ANSYS, Inc. Release Notes
Release 14.0 ANSYS, Inc. November 2011 Southpointe 275 Technology Drive 000285Canonsburg, PA 15317 ANSYS, Inc. is
certified to ISO 9001:2008. [email protected] http://www.ansys.com (T) 724-746-3304 (F) 724-514-9494
© 2011 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 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 subsidi-aries 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 CONFIDENTIAL 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, com-pliance 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 li-cense 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, please contact ANSYS, Inc.
1. Global ... 1
1.1. Advisories ... 1
1.2. Installation ... 1
1.3. Licensing ... 2
1.4. The ANSYS Customer Portal ... 3
2. Workbench ... 5
2.1. ANSYS Workbench 14.0 ... 5
2.1.1. Design Point Enhancements ... 5
2.1.2. Reporting ... 6
2.1.3. Workbench Options ... 6
2.1.4. Tighter Integration Between ANSYS Workbench and EKM ... 7
2.1.5. Incompatibilities ... 7
2.2. DesignModeler Release Notes ... 7
2.3. TurboSystem Release Notes ... 13
2.3.1. ANSYS BladeModeler ... 13
2.3.1.1. BladeGen ... 13
2.3.1.1.1. BladeGen New Features and Enhancements ... 14
2.3.1.1.2. BladeGen Limitations ... 14
2.3.1.2. BladeEditor ... 14
2.3.1.2.1. BladeEditor New Features and Enhancements ... 14
2.3.2. Vista CCD ... 15
2.3.2.1. Vista CCD New Features and Enhancements ... 15
2.3.2.2. Vista CCD Incompatibilities ... 15
2.4. Meshing Application Release Notes ... 15
2.5. Mechanical Application Release Notes ... 29
2.6. DesignXplorer Release Notes ... 43
2.6.1. DesignXplorer General Enhancements ... 44
2.6.2. DesignXplorer Manufacturable Values Enhancements ... 46
2.6.3. DesignXplorer Design Point Update Enhancements ... 47
2.6.4. DesignXplorer Remote Design Point Update Enhancements ... 48
2.6.5. Response Surface Enhancements ... 50
2.6.6. DesignXplorer Chart Enhancements ... 50
2.7. Remote Solve Manager Release Notes ... 51
2.8. Engineering Data Workspace Release Notes ... 55
2.9. EKM Release Notes ... 56
2.9.1. EKM ... 57
2.9.2. EKM Desktop ... 59
2.10. System Coupling ... 60
2.11.1. Advantages of the IC Engine System ... 60
2.11.2. IC Engine System Features ... 61
3. Mechanical APDL ... 63
3.1. Structural ... 63
3.1.1. Contact ... 64
3.1.1.1. Contact Stabilization Damping ... 64
3.1.1.2. Squeal Damping ... 64
3.1.1.3. Surface-Projection-Based Contact for 2-D Models ... 65
3.1.1.4. Surface-Projection-Based Contact with MPC Contact ... 65
3.1.1.5. Geometry Correction for 2-D Contact and Target Surfaces ... 66
3.1.1.6. Bonding Temperature ... 66
3.1.1.7. Other Contact Enhancements ... 66
3.1.2. Elements and Nonlinear Technology ... 66
3.1.2.1. Rezoning ... 67
3.1.2.2. Ocean Loading ... 67
3.1.2.2.1. Ocean Wave Loading in a Harmonic Analysis ... 67
3.1.2.2.2. Diffracted Wave Support ... 68
3.1.2.3. Beam Elements with Shape Memory Alloy and Hyperelasticity (Solid Pipe Section) ... 68
3.1.2.4. Coupled Aeroelastic-Structural Analysis ... 68
3.1.2.5. Discrete-Thickness Shells with 2-D Array ... 69
3.1.2.6. Enhanced Body Force Loading for Pipe and Elbow Elements ... 69
3.1.2.7. Soil-Pile-Structure Analysis ... 69
3.1.3. Linear Dynamics ... 69
3.1.3.1. Damping ... 70
3.1.3.2. Linear Non-Prestressed Modal Analysis ... 70
3.1.3.3. Mode Superposition (MSUP) Enhancements ... 70
3.1.3.4. Thermal Loads in Modal and Prestressed Harmonic Analyses ... 71
3.1.3.5. Rotordynamics ... 71
3.1.3.6. Spectrum Analysis ... 71
3.1.3.7. Spectrum Combination ... 71
3.1.3.8. Other Linear Dynamics Enhancements ... 72
3.1.4. Materials and Fracture ... 72
3.1.4.1. VCCT-Based Crack Growth Simulation ... 72
3.1.4.2. Chaboche Material Curve Fitting ... 73
3.1.4.3. Shape Memory Alloy ... 73
3.1.4.4. Microplane Material Model for Concrete Modeling ... 73
3.1.4.5. Enhanced Initial State Capability ... 74
3.1.4.6.Viscoelastic Response of Materials with Anisotropic Hyperelasticity ... 74
3.1.4.7. Harmonic Viscoelasticity ... 75
3.1.4.9. Interface Delamination Modeling with Interface Elements ... 75
3.1.4.10. Swelling ... 75
3.1.4.11. Anisotropic Hyperelasticity ... 76
3.1.4.12. Progressive Damage of Fiber-Reinforced Composites ... 76
3.2. Coupled-Field ... 76 3.2.1. Structural-Thermal Analysis ... 76 3.2.2. Coupled-Diffusion Analysis ... 77 3.3. Acoustics ... 77 3.4. Radiation Analysis ... 79 3.4.1. Energy Balance ... 79
3.4.2. View Factor Calculations ... 79
3.4.3. Radiosity Solver Parallelization ... 79
3.5. Solvers ... 79
3.5.1. Distributed ANSYS Enhancements ... 80
3.5.2. GPU Acceleration Enhancements ... 80
3.5.3. Subspace Eigensolver for Eigenvalue Buckling Analysis ... 81
3.5.4. Overconstraint Detection ... 81
3.5.5. Other Solver Changes and Enhancements ... 81
3.6. Linear Perturbation Analysis ... 82
3.6.1. Support for More Analysis Types ... 82
3.6.2. Linear Behavior Based on a Prior Preloaded Status ... 82
3.6.3. Linear Perturbation Tangent Option ... 83
3.7. Commands ... 83 3.7.1. New Commands ... 83 3.7.2. Modified Commands ... 84 3.7.3. Undocumented Commands ... 88 3.7.4. Archived Commands ... 89 3.8. Elements ... 89 3.8.1. Modified Elements ... 89 3.8.2. Undocumented Elements ... 90 3.9. Other Enhancements ... 91 3.9.1. Documentation ... 91
3.9.1.1. Technology Demonstration Guide ... 91
3.9.1.1.1. Hydrostatic Fluid Analysis of an Inflating and Rolling Tire ... 91
3.9.1.1.2. Cardiovascular Stent Simulation ... 92
3.9.1.1.3. Nonlinear Analysis of a Rubber Boot Seal ... 92
3.9.1.1.4. Rocket Nozzle Extension Simulation: Operation ... 92
3.9.1.1.5. Hot-Rolling Structural Steel Analysis with 3-D Rezon-ing ... 92
3.9.1.1.6. Friction Stir Welding (FSW) Simulation ... 93
3.9.1.2. Feature Archive ... 93
3.9.1.3. Material Reference ... 93
3.9.1.4. Element Reference ... 94
3.9.1.5. Parallel Processing Guide ... 94
3.9.1.6. Documentation Updates for Programmers ... 94
3.9.1.6.1. Routines and Functions Updated ... 94
3.9.2. Preprocessing ... 94
3.9.3. Postprocessing ... 94
3.9.3.1. Load Case Combination of Complex Results ... 95
3.9.3.2. Fatigue ... 95
3.9.3.3. Failure Criteria ... 95
3.9.4. Memory Management ... 95
3.9.5. APDL Math Enhancements ... 95
3.9.6. File Splitting ... 96
3.10. Known Incompatibilities ... 96
3.10.1. Release 13 Compatibility with Platform MPI ... 96
