FLOW-3D CAST Advanced v4.0.3 FLOW-3D Cast v4.0.2 FLOW-3D Cast v4.0.2 aims to further streamline your simulation workflows by enabling you to more quickly set up simulations, avoid common errors, identify and enter missing data, and postprocess results to produce critical and useful information faster. FlowSight™ Flow Science continues to develop its state-of-the-art postprocessor FlowSight, which is based on CEI’s award winning, EnSight. Our custom development is geared towards allowing our users to analyze and visualize their transient free-surface CFD results, using cutting edge tools to visualize iso-surfaces, slice through simulations and create flipbooks of their results that are easily sharable. Some of the new capabilities in FLOW-3D Cast that extend the power of FlowSight are described below. Different viewports for analyzing data in FlowSight Different viewports for analyzing data a filling simulation, which were created easily in FlowSight Easier Access to Results The File‣ Open dialog has been replaced with a new dialog that is considerably simpler, more powerful, and faster. It also can be configured to save commonly accessed locations, access results files on remote servers, and apply a particular context while loading a file. The new dialog streamlines loading files from different locations on different machines, giving you more time that you can spend analyzing your results. Some of the key improvements are listed below: Seamlessly access files from the Directory view and the Portfolio view in one dialog Enabled client/server functionality for Windows machines Significantly enhanced remote connections and ease of client/server setup Create shortcuts to common local/remote directories Apply a saved context while opening the results file Annotations & Viewports The Quick-text capabilities has been extended so that you can lock text to a particular viewport. This makes annotating results in multiple viewports more intuitive. Viewports can now be split vertically or horizontally to quickly create another view of the results. Additionally, the edges of new viewports can be snapped to match those of an existing, adjacent viewport, making it easier to neatly present results. Quick text capabilities for comparing different simulations Quick text capabilities for comparing different simulations Vortex Core Identification The new Vortex cores tool was developed to provide a quick and reliable method of identifying recirculating regions in the flow. This is useful for detecting recirculation zones in metal castings that can lead to die erosion due to cavitation. User Interface Simulation Pre-check The new Simulation Pre-check tool allows users to quickly check their input file for common mistakes, including erroneous material properties and mesh quality issues before running a simulation. Material Properties A common problem when setting up simulations is missing or incorrect material properties. The Active simulation materials properties tab allows users to compare the material properties used in the active physical models with those of selected reference materials from the FLOW-3D Cast material database. The user is warned if required material properties are missing or significantly different than those in the database. Constant properties are compared using a bar-type graph, while temperature-dependent properties are compared using x-y plots. Checking material properties in FLOW-3D Cast v4.0.2 An example comparison of the active material properties in a simulation to a reference material. Mesh Quality Checks One of FLOW-3D Cast‘s unique strengths is how it enables users to quickly mesh geometry that can take hours or days to mesh in other programs. A new Mesh Quality Check tool automatically scans the mesh before runtime to help avoid critical errors and guides users on how to fix any meshing deficiencies. The Mesh Quality Check allows users to quickly identify: Large changes in cell size and aspect ratios within blocks and between adjacent blocks The adjacency relationship between mesh blocks (linked, overlapped, or nested) Missing mesh planes between adjacent mesh blocks Mesh quality check in FLOW-3D Cast Remote Solving The FLOW-3D Cast Remote Solving tool allows customers to submit their simulations to remote computers using client-server technology. This functionality allows customers to easily access all their available hardware resources and manage their simulations in a straightforward and productive way. New features in FLOW-3D Cast allow users to leave results on remote server and to terminate all simulations in queue with one click. Also, the RunnerServer program on remote servers is now a daemon, so it now starts automatically when the system is restarted. Previously, users would have to connect to the remote system and start the RunnerServer. Display Improvements Fluid region/height display: Initial fluid regions and the initial fluid elevation are now shown on the Meshing & Geometry tab. The display properties (e.g., transparency) can be controlled with the right-click menu. Show All/Show Only for components: New options have been added to show/hide all components and to show/hide only the selected component. Color settings for baffles/probes/valves: The colors of individual baffles, probes, and valves can now be selected from a color selector. Improved pivot point behavior: New pivot point options are available under the View‣Pivot Point Options menu on the Meshing & Geometry tab. Users can now select between the default pivot point, which is the center of geometry, and the user-selected pivot point. Also, users can choose various