. Drag the system over the Project Schematic and pause over the Mesh cell of the Mesh component system;
the Mesh cell target is highlighted in red and a message informs you that selecting that target will transfer
the data from cell A3 to the new system.

3. Drop the system on the drop target and a transfer data connection is created between the Mesh cell A3
and the Setup cell B1.

Note that Mesh cell A3 becomes Update Required, this is because the input data for the new system
has not yet been generated by the ANSYS Meshing application.

Important

If you try to open Fluent before the Mesh cell is updated, a warning message is displayed
informing you that you must update the Mesh cell before you can start Fluent, since the
mesh file required for Fluent does not yet exist.

4. Right-click Mesh cell A3 and select Update.

5. Double-click Setup cell B1; Fluent launches and loads the mesh from cell A3.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 47
Working With Fluent in Workbench

In the previous example, a transfer data connection was created. Shared data connections can also be
creating by dragging a system from the Toolbox and dropping it onto a compatible system in the
Project Schematic. The type of connection that Workbench creates depends on which drop target you
select. The red preview messages in the Project Schematic inform you of the type of connection(s)
that will result from your action.

When a Fluent-based component system is dragged from the Toolbox onto the Solution cell of an ex-
isting Fluent-based analysis system, you are presented with two choices: Transfer Solution Data or
Transfer Mesh Data. The connection that is made between the two systems is based on the option
selected.

Figure 2.6: Transferring Solution Data or Mesh Data to a New Fluent-Based Component System
by Dragging and Dropping Systems

Important

The mesh from the case file associated with the Solution cell of a Fluent-based analysis
system or component system can be transferred to the Setup cell of a Fluent-based compon-
ent system only and not the Setup cell of a Fluent-based analysis system.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
48 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Connecting Systems in Workbench

2.9.3. Connecting Systems By Dragging and Dropping Fluent-Based Solution

Cells Onto Other Systems
The following figures demonstrate the procedure for creating a transfer data connection by dragging
a Solution cell from a Fluent-based system and dropping it onto a compatible cell in another system:

Figure 2.7: An Example of Two Unconnected Systems

Figure 2.8: An Example of Dragging and Dropping a Solution Cell Onto Another Compatible Cell

Figure 2.9: An Example of Two Connected Systems

The following table lists the compatible drop targets for the Solution cell from a Fluent-based system:

Table 2.1: Compatible Drop Targets for the Solution cell of a Fluent-Based System

Analysis or Component System Cell(s)

Fluent Setup

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 49
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Analysis or Component System Cell(s)

Solution
Fluid Flow (Fluent) Solution

Results
CFX Results

Fluid Flow (CFX)

Vista TF

Results
Static Structural (ABAQUS) Setup

Static Structural (Samcef)

Shape Optimization (ANSYS)

Static Structural

Steady-State Thermal

Transient Structural

Thermal-Electric

Transient Thermal

2.10. Duplicating Fluent-Based Systems

Workbench allows you to create a duplicate of a system so that you can set up multiple, similar systems
and analyze them at the same time. For instance, if you would like to study the differences in the fluid
flow between two slightly different geometries, then you can create, set up, and solve a single fluid
flow analysis system, duplicate the entire system, change the geometry in the duplicate system and
perform another fluid flow analysis on the new geometry.

You can create a duplicate of a Fluent-based system by performing the following steps:

1. In the Project Schematic, right-click the system header to open the system’s context menu.

2. Select Duplicate from the context menu.

A copy of the original Fluent-based system is created in the Project Schematic.

All data associated with the Fluent-based system, except for any case, data, and initial data files associated
with the Solution cell, are copied to the new system. The states of the Geometry, Mesh, and Setup
cells in the new system will be the same as the states of the cells in the original system. The state of
the Solution and Results cells in the new system will be different than those of the original system if
the original system had case and data files associated with its Solution cell.

In addition, you can use the Duplicate command to create a duplicate of a Fluent-based system in
which the data in the Geometry cells or the data in both the Geometry cells and the Mesh cells is
shared between the two systems rather than copied.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
50 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh Incompatibility in
Fluent
To create a duplicate system in which the geometry is shared between the original and new system:

1. In the Project Schematic, right-click the Mesh cell in the system you want to duplicate to open the context
menu.

2. Select Duplicate from the context menu.

A copy of the original Fluent-based fluid flow system is created in the Project Schematic. A shared
data connection is created between the Geometry cell in the original system and the Geometry
cell in the new system.

To create a duplicate system in which both the geometry and the mesh are shared between the original
and new system:

1. In the Project Schematic, right-click the Setup cell or any cell below it in the system you want to duplicate
to open the context menu.

2. Select Duplicate from the context menu.

A copy of the original Fluent-based fluid flow system is created in the Project Schematic. Two
shared data connections are created: one between the Geometry cell in the original system and
the Geometry cell in the new system, and the other between the Mesh cell in the original system
and the Mesh cell in the new system.

2.11. Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh In-

compatibility in Fluent
When you perform mesh manipulation operations in Fluent while running under Workbench, Fluent
preserves some basic mesh operations listed below. These operations are saved as part of the Workbench
project in the Setup cell such that the operations are explicitly applied by Workbench once Fluent loads
the mesh (and before reading the settings file) and automatically reapplied the next time an update is
performed. This enables you to more easily update the system if the upstream mesh has changed, or
parameters have been modified (see Changing the Settings and Mesh in Fluent (p. 56)).

Fluent under Workbench preserves the following mesh operations:

• Scaling

• Rotation

• Translation

• Smoothing

• Swapping

• Merging

• Fusing

• Zone/Domain renaming

• Zone/Domain reordering

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 51
Working With Fluent in Workbench

• Zone type changing (The final zone type is dependent on the settings file. This is recorded primarily to
address occasional mesh changes triggered by a change in the zone type.)

• Creating periodic zones

• polyhedra operations (convert to polyhedra, convert skewed cell to polyhedra)

The following mesh operations are not recorded within Fluent in Workbench:

• Separating faces and cells

• Zone operations, such as activating, deactivating, deleting, and replacing zones, as well as appending case
and data files

• Replacing meshes

• Adapting meshes, specifically using:

– Boundaries

– Gradients

– Iso-values

– Regions

– Yplus/Ystar

– Anisotropic

– Volume

See Modifying the Mesh in the User's Guide for more information about manipulating the mesh in
Fluent.

When you start Fluent from the Setup cell in Workbench, you can review or delete the preserved mesh
manipulation operations using the Recorded Mesh Operations and Incoming Zones dialog box (Fig-
ure 2.10: The Recorded Mesh Operations and Incoming Zones Dialog Box (p. 53)). When Fluent is started
from the Solution cell, the Recorded Mesh Operations toolbar button is not available.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
52 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh Incompatibility in
Fluent
Figure 2.10: The Recorded Mesh Operations and Incoming Zones Dialog Box

To access the Recorded Mesh Operations and Incoming Zones dialog box, select the File/Recorded
Mesh Operations... ribbon tab item (or click the Recorded Mesh Operations toolbar button ).

In the Recorded Mesh Operations and Incoming Zones dialog box, you can view the mesh manipu-
lation operations that are currently stored. You can also delete, see new operations, or see if an operation
has failed due to an incompatible upstream mesh.

To view information about a mesh operation, select it from the recorded mesh operations list. The
specific details about the selected mesh manipulation operation appear under Operation Details. In
Figure 2.11: Reviewing the Details of Rotating the Mesh in the Recorded Mesh Operations Dialog
Box (p. 54), you can see the details of the rotation operation applied to a mesh. Note that when rotating
the mesh, the angle is displayed in radians, and when translating the mesh, the distance is displayed
in meters.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 53
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Figure 2.11: Reviewing the Details of Rotating the Mesh in the Recorded Mesh Operations
Dialog Box

To review information about boundary and cell zones coming from an upstream mesh, click Print In-
coming Zones. Fluent lists the details about the incoming zones in the console.
Incoming zones from upstream mesh data are:
id name type material kind status
---- ------------------------- ------------------ -------------------- ---- ----------
1 wall-part_1 wall air face regular
2 interior-part_1 interior face regular
20 velocity_inlet1 velocity-inlet face new
- pressure_outlet - - modifed
3 part_1 fluid air cell regular

The status column indicates whether a zone is new, modified, or regular, that is existing and
unmodified.

To manually manage upstream topological changes (such as zone name changes) or correct any issues
with missing or new incoming zone names:

1. Click the Match Zone Names... button.

2. In the Match Zone Names dialog box, select a zone from the Missing Zones selection list and select a
corresponding zone from the New Zones selection list.

The selected zones will be removed from their zone lists, and a matched zone pair will be added to
the Matched Zone Pairs list.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
54 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh Incompatibility in
Fluent
Figure 2.12: The Match Zone Names Dialog Box

If you want to break the association between missing and new zones that you have created, select
the corresponding matched zone pair from the Matched Zone Pairs list and click Remove. The
zone pair will be removed from the Matched Zone Pairs list, and the zone names will reappear in
their original zone lists.

3. To remove any unmatched zones in the selection Missing Zones list, and/or keep any additional new zones
in the New Zones selection list, select the Discard unmatched missing zones and accept new zones
option.

4. When you have completed matching zone names, click Apply.

5. When prompted whether or not you want to reload the Setup cell, click Yes.

In addition, the following controls are available in the Recorded Mesh Operations dialog box (see
Figure 2.10: The Recorded Mesh Operations and Incoming Zones Dialog Box (p. 53)):

• Reset — resets the stored mesh operations, clearing out all existing mesh operations, and accepting
the current zones as expected incoming zones.

• Delete — deletes the selected stored mesh operation.

• Reload — saves only the current set of mesh operations and incoming zone information, and reloads
the Setup cell.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 55
Working With Fluent in Workbench

The Reset, Delete, and the Reload buttons are disabled when there are no mesh operations listed in
the Recorded Mesh Operations dialog box.

Important

Using the Reset, Delete, or the Reload buttons is not recommended for cases with topolo-
gical mesh transformations because of potential mismatches between recorded operations
and the settings file.

2.12. Changing the Settings and Mesh in Fluent

In order to use the Update command (see Using the Update Command (p. 31)) when changes are
made to your project, Fluent must know which settings changes should be stored as part of the Setup
cell’s data (and therefore used during an update) and which settings changes should only be reflected
in the results data that is associated with the Solution cell.

Important

Note that there are certain changes to the mesh that you can perform within Fluent that are
able to be recorded and reviewed and are treated as settings. In addition, there are other
changes to the mesh within Fluent that are not recorded, and, as such, are not saved as
settings, and cannot be automatically re-applied when the Update command is used. For
more information about recording and reviewing mesh manipulation operations in Fluent
in Workbench, see Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh Incompat-
ibility in Fluent (p. 51).

In order to address these issues, if you make certain changes to the mesh and/or settings in Fluent, you
may be prompted when you attempt to calculate, close Fluent, or save the project from Fluent. The
dialog boxes that appear (described in more detail below) allow you to select an action or to cancel
the operation.

Important

If you save the project from an application other than Fluent or from the Project Schematic,
you will not be prompted; Fluent will automatically perform the default action for each dialog
box described below.

For more information, see the following sections:

2.12.1. Changing Case and Mesh Settings Before Beginning a Calculation
2.12.2. Changing Case and Mesh Settings After a Calculation Has Started

2.12.1. Changing Case and Mesh Settings Before Beginning a Calculation

Important

Note that in the descriptions below, mesh changes performed within Fluent only include
those mesh modifications that are not recorded in Fluent in Workbench. In addition, changes
to the settings can also include any mesh modifications that can be recorded in Fluent in
Workbench. For more information about recording and reviewing mesh manipulation oper-

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
56 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Changing the Settings and Mesh in Fluent

ations in Fluent in Workbench, see Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving
Mesh Incompatibility in Fluent (p. 51).

If the mesh has not been changed using tools in Fluent, any changes to the settings are automatically
saved to the settings (.set) file.

If the mesh has been changed using tools in Fluent and the mesh was imported into the Fluent applic-
ation or the system’s Setup cell, any changes to the settings are automatically saved to the settings
(.set) file. In addition, a case file is saved and registered to the Setup cell to represent the modified
mesh.

If the mesh has been changed using tools in Fluent and the mesh was provided to the system’s Setup
cell by an upstream cell, the saved settings may not be compatible with the original mesh available to
the Setup cell, and you are prompted with the following dialog box:

Figure 2.13: The Mesh has changed! Dialog Box

Since the mesh was provided to the system’s Setup cell by an upstream cell, the original mesh cannot
be replaced by the modified mesh without also making changes to the Project Schematic. Since there
are several ways in which the schematic can be modified, Fluent does not provide a way to do this
automatically.