3.10.2. BUCOPT Command Changes ... 97
3.10.3. Multiframe Restart Files Are Overwritten by Default ... 97
3.10.4. RESUME Command with POST1 Fatigue ... 97
3.10.5. Writing and Reading Geometry Items ... 97
3.10.6. Results File Format Change ... 97
3.10.7. Substructure File Format Change ... 98
4. AUTODYN ... 99
4.1. 3D Parallel Simulations with Parts Containing Rigid Body Material(s) ... 99
4.2. Forces on Rigid Bodies ... 99
4.3. Nodal Based Strain Tetrahedra ... 99
4.4. Performance Enhancements ... 100
5. ICEM CFD ... 101
5.1. Highlights of ANSYS ICEM CFD 14.0 ... 101
5.2. Key New Features/Improvements ... 101
5.2.1. General ... 101 5.2.2. Blocking ... 102 5.2.3. Mesh Editing ... 103 5.2.4. Output Interfaces ... 103 5.3. Known Incompatibilities ... 104 5.4. Documentation ... 104 5.4.1. Tutorials ... 104 6. TurboGrid ... 105 7. FLUENT ... 107 7.1. Introduction ... 107
7.2. New Features in ANSYS FLUENT 14.0 ... 107
7.4. Known Limitations in ANSYS FLUENT 14.0 ... 115
7.5. Limitations That No Longer Apply in ANSYS FLUENT 14.0 ... 119
7.6. Updates Affecting Code Behavior ... 120
8. CFX ... 127
8.1. New Features and Enhancements ... 127
8.1.1. General Changes to ANSYS CFX ... 127
8.1.2. ANSYS CFX-Solver ... 127
8.1.2.1. CFX-Solver ... 127
8.1.3. ANSYS CFX-Pre ... 128
8.1.4. ANSYS CFX-Solver Manager ... 128
8.1.5. ANSYS CFD-Post ... 128 8.1.6. ANSYS CFX Documentation ... 130 8.1.7. ANSYS CFX in Workbench ... 130 8.2. Incompatibilities ... 130 8.2.1. CFX-Solver ... 130 8.2.2. CFX-Pre ... 132 8.2.3. CFX-Solver Manager ... 132 8.2.4. CFD-Post ... 132 9. POLYFLOW ... 135 9.1. Introduction ... 135 9.2. New Features ... 135 9.3. Defect Fixes ... 137 9.4. Known Limitations ... 139 10. Icepak ... 141 10.1. Introduction ... 141
10.2. New and Modified Features in ANSYS Icepak 14 ... 141
11. CFD-Post ... 145
11.1. New Features and Enhancements ... 145
11.2. Incompatibilities ... 146 12. AQWA ... 149 12.1. ANSYS AQWA ... 149 13. ASAS ... 151 13.1. ANSYS ASAS ... 151 13.2. ANSYS BEAMCHECK ... 151 13.3. ANSYS FATJACK ... 151 13.4. FEMGV ... 151 14. TGrid ... 153 14.1. Introduction ... 153
14.2. New Features in TGrid 14.0 ... 153
The information shown below apply to all ANSYS, Inc. products at the 14.0 release. Be sure to read the Release Notes for your individual product(s) for additional installation and licensing changes specific to your product(s).
To access Release Notes for previous ANSYS, Inc. releases, follow these links: • Version 13.0
• Version 12.1 for Linux • Version 12.1
• Version 12.0
1.1. Advisories
In addition to the incompatibilities noted within the release notes, known non-operational behavior, errors and/or limitations at the time of release are docu-mented in the Known Issues and Limitations document, although not accessible via the ANSYS Help Viewer. See the ANSYS Customer Portal for information about the documentation errata, ANSYS service packs and any additional items not included in the Known Issues and Limitations document. First-time users of the customer portal must register to create a password.
1.2. Installation
• ANSYS, Inc. has discontinued support for the HP-UX Itanium 64, the Sun Solaris x64, IBM AIX 64, and the Linux 32-bit platforms for all products.
• ANSYS, Inc. has discontinued support for the Linux Itanium 64 platform for the ICEM CFD product.
• Third-party products that are used as part of the installation process are now documented in the ANSYS, Inc. Installation Guides.
• The ASAS product has been retired. The FATJACK, BEAMCHECK, and Splinter products are now installed automatically with the Mechanical application.
• The Pro/ENGINEER CAD product has been rebranded to Creo Parametric. • The ANSYS, Inc. product installation now supports Creo Parametric, NX,
Solid-Works, and Autodesk Inventor reader options. You can now choose to install the Reader (no CAD installation required) or the Associative Plug-in (CAD installation required) options for these CAD products.
• The release version now appears with each product selection in the Start menu on Windows.
• You can now specify two DVD drives during a silent installation to accommodate the installation process spanning two DVDs. See the discussion on Silent Mode Operations in the Installation Guide for your platform for more information. • You can now choose to install and uninstall only Remote Solve Manager (RSM).
RSM will continue to be installed as part of ANSYS Workbench.
• You can now choose to install and uninstall only the EKM Server on Windows platforms.
• The use of files requiring 777 permissions on Linux has been minimized. For more information on remaining full-permission files and softlinks, see the section Third-Party Software and Other Security Considerations in the ANSYS, Inc. Linux Installation Guide.
• The PDF version of the documentation that is available on the Customer Portal is now unprotected, allowing you to copy and paste content from the PDFs into other locations. This capability is especially useful if you want to use command snippets that are available throughout the documentation.
1.3. Licensing
The following enhancements have been made to ANSYS, Inc. Licensing for Release 14.0:
• ANSYS, Inc. has discontinued support for the HP-UX Itanium 64 and the IBM AIX 64 platforms for the ANSYS, Inc. License Manager.
• At ANSYS Release 14.0, the license manager daemons (lmgrd and ansyslmd) have been upgraded to FLEXlm 11.9.1 (FLEXnet 11.9.1). We strongly recommend that you upgrade to this version of the license manager, regardless of whether you are upgrading to ANSYS Release 14.0.
• You can now use the -setliclang option to change the language used by ANSLIC_ADMIN and the ANSYS, Inc. Licensing Interconnect log file. This option changes the language for all users running the ANSLIC_ADMIN utility (only the server ANSLIC_ADMIN on Windows).
To change the language setting locally for only the current session of the ANSLIC_ADMIN utility, you can launch the utility using the -lang option. To always use this setting locally without having to set this command line option each time, you can set an alias on UNIX/Linux or modify your Start menu shortcut on Windows. Please refer to your operating system document-ation for those instructions.
