Workbench Beta Features Manual

ANSYS, Inc. Release 2024 R1

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Beta Features Manual

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Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1
Enabling Beta Features in Workbench ..................................................................................................... 1
Workbench Beta Features .......................................................................................................................... 3
CFX (Beta) Component System ............................................................................................................... 3
Fluent (with CFD-Post) (Beta) Component System ................................................................................... 4
Retaining Failed Design Points ................................................................................................................ 4
Conditional Component Updates ........................................................................................................... 5
Selecting the Condition Parameter ................................................................................................... 5
Specifying the Update Condition for the Input Parameter ................................................................. 6
Viewing Update Results ................................................................................................................... 8
User String (Beta) Field ............................................................................................................................ 9
Fluent and EnSight ............................................................................................................................... 10
Link Between Static Structural Solution to Speos Geometry ................................................................... 10
Connecting the optiSLang Data Receive Component to External Data ................................................... 11
Connection from Fluent Meshing to CFX and Polyflow ........................................................................... 11
Reset Component Update DCS ID ......................................................................................................... 13
Importing Onshape Geometry .............................................................................................................. 13
Fatigue Crack Growth Material Models .................................................................................................. 14

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Introduction
Beta features are features that have not been fully tested and validated. They are working features that
are still under development. Given this status, Ansys, Inc. may choose to release a feature, change the
feature, or remove the feature from a given future release or as determined by the company. Furthermore,
Ansys, Inc. makes no commitment to resolve defects reported against a beta feature and beta features
are not subject to the Ansys Class 3 error reporting system.

Note:

• Turning the beta feature option on in Workbench also exposes beta options in supported
applications, such as Mechanical. This guide does not document beta features for any
other Ansys product other than Workbench.

• Ansys, Inc. does not guarantee that input files used with beta features will run successfully
from version to version of the software, nor with the final released version of the features.
You may need to modify the input files before running them on other versions.

Enabling Beta Features in Workbench

To enable beta features in Workbench:

1. From the menu bar, select Tools → Options → Appearance.

2. Select the Beta Options check box.

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Workbench Beta Features
The following topics describe beta features that appear in Workbench:
CFX (Beta) Component System
Fluent (with CFD-Post) (Beta) Component System
Retaining Failed Design Points
Conditional Component Updates
User String (Beta) Field
Fluent and EnSight
Link Between Static Structural Solution to Speos Geometry
Connecting the optiSLang Data Receive Component to External Data
Connection from Fluent Meshing to CFX and Polyflow
Reset Component Update DCS ID
Importing Onshape Geometry
Fatigue Crack Growth Material Models

CFX (Beta) Component System

Ansys CFX allows you to perform fluid-flow analysis of incompressible and compressible fluid flow and
heat transfer in complex geometries. The CFX (Beta) system can suppress physics errors from CFX-Pre
and solve the calculations with the errors suppressed.

To use CFX (Beta) with Workbench:

1. To add an CFX (Beta) component system, drag the system from the Toolbox to the Project
Schematic or double-click the system in the Toolbox.

2. To read a mesh and specify the Ansys CFX physics definitions in CFX-Pre:

• Right-click the Setup cell and select Edit from the context menu.

• To Import a previously saved case file, right-click the Setup cell and select Import Case → Browse
from the context menu.

3. To suppress the physics errors, right-click the Setup cell and select Suppress Physics Errors from
the context menu.

4. To start the solver:

• Right-click the Solution cell and select Update from the context menu.

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Workbench Beta Features

• Right-click the Solution cell and select Edit from the context menu, set the solver execution
controls in CFX-Solver Manager, and start the solver.

• To import an existing CFX-Solver Results file, right-click the Solution cell and select Import
Solution → Browse.

Fluent (with CFD-Post) (Beta) Component System

The Fluent (with CFD-Post) (Beta) component system allows you to complete fluid flow analysis of
incompressible and compressible fluid flow and heat transfer in complex geometries. You specify the
computational models, materials, boundary conditions, and solution parameters in Fluent, where the
calculations are solved. You can then analyze the results of the calculations in CFD-Post.

To use Fluent (with CFD-Post) (Beta) with Workbench:

1. To add an Fluent (with CFD-Post) (Beta) component system, drag the system from the Toolbox
to the Project Schematic or double-click the system in the Toolbox.

2. To open Fluent in solution mode, where you can specify the computational models, materials,
boundary conditions, and solution parameters, as well as perform the calculations:

• Right-click the Setup cell and select Edit from the context menu.

• To Import a previously saved Fluent case file or Fluent case and data files, right-click the Setup
cell and select Import Fluent Case → Browse or Import Fluent Case and Data → Browse from
the context menu.

3. To start the solver:

• Right-click the Solution cell and select Update from the context menu.

• Right-click the Solution cell and select Edit from the context menu, set the solver execution
controls in Fluent, and start the solver.