You can choose any of the following actions:

• Select OK in the Mesh has changed! dialog box. The action you requested when you were prompted
will proceed. Any changes to the settings will be saved to the settings file. If you had selected to calculate,
the iterations (or time-steps) will be performed on the modified mesh. If you had selected to close
Fluent or save the project, the modified mesh will be stored in the case file that is written as a result of
either of those actions. The modified mesh will not be saved if Fluent is closed without initializing or
generating data.

Important

– If you open Fluent from the Setup cell, or update or refresh the Setup or Solution cell
from the Project Schematic, the modified mesh will be replaced with the mesh provided
by the upstream cell. To calculate using the modified mesh, either open Fluent from the
Solution cell or select Continue Calculation from the Solution cell’s context menu.

– If you specified settings before you changed the mesh, you must also verify that those
settings are consistent with the modified mesh.

– If you want to use the modified mesh as the starting point for another analysis, simply
create a new Fluent-based system and import the new case file that contains the modified
mesh into its Setup cell.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 57
Working With Fluent in Workbench

• Select Cancel in the Mesh has changed! dialog box and create a case modification strategy that
automatically performs the desired mesh modification steps (as well as any settings changes that are
dependent on the modified mesh) before calculating (see Case Modification Strategies with Fluent and
Workbench (p. 61)). This will allow you to automatically repeat the desired mesh modifications every
time you perform an Update or restart the calculation from the Setup cell.

Important

If you plan to make modifications to your mesh in Fluent (such as scaling, rotating,
or converting to polyhedra) before performing any calculations, and you do not require
any change made upstream of the Fluent Setup cell to be propagated to the mesh
in the future, you should import the mesh you plan to modify directly into the Setup
cell of a Fluent-based analysis or component system.

2.12.2. Changing Case and Mesh Settings After a Calculation Has Started

Important

Note that in the descriptions below, mesh changes performed within Fluent only include
those mesh modifications that are not recorded in Fluent in Workbench. In addition, changes
to the settings can also include any mesh modifications that can be recorded in Fluent in
Workbench. For more information about recording and reviewing mesh manipulation oper-
ations in Fluent in Workbench, see Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving
Mesh Incompatibility in Fluent (p. 51).

If changes to the settings have been made and the mesh has not been changed using tools in Fluent,
you are prompted with the following dialog box:

Figure 2.14: The Settings have changed! Dialog Box

Since changes were made to the settings after you began the calculation, you have to specify whether
or not the settings changes should be saved to the settings file.

You can choose any of the following actions:

• Select the Use settings changes for current calculations only option in the warning dialog box. The action
you requested when you were prompted will proceed. The modified settings will not be saved to the settings
file. If you had selected to calculate, the iterations (or time-steps) will start using the new settings. If you

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
58 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Changing the Settings and Mesh in Fluent

had selected to close Fluent, or save the project, the new settings will be stored in the case file that is written
as a result of either of those actions.

Important

– If you open Fluent from the Setup cell, or update or refresh the Setup or Solution cell from
the Project Schematic, the settings will be replaced with the settings in the settings file that
is associated with the Setup cell. To calculate using the new settings either open Fluent from
the Solution cell or select Continue Calculation from the Solution cell’s context menu.

– If you want to use the new settings as the starting point for another analysis, simply create a
new Fluent-based system and import the new case file that contains the new settings into its
Setup cell.

• Select the Use settings changes for current and future calculations option in the warning dialog box.
The action you requested when you were prompted will proceed. The modified settings will be saved to
the settings file. If you had selected to calculate, the iterations (or time-steps) will start using the new settings.
If you had selected to close Fluent, or save the project, the new settings will also be stored in the case file
that is written as a result of either of those actions.

• Select Cancel in the warning dialog box. Create a new duplicate system (see Duplicating Fluent-Based Sys-
tems (p. 50)), modify the settings, and connect the Solution cells for the two systems so that the calculations
will be performed in sequence.

• Select Cancel in the warning dialog box and create a case modification strategy that automatically performs
the desired settings changes after the appropriate number of iterations (or time-steps); see Case Modification
Strategies with Fluent and Workbench (p. 61) for more details.

The last two approaches allow you to automatically repeat setting changes after a specified number of
iterations (or time-steps) every time you perform an Update or restart the calculation from the Setup
cell.

If the mesh has been changed using tools in Fluent, and the mesh includes changes made using dynamic
or sliding mesh, you are prompted with the following dialog box:

Figure 2.15: The Mesh and settings have changed! Dialog Box

Important

Note that when Fluent modifies the mesh, Fluent does not allow you to save the modified
settings and/or mesh operations once the calculation has started.

Otherwise, if the mesh has been changed using tools in Fluent, you are prompted with the following
dialog box:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 59
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Figure 2.16: The Mesh and settings have changed! Dialog Box

You need to specify whether or not any changes you made to the settings after you began the calculation
should be saved to the settings file. Note that in cases where unrecorded mesh operations are performed
in Fluent, those mesh operations will be ignored in future solution runs.

Important

• Whenever you modify the mesh in Fluent, you also make changes to some settings in Fluent.
Therefore, mesh modifications always result in setting changes.

• The original mesh cannot be replaced by the modified mesh after the calculation has begun.

You can choose any of the following actions:

• Select the Use settings and mesh changes for current calculations only option in the warning dialog
box. The action you requested when you were prompted will proceed. The modified settings will not be
saved to the settings file. If you had selected to calculate, the iterations (or time-steps) will start using the
new settings and the modified mesh. If you had selected to close Fluent, or save the project, the new settings
and the modified mesh will be stored in the case file that is written as a result of either of those actions.

Important

– If you open Fluent from the Setup cell, or update or refresh the Setup or Solution cell from
the Project Schematic, the settings and the modified mesh will be replaced with the mesh
and settings in the files that are associated with the Setup cell. To calculate using the new
settings and the modified mesh, either open Fluent from the Solution cell or select Continue
Calculation from the Solution cell’s context menu.

– If you want to use the new settings and the modified mesh as the starting point for another
analysis, simply create a new Fluent-based system and import the new case file that contains
the new settings and the modified mesh into its Setup cell.

• Select the Use settings and mesh changes for current and future calculations option in the warning
dialog box. The action you requested when you were prompted will proceed. The modified settings will be
saved to the settings file. If you had selected to calculate, the iterations (or time-steps) will start using the

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
60 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Case Modification Strategies with Fluent and Workbench

new settings and the modified mesh. If you had selected to close Fluent, or save the project, the new settings
and the modified mesh will also be stored in the case file that is written as a result of either of those actions.

Important

If you open Fluent from the Setup cell, or update or refresh the Setup or Solution cell
from the Project Schematic, the new settings will be used in conjunction with the mesh
in the file that is associated with the Setup cell. Since those settings may have been spe-
cified after the mesh was modified, you must verify that the new settings are consistent
with the original mesh.

• Select Cancel in the warning dialog box and create a case modification strategy that automatically performs
the desired settings changes and mesh modification steps after the appropriate number of iterations (or
time-steps); see Case Modification Strategies with Fluent and Workbench (p. 61) for more details. This allows
you to automatically repeat the desired setting changes and mesh modification steps after a specified
number of iterations (or time-steps) every time you perform an Update or restart the calculation from the
Setup cell.

2.13. Case Modification Strategies with Fluent and Workbench

Fluent allows you to specify your own initialization and start-up routines using automatically executed
strategies that you can define using the Automatic Solution Initialization and Case Modification
option on the Calculation Activities task page within Fluent. Selecting the option and clicking the
Edit... button opens the Automatic Solution Initialization and Case Modification dialog box.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 61
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Figure 2.17: Accessing Solution Strategies in Fluent

Using the Automatic Solution Initialization and Case Modification dialog box, you are able to specify
your initialization method on the Initialization Method tab and use any text user interface (TUI) com-
mand to modify the case after a specified number of time steps or iterations in the Case Modification
tab. This option replaces the need for some simple journal files, especially for cases where a prescribed
start-up and solution routine is used (start with 1st order, switch to 2nd order, turn on reactions, and
so on)

When a case modification strategy is defined within Fluent, it will be used when a system is updated
from the Project Schematic in Workbench.

As mentioned in Changing the Settings and Mesh in Fluent (p. 56), mesh manipulations steps executed
from within Fluent are not repeated when an update is performed from the Project Schematic or you
start Fluent from the Setup cell. However, for mesh manipulation, you can specify steps that will be
executed at the beginning of your calculation if you incorporate them into a case modification strategy.

Solution strategies can also be useful when you need to perform mesh manipulation steps after a spe-
cified number of iterations during a calculation.

Important

Whenever you run a case modification strategy interactively, make sure to reload the original
mesh and revert to the original settings before re-running the case modification strategy

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
62 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Working With Input and Output Parameters in Workbench

(see the separate Fluent User's Guide for information on how the original settings can be
reset automatically as part of a case modification strategy).

Important

When running Fluent in Workbench, the behavior when continuing the calculation from the
Solution cell, when a solution strategy is defined, is different than when additional iterations
or time steps are specified in the Run Calculations task page. When a solution strategy is
defined, Fluent will complete the iterations or time steps specified by the solution strategy.
Once the solution is Up-to-Date, continuing the calculation has no effect. On the other hand,
when additional iterations or time steps are specified in the Run Calculations task page,
every time you choose to continue the calculation, Fluent will try to perform the specified
number of iterations or time-steps.

For more information about using these features in Fluent, see the Fluent User's Guide.

2.14. Working With Input and Output Parameters in Workbench

Workbench uses parameters and design points to allow you to run optimization and what-if scenarios.
You can define both input and output parameters in Fluent that can be used in your Workbench project.
You can also define parameters in other applications including ANSYS DesignModeler and ANSYS CFD-
Post. Once you have defined parameters for your system, a Parameters cell is added to the system and
the Parameter Set bus bar is added to your project. Arrows representing input and output parameters
connect the bus bar to each system in which you have defined parameters.

Double-click the Parameter Set bus bar to open the Parameters Set tab. The Parameters Set tab in-
cludes the Outline of All Parameters table that lists all of the parameters in your project as well as
the Table of Design Points table in which you can specify design points.

To create a new design point, enter the input parameter values that you want to use for that design
point in the Table of Design Points in the row with an asterisk (*) in the first column. You can create
several design points. Once you have finished specifying design points, you can right-click the row for
one design point and select the Update Selected Design Point command from the context menu to
compute the output parameters for that design point. Alternatively, you can select Update All Design
Points from the Toolbar to update all of your design points in sequence.

Important

By default, Workbench only saves the calculated data for the design point in the row labeled
Current. If you want to save the data for a design point other than Current within the project
(so you can postprocess the results from a different design point in either ANSYS Fluent or
ANSYS CFD-Post), enable the option in the Retain column for that design point before you
update it. After the calculation is complete, you can then right-click the design point in the
Table of Design Points and select Set as Current to access the data. Alternatively, you can

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 63
Working With Fluent in Workbench

export design points to separate projects. For details, see Retaining Design Point Data and
Exporting Design Points in the separate Workbench User's Guide.

Important

Note that you cannot create, edit, delete, or rename parameters in Fluent if any iterations
(or time-steps) have been performed. If you want to create, edit, delete, or rename parameters
in Fluent for a case with an existing solution, you must first initialize the solution.

Note

In Fluent, you can directly access the Parameters dialog box using the Parameters & Cus-
tomization/Parameters tree item in Fluent, or the corresponding Parameter System toolbar
command ( ).

For more information about using input and output parameters in Fluent (along with using them in
Scheme functions and UDFs), see Defining and Viewing Parameters and Creating Output Parameters in
the Fluent User's Guide.

For more information about parameters, design points, what-if scenarios and optimization studies in
Workbench, see the Workbench online documentation.

2.15. Viewing Your Fluent Data Using ANSYS CFD-Post

ANSYS CFD-Post is a postprocessing application that helps you visualize the results of your ANSYS Flu-
ent CFD simulations. For Fluent-based analysis systems, the Results cell provides access to the ANSYS
CFD-Post application. In addition, the Toolbox contains a separate Results component system (that is,
ANSYS CFD-Post) that you can add to the Project Schematic and connect to Fluent-based systems.

When a Results cell is connected to a Fluent-based system’s Solution cell and the Results cell’s state
is either Refresh Required or Update Changes Pending, you can view the results of your Fluent calcu-
lation in ANSYS CFD-Post by double-clicking the Results cell. This will load the Fluent results into ANSYS
CFD-Post.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
64 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Viewing Your Fluent Data Using ANSYS CFD-Post

Figure 2.18: Multiple Fluent Results Loaded Into ANSYS CFD-Post

Important

In addition to analyzing your results in ANSYS CFD-Post, you can also view the results of your
simulation using the standard Fluent postprocessing tools. For more information, see the
separate Fluent User's Guide.