For more information on using these language settings, please see the silent license manager installation instructions in the ANSYS, Inc. Installation Guide for your platform and the ANSLIC_ADMIN discussion in the ANSYS, Inc. Li-censing Guide.
• ANSYS HPC Pack licenses are now available for borrowing. Only a single HPC Pack license can be borrowed at one time.
• CFX now respects licensing preferences. Previously, CFX would always use the lowest capability first. It will now use the licenses specified with User License Preferences. See the ANSYS, Inc. Licensing Guide for more information on setting licensing preferences.
• The default handling of the FLEXlm options file has changed. The Licensing In-terconnect will no longer process the FLEXlm options file by default. If you need to have the Licensing Interconnect process the FLEXlm options file (needed when the FLEXlm options file contains IP addresses), add the following entry to the ansyslmd.ini file on the license server:
ANSYSLI_USE_FLEXOPTS=1
Then, either reread or restart the Licensing Interconnect.
1.4. The ANSYS Customer Portal
If you have a password to the ANSYS Customer Portal (https://www1.an-sys.com/customer/), you can view additional documentation information and late changes. The portal is also your source for ANSYS, Inc. software downloads, service packs, product information (including example applications, current and archived documentation, undocumented commands, input files, and product previews), and online support.
2.1. ANSYS Workbench 14.0
2.1.1. Design Point Enhancements
The following enhancements have been made to design point behavior:
Specify Design Point Update Order at the Project Level
You can now specify the order in which Design Points are updated at the project level. When multiple Design Points share the same geometry or mesh, you can improve the efficiency of the computations by specifying an update order in which only those Design Points that change are updated. You can change the sequence of updates manually, by a column sort, or by using the automatic op-timization feature. For more information, see Design Point Update Order in the Workbench User Guide.
The ability to change the order of Design Point updates is also available at the DesignXplorer level. See Design Point Update Order in the DesignXplorer help for more information.
Added Support for Simultaneous Update of Design Points via RSM
You can now use the Remote Solve Manager (RSM) to enable simultaneous exe-cution of design points, allowing you to decrease the overall time required to complete parametric what-if and design exploration studies. In the Parameter Set Properties view, use the new Default Job Submission property to specify how design points sent to Remote Solve Manager for update will be submitted. For more information, see Updating Design Points via Remote Solve Manager (RSM) in the Workbench User’s Guide.
Submit Design Point Updates to RSM from DesignXplorer
You can now submit Design Point updates to RSM from DesignXplorer (DX). The Pending state is also now supported for DX, which means if you submit a design point update to RSM from DX, you can continue interacting with the project on a limited basis and can view intermediate results of individual design point up-dates via the Table of Design Points while the remote update is in progress. Additionally, if you exit the project, when you reopen it the Resume button allows you to resume the update.
For additional information, see Using Remote Solve Manager with DesignXplorer in the DesignXplorer help.
2.1.2. Reporting
You can now write out a report of the current project in .html/.htm format. To write a report, choose File> Export Report. The report will be written to the user_files directory under the project directory by default. You can control whether the report opens by default using the Options>Project Reporting settings.
The report contains basic project information, including a graphic of the systems as shown in the project schematic, parameter and design point information, and system and cell information. The specific information provided will vary depending on the contents of the project. Additional information may be available from the individual applications. Not all applications provide reporting information.
2.1.3. Workbench Options
Enhancements to “Named Ranges” Filtering Prefix for Microsoft
Excel Systems
For a project that includes a Microsoft Excel component, the Named Ranges prefix can now be specified at the global level (via the ANSYS Workbench Options dialog) as well as at the project level (via the Named Range Key property of the Analysis component). Additionally, the Named Ranges filtering prefix now conveniently defaults to blank or “no filter.”
For more information, see Microsoft Office Excel or Microsoft Office Excel Options in the Workbench User’s Guide.
2.1.4. Tighter Integration Between ANSYS Workbench and
EKM
The ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager (EKM) is a Simulation Process and Data Management (SPDM) software system that allows you to store, share, report, and operate on your simulation data in an accessible, web-based environment. While EKM can operate as a stand-alone system, its integration with ANSYS Workbench streamlines the process of storing, retrieving, and sharing your Workbench projects within an EKM repository. Through the provided Repository capabilities in the Workbench File menu, you have access to powerful SPDM capabilities that allow you to:
• archive completed projects or store works in progress to local or remote storage • share and collaborate on your projects
• search projects based on names, dates, simulation type, or other criteria • retrieve your own projects or those shared by other users
ANSYS EKM provides access to a simulation data repository, which may exist locally on your workstation (for individual repositories) or reside on a larger dedicated server for enterprise-level data management.
2.1.5. Incompatibilities
There are no known incompatibilities to date in release 14.0.
2.2. DesignModeler Release Notes
The following general enhancements have been made in release 14.0:
Project Schematic Connections
You may now connect HFSS, Q3D, and Maxwell systems to downstream Geometry cells via a provides-to connection in the project schematic.
Expanded Boolean Feature Capability
The Boolean feature now includes the ability to Imprint Faces from a list of target and tool bodies. Either the target or tool bodies can be frozen.
Named Selection Feature Property Enhancement
An additional property named Export Selection is now available via the Named Selection feature. Selection of the property via the Details View controls the transfer of Named Selections to downstream applications such as ANSYS Mech-anical. Note that the Named Selection option and the filter properties in the Geometry cell of the Project Schematic are no longer available if the Geometry cell specifies an ANSYS DesignModeler database.
GAMBIT Reader Upgrade
Beginning with the release 14 of ANSYS Workbench, GAMBIT real and non-real (virtual, faceted, CAD) geometry may be processed. An option allows you to choose whether to process both real and non-real data or just real only. Prior to release 14, only GAMBIT real geometry (including hidden real geometry) would be processed. By processing real and non-real geometry, the GAMBIT geometry can be more accurately represented in ANSYS Workbench.
Transfer Enhancements
The transfer capabilities between ANSYS DesignModeler and ANSYS Mechanical have been enhanced, most notably:
• When transferring an ANSYS DesignModeler application to ANSYS Mechan-ical for the first time, the order of bodies seen in ANSYS DesignModeler is retained in ANSYS Mechanical.
• Previously new bodies were created in ANSYS DesignModeler when multibody parts, with shared topology created via the automatic method, included overlapping surface bodies. Now the overlapping bodies are transferred as separate bodies to ANSYS Mechanical instead of being asso-ciated with one of the original bodies.
• Vertex persistence in ANSYS Mechanical for concept parts transferred from ANSYS DesignModeler has been improved although when refreshing older databases in ANSYS Mechanical, vertex persistence might break the first time. Once the vertex persistence is corrected the databases will persist for further refresh operations.
Direct Entity Selection for Modeling Operations
Geometric entities such as faces, edges, vertices, or point feature points can now be selected as input for the modeling operations. These operations include the Extrude, Revolve, Sweep and Skin/Loft features.
Face Thickness Displayed by Color
Via the Graphics Options toolbar or the View menu, you can display face thickness using colors. Each thickness is represented by a separate color.