4. To analyze the results of the calculations in CFD-Post, right-click the Results cell and select Edit.

Retaining Failed Design Points

By default, Workbench does not retain design points after they are solved or if they fail.

To keep the calculated data and/or files for design points that fail:

1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the Parameter Set bar.

2. To save the failed design point files, in the Properties view, select the Keep Failed Design Points
Files (Beta) check box.

3. To save the failed design point calculated data, in the Properties view, select the Retain Failed
Design Points (Beta) check box.

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 Conditional Component Updates

Conditional Component Updates

Output parameters come from a component called a cell. The values for an output parameter are set
when that cell is updated. The Outline view for the Parameter Set bar displays all input and output
parameters, grouping them by the cell to which they belong.

This section provides information on a beta feature for specifying an input parameter condition, determ-
ining whether a project or design point update is performed on a cell and any downstream cells.

During a project or design point update, Workbench checks conditional parameters for each design
point, updating the design point only if logic outcomes are True.

Note:

An input parameter condition is not applied during a component update or a system update.
For such updates, you see a warning message like this one:

The update condition parameter P1 for the Solution component in

Fluid Flow (CFX) evaluates to false. This component will not be
updated by project or design point updates.

Because updating all cells in a large project can take a long time, this beta feature allows you to avoid
updating some cells based on the results of updating other cells. If you know beforehand that updating
a cell is not useful for certain input parameter values, you can use this beta feature to set a condition
that prevents updating the cell unnecessarily.

Selecting the Condition Parameter

You can set an update condition for any cell. Your first step is to select the input parameter to specify
an update condition for.

To select the condition parameter:

1. To open the Properties view, right-click a system cell and select Properties.

2. From the Update Condition Parameter (Beta) drop-down list, select the required input para-
meter identifier.

You can select from all Boolean input parameters for the cell. By default, None is selected, indic-
ating that a condition parameter has not been set. If you select a parameter that is later deleted,
you have the option of changing the selection back to None.

In the following image, Update Condition Parameter for cell A5 is set to P4. The next step is to
specify the update condition in the properties for input parameter P4.

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Workbench Beta Features

Specifying the Update Condition for the Input Parameter

After selecting the input parameter to set an update condition for a cell, you must specify the logic
to use for update determination in the Properties view for this input parameter.

1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the Parameter Set bar.

2. In the Outline view, select the required input parameter.

3. In the Properties view, click the Expression Value cell and type the logic for determining
whether to perform a project update or design point update on this cell and all downstream
cells.

In the following image, P4 is selected in the Outline view and P2>=5[Pa] is entered as the expression
in the Property view. If the output parameter value for P2 is greater than or equal to 5[Pa], the logic
outcome for P4 is True. Otherwise, the logic outcome for P4 is False. For information about entering
expressions, see Expressions, Quantities, and Units in the Workbench User's Guide.

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 Conditional Component Updates

In this project, P5 is also a conditional parameter. In the properties for the Geometry cell, P5 is selected
for Update Condition Parameter. The following images displays the update condition for P5. The
Geometry cell and any downstream cells are updated only if the output parameter value for P1 is
greater than 250.

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Workbench Beta Features

Viewing Update Results

The design points table displays the logic outcomes for conditional parameters. When the logic out-
come for any conditional parameter is False, the output parameter associated with the cell is not
updated. All output parameter values that are not updated display an out-of-date icon.

In the following image, the design points table displays logic outcomes for P4 and P5 in columns
named P4 – Pressure Conditional Parameter and P5 – Geometry Conditional Parameter. Because
P4 and P5 were created after design point DP 0 was already up-to-date, DP0 still displays a value for
output parameter P3. However, if you modified DP 0 and then updated all design points, DP 0 would
display an out-of-date icon for P3 because it does not get updated when the logic outcome for P5
is False. DP 2 is the only design point for which P3 is updated because it is the only one where the
logic outcomes for both condition parameters are True.

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 User String (Beta) Field

User String (Beta) Field

The User String (Beta) field allows you to provide custom information from Workbench to Remote
Solve Manager (RSM) that performs custom actions prior to the submission of a job to the cluster.

Examples of custom information that can be provided to the cluster include the user name of the sub-
mitter, or the license necessary to execute the job.

This field is displayed in the Properties view when you set the Solution Process Update Option to
Submit to Remote Solve Manager for an entire project, a system solution cell, or a parameter set.

The field accepts a text string in the following format:

KEY1=value1,KEY2=value2

The following rules apply to the text entry:

• Leading and trailing spaces around any key or value are automatically trimmed.

• Keys must consist of alphanumeric characters and underscores.

• Keys cannot contain embedded spaces.

• Values can use most characters and embedded spaces.

• Values cannot include the following special characters:

=,:;"\'/`()[]{}<>

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Workbench Beta Features

What you type in this field is passed to RSM as environment variables. The name of each environment
variable is the uppercase key, prefixed with RSM_CLIENT_, unless the key already starts with the
prefix. The value of each environment variable is the value portion of each pair.