Important

There are two options for exporting Fluent files for ANSYS CFD-Post:

1. Standard Fluent case and data files do not contain all variables, however, you can add additional
quantities to your regular Fluent data file using the Data File Quantities dialog box in Fluent.

2. Lightweight data files are created by exporting ANSYS CFD-Post compatible files. These files
can be used to save just the variables of interest.

When you edit a Results cell that is connected to the Solution cell in a Fluent-based system,
ANSYS CFD-Post always loads the standard Fluent case and data files. For more information
on exporting Fluent files for ANSYS CFD-Post, see the separate Fluent User's Guide.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 65
Working With Fluent in Workbench

2.16. Understanding the File Structure for Fluent in Workbench

When you save a Workbench project (for example, my-project), the project is saved with a .wbpj
extension (for example, my-project.wbpj). Other files associated with the project (through other
Workbench applications such as ANSYS Fluent or CFX) are located in the dp0 folder within a _files
folder (for example, my-project_files).

Each system in the Project Schematic has its own directory under the dp0 directory. The directory is
named using the corresponding system identifier (for example, FFF represents a Fluent-based analysis
system; FLU represents a Fluent-based component system; Post represents a Results component
system, and so on). The directory name is appended with a number to distinguish it from the directories
for other systems of the same type (with the exception of the directory name for the first system of a
specific type which has no number appended to it).

Within each system directory is a folder for each application that is part of the system. This folder is
used to store the files generated and used by the application.

In addition to the settings, case and data files, the following files are managed by Fluent in Workbench:

• monitor files

• flamelet files

• view factor files

• non-premixed files (.pdf)

• interpreted user-defined (UDF) files

• compiled UDF libraries

• Discrete Transfer Radiation (DTRM) .ray files

• mechanism files (.che or .inp)

• property database files (thermo.db and transport.db)

You may use other types of files with Fluent in Workbench, however, you are responsible for making
sure that they are located in the appropriate folder within the project file structure.

The following figure represents an example of the directory structure for Workbench project with two
Fluid Flow (Fluent) systems and one Results system:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
66 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Understanding the File Structure for Fluent in Workbench

Figure 2.19: Example of the Directory Structure for a Fluent-Based Project in Workbench

You can view the files associated with your Workbench project by selecting the Files option under the
View menu.

View → Files

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 67
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Figure 2.20: The Files View for a Project in Workbench

If data is shared between two systems, then files are also shared between the two systems. The shared
file will exist in either the directory of the first system that used it, or in a global directory in the design
point directory (depending on the type of system that generated the file).

The _files folder also contains a user_files directory. This directory should be used for any files
you create or reference that you would like to store with the project.

Important

In general, you should not modify the structure of the project directories or delete or modify
any of the files that Workbench applications have stored in the project directories. However,
you may delete Fluent case and data files that are stored with the project but are no longer

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
68 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Understanding the File Structure for Fluent in Workbench

needed. You should close Fluent before deleting Fluent case and data files from the project
directories.

Important

Monitor files are automatically written to the appropriate working directory within the
Workbench project files directory. You will not be able to specify a different path for monitor
files from within Fluent. When reading older case files in which a different location is specified
for monitor files, a warning message will inform you that the path will be modified.

Important

If you intend to use a Fluent journal file that reads or writes files while running under Work-
bench, the journal file and the files it references should be moved to the appropriate Flu-
ent folder in the appropriate system folder in the Workbench project working directory. File
paths in the journal files should use relative paths to point to the new locations for the files.

Important

If you use models that generate mesh-dependent information the first time they are set up
(for example, DTRM, S2S) and then you change the mesh used in your system, the mesh
dependent information (for example, .dtrm file, .s2s file) may be incompatible with the
new mesh. To resolve this issue, you can:

• Open Fluent from your system, compute/write the .dtrm or .s2s output files, and then update
the system.

• Use a solution strategy and write the .s2s file as a pre-initialization method using the appropriate
command (for example, (write-sglobs "2d.s2s.gz")).

Important

If your Fluent setup involves compiling and loading a user-defined function (UDF), it is recom-
mended that you copy the UDF source code files to the same location as your mesh and
settings files before compiling the UDF libraries. This location is available in the Files view
in Workbench. You may need to save the project first to create the appropriate files folder
within the Workbench project (for example project name\dp0\FFF\Fluent\). If you
need to unload a UDF library for any reason during your simulation, it is recommended that
you save the project soon after unloading the library. If you archive a project that includes
compiled user defined functions, you will need to recompile the libraries after opening the
archived project. To do so, you will need to open Fluent from the Setup cell, go to the UDF
Library Manager dialog box (User Defined/User Defined/Functions/Manage...) and unload
the existing UDF library. Next, rebuild the UDF library locally by going to the Compiled
UDFs dialog box (User Defined/User Defined/Functions/Compiled...), selecting the archived
.c and .h files, compiling, and loading the new UDF library. Finally, save the project.

For more information, see the following section:

2.16.1. Fluent File Naming in Workbench

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 69
Working With Fluent in Workbench

2.16.1. Fluent File Naming in Workbench

When running under Workbench, Fluent automatically saves the settings, case, and data files for your
system as needed.

Fluent names these files using the base name of the mesh file. If a mesh (or case) file is imported, the
base name of the imported file is used as the base name for the settings, case, and data files. If the
mesh is created in Workbench, the mesh file uses the system’s directory name as its base name.

When Fluent saves a case file, it appends the base name with the run number. When Fluent next writes
a case file, the run number is incremented in order to avoid overwriting the previous case file. When
Fluent saves a data file, it appends the base name with the same run number as the associated case
file and with the iteration (or time-step) number at which it was saved. A new case file is not written
every time that a data file is written. The case file is only written when the settings and/or mesh is
changed.

The following example shows how file naming works in Fluent under Workbench. In this example, you
have a single Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system and you have created the mesh in Workbench.

1. Double-click Setup cell. Fluent launches and loads FFF.msh.

2. In ANSYS Fluent, specify boundary conditions, initialize the solution and enter 10 iterations on the Run
Calculation task page.

3. In the Fluent application, select the Calculate button.

FFF.set file is written and 10 iterations are completed.

4. Save the project.

FFF-1.cas.gz and FFF-1-00010.dat.gz are written.

5. In the Fluent application, select the Calculate button.

10 additional iterations are completed.

6. Save the project.

FFF-1-00020.dat.gz is written.

7. In the Fluent application, change the value of the inlet velocity, select the Calculate button. When
prompted, select the Store the modified settings for a future calculation and use them this time option.

FFF.set is written (overwriting the existing file) and 10 additional iterations are completed.

8. Save the project.

FFF-2.cas.gz and FFF-2-00030.dat.gz are written.

Important

The same naming convention is used when autosaving with Fluent under Workbench.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
70 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Using Custom Systems

2.17. Working with ANSYS Licensing

When working with Workbench, you have the option to share a single license between applications
that use the same license or the option for each application to check out its own license.

For more information, see the following section:

2.17.1. Shared Licensing Mode

2.17.1. Shared Licensing Mode

When using shared licensing, although a single license is shared between multiple applications, only
one application can actively use the license at a time. Therefore, with just a single license, you can have
both ANSYS Fluent and ANSYS CFD-Post open at the same time. If iterations are being performed in
the Fluent session, you cannot do anything in the ANSYS CFD-Post session. However, if the Fluent session
is open and idle, you can work in ANSYS CFD-Post without closing Fluent. Similarly, you can have multiple
sessions of Fluent open at the same time using just a single license.

If you open an application, it will first check to see if it can use a license that is already checked out. If
it can, and that license is available, it will use that license. If the license is not available because it is
being used by another application, you will be informed that the required license is not available. You
will not be able to use the new application until that license becomes available. If there is not a license
checked out that is compatible with the new application, the new application will check out an addi-
tional license.

In shared mode, you can have multiple licenses of each type of non-shareable licenses checked out at
a time. For example, you can have 1 acfd license and 1 acfd prepost license checked out at the
same time but you cannot have 2 acfd licenses checked out at the same time.

In shared mode, you can have multiple licenses of each type of non-shareable licenses checked out at
a time. Non-shareable licenses include solver-only licenses and parallel licenses.

For more information about licensing and shared license mode, see the Workbench online documentation.

2.18. Using Fluent With the Remote Solve Manager (RSM)

The Remote Solve Manager (RSM) is a job queuing system used to distribute tasks that require computing
resources. RSM schedules and manages tasks within Workbench and allows tasks to be sent only to the
local machine to run in background mode, or they can be broken into a series of jobs for parallel pro-
cessing.

For more information about using Fluent in Workbench and RSM (with associated limitations), see
Submitting Solutions and Submitting Fluent Jobs to RSM or an EKM Portal.

2.19. Using Custom Systems

Workbench allows you to add custom templates and includes some pre-defined custom templates. To
use a custom template, double-click the template to add it to the Project Schematic.

Under Custom Systems in the Toolbox, there is a predefined Fluent-based custom system (FSI: Fluid
Flow (Fluent) Static Structural – the single arrow is meant to convey that the interaction is one-
way). When you double-click the template to add it to the Project Schematic, Workbench automatically
creates a link between the Geometry cell in the Fluent system and the Geometry cell in the Structural
system and between the Solution cell in the Fluent system and the Setup cell in the Structural system.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 71
Working With Fluent in Workbench

You can create your own system template and then save it as a Custom System by performing the
following steps:

1. Manually create the desired system diagram in the Project Schematic.

2. Right-click the white space in the Project Schematic and select Add to Custom from the context menu.

Important

When you use Fluent to perform a one-way fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis using
the approach demonstrated in the predefined Fluent-based custom system, you can only
exchange surface data for force and thermal loads.

Important

When you use Fluent to perform a one-way fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis using
the approach demonstrated in the predefined Fluent-based custom system, and you are
performing a multiphase simulation in Fluent, you cannot exchange thermal load data.

2.20. Using Journaling and Scripting with Fluent in Workbench

You can keep a history of your interactions within Workbench, that can also include your interactions
within Fluent, by recording your interactions with the program(s) in session journals (also referred to
as journaling). This is done using the Scripting submenu in the Workbench File menu:

File → Scripting → Record Journal...

In addition, since the journal files are Python-based scripts, you can edit and/or play back previously
recorded journal files, or create new journals manually (also known as scripting), that include your inter-
actions within Workbench and, if applicable, any interactions within Fluent:

File → Scripting → Run Script File...

For more information about recording and using session journals in Workbench, as well as reference
documentation containing available commands and properties, see the separate ANSYS Workbench
Scripting Guide.

Important

• When using the Send Command method to directly call a Fluent text user interface (TUI) com-
mand, the TUI command will not be recognized unless you use double quotes around it (for ex-
ample, setup.SendCommand("define model energy no")). If a string is included in
the TUI command, then a backslash is required before the quotes around the string. For example:
setup1.SendCommand(Command="(cx-gui-do cx-activate-item \"MenuBar*FileMenu*Close Fluent\") ")

• Fluent internal Scheme commands may not work properly when called directly using the Send
Command method. Therefore, you should use Fluent text user interface (TUI) commands instead.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
72 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench

2.21. Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench

You can use Workbench to perform coupled simulations using two or more systems (for example, ANSYS
Mechanical (Transient or Static Structural) and ANSYS Fluent) using a System Coupling component
system. As described in the separate System Coupling Guide, you can set up a one-way or two-way
fluid-structure interaction (FSI) design analysis in Workbench by connecting a System Coupling component
system to your Mechanical system and to your ANSYS Fluent fluid flow analysis system.

The following is the list of supported coupling participants:

• Fluent

• Static Structural

• Transient Structural

• Steady-State Thermal

• Transient Thermal

• External Data

Connecting the Setup cell from an ANSYS Fluent analysis system to the Setup cell for the System
Coupling component system signals the latter system that the Fluent solver will act as a co-simulation
participant in a coupled analysis. Most of the coupling related settings for your analysis are made
through the System Coupling system’s Setup user interface. The few coupling related settings that
are required in the Fluent setup are described below, in the section System Coupling Related Settings
in Fluent (p. 79). Once the coupling setup is complete, the coupled analysis is executed by updating
the System Coupling system’s Solution cell, rather than the same cell in the connected co-simulation
participant systems.

Note

For System Coupling cases using Fluent, it is a best practice to run Fluent in double precision.