Display Edge Direction
Via the Graphics Options toolbar or the View menu, you can display a model’s edge directions. The direction arrow appears at the midpoint of the edge.
Automatic Promotion of Parameters
All parameters can now be automatically published to ANSYS Workbench when geometry is imported or refreshed from the CAD source. The default for this property is no, meaning all parameters are not published by default.
Display Vertices Option
Via the Graphics Options toolbar or the View menu, you can view all the vertices in the model.
Toolbar Customization
Feature toolbars have been separated into smaller groups, making it easier to access many features/tools directly from the toolbars.
Select Mode Functionality
Single Select and Box Select are now more quickly accessible by toggling the right mouse button down, followed by the left mouse button down.
Hot Keys
• F3: Apply • F4: Cancel
• F6: Toggle display (shaded+edges/shaded/wireframe) • F7: Zoom to Fit
• Ctrl-A: Select All
• Ctrl-P: Toggle Point selection filter • Ctrl-E: Toggle Edge selection filter • Ctrl-F: Toggle Face selection filter • Ctrl-B: Toggle Body selection filter • Ctrl-Z: Undo (sketching mode only) • Ctrl-Y: Redo (sketching mode only) • Ctrl-C: Copy (sketching mode only) • Ctrl-X: Cut (sketching mode only) • Ctrl-V: Paste (sketching mode only)
Electronics Tool Enhancements
The Electronics tool, available for preparing the model for thermal-flow analysis using IcePak, is significantly enhanced with following improvements:
New ANSYS IcePak Object Types Three new IcePak object types are supported: • Axis Aligned Annular Cylinder: a cylindrical solid body with a concentric
cylindrical through-hole whose axis is aligned with one of the coordinate planes.
• Axis Aligned Conical Frustum: a solid conical frustum with the axis of the conical surface aligned with one of the coordinate axis.
• Axis Aligned Annular Conical Frustum: a solid conical frustum or cylinder with a concentric cylindrical or conical through-hole whose axis is aligned with one of the coordinate planes.
Enhanced Support for Polygonal Extrusion Level 2 geometry simplification now supports polygonal extraction for parts with circular segments. Controls available include:
• Points on Arc: specifies the number of interior points that are placed at an equal distance within the curved edges in the polygonal profile.
• Length Threshold Percentage: specifies the threshold value to represent the curved edges using interior points.
• Enforce Axis: forces the DesignModeler application to look for polygon profiles only in the normal plane of the selected axis.
Electronics Tool Usability Improvements
• Part Structure Transfer to ANSYS IcePak: DesignModeler’s part-body structure is retained during ANSYS DesignModeler to ANSYS IcePak model transfer.
• Rename Multiple Bodies in a Single Step: You can rename selected nodes in the Tree Outline as a group. The single-step process is accessible via the context menu.
• Display of IcePak Icons for IcePak Bodies: DesignModeler now supports IcePak icons in the tree outline for bodies converted into IcePak objects.
Shaft Feature
The Import Shaft Geometry feature has been introduced as part of ANSYS DesignModeler. The feature uses a text file to generate a collection of line bodies with circular or circular tube cross sections. You may specify the units of the data in the text file and a base plane to orient the line bodies it creates.
Skin/Loft Property Enhancement
The Profile Selection method property in the Skin/Loft feature includes two new options to select either all or individual profiles.
Automatic Freeze during Slicing
Active bodies are now frozen automatically during use of the Slice feature, Slice Targets property, and the Slice Material operation. In addition, ANSYS Design-Modeler no longer requires that a model be completely frozen before allowing slice operations.
AutoCAD Support
ANSYS DesignModeler now supports the AutoCAD file format in both plug-in (requires CAD system to be running) and pseudo-reader (does not require CAD system to be running) modes.
Error Messages
Error reporting has been improved for the Share Topology feature and Import/At-tach features to give more detailed error information.
Geometry Interfaces Update for New CAD Releases
Geometry interfaces are updated to support new CAD releases including:• AutoCAD 2012
• Autodesk Inventor 2012
• Creo Elements/Direct Modeling 18.0
• Creo Parametric (formerly Pro/ENGINEER) 1.0 • NX 8.0
• Parasolid 24.0 • Solid Edge ST4 (104) • SolidWorks 2011
• ANSYS SpaceClaim Direct Modeler 2011+ • Teamcenter 8.0, 8.1 and 8.3
New File Based CAD Readers
File based CAD readers are expanded to include support for additional CAD systems
• NX
• Autodesk Inventor • SolidWorks
CATIA V5 R21 Support
CADNexus Capri gateway for CATIA V5 is updated to include support for CATIA V5 R21.
2.3. TurboSystem Release Notes
TurboSystem is a set of software applications and software features that help you to perform turbomachinery analyses in ANSYS Workbench.
ANSYS TurboGrid is a meshing tool for turbomachinery blade rows. The release notes for ANSYS TurboGrid are given at “ANSYS, Inc. Release Notes > "TurboGrid Release Notes"”.
CFX-Pre, a CFD preprocesor, and CFD-Post, a CFD postprocessor, are part of the ANSYS CFX product. Both of these products have Turbomachinery-specific fea-tures. The release notes for CFX-Pre are given at “ANSYS, Inc. Release Notes > "CFX Release Notes"”. The release notes for CFD-Post are given at “ANSYS, Inc. Release Notes > "CFD-Post Release Notes"”.
Release notes for the remaining TurboSystem applications are provided in the following sections:
• BladeGen (p. 13) • BladeEditor (p. 14) • Vista CCD (p. 15)
Note
After reviewing these release notes, you are encouraged to see Usage Notes, which describes some known TurboSystem-related workflow issues and recommended practices for overcoming these issues.
2.3.1. ANSYS BladeModeler
2.3.1.1. BladeGen
2.3.1.1.1. BladeGen New Features and Enhancements
• Vista AFD is no longer available from BladeGen, after having moved to Workbench. For details, see "Vista AFD".
2.3.1.1.2. BladeGen Limitations
• For the Quasi-Orthogonal Area Graph, in some special cases involving sharp bends in the hub or shroud, the Quasi-Orthogonal Area with the blades can give incorrect results. This is the case regardless of the flow angle correction. The area curves without the blades are not affected by this defect.
2.3.1.2. BladeEditor
ANSYS BladeEditor is a plugin for ANSYS DesignModeler for creating, importing, and editing blade geometry.
2.3.1.2.1. BladeEditor New Features and Enhancements
• Camberline Thickness Mode
The workflow has been changed so that camberline/thickness definitions now appear exclusively as sub-features of the Blade/Splitter feature. For details, see Blades made using Camberline/Thickness sub-features in the TurboSystem User Guide. The splitter camberlines can now reference data from the main blade. For details, see Camberline/Thickness Definition Sub-features of Independent Splitters in the TurboSystem User Guide.
• Auxiliary view
This view now shows meridional curvature for the hub and shroud. For de-tails, see Meridional Curvature View in the TurboSystem User Guide.
• Added Blade Clearance properties to the Blade feature. For details, see Blade Feature in the TurboSystem User Guide.
• User-defined layers
You can create layers based on sketch curves. For details, see FlowPath Feature in the TurboSystem User Guide. Data layers in BladeGen models are converted to user-defined layers when loaded into BladeEditor.