visibility options for the pivot point including a new Automatic mode which only shows the pivot point when the geometry is being rotated. MPI inputs handled in the FLOW-3D Cast GUI: Input files generated by FLOW-3D/MP can now be opened and modified by the FLOW-3D Cast GUI. Model Setup Improvements Checks on fractional and temperature input: Fractional inputs, like the fluid fraction, are checked to ensure that the specified value lies between 0.0 and 1.0. Similarly, temperature inputs are tested to ensure that the temperature is positive, since negative temperatures are not allowed by the solver. Highlight (i, j, k) cell in a selected mesh block: The Highlight cell option on the Meshing & Geometry tab has been expanded to allow cells to be highlighted according to their (i, ,j, k) index in a selected mesh block. This feature is useful for identifying cells reporting errors or warnings during the simulation phase. Option to Auto-output all available Selected data: An option is now available under the Preferences menu to allow users to automatically output all active Selected data. Users should consider this option carefully as the size of the results files can become quite large if all available Selected data is output. Model button: The tabs in the Models button have been moved from the left hand side to the right hand side to ensure they do not get hidden within the panel. Consistency in opening and closing of sections with the panels has been addressed by the use of arrows to open and close sections. Geometry button: Cooling channel properties are now defined on the details tab to improve ease of use. Motion properties are now defined on the details tab to improve ease of use. Solver Thermal Die Cycling Model Thermal die cycling modelling improvements in FLOW-3D Cast v4.0.2 Ejector and cover halves after one cycle where the parting lines were taking into considering during the opening sand spraying stages Core and liners inserted into a die assembly and removed after each cycle can now be modeled by defining special types of components. Unlike other parts of the die that are reused after each cycle and thus retain their temperature history, the temperature of cores and liners is reset at the beginning of each cycle. At the die open stages, the die is also cooled at the parting line. The cooling at the parting line can also be modeled by defining two die components in contact. Advances in Meshing Advanced meshing capabilities in FLOW-3D Cast Partially overlapping mesh blocks The limitation of mesh blocks to be purely linked or nested has been lifted – mesh blocks can now overlap each other in an arbitrary fashion. In areas common to several blocks, the flow equations are solved in the one with the finest mesh (based on the average cell size in the block); the solution is interpolated in all the other blocks. The user can override this order by setting the mesh block ranking by editing the prepin file and setting the variable MESH_RANK in each MESH namelist (with 1 being the highest rank). Mesh block ranking falls back to the default behavior based on the average cell size if any of the MESH namelists misses the setting of MESH_RANK. Partially overlapping mesh blocks make mesh generation less cumbersome and should generally result in fewer mesh blocks in a simulation. Conforming mesh blocks Instead of being rectangular, as all standard mesh blocks are, conforming mesh blocks are shaped according to the geometry. There are two types of conforming mesh blocks – cavity-conforming and solid-component-conforming. A cavity-conforming mesh block is commonly used in casting modeling, where the cavity typically requires a finer mesh than the mold. The simplest setup is to have one rectangular mesh block with a relatively coarse mesh covering the whole domain and a nested cavity-conforming mesh block for the cavity. A component-conforming mesh block is useful when resolving thin structures or thin boundary layers around solid structures. The user can select which component(s) a mesh block should conform to. By default, it conforms to all solid components within its rectangular volume. The extent of a conforming mesh block beyond the boundaries of the shape it is conforming to is defined by the input parameter OVERLAP. By default, it is equal to five times the average cell size in the conforming mesh block. Conforming mesh blocks can be nested, linked, partially-overlapping or simply stand-alone mesh blocks. External boundary conditions in nested blocks When a nested block’s boundary coincides with an external boundary of the containing block, the user can define the standard boundary conditions at that nested block’s boundary, independently of those of the containing block. Previously, a nested block always assumed the boundary conditions of the containing block. General Capabilities Probe-controlled termination: Solution output at a fluid or FSI probe can be used to determine simulation termination conditions, in addition to the existing criteria based on time, fill fraction or steady-state conditions. For example, a simulation can be automatically stopped when fluid pressure at a probe location reaches a predefined value. Restart fluid regions: A new type of initial fluid regions has been introduced to be used in restart calculations. These regions allow users to modify the initial conditions read from the restart data source files, for example, to insert a bubble or a droplet into the solution. History probes: History probes have been added to the interactive toolbar as well as within the GUI to allow the user the capability of monitoring parameters throughout time.