Additional information can be found in the following sections:

2.21.1. Supported Capabilities and Limitations
2.21.2. Variables Available for System Coupling
2.21.3. System Coupling Related Settings in Fluent
2.21.4. How Fluent’s Execution is Affected by System Couplings
2.21.5. Restarting Fluent Analyses as Part of System Couplings
2.21.6. System Coupling case with Fluent using Patched Data
2.21.7. Running Fluent as a System Coupling Participant from the Command Line
2.21.8.Troubleshooting Two-Way Coupled Analysis Problems
2.21.9. Product Licensing Considerations when using System Coupling

2.21.1. Supported Capabilities and Limitations

ANSYS Fluent supports the following capabilities when used in a System Coupling analysis:

• Force and displacement data transfers on wall boundaries (including walls in sliding mesh zones),
porous jump boundaries, and porous zone interfaces:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 73
Working With Fluent in Workbench

– Input of incremental displacements data from System Coupling allow moving and deforming mesh
specification on boundary wall regions (including walls in sliding mesh zones), porous jump bound-
aries, and porous zone interfaces (via a zero-thickness porous jump boundary). Note the additional
System Coupling option in the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box; see Specifying the Motion of Dy-
namic Zones for more information.

– Output of force data on boundary wall regions (including walls in sliding mesh zones), porous jump
boundaries, and porous zone interfaces (via a zero-thickness porous jump boundary). Fluent is able
to serve the total force variable (viscous and normal) on all wall boundaries (with or without enabling
the System Coupling option in the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box). See Variables Available for
System Coupling (p. 75) for details about the forces transferred from the wall and porous jump
boundaries.

• Thermal data transfers on wall boundaries:

– Input of temperature data and heat flow data from System Coupling on all wall boundaries. Note
the additional via System Coupling option in the Thermal tab of the Boundary Conditions dialog
box.

– Output of temperature data, heat flow data, and heat transfer coefficient data to System Coupling
on all wall boundaries (with or without enabling the System Coupling option in the Dynamic Mesh
Zones dialog box).

• Data transfers from wall boundaries that are in Fluent sliding mesh zone or rigid body zone.

• The use of triangular and quadrilateral faced interface cell types.

• Full dynamic mesh support everywhere except on coupling interface.

• Full support for local and distributed parallel solver execution.

• Convergence data for all equations (for example, continuity, momentum, and energy convergence
data) is shared with the system coupling service at run time. Monitor data is shared if the monitor point
has an iteration frequency set. If the monitor point has a time step frequency set, monitor data will not
be shared with System Coupling.

This data from Fluent can be charted in conjunction with other data in the system coupling chart
at all available intervals. Intermediate data points are not artificially created in the system coupling
chart.

Monitor data can also be plotted in Fluent Solution Monitoring.

Note the following limitations when using Fluent in a System Coupling analysis:

• Using System Coupling with the Remote Solver Manager (RSM) in Fluent is not supported. If attempted,
you will receive the following message:
Solution updates for Fluent systems participating in System Couplings
must run in the foreground. This change has been automatically applied.

• When using a wall and wall-shadow pair in Fluent as System Coupling interfaces, you'll need to create
a duplicate surface in Mechanical. These will be paired with two sets of shell elements in Mechanical.
For more information, see Coupling with Wall/Wall-Shadow Pairs or Thin Surfaces in the ANSYS Mech-
anical User's Guide.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
74 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench

• System Coupling requires participants to use 3D meshes, with data transfer regions consisting of element
faces within the 3D mesh. Data Transfer regions cannot exist in 2D meshes (where the data transfer
region would be a line/curve).

• System Coupling does not support data transfer regions on polyhedral meshes, and the coupling inter-
face’s mesh cannot have hanging nodes (hanging nodes may occur in some cut-cell meshes).

• The mesh topology on a System Coupling boundary in Fluent must remain fixed for the duration of
the analysis. This means that dynamic remeshing cannot be used on the System Coupling boundary,
but interior nodes away from the System Coupling boundary can still be remeshed during the solution.

• To transfer forces on wall and wall-shadow pair, you need two surfaces in Mechanical to match the two
surfaces in Fluent. In this case, you cannot use a single set of shell elements in Mechanical. An example
of a wall and wall-shadow pair is two different fluids on either side of a zero-thickness internal wall in
Fluent.

• The non-iterative time-advancement (NITA) scheme in Fluent cannot be used in a System Coupling
analysis.

• When executing design points for System Coupling cases where Fluent is a participant, Program
Controlled should not be used for Fluent Initialization Method.

• Shell conduction is not available when the Fluent region is set up to receive thermal data via System
Coupling.

Note

In order to have changes made in Fluent systems propagated to downstream System

Coupling systems, save your project, synchronize with Workbench, or close Fluent. This will
ensure that the information passed to System Coupling matches settings in Fluent. If this is
not done, the analysis may be allowed to run but the following Workbench state error will
be issued at the end of the run:
Update of the Solution component in System Coupling failed: Update
of the Solution component in System Coupling did not mark container
as updated (final state is OutOfDate).

2.21.2. Variables Available for System Coupling

The following variables will be available on all boundary wall regions.

Table 2.2: Variables On Boundary Wall Regions

Display Name / Internal Name Transfer Data Type Physical

Direction Type
force / force Output VectorXYZ* Force
displacement / displacement Input VectorXYZ* Length
temperature / temperature Input Scalar Temperature
and
Output

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 75
Working With Fluent in Workbench

heat flow / heatflow Input Scalar Heat Rate

and
Output
heat transfer coefficient / heat- Output Scalar Heat
transfer-coefficient Transfer
Coefficient
near wall temperature / near- Output Scalar Temperature
wall-temperature

The following variables will be available on all porous jump boundaries.

Table 2.3: Variables On Porous Jump Boundary

Display Name / Internal Name Transfer Data Type Physical

Direction Type
force / force Output VectorXYZ* Force
displacement / displacement Input VectorXYZ* Length

*Represents the force vector ( , , ) and the displacements vector ( , , ) respectively.

2.21.2.1. Force transferred to System Coupling from a Wall Boundary

In almost all cases, force transferred from a wall boundary in Fluent to System Coupling is the gauge
pressure in Fluent minus the specified Reference Pressure (not the Operating Pressure). Viscous forces
are also included. You can change the force transferred by changing the Reference Pressure value.

For the specific case of when Floating Operating Pressure is on (for example, when Fluent is running
in transient mode and the fluid material is an ideal gas), force is calculated by:
(2.1)

where is the pressure relative to the reference location (see Floating Operating Pressure in the Fluent
User's Guide), is the specified reference pressure, and is the pressure rise.

For more information on force calculations, see Computing Forces, Moments, and the Center of Pressure
in the Fluent Theory Guide.

2.21.2.2. Force transferred to System Coupling from a Porous Jump Boundary

When a porous jump boundary is selected as a source region for a system coupling analysis, the forces
transferred from this porous jump boundary are calculated differently depending on if the porous jump
is between fluid regions, or between a fluid region and a porous zone.

• When the porous jump separates two fluid zones, or forms an interior region in a fluid zone:

The force transferred to System Coupling is the net force across the jump. The thickness and
coefficient parameters defined for the porous jump are used to calculate the pressure drop across
the jump. This pressure drop is converted to a force vector that is transferred to System Coupling.
This force does not include any viscous forces.

• When the porous jump separates a porous zone and a fluid zone:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
76 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench

This case will occur if the upstream or downstream fluid-porous interface is changed to a porous
jump. The porous jump is used to allow a connection between the upstream and downstream
porous zone interface and System Coupling, since the porous zone interface regions cannot
connect directly to System Coupling.

The face pressure on the porous jump is converted to a force vector and transferred to System
Coupling. A positive face pressure will produce a force vector that always points into the porous
zone. The force calculated does not include any viscous forces.

It is best to assign zero-thickness to the porous jump so that there is no pressure drop across
the jump. Note that volumetric forces in the porous zone are not passed to System Coupling.
This case is intended to model thin porous zones where the deformation of the zone can be
approximated by considering only the fluid pressure on the upstream and downstream porous
interfaces.

If a nonzero thickness is assigned to a porous jump that is adjacent to a porous zone, then there
will be a pressure drop across the porous jump. The force transferred to system coupling is cal-
culated using the face pressure on the upstream side of the porous jump, before the pressure
drop across the jump has been applied. See the image below.

– Force transferred on the upstream side of the porous zone (a) will be consistent with the up-
stream fluid pressure (a).

– Force transferred on the downstream side of the porous zone (c) will be inconsistent with the
downstream fluid pressure (d). On the downstream side of the porous zone, the force transferred
to system coupling is consistent with the exit pressure from the porous zone, before the
pressure drop across the porous jump has been applied. The downstream fluid pressure is
calculated after the pressure drop is applied.

Figure 2.21: Force transferred to System Coupling when Porous Jump Thickness is
Non-Zero

For information about the porous jump boundary condition, see Porous Jump Boundary Conditions.

2.21.2.3. Displacement transferred from System Coupling

The following applies in a coupled analysis where displacement is received by Fluent.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 77
Working With Fluent in Workbench

• The displacement data received by Fluent represents the incremental displacement for the current
time step (the incremental displacement since the end of the previous time step).

• The displacement variable is only available on walls that have the System Coupling moving and de-
forming mesh (MDM) option selected, and that qualify as valid coupling regions.

• In a general coupled analysis, when Fluent solves before or simultaneously to the solver sending the
displacement (such as Mechanical), then during the first coupling iteration of each coupling step the
displacement received is 0 [m]. This behavior can be changed by using GeneralAnalysis_IncrD-
isp_InitIterationValue_Zero in System Coupling’s Expert Settings.

2.21.2.4. Displacement transferred from System Coupling to a Sliding Mesh Zone

When transferring data to or from a wall boundary in a sliding mesh zone, you must ensure that the
coupled participant, such as Mechanical, rotates its mesh to match Fluent’s mesh rotation. One way to
do this is to use a Remote Point and a Remote Displacement in Mechanical. Do not use a Rotational
Velocity in Mechanical, since this does not actually rotate the mesh (a Rotational Velocity in Mechanical
could be paired with a rotating reference frame in Fluent).

Given that the Mechanical mesh must rotate when paired with a wall in a sliding mesh zone, the dis-
placements sent to Fluent through System Coupling will include the bulk rotational motion of the
structural mesh, plus the local fluid-structure interaction deformation. The rotational motion is applied
correctly to Fluent’s mesh because the sliding mesh motion from Fluent is not applied in addition to
the displacement received from System Coupling.

Nodes in the sliding mesh that do not receive data from System Coupling will behave as usual, with
only Fluent’s sliding mesh motion applied. Mesh smoothing can still occur for the interior nodes in the
sliding mesh zone to allow the local fluid-structure interaction deformations to be smoothed into the
surrounding mesh.

For information about sliding meshes in Fluent, see Using Sliding Meshes.

2.21.2.5. Absolute Pressure Example

Force transferred from a Fluent wall boundary in a System Coupling analysis is the gauge pressure
minus the specified Reference Pressure. You can change the force transferred by changing the Reference
Pressure value. The following example of a pressurized sub-sea pipe is a demonstration of how to
transfer the absolute pressure in a System Coupling analysis by changing the Reference Pressure.

Consider flow in a pressurized sub-sea pipe. The pipe is pressurized to 110 bar absolute and the exter-
ior water pressure is 100 bar. The exterior sea water is not modeled. The internal surface of the pipe
forms an FSI interface to a Mechanical model of the pipe.

In Fluent the Operating Pressure would typically be set to 110 bar. By default the forces passed to System
Coupling would only include the local pressure changes relative to 110 bar, which clearly does not
represent the real physics. To include the absolute pressure in the forces sent to System Coupling, the
Reference Pressure in Fluent should be set to -110 bar. The Mechanical model would then need a
pressure of 100 bar applied to the exterior surfaces of the pipe.

Although this approach is valid, it is not ideal because the correct structural solution is only obtained
if 100 bar of the interior pressure cancels out with the 100 bar exterior pressure. Relying on two large
forces to exactly cancel out is prone to discretization (mesh resolution) errors. Minimizing the forces
sent across the FSI interface is also good practice. Therefore the best approach is to use an Operating
Pressure of 110 bar and a Reference Pressure of -10 bar in Fluent. The forces Fluent sends to System

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
78 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench

Coupling are then based on the gauge pressure minus -10 bar, that is, the gauge pressure plus 10 bar.
This accounts for the pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the pipe, so there is no
need to apply an external pressure in Mechanical. We are no longer relying on two large forces cancelling
out and we have minimized the forces sent across the FSI interface.