• BladeEditor has been made consistent with BladeGen in that, by default, both now read and write files that express angles in radians instead of degrees.
2.3.2. Vista CCD
Vista CCD is a program for the preliminary design of centrifugal compressors. See "TurboSystem: Vista CCD" for details on using this new version of Vista CCD. Vista CCD was developed by PCA Engineers Limited, Lincoln, England.
2.3.2.1. Vista CCD New Features and Enhancements
Vista CCD has been improved to work for a wider range of operating conditions. Enhancements to Vista CCD:
• Real gas capability was enhanced for "highly imperfect" gases.
2.3.2.2. Vista CCD Incompatibilities
The new version of Vista CCD is not backwards-compatible with versions earlier than Release 13.0. You must use the earlier versions if you want to view the Vista data for previous BladeGen models.
2.4. Meshing Application Release Notes
This release of the Meshing application contains many new features and enhance-ments. Areas where you will find changes and new capabilities include the fol-lowing:
Resuming Databases from Previous Releases
Note the following when resuming databases from previous releases:• Upon import of a legacy model into release 14.0, suppressed virtual topology entities will be deleted. This includes any virtual topology entities that were suppressed manually (for example, by right-clicking on the virtual topology entity in the Tree Outline and selecting Suppress from the context menu), but it does not include virtual topology entities that are suppressed because the body con-taining them is suppressed. If entities are deleted, a warning message will be is-sued advising you to import the model into an earlier release, unsuppress the affected entities, and save the model for use in release 14.0. Also see the Virtual Topology section below.
• At release 13.0, all mesh connections were pre, but at release 14.0, all mesh connections are post. Upon import of a release 13.0 database into release 14.0, all mesh connections are updated accordingly.
• When assembly meshing algorithms are used in release 14.0, Program Controlled inflation is not supported on solid bodies. The solid bodies will not be inflated. If you import a release 13.0 database that specifies the CutCell meshing algorithm and Program Controlled inflation is defined on a solid body, you must either change the Fluid/Solid designation of the solid body to Fluid or set Use Auto-matic Inflation to None and define local inflation controls to obtain the release 13.0 behavior. Also see the Assembly Meshing section below.
• Contact regions are now resolved automatically as interfaces for use in ANSYS FLUENT. In support of this change, if you import a legacy model with all of the following characteristics into release 14.0, a message will be issued to advise you that if you do not want the contact regions to be resolved, you should delete them:
– Physics Preference is set to CFD. – Solver Preference is set to Fluent. – Contact regions are defined.
However, if you do want the legacy contact regions to be resolved, you must clear and regenerate the mesh in the release 14.0 Meshing application prior to exporting/opening the mesh in ANSYS FLUENT.
Also see the Miscellaneous Changes and Behaviors section below for re-lated information.
• The logic for translating material properties of bodies/parts to continuum zone types when a mesh is exported to ANSYS FLUENT format has changed in release 14.0. Body/part names and Named Selection names are no longer considered. However, upon import of a legacy model into release 14.0, the Fluid/Solid ma-terial property for each body will be set based on pre-14.0 rules.
Special handling of sheet bodies occurs during migration based on whether the model is 3D (not planar in the XYZ plane) or 2D (planar in the XYZ plane): – If 3D or in cases in which only surface mesh is being exported, migration of
sheet bodies is skipped. The pre-14.0 rules are not used to interpret the naming of the sheet bodies, and no material properties are assigned to them. – If 2D, pre-14.0 rules are applied to the sheet bodies as follows:
→ If Named Selections, part names, and/or body names are defined, they are applied according to the following priority:
• Named Selections defined for the underlying faces in a sheet body. In such cases, a message will be issued indicating the Named Selection definition for the faces will override the Fluid/Solid material property for the sheet body.
• Named Selections defined for sheet bodies • Part names
• Body names
This means that when defined, Named Selections for underlying faces take highest priority, then Named Selections for sheet bodies, then part names, then body names. An exception occurs if a part name would result in a material property of Solid but a body name would result in a material property of Fluid. In such cases, the sheet body is transferred as a Fluid.
→ If no Named Selections, part names, or body names are defined, the sheet bodies are transferred as continuum zones and the same rules as in the 3D case are applied.
A message will be issued if the migration results in a change to the material properties of any body, in which case you can perform a right mouse button click and select Go To Object from the context menu to select the object in the Tree Outline that is responsible for the message. Also see the FLUENT Export section below.
Assembly Meshing
“Assembly meshing” refers to meshing an entire model as a single mesh process, as compared to part- or body-based meshing, in which meshing occurs at the part or body level respectively. If the assembly meshing Method control (de-scribed below) is set to None, ANSYS Workbench meshing operates at the part level, but if it is set to CutCell or Tetrahedrons, the entire assembly will be meshed at one time using the selected assembly meshing algorithm.
Assembly meshing should be able to produce conformal mesh between parts if their faces are overlapping.
Assemblies can also be meshed using part-based meshing methods, but in such cases the mesher operates one part at a time, and therefore cannot mesh virtual bodies or evaluate parts that occupy the same space.
The following enhancements have been made in support of assembly meshing at release 14.0:
Assembly Meshing—Overview
• The Assembly Meshing group of global mesh controls is now available. You can use one of the controls, called Method, to choose either CutCell or Tetrahedrons as your strategy for assembly meshing. CutCell is available only in the Meshing application, and only when Physics Preference is set to CFD and Solver Prefer-ence is set to Fluent. Tetrahedrons is available in both the Meshing application and the Mechanical application, regardless of Physics Preference and Solver Preference settings.
The Tetrahedrons assembly meshing algorithm is a derivative of the CutCell algorithm, with strengths and weaknesses similar to those of CutCell. The Tetrahedrons method starts from the CutCell mesh and through various mesh manipulations creates a high quality unstructured tet mesh.
Named Selections are supported for assembly meshing. However, the mesher will not fail if a Named Selection is not protected; it will issue a warning.
Assembly Meshing—Global Improvements
• A Fluid/Solid material property setting is now available in the Meshing applica-tion. This property, which appears in the Details view if you select a prototype (i.e., Body object) in the Tree Outline, allows you to control the physics that occur on a model. It affects how material properties are translated when you export a mesh for use in ANSYS FLUENT. Valid options are Fluid, Solid, and Defined By Geometry. When set to Defined By Geometry, the value is based on the Flu-id/Solid material property that was assigned to the body in the DesignModeler application. The Fluid/Solid property also appears in the Details view if you select a Virtual Body object in the Tree Outline, but in such cases it is always set to Fluid (read-only). This property is not available if you are using the meshing capabilities from within the Mechanical application.
• When setting local (scoped) sizing controls, the Body of Influence option for Type is supported. The body of influence cannot be scoped to a line body.
• The default for Proximity Size Function Sources has been changed to Edges. This setting is sufficient for most models.
Assembly Meshing—Virtual Bodies
In principal, there are two approaches for extracting fluid domains from CAD: 1. For internal flow, cap the inlets, outlets, and any other leakage of the solid
do-main and perform a Boolean subtraction operation inside the CAD system to extract the flow volume.
2. For external flow, create a large external domain outside of the solid object, perform a Boolean subtraction operation inside the CAD system, and delete any remaining interior voids inside the solid.