Note:

Workbench does not check the size of the user string against the environment variable
space of the remote Workbench session.

Fluent and EnSight

If you are running Fluent in Workbench with Workbench BETA features enabled, Fluent exports
.cas/.h5/.dat.h5 files during the run. You can equivalently enable this feature in EnSight by se-
lecting Advanced EnSight features → Enable Beta Features on the EnSight Task.

Link Between Static Structural Solution to Speos Geometry

You can now create a connection between the Solution cell of a Static Structural system and the
Geometry cell of a Speos system. When the link is created, scdoc and obj files or pmdb and obj files
containing geometry, mesh, and deformed mesh information are transferred. From this information,
warping is applied to the geometry.

To create the link:

1. To add a Static Structural system, drag the system from the Toolbox to the Project Schematic or
double-click the system in the Toolbox.

2. Right-click the Solution cell and select Transfer Data to New → SPEOS.

The Speos system is added and the connection is made.

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 Connection from Fluent Meshing to CFX and Polyflow

Connecting the optiSLang Data Receive Component to External Data

You can now connect an optiSLang Data Receive component to an External Data component use this
connection in design points. To do so:

1. Ensure that the Ansys Workbench optiSLang extension is installed.

2. Drag a Data Receive component from the Toolbox (listed under optiSLang Integrations) onto
the Project Schematic.

3. Double-click the Setup cell, or right-click the Setup cell and select Edit from the context menu.

4. In the PDMReceive - Data Receive dialog box, click Add.

5. For the PDM location, in the Type list, select optiSLang and browse to the location of the file to
set the path.

Selecting this type creates an input and output parameter.

6. Click Next.

7. Select the optiSLang related file and click Next.

8. Keep or adjust the ID as required and click Next.

9. In the Transfer type list, select External Data and click Next.

10. To save the settings and close the wizard dialog box, click Finish.

11. Right-click the newly created cell that corresponds to the selected file and select Transfer Data
to New → External Data from the context menu.

12. Set up the remainder of the Workbench project as needed.

13. Save and close the project.

14. In optiSLang, load the Workbench project into a Workbench node. The node detects the Data Receive
system and creates a file registration in the optiSLang project and the Workbench node in the Files
tab.

15. Now you can place any other node that creates the necessary file in optiSLang before the Workbench
node to prepare that file for design points.

Connection from Fluent Meshing to CFX and Polyflow

You can create a connection from a Fluent (with Fluent Meshing) system to a CFX and a Polyflow system.

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Workbench Beta Features

To enable this workflow:

1. From the menu bar, select Tools → Options → Fluent.

2. Select the Enable Connection from Fluent Meshing to CFX and Polyflow check box.

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 Importing Onshape Geometry

3. To save the changes and close the dialog box, click OK.

4. Complete one of the following options:

• Open Fluent Meshing and manually change the Default Format for I/O setting to Legacy.

• Run a command snippet in Fluent to change the Default Format for I/O setting to Legacy.

For more details on Fluent, see the Fluent User's Guide.

Reset Component Update DCS ID

When you have a Workbench project that contain Mechanical systems, the Solution Process Update
Option is set to Submit to Remote Solve Manager, and the Solve Process Setting is pointing to a
Distributed Compute Service (DCS) queue, a project ID is created when you perform a component update.
If you archive the Workbench project and send it to another user that does not have DCS permissions,
they cannot use this project.

To reset the project ID, allowing the second user to create a new one, from the menu bar select Jobs
→ Reset Component Update DCS ID.

Importing Onshape Geometry

You can now import geometry into a Workbench system Geometry cell directly from the Onshape
portal.

To import Onshape geometry:

1. Right-click the Geometry cell and select Import Geometry → Browse from Onshape or Replace
Geometry → Browse from Onshape from the context menu.

2. In Onshape, browse to and download a geometry file.

For more information on using Onshape, see the Onshape Help.

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Workbench Beta Features

The file is saved to your Downloads folder and automatically linked to the Geometry cell.

Fatigue Crack Growth Material Models

The material models in this section are available as beta features under Crack Growth Laws in the En-
gineering Data module.

Be aware of the following when using these material models:

• They apply to static structural analyses only.

• Only one material model for fatigue crack growth can be used in a model.

NASGRO V3
This material model implements version 3 of the NASGRO equation for fatigue crack growth. NASGRO
V3 cannot be used with crack-closure functions.

NASGRO V4
This material model implements version 4 of the NASGRO equation for fatigue crack growth. NASGRO
V4 cannot be used with crack-closure functions.

Tabular Fatigue Law

This material model implements the Tabular Fatigue Law for fatigue crack growth.

Walker Equation
This material model implements the Walker equation for fatigue crack growth. Walker Equation cannot
be used with crack-closure functions.

Additional Information about Fatigue Crack Growth

• Understanding Crack-Initiation and -Growth Mechanics

• SMART Method for Crack-Growth Simulation

• TB

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