2.21.3. System Coupling Related Settings in Fluent

• Double-Precision Solver

System Coupling cases may benefit from the use of Fluent’s double-precision solver. For coupling
cases with moving and deforming meshes (MDM), it is a best practice to use Fluent’s double-precision
solver. For more information about Fluent’s single- and double-precision solvers, see Single-Precision
and Double-Precision Solvers in the Fluent Getting Started Guide.

– In the Fluent Launcher, select Double Precision to use Fluent’s double-precision solver.

• Dynamic Mesh

– The System Coupling option must be selected on the desired moving and deforming wall
boundaries in order to obtain displacements from other co-simulation participants taking part in
the coupled analysis.

– Once the System Coupling option is selected, make sure the appropriate solution stabilization
options are selected in the Solver Options tab. Solution stabilization should be activated if you
find that the Fluent solution is particularly sensitive to the data obtained through system couplings.
For example, it is often beneficial for FSI problems in which the fluid is incompressible.

• Heat Transfer

– The via System Coupling option must be selected on the desired wall boundaries in order to obtain
heat transfer data (temperature or heat flow) from other participants taking part in the coupled
analysis.

• Run Calculation

– When running as part of a transient coupled analysis, the step size for and duration of the analysis are
controlled by the System Coupling service.

→ The Time Step Size(s) specified in the Fluent setup is currently ignored; the Fluent solution will be
advanced using the time step size specified as part of the System Coupling setup.

→ The Number of Time Steps is also ignored.

– The specified Max Iterations/Time Step corresponds to the maximum number of nonlinear solver iterations
performed per coupling iteration.

For steady-state, system–coupled Fluent analyses, the number of iterations specified in Fluent is equal
to the maximum number of solver iterations solved per coupling iteration in a coupling step. Prior to
ANSYS FLUENT 14.5, the number of iterations specified in Fluent was equal to the solver iterations
solved in a coupling step and was divided equally between the coupling iterations in a coupling step.
You can recover the previous behavior by using the following command: (rpsetvar
’sc/steady/default-iteration-method? #f).

For pseudo-transient cases, refer to Performing Pseudo Transient Calculations in the Fluent User's Guide.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 79
Working With Fluent in Workbench

For steady-state dynamic mesh applications, refer to Steady-State Dynamic Mesh Applications in the
Fluent User's Guide.

2.21.4. How Fluent’s Execution is Affected by System Couplings

ANSYS Fluent’s execution is modified slightly to allow the Coupling Service to manage the evolution
of the coupled analysis. For more information, see Process Synchronization and Analysis Evolution in
the System Coupling User's Guide.

2.21.5. Restarting Fluent Analyses as Part of System Couplings

Go to the section Restarting a System Coupling Analysis in the System Coupling User's Guide for the
steps needed to restart a coupled analysis. To restart your coupled analysis, you will also need restart
information specific to the participants connected to your System Coupling system.

For other participant systems connected to your System Coupling system, see Supported System
Coupling Participants in the System Coupling User's Guide for a list of supported systems and references
to their corresponding documentation regarding restarts. The sections below have information specific
to restarting Fluent in a coupled analysis:
2.21.5.1. Generating Fluent Restart Files
2.21.5.2. Specify a Restart Point in Fluent
2.21.5.3. Making Changes in Fluent Before Restarting
2.21.5.4. Recovering the Fluent Restart Point after a Workbench Crash

2.21.5.1. Generating Fluent Restart Files

Restarts of a system coupling analysis requires corresponding restart points to exist in the coupling
service and in each of the solvers participating in the analysis.

Fluent will automatically generate the corresponding case and data (cas/dat) files based upon requests
received from the System Coupling service. Note that these files are generated in addition to the restart
points (or results) manually requested via the Autosave Every field in the Calculation Activities task page
within Fluent.

2.21.5.2. Specify a Restart Point in Fluent

When the Fluent solution is updated (or restarted), the case and data files (.cas and .dat) corresponding
to the current restart point will be used, if it exists. The default restart point is taken from the last gen-
erated case and data files. To specify a different restart point, perform the following steps:

1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the Solution cell to open the Fluent interface. Do not double-click
the Setup cell, as this will restore the original mesh and settings.

2. Select the File/Solution Files... ribbon tab item to open the Solution Files dialog box with a list of all
available restart points.

3. Select the desired restart point. By default, the latest saved restart point is selected. Only one restart point
can be selected, so to be able to select a different restart point, first click the highlighted restart point to
deselect it.

Make sure that you select the restart point that corresponds to the restart points selected for the
System Coupling service and the other coupling participants.

4. Click Read to read-in the data for the selected restart point.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
80 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench

5. Once the data is read, click Close to close the Solution Files dialog box.

6. Close Fluent by selecting the File/Close Fluent ribbon tab item.

2.21.5.3. Making Changes in Fluent Before Restarting

In some cases, Fluent setup changes are required to avoid failure of the coupled analysis (for example,
changes to iteration controls, under-relaxation factors, and so on). The settings that are stored in the
case file corresponding to the current restart point will be used for Fluent restarts. To modify the settings
for a restart:

1. If the Fluent interface is not open, double-click the Fluent Solution cell. Make the needed setup changes
in Fluent.

2. Close Fluent by selecting the File/Close Fluent ribbon tab item. If you are presented with a notification
that the modified mesh and settings will be used for the current run, choose OK to accept and close the
dialog box.

2.21.5.4. Recovering the Fluent Restart Point after a Workbench Crash

Workbench or one of the components may crash such that restart files are available but they are not
recognized or populated in the Workbench project. If this is the case, you will be able to recover your
project and restart your analysis.

See Recovering from a Workbench Crash in the System Coupling User's Guide for the steps needed to
recover a coupled analysis after a Workbench crash. You will also need the information below about
Fluent, as well as information specific to the other participant systems connected to System Coupling.
For other participant systems connected to your System Coupling system, see Supported System
Coupling Participants in the System Coupling User's Guide for a list of supported systems and references
to their corresponding documentation regarding restarts.

The usual project directory (ProjectName_files) contains the latest Fluent and System Coupling
results and restart points (these solvers use the live project instead of running in a temporary directory).

Note that the .backup directory contains the original version of any files that have been modified
since the last save. These files are useful to recover the last saved state, but they are not useful for re-
starting your analysis.

To recover Fluent’s restart point after a Workbench crash:

1. Double-click the Fluent Solution cell to open Fluent interface.

2. Select the File/Solution Files... ribbon tab item to open the Solution Files dialog box with a list of the
restart points.

3. The Solution Files dialog box will not be populated with the data files written before Workbench crashed,
so the correct restart point must be recovered. Select Recover Missing Solution... to recover the latest
case and data files, and to populate the corresponding restart points in the Solution Files at list.

4. Now that the solution files list is populated, select the desired restart point.

By default, the latest saved restart point is selected. Only one restart point can be selected, so to
be able to select a different restart point, first click the highlighted restart point to deselect it.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 81
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Make sure that you select the restart point that corresponds to the restart points selected for the
System Coupling service and the other coupling participants.

5. Click Read to read-in the data for the selected restart point.

6. Once the data is read, click Close to close the Solution Files dialog box.

7. Close Fluent by selecting the File/Close Fluent ribbon tab item.

2.21.6. System Coupling case with Fluent using Patched Data

When generated data is cleared from a System Coupling case before a rerun, the data that was specified
using Fluent’s patch option is also cleared. For example, in the Multiphase volume of fluid (VOF) cases,
the patched data that is cleared is the volume fraction information. Fluent needs this patched data to
be able to solve accurately. See Patching Values in Selected Cells in the Fluent User's Guide for more
information about patched data.

For a System Coupling case using patched data, follow the steps below. Note that this workaround will
not work with Design Point updates.

1. Before setting up your case in Fluent, tell Fluent to generate the *.ip file so that if needed, you will have
access to patched data. To do this:

a. In Workbench, select Tools>Options.

b. On the left side of the dialog box that opens, select Fluent, and then check Enable Generation of
Interpolation File.

2. During Fluent setup, an *.ip file will now be written after initialization of your Fluent system.

3. If you want to do a rerun, after completing a System Coupling run, you need to Clear Generated Data
on the System Coupling system’s Solution cell. For the cases that use patched data, you need to then
have Fluent read the *.ip file that was generated in your initial setup so that it has the correct data. To
do this:

a. From the Project Schematic, open Fluent by double-clicking Fluent’s Setup cell.

b. Select the File/Interpolate... ribbon tab item. In the dialog box that appears, select Read and Inter-
polate, then click Read... .

c. Browse to the *.ip file, and then click OK to add have Fluent read this file. In the Interpolate Data
dialog box, select Close.

d. You do not need to initialize Fluent after reading the *.ip file. Close Fluent and continue with the
rerun of your System Coupling case.

2.21.7. Running Fluent as a System Coupling Participant from the Command

Line
System Coupling analyses can be run via the command line (described in Executing System Couplings
Using the Command Line in the System Coupling User's Guide). To run ANSYS Fluent as a coupling
participant, execute the following steps:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
82 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing System Coupling Simulations Using Fluent in Workbench

• Complete the System Coupling–related settings in Fluent (see System Coupling Related Settings in
Fluent (p. 79))

• Generate the case and data files needed to start Fluent

– Choose Write and Case & Data from the File ribbon tab in the Fluent graphical interface

• Start the coupling service and obtain the following information from the System Coupling Server (SCS)
file:

– the port and host on which the service is being run, and

– the identifier (or name) for Fluent

• Use this SCS information to set the Fluent–specific system coupling command line options (described
in System Coupling Options in the Getting Started Guide).

• Note that if Fluent is run in interactive mode, the interface will be locked from when it reports it has
established the connection to the coupling service until when all other coupling participants do the
same. This occurs so that all participants may be synchronized at the Initial Synchronization point. For
information about synchronization points, see Process Synchronization and Analysis Evolution in the
System Coupling User's Guide.

2.21.8. Troubleshooting Two-Way Coupled Analysis Problems

The following files, found in the Fluent run directory (FFF/Fluent under a Workbench design point dir-
ectory), may prove useful in troubleshooting coupled analysis problems:

• cortexerror.log: This file contains a historical summary of all of the errors that have occurred
during all runs executed in the same run directory. With this in mind, ensure that you are considering
messages corresponding to the most recent run. An example message is: "Update-Dynamic-Mesh failed.
Negative cell volume detected." This indicates that at the date and time noted, the mesh unexpectedly
failed.

• solution 1.log: This file includes information regarding the Fluent boundary conditions at which
data from System Couplings was/is used. This file is never appended, and so it only contains information
from the current run.

• solution.trn (or other transcript file): This file contains a complete summary of the current/latest
run's evolution. This is one of the most useful files to determine why the coupled analysis failed. To
generate extensive debug output during the analysis, enter the following command when completing
the Fluent problem setup:
(rpsetvar 'sc/verbosity 1)

Provide all of these files when submitting a request for service to ANSYS personnel.

2.21.9. Product Licensing Considerations when using System Coupling

The licenses needed for Fluent as part of a System Coupling analyses are listed in the table below. Ad-
ditional licenses may be required for other participant systems in the coupled analysis, but no additional
licenses are required for the System Coupling infrastructure itself.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 83
Working With Fluent in Workbench

The simultaneous execution of coupling participants currently precludes the use of the license sharing
feature that exists for some product licenses. The following specific requirements consequently exist:

• Distinct licenses are required for each coupling participant.

• Licensing preferences should be set to ‘Use a separate license for each application’ rather than ‘Share
a single license between applications when possible.’

The requirements listed above are particularly relevant for ANSYS Academic products.

Table 2.4: Licenses required for Fluent as part of a System Coupling analysis

System Commercial License Academic License Required

Required
Fluent • ANSYS CFD, • ANSYS Academic Associate,

• ANSYS Fluent, or • ANSYS Academic Associate CFD,

• ANSYS Fluent Solver • ANSYS Academic Research,

• ANSYS Academic Research CFD,

• ANSYS Academic Teaching

Advanced,

• ANSYS Academic Teaching

Introductory, or

• ANSYS Academic Teaching CFD

2.22. Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench

Fluent can be coupled with the Ansoft applications within Workbench in order to perform either a one-
way or a two-way electromagnetic-thermal interaction problem. Coupling between Ansoft and Fluent
applications within Workbench can be used for applications such as simulating fluid flow around or
inside electromechanical (EM) devices, when the temperature of the device is influenced by electromag-
netic or electrical losses.

The Ansoft Maxwell and HFSS applications are supported for one–way and two-way coupling between
Ansoft and Fluent in Workbench.

Important

The coupling between Ansoft and Fluent in Workbench is not supported on Red Hat 6 or
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11.