However, depending on the number of solids and the quality (or “cleanliness”) of the original CAD, these Boolean operations may fail.
Assembly meshing provides the means of extracting and meshing the flow volume within both these scenarios in one operation, and hence eliminates the need for the Boolean operations. To use these approaches, capping faces or
large external domains need to be created in the CAD system. These fluid domains are represented by virtual bodies in the Meshing application. You also need to define a coordinate system at any location inside the extracted fluid domain. When you insert a virtual body into the Tree Outline, a Virtual Body Group, representing the fluid type, is created with a Virtual Body as a child object. In the Details view settings for the Virtual Body, you associate the material point with the coordinate system.
Often, you are interested only in the fluid flow and hence the solid mesh is not needed. The Keep Solid Mesh control determines whether the mesh for any body marked as a solid is discarded or kept.
Since meshing all of the solids and then discarding the solid mesh would not be efficient, you can provide the Fluid Surface in addition to the material point inside the Virtual Body definition, thereby eliminating the need to mesh the solid and leading to improved meshing performance by a factor of two or more. To aid in finding all the faces that are needed to create a Fluid Surface object, a new Extend to Connection option has been added to the Extend Selection drop-down menu. Before you use this tool, make sure that the global size function option Min Size/Proximity Min Size is set appropriately and that the Find
Due to missing rubber seals, bolt threading, or other simplifications, the solid CAD may not be “watertight.” In these situations, the assembly meshing al-gorithms can trace the leaks and display their leak paths graphically to help you with troubleshooting.
Leakage usually occurs if any contact is larger than 1/10 of the local minimum size. If a leak is up to 1/3 of the local minimum size, you can use contact sizing to close the gap.
Assembly Meshing—Diagnostics Tools
• For performing diagnostics for assembly meshing problems, the Find Thin Sec-tions and Find Contacts tools are available. These tools return lists of contact regions based on the global size function option Min Size/Proximity Min Size, which should be set appropriately before you invoke them. When Find Thin Sections is executed (using RMB), each of the contact regions it returns contains faces on the same body that will not be resolved properly based on the current global minimum size. When Find Contacts is executed (using RMB), the tool re-turns a list of contacts, which is used to pass feature information down to the meshing algorithm. The Find Contacts tool is particularly useful for assemblies in which fillets of bodies are adjacent to other bodies, forming a sharp angle. Find Contacts will preserve the edges of these fillets independent of the feature angle settings.
Related to these tools, the Use Range option has been added as a global connection setting so that searches can operate on a range of values. Assembly Meshing—Inflation
• For the CutCell algorithm, inflation is neither Pre nor Post. Rather, it may be considered a hybrid of the two, in that the technology used is like that of the Pre algorithm, but inflation occurs Post mesh generation. For the Tetrahedrons algorithm, Pre inflation is used, with inflation behaviors and limitations very similar to those of the Patch Conforming Tetrahedron mesh method.
• When an assembly meshing algorithm is being used, a mixture of global (auto-matic Program Controlled) and local (scoped) inflation is not supported; you must choose between the two approaches:
– For inflation on virtual bodies, you must use automatic Program Controlled inflation; you cannot use local controls to inflate virtual bodies. Thus in gen-eral, if you are using virtual bodies to represent flow volumes in your model, plan to use automatic inflation. Automatic inflation is specified globally by setting Use Automatic Inflation to Program Controlled. With Program
Controlled inflation, faces on real solid bodies will inflate into the virtual bodies. The Fluid/Solid designation on real bodies will be respected (that is, faces on real fluid bodies will inflate into the fluid region, but the solid region will not be inflated).
– Alternatively, you can set Use Automatic Inflation to None and define local inflation controls. This approach is appropriate if your model contains real bodies that represent the fluid regions.
If any global or local inflation settings are modified and you re-mesh, only the inflation layers are regenerated. This is true for both approaches, regard-less of which assembly meshing algorithm is selected.
• Assembly meshing algorithms support 3D inflation only. Unlike 3D inflation for part/body level meshing, for assembly level meshing the scoped body and the face that you select to be the inflation boundary do not have to be on the same part.
• By default, Gap Factor is set to 1.5 for the CutCell algorithm. For the Tetrahed-rons algorithm, Gap Factor is set equal to the value that is specified for non-assembly mesh methods (0.5 by default) and is updated accordingly if that value is changed.
Assembly Meshing—Additional Tools
• The new Sharp Angle Tool lets you control the capture of features with sharp angles, such as the edge of a knife or the region where a tire meets the road. It can also be used for improved feature capturing in general, even if the faces that you pick to define a control do not form a sharp angle. The Sharp Angle Tool is available only when assembly meshing algorithms are being used and ensures that the desired features are captured in the assembly mesh.
• Mesh groups are used to merge adjacent bodies into one body. The grouping tells the mesher to treat certain solid parts as one part and ensures that the mesh generated on the combined parts is associated with the mesh of the selected master body. Mesh grouping is available only when assembly meshing algorithms are being used. Mesh Group objects appear in the Tree Outline under the Mesh object.
Also see the Miscellaneous Changes and Behaviors section below.
Post Pinch Controls and Mesh Connections
At release 14.0, either the pinch control feature or the mesh connection feature can be used to join shell meshed parts after meshing.
In support of this functionality, a new option for specifying PinchBehavior is available for local pinch controls. Edge-to-edge pinch controls can be “pre” or “post, ” but edge-to-face pinch controls are always post. When set to Pre, pinches are processed before face meshing, and when set to Post, pinches are processed in a separate step after all meshing is complete.
At release 13.0, all mesh connections were pre, but at release 14.0, all mesh connections are post. The mesh connection feature leverages the Post pinch technology to automatically generate Post pinch controls internally at meshing time. This technology allows mesh connections to work across parts so that a multibody part is no longer required.
The Snap to Boundary option, which was already available for edge-to-face pinch controls, is now supported for edge-to-face mesh connections as well. When Snap to Boundary is set to Yes (the default) and the distance from a slave edge to the closest mesh boundary of the master face is within the specified snap to boundary tolerance, nodes from the slave edge are projected onto the boundary of the master face. In addition, you have more control over the snap type and snap tolerance. By default the snap tolerance is set equal to pinch tol-erance, but setting the Snap Type option to Manual Tolerance lets you override it. Alternatively, you can set Snap Type to Element Size Factor to enter a factor of the local element size of the master topology. For edge-to-edge pinch controls or edge-to-edge mesh connections, the snap tolerance is set equal to the pinch tolerance internally and cannot be modified.
When used on parts and bodies that have been joined by mesh connections or post pinch controls, the Clear Generated Data option now works as follows, where the "base" mesh, which is stored in a temporary file, is the mesh in its unsewn (pre-joined) state:
• If a base mesh is available, the mesh is reverted to the base mesh and the reques-ted parts/bodies are cleared.
• If no base mesh is available, the entire mesh is cleared and a warning message is issued. Reasons the base mesh may not be available include situations in which you have deleted your temporary files, exported a .mechdat file for someone else to use, or moved your project database to a different computer.
Selective Meshing (formerly Direct Meshing)
The selective meshing process (formerly known as direct meshing) has been improved at release 14.0. You can use the Mesh worksheet to create a selective meshing history, so that your meshing steps can be repeated in the desired
se-quence for any geometry update or re-mesh operation. You can populate the worksheet either by recording meshing steps as you perform them or by adding meshing steps to the worksheet manually. In each meshing step, the bodies as-sociated with a given Named Selection are meshed. For greater flexibility, you can activate and deactivate steps in the worksheet to control whether they are processed or skipped during mesh generation and other worksheet operations. The worksheet is dockable. Once you toggle it on, you can move it to the desired location which will persist whenever the Mesh object or one of its child objects is highlighted in the Tree Outline. For example, you may want to dock the worksheet alongside the Geometry window, allowing you to view both at once. Also see the Miscellaneous Changes and Behaviors section below.
Patch Conforming Meshing
A new global group of meshing controls, called Patch Conforming Options, has been added at release 14.0. The first of these new options is Triangle Surface Mesher, which determines which triangle surface meshing strategy will be used by patch conforming meshers—either Program Controlled or Advancing Front. When set to Program Controlled, the mesher determines whether to use the Delaunay or advancing front algorithm based on a variety of factors such as surface type, face topology, and defeatured boundaries. When set to Advancing Front, the mesher uses advancing front as its primary algorithm, but falls back to Delaunay if problems occur.
The Triangle Surface Mesher control has no effect on parts or bodies being meshed with the Patch Independent Tetra mesh method. The Patch Conform-ing Options group of controls is inaccessible when an assembly meshConform-ing al-gorithm is selected.
MultiZone Mesh Method
The following enhancements related to the MultiZone mesh method have been made at release 14.0:
• Improved handling of imprints. This includes imprinting through multiple bodies, through multiple levels in the same body, and through long stretches of side faces. Improvements have been made to submapping of cylindrical faces with side cutouts, especially those used as side faces along the sweep path.
• A new Prism option is available for Mapped Mesh Type. The Prism option generates a mesh of all prism elements for the part the method is scoped to. This option is sometimes useful if the source face mesh is being shared with a tet mesh, as pyramids are not required to transition to the tet mesh.
• Improved handling of edge splits.
Uniform Quad/Tri and Uniform Quad Mesh Methods
The following enhancements related to the Uniform Quad/Tri and Uniform Quad mesh methods have been made at release 14.0:
• Edge, face, and body sizing are supported. When using edge sizing, you can specify a Type of either Element Size or Number of Divisions. For face and body sizing, Type is always Element Size. The Sphere of Influence and Body of Influence options are not supported for Uniform Quad/Tri and Uniform Quad. • The Uniform Quad/Tri and Uniform Quad mesh methods support mesh
connec-tions and pinch controls (post pinch only).
Size Function Handling
The following enhancements and guidelines relate to size function handling at release 14.0:
• When Use Advanced Size Function is set to On: Proximity and Curvature, you now have the option to specify a global Proximity Min Size to be used in proximity size function calculations, in addition to specifying a global Min Size. By default, Proximity Min Size is set equal to the default of Min Size. Any feature that operates based on minimum element size (for example, Defeaturing Toler-ance, Pinch TolerToler-ance, and Find Thin Sections), will now be based on the smaller of the two minimum size values.
When Use Advanced Size Function is set to On: Proximity, only Proximity Min Size is available.
• In cases where you applied a hard size that is smaller than the minimum size, there may be a poor size transition in proximity to the entity with the hard size. To obtain a proper size transition, reduce the Defeaturing Tolerance used by the Automatic Mesh Based Defeaturing control (or turn off Automatic Mesh Based Defeaturing entirely).
Virtual Topology
The following enhancements related to virtual topology have been made at re-lease 14.0:
• You can select specific regions (i.e., bodies or faces) before running automatic virtual cell creation so that it operates on the selected regions only. The software groups adjacent entities appropriately to form the virtual cell(s).
• To facilitate more efficient virtual topology operations, Virtual Cell and Virtual Split Edge objects no longer appear in the Tree Outline. This provides improved usability in cases involving very large numbers of virtual entities. The Virtual To-pology object still appears in the Tree Outline and can be used for setting global virtual topology options. Other enhancements described in this section can be used for creating, deleting, and editing virtual entities.
• A new Virtual Topology Properties dialog has been implemented. You can use this dialog to edit the properties of multiple selected virtual topology entities, and your changes will be applied to all selected entities at one time. You can access the dialog via right-mouse button click or by choosing the Edit button on the Virtual Topology context toolbar.
• You can insert multiple virtual cells at one time when creating virtual cells manually. Select one or more faces or one or more edges and from the selected set of faces or edges, the software creates the virtual cell(s). During this process, adjacent selected entities are grouped appropriately to form virtual cell(s), while any single selected entity (that is, one that is selected but is not adjacent to any other selected entity) forms its own virtual cell.
• You can select two vertices on a face to split the face, thereby creating 1 to N virtual faces. To facilitate split face operations, you can create a virtual hard vertex, which allows you to define a hard point according to your cursor location on a face, and then use that hard point in a split face operation. In support of these features, two new objects are available (Virtual Split Face and Virtual Hard Vertex). Similar to Virtual Cell and Virtual Split Edge objects, Virtual Split Face and Vir-tual Hard Vertex objects do not appear in the Tree Outline.
• When you define a virtual split edge by selecting Insert> Virtual Split Edge from the context menu or by choosing Split Edge on the Virtual Topology context toolbar, the split location is set to 0.5 by default. You can change the value later by using the Virtual Topology Properties dialog, or by modifying the edge split interactively as described below.
• Using the F4 key, you can interactively adjust previously defined virtual split edges and virtual hard vertices. In either case, any virtual split faces affected by the change are adjusted accordingly.
• A Statistics group has been added to the Virtual Topology Details view. Here you can view counts of the virtual faces, virtual edges, virtual split edges, virtual split faces, virtual hard vertices, and total virtual entities that exist within the model.
• The virtual topology feature is more flexible, with the addition of more options for deleting virtual topology entities. Regardless of which object is highlighted in the Tree Outline (for example, Geometry, Virtual Topology, Mesh, etc.), you can now select virtual entities in the Geometry window, right-click, and delete the selected virtual entities (and dependents if applicable). When the Virtual Topology object is highlighted, you have the additional option of selecting the Delete button on the Virtual Topology context toolbar. You also have the option to delete all virtual entities at one time—either by RMB click on the Virtual To-pology object in the Tree Outline, or by RMB click on any virtual toTo-pology entity in the Geometry window.
• Left/right arrow buttons have been added to the Virtual Topology context toolbar so that you can cycle through virtual topology entities in the sequence in which they were created and display them in the Geometry window. • Suppression of virtual entities has been disabled.
POLYFLOW Export
The following enhancements related to POLYFLOW Export have been made at release 14.0:
• Named Selections are supported. When you export a mesh file from the Meshing application to POLYFLOW format (File> Export from the Meshing application main menu, then Save as type POLYFLOW Input Files), the Named Selections that were defined will appear in the exported mesh file.
• PMeshes are supported. You can create Named Selections to specify specialized modeling conditions on edges for 2-D or shell geometry; and edges and faces for 3-D geometry. The exported mesh file will contain the mesh nodes and ele-ments associated with those Named Selections in PMesh format.