Additional information can be found in the following sections:

2.22.1. One–Way Coupling Between Ansoft and Fluent Within Workbench
2.22.2.Two–Way Coupling Between Ansoft and Fluent Within Workbench
2.22.3. Handling Coupling Iterations Between Ansoft and Fluent

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
84 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench

2.22.1. One–Way Coupling Between Ansoft and Fluent Within Workbench

The coupling involves solving an electromagnetic problem in the Ansoft application, and mapping the
resulting volumetric and/or surface loss information into Fluent. Volumetric loss is mapped onto the
cell zones as a heat source (load) at the cell centroids that is then added to the energy equation. Surface
loss is applied to the adjacent cells of the solid zones that contribute to the source terms of these cells.

Note

Surface loss is highly concentrated near the surface of the solid zone, so it is recommended
that you have a layer of good quality hexahedral or prism mesh elements located where
surface loss occurs.

Note

You can analyze the results of volumetric/surface losses using the following postpro-
cessing variables:

• Volumetric loss: Temperature EM Source ( )

• Surface loss: Temperature EM Surface Source ( )

The overall workflow for an Ansoft-Fluent analysis is as follows:

1. Create and solve the electromagnetic application using Ansoft (for example, Maxwell or HFSS).

2. Drag and drop a Fluent–based system and import a case or mesh file into Fluent, and then double-click
the Setup cell to start Fluent.

Note

If you import a mesh into Fluent that was generated using non-SI units, then you should
scale and/or translate the mesh before you perform any coupling with Ansoft.

3. Drag and drop the Solution cell of the Ansoft system onto the Setup cell of Fluent system to enable the
data transfer.

4. Update the Solution cell of the Ansoft system.

5. Refresh the Setup of Fluent system.

6. Specify the EM settings in Fluent (File/EM Mapping).

7. Set up the Fluent analysis as you normally would (for example, specify boundary conditions, solution
settings, and so on).

8. Solve the Fluent analysis.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 85
Working With Fluent in Workbench

During EM mapping, Fluent automatically turns on the energy model, if you have not already done so.

Note

In 2D axisymmetrical cases only, Ansoft uses the RZ (or XZ) plane while Fluent uses the XY
plane by default. Therefore, when you export a geometry from Maxwell, you need to rotate
the geometry in order for Fluent to mesh the geometry before EM mapping can take place
properly. This is not a concern for regular 2D or 3D cases. If you use ANSYS DesignModeler,
rotate the geometry exported from Maxwell by performing the following steps:

1. Define a new plane based on the XY plane, applying a 90 degree rotation along the X axis,
and a 90 degree rotation along the Y axis.

2. Move the geometry from the XY plane to the new plane.

2.22.2. Two–Way Coupling Between Ansoft and Fluent Within Workbench

Two-way coupling enables thermal feedback to be provided between the systems so that you can ex-
change temperature data from Fluent to Ansoft applications within Workbench.

Aside from the basic workflow described in Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench (p. 84),
to enable two–way coupling between Fluent and Ansoft (for example, the Maxwell application), you
should perform the following steps:

1. Open the Maxwell project and define temperature–dependent material properties (enabling the Thermal
Modifier field in the View/Edit Material dialog box and editing the material’s thermal property definition).
This makes sure that the Ansoft and Fluent applications generate the temperature–dependent data.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
86 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench

2. Select the Enable Feedback option in the Temperature of Objects dialog box.

Maxwell 3D → Set Object Temperature...

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 87
Working With Fluent in Workbench

Once the Ansoft application generates the centroid file, Fluent detects the centroid file, and gen-
erates the temperature file as feedback data and places the file in the appropriate location. An
example of what Fluent displays in the console window is presented below:
Starting Thermal feedback for EM ...

Reading centroid file... Number of Nodes = 4031

Writing mechanical.ths...

Note

In Maxwell, you can have different losses (Ohmic loss, Core loss, Hysteresis loss) depending
on the type of simulation. Maxwell can also compute the "total loss" which is the sum of all
the losses when appropriate. All the different losses mentioned above including the "total
loss" are a function of space and they are also a function of time in the Maxwell transient
solver. When doing the coupling simulation, the "total loss" is mapped to Fluent for the
temperature calculation. For transient simulations, the total loss is time averaged between
two times that you specify before it is mapped to Fluent.

2.22.3. Handling Coupling Iterations Between Ansoft and Fluent

You can perform automatic system updates (coupling iterations) using the Ansoft Feedback Iterator.
Refer to Ansoft help documentation for more information on Feedback Iterator.

You can also perform manual cyclic updates of individual system components until the solution stops
changing within a desired level of tolerance. For example:

• Coupling Iteration 1

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
88 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench

– Update Maxwell Solution cell

– Perform EM Mapping on solid zones in Fluent

– Update Fluent Solution cell

– Perform "Enable Update" on Maxwell Solution cell

– Update Maxwell Solution cell

• Coupling Iteration 2

– Update Fluent Setup cell

– Update Fluent Solution cell

– Perform "Enable Update" on Maxwell Solution cell

– Update Maxwell Solution cell

• Coupling Iteration 3

– Update Fluent Setup cell

– Update Fluent Solution cell

– Perform "Enable Update" on Maxwell Solution cell

– Update Maxwell Solution cell

• Coupling Iteration 4

– Update Fluent Setup cell

– Update Fluent Solution cell

– Perform "Enable Update" on Maxwell Solution cell

– Update Maxwell Solution cell

• and so on

Within the Workbench environment, you can create a script to accomplish these tasks. Workbench
scripts are written in the Python programming language and can be created, modified and executed
with tools available in Workbench. For more information on writing scripts in Workbench, see ANSYS
AIM and Workbench Scripting Guide in the ANSYS AIM and Workbench Scripting Guide. You can contact
your support representative to obtain a sample script.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 89
 Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
90 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Fluent Meshing in Workbench
This chapter provides some basic instructions for getting started with using Fluent Meshing in Workbench.
It describes how to use Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component systems within ANSYS Workbench.
Since working with a Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system is similar to working with a
Fluent component system, only differences in these two systems are covered in this chapter. For gen-
eral information about using Fluent in ANSYS Workbench, see Getting Started With Fluent in Work-
bench (p. 1). For details about using component systems in Workbench, refer to Working With Fluent
in Workbench (p. 25).

The chapter discusses:

3.1. Limitations
3.2. Starting Fluent (in Meshing Mode or Solution Mode) in Workbench
3.3. Saving Your Work in Fluent Meshing with Workbench
3.4. Exiting Fluent Meshing and Workbench
3.5. An Example of a Fluent Meshing Analysis in Workbench
3.6. Using Parallel Fluent Meshing
3.7. Connecting to Upstream Geometry
3.8. Using a Journal File for the Mesh Cell
3.9. Using a Journal File to Parameterize Fluent Meshing Inputs
3.10. Getting Help for Fluent Meshing in Workbench

See the Fluent Meshing User’s Guide for more details about Fluent Meshing.

3.1. Limitations
The following limitations exists when using the Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system:

• In the Mesh cell context menu, mesh import options are not available. (You can only import a geometry,
mesh, or case file from within Fluent Meshing).

• Solver-to-mesh-solver workflows in Workbench (that is, returning to meshing mode after switching to
solver mode) are currently not supported.

• 2D simulations are currently not supported.

• There are no limitations on the Set Up or Solution cells, including Fluent parameters.

• Fluent Meshing parameters are currently not supported, however, you can parameterize real arguments
using the appropriate scheme commands in the registered update journal file (*.jou).

3.2. Starting Fluent (in Meshing Mode or Solution Mode) in Workbench

Once you create a Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system (as described in Fluent-Based
Component Systems (p. 6)), you can start the Fluent application in

• meshing mode by double-clicking a Mesh cell

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 91
Getting Started with Fluent Meshing in Workbench

• setup mode by double-clicking a Setup cell

• solution mode by double-clicking a Solution cell

Note that you can also click Edit... in the corresponding cells context menu. When Fluent Launcher
opens, click OK to start Fluent. You are able to start the Fluent application in either meshing mode or
solution mode under certain conditions, depending on the state of the cells within the Fluent (with
Fluent Meshing) component system.

• If you are working with a new Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system (where all cells are
not Up-To-Date):

– Double-clicking the Mesh cell opens Fluent in meshing mode.

– Double-clicking either the Setup cell or the Solution cell opens Fluent in solution setup mode where
you are expected to import the mesh or case file, which deletes the Mesh cell from the Fluent (with
Fluent Meshing) component system.

• If you are working with a preexisting Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system where the
Mesh cell is Up-To-Date:

– Double-clicking the Mesh cell loads available mesh in Fluent Meshing.

– Double-clicking the Setup cell opens Fluent in setup mode and loads the mesh and settings files.

– Double-clicking the Solution cell opens Fluent in solution mode and loads the case and data files.

• If you are working with a preexisting Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system where all cells
are Up-To-Date:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
92 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 An Example of a Fluent Meshing Analysis in Workbench

– Double-clicking the Mesh cell loads available mesh in Fluent Meshing.

– Double-clicking the Setup cell opens Fluent in setup mode and loads the mesh and settings files.

– Double-clicking the Solution cell opens Fluent in solution mode and loads the case and data files.

3.3. Saving Your Work in Fluent Meshing with Workbench

You can save your Workbench project directly from Fluent Meshing by selecting Save Projectunder the
File menu.

File → Save Project

Alternatively, you can also save your Workbench project by selecting the Save option under the File
menu within Workbench or by clicking the Save Project icon ( ) from the Workbench toolbar.

For more information, see Saving Your Work in Fluent with Workbench (p. 18).

3.4. Exiting Fluent Meshing and Workbench

You can end your Fluent Meshing session by using the Close Fluent option under the File menu.

File → Close Fluent

You can end your Workbench session by using the Exit option under the File menu.

File → Exit

For more information, see Exiting Fluent and Workbench (p. 18).

3.5. An Example of a Fluent Meshing Analysis in Workbench

This example describes when the files that are generated and used by Fluent Meshing are written and
how the cell states change as you work with a Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system in
Workbench.

1. Add a new Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component system to the Project Schematic.

The state of the Mesh cell is Attention Required and the states for the Setup, and Solution cells
are Unfulfilled.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 93
Getting Started with Fluent Meshing in Workbench

2. Double-click the Mesh cell. The Fluent Meshing application launches (the Meshing Mode option is auto-
matically enabled in Fluent Launcher). In the Fluent Meshing application, import a geometry and/or create
a mesh file, then perform your mesh operations. You can also import a Fluent case file into the Fluent
Meshing application.

3. Switch to the solver (solution) mode (by using the Switch to Solution button in the Solution group box
of the ribbon, or by using the switch-to-meshing-mode text command). The state of the Mesh cell
becomes Up-to-Date, and the Setup cell becomes Attention Required. If you save the project at this
point, the mesh (.msh) and the settings (.set) files are written.

4. In Fluent, specify boundary conditions, initialize the solution, and enter a nonzero number of iterations on
the Run Calculation task page. The state of the Setup cell becomes Up-to-Date, and the state of the
Solution cell becomes Refresh Required.

5. Start the simulation in Fluent by clicking Calculate on the Run Calculation task page. The settings (.set)
file is written and iterations begin. The state of the Solution cell becomes Update Required.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
94 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Connecting to Upstream Geometry

When iterations are completed, or the solution meets the convergence criteria, the state of the
Solution cell becomes Up-to-Date.

3.6. Using Parallel Fluent Meshing

If you want to run Fluent Meshing in parallel, you can specify the value for Number of Parallel Pro-
cessors in the Property view for the Mesh cell.

You can override this parallel-process setting by setting the Meshing Processes under the Parallel
processing options in Fluent Launcher.

3.7. Connecting to Upstream Geometry

You can connect an upstream Geometry cell to a Mesh cell of a Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) com-
ponent system to transfer geometry data to Fluent Meshing.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 95
Getting Started with Fluent Meshing in Workbench

Figure 3.1: Connecting Upstream Geometry and Mesh Cells

Once the cells have been connected, the following Cad import options and controls become available
in the Properties for the Mesh cell:

Feature Angle
specifies the feature angle to determine the features to be imported. A smaller value will result in importing
more features. The default value is 40.

Length Unit
specifies the length units for scaling the mesh. Models created in different units will be scaled accordingly.
The default is meters (m).

Tessellation
contains options that enable you to control the tessellation (faceting).

CAD faceting
enables you to control the tessellation (faceting) refinement during the file import.

CFD Surface Mesh

enables conformal tessellation (faceting) that uses the curvature size function based on the minimum
and maximum facet sizes, Min Size and Max Size, the specified facet Curvature Normal Angle, and
the edge proximity size function Edge Proximity.