CGNS Export
Release 14.0 provides greater control over CGNS export operations. Using the Options dialog box, you can choose a file format (ADF or HDF5) and CGNS
version (3.1, 3.0, 2.5, 2.4, 2.3, 2.2, or 2.1). The defaults are ADF and 3.1 respect-ively.
FLUENT Export
The following enhancements related to FLUENT Export have been made at release 14.0:
• Body/part names and Named Selection names are no longer considered when assigning continuum zone types for use in ANSYS FLUENT. For databases created in release 14.0, the following logic is used to translate the material properties of the bodies/parts in the model to continuum zone types:
1. If Physics Preference is set to CFD and you do not set the Fluid/Solid material property as described in steps 2 and 3 below, all zones are exported to ANSYS FLUENT mesh format as FLUID zones by default.
2. The Fluid/Solid material property assigned in the DesignModeler application is considered next. This setting overrides the default behavior described in step 1.
3. The Fluid/Solid material property assigned in the Meshing application is considered next. This setting overrides the default behavior described in step 1 and the Fluid/Solid material property assigned in the DesignModeler application.
For information about this change and migration of legacy models into re-lease 14.0, see the Resuming Databases from Previous Rere-leases section above.
• Using the Options dialog box, you can choose either the Binary or ASCII file format for greater control over FLUENT export operations.
• At the time of mesh export, a boundary zone type of INTERFACE is now assigned automatically to the contact source and contact target entities that compose contact regions. When reading the mesh file, ANSYS FLUENT creates a mesh in-terface for each contact region automatically. For related information, also see the Resuming Databases from Previous Releases section above, and the Mis-cellaneous Changes and Behaviors section below.
Shell Meshing Improvements
Better quad smoothing occurs at release 14.0:• More ruled mesh on rectangles, etc.
Miscellaneous Changes and Behaviors
The following changes and behaviors are new at release 14.0: • The Meshing Options panel has been removed.
• The CutCellMeshing group of global mesh controls has been renamed the As-sembly Meshing group. One of the controls, which used to be called the Active control, has been renamed the Method control. It lets you choose the CutCell or Tetrahedrons method for assembly meshing.
• The default for Proximity Size Function Sources has been changed to Edges. • For assembly meshing algorithms in release 14.0, Named Selection names for
internal face zones are not interpreted. In cases where two enclosed voids share a face, the face zone is assigned type WALL automatically regardless of whether a Named Selection has been defined for the face. In these cases, the mesh gen-eration cannot cross any boundary so you must define a virtual body with ma-terial point for each flow volume void in order for the volumes to be meshed. This is a change from release 13.0, in which Named Selection names matching FAN, RADIATOR, or POROUS-JUMP were interpreted as FAN, RADIATOR, and POR-OUS-JUMP face zone types respectively, so that when two enclosed voids shared such a face, mesh generation did not stop at the boundary.
• The direct meshing feature has been renamed selective meshing. In support of this change, the Allow Direct Meshing option on the Options dialog box is now Allow Selective Meshing. Also see the Selective Meshing (formerly Direct Meshing) section above.
• Virtual Cell and Virtual Split Edge objects no longer appear in the Tree Outline. In addition, suppression of virtual entities has been disabled. Refer to the Virtual Topology section above for related information.
• The Virtual Topology object that appears in the Tree Outline represents all
definitions of virtual face or virtual edge groups, and all definitions of virtual split edges, virtual split faces, and virtual hard vertices within a model. As described above, individual objects for these virtual entities do not appear in the Tree. If a geometry operation invalidates a virtual entity, refreshing the geometry no longer causes the Virtual Topology object in the Tree Outline to become under-defined. For example, if you include a fillet and one neighboring face in the creation of a virtual cell, but later remove the fillet from the CAD model and re-fresh the geometry, that individual virtual cell will become underdefined (as it only includes the one neighboring face), but it will not be deleted, and there
will be no change in the Tree Outline. If in a later operation, the fillet is re-added to the CAD model and refreshed, the virtual cell will be restored. When a virtual entity becomes underdefined due to a geometry operation, a message is issued indicating that the last operation resulted in an incomplete virtual entity and advises you to check your model.
• The Send to Solver option, which used to be available in the Mechanical applic-ation only, is now available in the Meshing applicapplic-ation as well. When you are defining Named Selections, the Send to Solver option lets you control whether the selected Named Selection is passed to the solver. The default is Yes for Named Selections that you create, and No for Named Selections that are gener-ated automatically by the Mesh worksheet.
• Pre-inflation with patch conforming is now 20–30% faster.
• When you export a mesh to ANSYS FLUENT mesh format, contact source and contact target entities in contact regions are now resolved as INTERFACE zones and mesh interfaces are created for the contact regions automatically. This
eliminates the steps required in previous releases, which involved defining Named Selections for the contact regions in the Meshing application and then in ANSYS FLUENT, ensuring the INTERFACE zone type was assigned properly and creating a mesh interface for each contact region manually. For related information, also see the Resuming Databases from Previous Releases and FLUENT Export sections above.
• The Smooth Transition option for the Inflation Option control is now supported when defining 2D local inflation.
• The Auto Detect Contact On Attach option, which used to be available in the Options dialog box within the Mechanical application, has been moved. This option, which controls whether contact detection is computed upon geometry import, can now be accessed by selecting Tools> Options from the ANSYS Workbench main menu, and then selecting either the Mechanical or Meshing category as appropriate. The option is enabled by default in both applications.
2.5. Mechanical Application Release Notes
This release of the Mechanical application contains all of the capabilities from previous releases plus many new features and enhancements. Areas where you will find changes and new capabilities include the following:
Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from
Previous Releases
Release 14.0 includes several new features and enhancements that result in product behaviors that differ from previous releases. These behavior changes are presented below.
• By default, a model's node and element numbering will not be condensing when actions such as body suppression occurs. Thus gaps in numbering can occur in the solver input file. This change was done in order to preserve the integrity of nodal based named selections. The ability to compress the numbers can be achieved by a setting in the Details view of the Mesh Numbering folder. • The default values used for contact Formulation, Update Stiffness, and Behavior
have changed. The new defaults were chosen to give best solution to a wide range of contact situations. See Connection Enhancements below for further in-formation.
• The Auto Detection Value for a contact pinball region is only available for contacts that are generated automatically.
• The Bending option for the Shell Entry will not be available in the Stress/Strains details view, however you can calculate this result using User defined results. For a more meaningful result, see the new Bending and Membrane Stress Results. • An Imported Body Temperature object in a 3D analysis no longer supports
scoping surface bodies with other geometry types. You will now be required to create a separate Imported Body Temperature object for surface bodies. This change was made to support applying temperatures to the Top, Bottom, or Both face selections of surface bodies.
• When using an Imported Body Temperature or an Imported Heat Generation object to transfer and apply loads from an upstream Mechanical analysis, the following changes have been made to the Data View worksheet to allow for more efficient data transfers:
– The addition or removal of rows in the worksheet is no longer controlled by the program. You can add rows in the worksheet to specify additional data for a different analysis time.
– When resuming legacy databases, rows in the worksheet will be removed if the Source Time value of the row matches that of the previous row. This has been done to prevent importing redundant data.
– The Active column will no longer be available for activating or deactivating the load at different steps. Activation or deactivation of these loads can now