CAD faceting Controls

(when CAD faceting is selected for Tesselation)

Tolerance
specifies the tolerance for the tessellation (faceting) refinement. The default value of 0 implies no tes-
sellation (faceting).

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
96 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Using a Journal File to Parameterize Fluent Meshing Inputs

Max
specifies a maximum facet size for the imported model to avoid very large facets.

CFD Surface Mesh Controls

(when CFD Surface Mesh is selected for Tesselation)

Use Size Field File

if enabled, you can provide a size field file.

Min Size, Max Size

specify the minimum and maximum facet sizes, respectively.

Curvature Normal Angle

specifies the curvature normal angle based on the underlying curve and surface curvature.

Edge Proximity
enables the use of the edge proximity size function based on the number of cells per gap specified.

Cells Per Gap

specifies the number of element layers to be generated in a gap for the edge proximity size function.

Save Size Field

enables you to save the size field in a file, which is computed based on the specified parameters (Min
Size, Max Size, Curvature Normal Angle, and Cells Per Gap).

Size Field File Location, Size Field File Name

specifies the file name and the location for the size field file, respectively.

3.8. Using a Journal File for the Mesh Cell

For Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component systems, you can use a journal file (*.jou) to implement
the text user interface (TUI) commands and/or Scheme expressions related to mesh generation.

To associate the journal file with the Mesh cell:

1. Right-click the Mesh cell and from the context menu, select Register Update Journal File.

2. Browse to the journal file location and select the file.

Once the journal file has been associated with the Mesh cell, the Register Update Journal File
command is replaced by Unregister Startup Journal File. You can execute this command if you
want to disassociate the assigned journal file from the Mesh cell.

On performing Update of the Mesh cell, the registered journal file associated with the cell will be ex-
ecuted in Fluent Meshing in the background.

3.9. Using a Journal File to Parameterize Fluent Meshing Inputs

As discussed in Limitations (p. 91), parameters are not currently supported by Fluent Meshing; however,
you can parameterize real arguments using the appropriate scheme commands in the registered update
journal file (*.jou).

A journal file that parameterizes some inputs for Fluent Meshing is shown below:

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 97
Getting Started with Fluent Meshing in Workbench

;=================================================================================
;==Define scheme variable connected to input parameters exposed in Workbench======
(define tg-input-parameter-data '(
(p1 (value . 0.0025)) ;thickness of the first prism layer
(p2 (value . 5)) ;number of prism layers
(p3 (value . 0.05)) ;max element size for global size settings
))
(create-scheme-input-parameters tg-input-parameter-data)
; (print-scheme-input-parameters);check the list for current value in fluent-meshing side
;==================================================================================
;===Add required TUI/scheme commands to generate volume mesh
;===Mesh Cell will be marked up-to-date on exit of Fluent or changing mode to solver===========

/size-functions set-global-controls 0.005 p3 1.2

/size-functions create-defaults
/objects/improve-object-quality (*) surface-remesh
/mesh/prism/controls/zone-specific-growth apply-growth (wall) last-ratio p2 p1 40 no
/mesh/auto-mesh "fluid" () yes zone-specific pyramids tet
/mesh/clean-up yes

/boundary/manage/type (inlet-cold) velocity-inlet

/boundary/manage/type (inlet-hot) velocity-inlet
/boundary/manage/type (outlet) pressure-outlet
/boundary/manage/name interior* interior
;==================================================================================

/boundary/manage/name interior* interior

The above journal file was created by modifying (that is, parameterizing) a journal file that was recorded
during an earlier Fluent Meshing session.

The recorded journal file was edited to remove all of the commands that are not necessary for the desired
parametric study, such as:

• Commands related to graphics operations (usually these commands start with “cx-”)

• Commands that manage lists

Next, commands were added at the top of the journal file in order to create the parameters that will
be exposed in Workbench. These commands are as follows:

• The define statement creates the user-defined scheme list tg-input-parameter-data with three
sub-lists (p1, p2, and p3). Each of the sub-lists consists of a variable symbol-name (p1, p2, or p3) and an
initial value.

• The create-scheme-input-parameters statement is the Fluent-specific scheme API function that

creates input parameters for the name-value pairs in tg-input-parameter-data and connects it to
the input parameters exposed in Workbench. After executing this command, Workbench will list p1, p2,
and p3 under Input Parameters.

• The print-scheme-input-parameters is the Fluent-specific scheme API function that prints the
current input parameter values in the Fluent console. In the above example, it is commented out, but you
can use this statement to check these values.

Lastly the specific values entered for the Fluent Meshing inputs during the recorded session were replaced
by corresponding parameters (p1, p2, or p3).

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
98 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Getting Help for Fluent Meshing in Workbench

3.10. Getting Help for Fluent Meshing in Workbench

Accessing help from within ANSYS Workbench:
For information on how to access help for ANSYS Workbench, see Getting Help for Fluent in Work-
bench (p. 22).

Accessing help from within Fluent Meshing:

Fluent Meshing documentation and help can be accessed by clicking once the Fluent Meshing ap-
plication is running. The documentation is automatically installed when you install Workbench.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 99
 Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
100 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Appendix A. The Fluent Ribbon Tab Under Workbench
When Fluent is running within Workbench, the Fluent File ribbon tab is slightly different. The differences
are described in the sections that follow:
A.1. File/Refresh Input Data
A.2. File/Recorded Mesh Operations...
A.3. File/Save Project
A.4. File/Reload
A.5. File/Sync Workbench
A.6. File/Import/Mesh...
A.7. File/Import/Case...
A.8. File/Import/Data...
A.9. File/Import/Case and Data...
A.10. File/Export/...
A.11. File/EM Mapping/Volumetric Energy Source...
A.12. File/EM Mapping/Surface Energy Source...
A.13. File/Close Without Save

The common functionality for stand-alone Fluent is documented in the separate Fluent User’s Guide.

A.1. File/Refresh Input Data

The File/Refresh Input Data ribbon tab item allows you to refresh your Fluent input data from within
Fluent. This option is only enabled if new input data exists, or if a parameter value has changed. For
more information, see Refreshing Fluent Input Data (p. 35).

A.2. File/Recorded Mesh Operations...

The File/Recorded Mesh Operations ribbon tab item allows you to view common mesh manipulation
operations that you perform within Fluent while working in Workbench. For more information, see Re-
cording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh Incompatibility in Fluent (p. 51).

A.3. File/Save Project

The File/Save Project ribbon tab item allows you to save your current Workbench project within Fluent,
along with your current Fluent case and/or data files. For more information, see Saving Your Work in
Fluent with Workbench (p. 18).

A.4. File/Reload
The File/Reload ribbon tab item allows you to reload the Workbench project’s cell information into
Fluent. Available if the case or mesh information is present. For more information, see Reloading Data
and Synchronizing Fluent with Workbench (p. 36).

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 101
The Fluent Ribbon Tab Under Workbench

A.5. File/Sync Workbench

The File/Sync Workbench ribbon tab item allows you to synchronize recent changes in Fluent to the
corresponding Workbench project. Not available if the case or mesh information is not present. For
more information, see Reloading Data and Synchronizing Fluent with Workbench (p. 36).

A.6. File/Import/Mesh...
The File/Import/Mesh... ribbon tab item opens the Select File dialog box which allows you to select
the appropriate mesh file to be read. For more information see Importing Fluent files in Work-
bench (p. 25).

A.7. File/Import/Case...
The File/Import/Case... ribbon tab item is used to read in a Fluent case file (extension .cas), or a mesh
file (extension .msh, .grd, .MSH, or .GRD) that has been saved in the native format for Fluent. See
the User's Guide for details.

The File/Import/Case... ribbon tab item opens the Select File dialog box which allows you to select
the appropriate file to be read. For more information see Importing Fluent files in Workbench (p. 25).

A.8. File/Import/Data...
The File/Import/Data... ribbon tab item is used to read in a Fluent data file (which has a .dat extension)
or parallel data file (which has a .pdat extension). This ribbon tab item will not be available until you
read in a case or mesh file. See the separate Fluent User’s Guide for details.

The File/Import/Data... ribbon tab item opens the Select File dialog box which allows you to select
the appropriate file to be read. For more information see Importing Fluent files in Workbench (p. 25).

A.9. File/Import/Case and Data...

The File/Import/Case & Data... ribbon tab item is used to read in a Fluent case file and the corresponding
data file (for example, myfile.cas and myfile.dat) together. See the separate Fluent User’s Guide
for details.

The File/Import/Case & Data... ribbon tab item opens the Select File dialog box which allows you to
select the appropriate files to be read. Select the appropriate case file, and the corresponding data file
(that is, the file having the same name with a .dat extension) will also be read in. For more information
see Importing Fluent files in Workbench (p. 25).

A.10. File/Export/...
When running under Workbench, several commands located under the Write option under the File
ribbon tab have been moved to the Export option under the File ribbon tab. The new commands are:

File → Export → Case

File → Export → Data

File → Export → Case & Data

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
102 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 File/EM Mapping/Volumetric Energy Source...

File → Export → PDF

File → Export → ISAT Table

File → Export → Flamelet

File → Export → Surface Clusters

File → Export → Profile

File → Export → Boundary Mesh

These items are used when you want to manually export a file independent of the project. Files exported
in this way are not used by the project unless you later import them into a new system. When you use
an Export command, you can export the files to the location of your choice with a name of your choice.

There is no need to export files since Workbench always saves the files it needs automatically. These
export commands are provided for your convenience when you want to save a specific file for later
use.

A.11. File/EM Mapping/Volumetric Energy Source...

The File/EM Mapping/Volumetric Energy Source... ribbon tab item opens the Maxwell Mapping
Volumetric Dialog Box (p. 103).

A.11.1. Maxwell Mapping Volumetric Dialog Box

The Maxwell Mapping Volumetric dialog box allows you to map the volumetric loss results from an
Ansoft Maxwell electromagnetic simulation onto the centroids of cell zones in the Fluent mesh as a
heat source.

See Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench (p. 84) for details.

Controls

Fluent Cell Zones

contains a list of cell zones from the Fluent mesh, onto which the loss information can be mapped. For
these zones, Fluent requests the heat source (loss) terms from the Ansoft application.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 103
The Fluent Ribbon Tab Under Workbench

Transfer Definition
contains elements related to the transfer of data, including:

Solution
contains available solution sets. Since the Ansoft application may have multiple solutions, Fluent will
request the generated heat source data for the selected solution.

Frequency
(only available for steady simulations) contains available frequencies. Fluent will request that the Ansoft
application provide the heat source data for the selected frequency.

Start time
(only available for transient simulations) contains the simulation start time. The Ansoft application will
request to consider the selected time as the start time.

End time
(only available for transient simulations) contains the simulation end time. The Ansoft application will
request to consider the selected time as the end time.

A.12. File/EM Mapping/Surface Energy Source...

The File/EM Mapping/Surface Energy Source... ribbon tab item opens the Maxwell Mapping Surface
Dialog Box (p. 104).

A.12.1. Maxwell Mapping Surface Dialog Box

The Maxwell Mapping Surface dialog box allows you to map the surface loss results from an Ansoft
Maxwell electromagnetic simulation onto the faces of solid zones in the Fluent mesh as a heat source.

Note

To import heat loss (source terms) for an interior zone, split the zone into wall and wall-
shadow. These face zones will then be available for Surface EM Mapping.

See Performing Fluent and Ansoft Coupling in Workbench (p. 84) for details.

Controls

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
104 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 File/Close Without Save

Fluent Face Zones

contains a list of face zones (adjacent to the solid zones) from the Fluent mesh, onto which the loss inform-
ation can be mapped. For these zones, Fluent requests the heat source (loss) terms from the Ansoft applic-
ation.

Transfer Definition
contains elements related to the transfer of data, including:

Solution
contains available solution sets. Since the Ansoft application may have multiple solutions, Fluent will
request the generated heat source data for the selected solution.

Frequency
(only available for steady simulations) contains available frequencies. Fluent will request that the Ansoft
application provide the heat source data for the selected frequency.

Start time
(only available for transient simulations) contains the simulation start time. The Ansoft application will
request to consider the selected time as the start time.

End time
(only available for transient simulations) contains the simulation end time. The Ansoft application will
request to consider the selected time as the end time.

A.13. File/Close Without Save

The File/Close Without Save ribbon tab item allows you to close Fluent without saving the most recent
changes. Not available if the case or mesh information is not present.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 105
 Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
106 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Appendix B. The Fluent Meshing Menu under Workbench
When Fluent Meshing is running within Workbench, the Fluent Meshing File menu is slightly different
from stand-alone Fluent Meshing. The differences are described below:
B.1. File/Refresh Input Data
B.2. File/Save Project
B.3. File/Import
B.4. File/Export

The common functionality for stand-alone Fluent Meshing is documented in the separate ANSYS Fluent
Meshing User's Guide.

B.1. File/Refresh Input Data

The File/Refresh Input Data menu command is similar to the File/Refresh Input Data ribbon tab
command in Fluent. For details, see File/Refresh Input Data (p. 101).

B.2. File/Save Project

The File/Save Project menu command is similar to the File/Save Project ribbon tab command in Fluent.
For details, see File/Save Project (p. 101).

B.3. File/Import
The following commands found under the File/Read main menu item in stand-alone Fluent Meshing
have been moved to under the File/Import main menu item:

• File/Import/Mesh...

• File/Import/Case...

• File/Import/Boundary Mesh...

• File/Import/Size Fields...

The File/Import commands enable you to import a previously generated mesh, case, boundary mesh,
or size fields file directly into Fluent Meshing. The action of these commands is identical to those in
stand-alone Fluent Meshing.

For more information, see Reading and Writing Files in the ANSYS Fluent Meshing User's Guide.

B.4. File/Export
The following commands found under the File/Write main menu item in a stand-alone Fluent Meshing
have been moved to under the File/Export main menu item:

• File/Export/Mesh...

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 107
The Fluent Meshing Menu under Workbench

• File/Export/Case...

• File/Export/Boundaries…

• File/Export/Domains...

• File/Export/Size Fields...

You can use these commands when you want to manually export mesh, case, boundaries, domains or
size fields data into a file independent of the project. Files exported in this way are not used by the
project. Files created by the export commands could be imported into a new system. When you use
an Export command, you can specify the file name and file location.

There is no need to export files since Workbench always saves the files it needs automatically. These
export commands are provided for your convenience when you want to save a specific file for later
use.

For more information, see Reading and Writing Files in the ANSYS Fluent Meshing User's Guide.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
108 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Appendix C. The Workbench Tools Toolbar Commands
When Fluent is running within Workbench, the Workbench Tools toolbar is displayed in the editor
window.

The Workbench Tools toolbar provides direct access to general Workbench and Fluent functions from
within Fluent and allows you to quickly setup, update, and reset your case, define output parameters,
exchange data between Fluent and Workbench, and so on. You can hover over the toolbar icons to
display the function of the tools, as a tooltip.

Table 1: Workbench Tools Toolbar Commands

Icon Command Description

Mesh Cell Commands Contains an expandable list of the Mesh cell
(Fluent Meshing mode) commands. See Table 2: Mesh Cell Commands (p. 110)
for details.
Setup Cell Commands Contains an expandable list of the Setup cell
commands. See Table 3: Setup Cell
Commands (p. 110) for details.
Solution Cell Commands Contains an expandable list of the Solution cell
commands. See Table 4: Solution Cell
Commands (p. 110) for details.
Refresh input data of Refreshes cell input data from upstream cells, and
Mesh/Setup/Solution refreshes properties and input parameters of the
modified cell (Mesh, Setup and Solution). This
command is only enabled if new input data exists,
or if a parameter value has changed.

Note: If the input data for a Mesh cell of a Fluent

(with Fluent Meshing) system has changed when
the editor is in the solution mode, then on refresh,
the editor will switch to the meshing mode and
reread the mesh data from the Mesh cell.
Update Mesh/Setup/Solution Contains an expandable list of commands for
controlling the solution process. See Table 5: Update
Mesh/Setup/Solution (p. 111) for details.
Synchronize WB cell status Synchronizes recent changes in Fluent to the
corresponding Workbench project.
Parameter System Opens the Parameter dialog box.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 109
The Workbench Tools Toolbar Commands

Icon Command Description

Recorded Mesh Operations Opens the Recorded Mesh Operations and Incom-
ing Zones dialog box.

Table 2: Mesh Cell Commands

Command Description
Reload Reloads the mesh file or, if the mesh file has not yet been
generated, re-imports available CAD files. Any unsaved changes
you may have previously made will be discarded.
Clear Generated Data Discards all unsaved changes and the current mesh in the editor
(Fluent Meshing) session, deletes the generated mesh file
associated with the Mesh cell, and re-imports available CAD files.
Reset Performs the same actions as the Clear Generated Data
command, and in addition, sets the Mesh cell property values to
their defaults.

Table 3: Setup Cell Commands

Command Description
Reload Reads available input files (case, mesh, settings, and so on) into
the Setup cell and executes the recorded mesh operations (if
available). Any unsaved changes you may have previously made
will be discarded.
Clear Generated Data Discards all unsaved changes, deletes the name-Setup-Out-
put.cas file and generated mesh file associated with the Mesh
cell, reads all available input files (case, mesh, settings, and so
on), and executes the available recorded mesh operations.
Reset Discards any unsaved changes and recorded mesh operations,
deletes name-Setup-Output.cas file, sets the Setup cell
property values to their defaults, and reads the input files from
the upstream cells (if available).
Import Settings Allows you to import previously saved settings files.
Export Settings Allows you to export a settings file (.set).

Note: The exported settings file can become incompatible with

your case if the mesh has been modified either upstream or in
the Fluent editor.

Table 4: Solution Cell Commands

Command Description
Reload Reloads the latest available solution (case/data) files from the
project directory. If a data file is not available, the case is initialized
using the specified method. Any unsaved changes you may have
previously made will be discarded.
Clear Generated Data Deletes all generated files and loads the input data (reads the
mesh/case files and initializes the case using the specified
method).

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
110 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Command Description
Reset Performs the same actions as the Clear Generated Data
command, and in addition, sets the Solution cell property values
to their defaults.

Table 5: Update Mesh/Setup/Solution

Command Description
Update Performs the calculation as specified in the case settings. Once
the calculation is complete, the state of the Solution cell becomes
Up-To-Date. This command is available only if no calculation has
been performed yet.
Restart Reinitializes the case using the selected initialization method and
then performs the calculation. This command allows you to re-run
the case after you have performed some iterations and changed
the settings for you case. This command is available only after
some calculations have been performed.
Continue Continues the calculation from the current solution state until the
specified number of iterations or time steps is reached, or the
solution meets the convergence criteria. This command allows
you to continue your calculation after altering the case settings.
The changed settings will be saved for future calculations. This
command is available only after some calculations have been
performed.

Note:

• Any case modifications that you make after starting the

calculation will not be saved or recorded for future calculations.

• For parametric studies, you can enable Automatically Initialize

and Modify Case in the Calculation Activities task page in
Fluent in order to automatically apply the case modifications for
each design point calculation.

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 111
 Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
112 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 D
Index data
clearing generated , 36
, 99 exporting Fluent files for ANSYS CFD-Post, 65
importing files, 25, 102
A refreshing Fluent input data, 35, 101
analysis refreshing Fluent Meshing input data, 107
example, 19, 93 reloading, 101
systems , 4 resetting, 36
ANSYS CFD-Post viewing in ANSYS CFD-Post, 64
exporting Fluent files for, 65 data files
viewing Fluent data in, 64 importing
final results, 29
C duplicating systems, 50
calculation
continuing, 37 E
interrupting, 37 example, 19, 93
restarting, 37 journal file, 97
case exiting, 18, 93
importing files, 25, 102 exporting files
modification strategies, 61 Fluent, 102
cells Fluent Meshing, 107
Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component systems, exporting Fluent files for ANSYS CFD-Post, 65
7
Fluent component systems, 6 F
fluid flow Fluent analysis systems, 4 File menu
properties, 11 Fluent Meshing, 107
states, 8 file naming conventions, 70
clearing generated data , 36 File ribbon tab
closing, 18, 93 Fluent, 101
without saving, 105 file structure, 66
component File/Close Without Save, 105
systems, 4 File/Export
connecting systems, 44 Fluent Meshing, 107
dragging and dropping from toolbox, 46 File/Export..., 102
dragging and dropping solution cells, 49 File/Export/Boundary Mesh, 102
connections File/Export/Case, 102
shared data , 44 File/Export/Case and Data, 102
transfer data, 44 File/Export/Data, 102
continuing a calculation, 37 File/Export/Flamelet, 102
conventions used in this guide, xi File/Export/ISAT Table , 102
convergence charts, 39 File/Export/PDF , 102
copying Fluent Launcher property settings, 16 File/Export/Profile, 102
coupling File/Export/Surface Clusters, 102
iterations, 88 File/Import
one–way Fluent and Ansoft, 85 Fluent Meshing, 107
systems, 73 File/Import/Case and Data..., 102
two–way Fluent and Ansoft, 86 File/Import/Case..., 102
coupling iterations File/Import/Data..., 102
Fluent and Ansoft, 88 File/Import/Mesh..., 102
creating systems, 4 File/Recorded Mesh Operations, 101
custom systems, 71 File/Refresh Input Data

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 113
Index

Fluent, 101 fluid-structure interaction, 71

Fluent Meshing, 107
File/Reload, 101 G
File/Reload Setup, 36 graphical user interface, 2
file/reload-setup, 36
File/Save Project H
Fluent, 101 help, 22, 99
Fluent Meshing, 107
File/Sync Workbench, 36, 102 I
file/sync-workbench, 36
importing
files
case files, 25, 102
exporting
data files, 25, 102
Fluent, 102
final results, 29
Fluent Meshing, 107
files
exporting Fluent files for ANSYS CFD-Post, 65
from within Fluent, 31
importing
from within Workbench , 25
boundary mesh, 107
Fluent Meshing
case, 25, 102, 107
boundary mesh files, 107
data, 25, 102
case files, 107
mesh, 25, 102, 107
size fields files, 107
size fields, 107
mesh files, 25, 102, 107
Fluent
solution files
component systems, 4
initialization, 27
cells, 6
input data
exiting, 18
refreshing, 35, 101, 107
File ribbon tab, 101
input parameters, 63
fluid flow analysis systems, 4
interrupting a calculation, 37
cells, 4
introduction, 1
Launcher
cell properties, 11
copying property settings, 16
J
journal
settings, 10
example, 97
starting, 9
using, 97
Fluent (meshing mode)
journaling and scripting, 72
starting, 91
Fluent (solution mode)
starting, 91 L
Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component systems licensing, 71
cells, 7 limitations, 2
journal file, 97 Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component systems,
limitations, 91 91
Mesh cell properties, 95
parallel simulations, 95 M
Fluent Meshing manual
exiting, 93 using the, ix
starting, 91 Maxwell Mapping Surface dialog box, 104
Fluent-based analysis systems Maxwell Mapping Volumetric dialog box, 103
cells , 4 mesh
creating, 4 changing in Fluent, 56
Fluent-based component systems importing files, 25, 102
cells, 6 recorded Fluent operations, 101
creating, 6 Mesh cell properties

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
114 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
 Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component systems, saving, 18, 93, 101, 107
95 solution files
mesh operations importing
reviewing in Fluent, 51 initialization, 27
monitoring solutions, 39 solution strategies, 61
starting Fluent, 9
O specifying Fluent Launcher settings, 10
one-way FSI, 71 using cell properties, 11
one–way coupling starting Fluent (meshing mode), 91
Fluent and Ansoft, 85 starting Fluent (solution mode), 91
Online Help, 22, 99 starting Fluent Meshing, 91
output parameters, 63 strategies
solution, 61
P synchronizing Fluent with Workbench, 36, 102
parallel simulations system coupling, 73
Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) component systems, available regions in Fluent, 75
95 capabilities and limitations in Fluent, 73
parameters effect on Fluent execution, 80
input and output, 63 executing restart runs, 80
properties, 11 Fluent settings, 79
generating restart files, 80
Q restarting in Fluent, 80
running Fluent on command line, 82
Quick Help, 22, 99
troubleshooting, 83
systems
R connecting, 44
recorded mesh operations, 101
dragging and dropping from toolbox, 46
refreshing input data , 35, 101, 107
dragging and dropping solution cells, 49
reloading Workbench, 101
coupling, 73
reloading Workbench setup, 36
creating, 4
Remote Solve Manager (RSM), 71
custom, 71
resetting data, 36
duplicating, 50
restarting a calculation, 37
Fluent component, 4
fluid flow (Fluent) analysis, 4
S
saving T
setup data, 18, 93, 101, 107
transfer data connections, 44
solution data, 18, 93, 101, 107
two–way coupling
your work, 18, 93, 101, 107
Fluent and Ansoft, 86
settings
changing in Fluent, 56
setup
U
update command, 31
updating, 31
using the manual, ix
setup data
reloading, 36
saving, 18, 93, 101, 107 W
shared data connections, 44 Workbench Tools toolbar, 109
shared licensing mode, 71
Sidebar Help, 22
solution
monitoring, 39
updating, 31
solution data

Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 115
 Release 17.2 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
116 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.