System Coupling Users Guide - r170

System Coupling Tutorials
ANSYS, Inc. Release 17.0

Southpointe January 2016
2600 ANSYS Drive
Canonsburg, PA 15317 ANSYS, Inc. is
ansysinfo@ansys.com certified to ISO
9001:2008.
http://www.ansys.com
(T) 724-746-3304
(F) 724-514-9494
Copyright and Trademark Information
© 2015 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.
ANSYS, ANSYS Workbench, Ansoft, AUTODYN, EKM, Engineering Knowledge Manager, CFX, FLUENT, HFSS, AIM
and any and all ANSYS, Inc. brand, product, service and feature names, logos and slogans are registered trademarks
or trademarks of ANSYS, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. ICEM CFD is a trademark
used by ANSYS, Inc. under license. CFX is a trademark of Sony Corporation in Japan. All other brand, product,
service and feature names or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Disclaimer Notice
THIS ANSYS SOFTWARE PRODUCT AND PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION INCLUDE TRADE SECRETS AND ARE CONFID-
ENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY PRODUCTS OF ANSYS, INC., ITS SUBSIDIARIES, OR LICENSORS. The software products
and documentation are furnished by ANSYS, Inc., its subsidiaries, or affiliates under a software license agreement
that contains provisions concerning non-disclosure, copying, length and nature of use, compliance with exporting
laws, warranties, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and remedies, and other provisions. The software products
and documentation may be used, disclosed, transferred, or copied only in accordance with the terms and conditions
of that software license agreement.
ANSYS, Inc. is certified to ISO 9001:2008.
U.S. Government Rights
For U.S. Government users, except as specifically granted by the ANSYS, Inc. software license agreement, the use,
duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions stated in the ANSYS, Inc.
software license agreement and FAR 12.212 (for non-DOD licenses).
Third-Party Software
See the legal information in the product help files for the complete Legal Notice for ANSYS proprietary software
and third-party software. If you are unable to access the Legal Notice, Contact ANSYS, Inc.
Published in the U.S.A.

Table of Contents
Tutorial: Oscillating Plate with Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction using Fluent, Mechanical, and
System Coupling ......................................................................................................................................... 1
Overview of the Problem to Solve ........................................................................................................... 2
Creating the Project ................................................................................................................................ 3
Optional: Preparing for a Command-line Run ........................................................................................... 4
Adding Analysis Systems to the Project ................................................................................................... 5
Adding a New Material for the Project ..................................................................................................... 6
Adding Geometry to the Project ............................................................................................................. 8
Defining the Physics in the Mechanical Application ................................................................................. 8
Generating the Mesh for the Structural System .................................................................................. 9
Assigning the Material to the Geometry .......................................................................................... 10
Setting the Basic Analysis Values ..................................................................................................... 10
Inserting Loads ............................................................................................................................... 10
Defining the Fixed Support ....................................................................................................... 11
Defining the Fluid-Solid Interface .............................................................................................. 11
Defining the Pressure Load ....................................................................................................... 11
Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Structural System ........................................................... 12
Completing the Setup for the Structural System .............................................................................. 13
Setting up your Fluid Analysis ............................................................................................................... 14
Generating the Mesh for the Fluid System ....................................................................................... 14
Defining the Physics in the ANSYS Fluent Application ...................................................................... 16
Adding the Solution Setup Settings .......................................................................................... 16
Defining the Dynamic Mesh ...................................................................................................... 16
Adding the Solution Settings .................................................................................................... 18
Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Fluent System .......................................................... 19
Defining and Running the Coupling in the System Coupling Application ............................................... 19
Creating the Data Transfers ............................................................................................................. 20
Preparing System Coupling for Restarts ........................................................................................... 21
Solving and Restarting the Coupled Analysis ................................................................................... 21
Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the System Coupling System ................................................ 22
Viewing Results in CFD-Post .................................................................................................................. 23
Creating an Animation .................................................................................................................... 23
Plotting Results on the Solid ........................................................................................................... 25
Post-Processing in Mechanical ........................................................................................................ 26
Setting Up and Executing a Coupled Analysis Restart from Workbench .................................................. 26
Executing the Coupled Analysis from the Command Line ...................................................................... 27
Preparing the Required Input Files .................................................................................................. 28
Running the Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 28
Restart Analysis Execution .............................................................................................................. 30
Preparing the Required Input Files ............................................................................................ 30
Run the Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 30
Loading the Results into CFD-Post ............................................................................................. 31
Tutorial: Heat Transfer from a Heating Coil .............................................................................................. 33
Overview of the Problem to Solve ......................................................................................................... 33
Part 1: Transferring Data from the Steady-State Thermal Analysis to the Fluid Flow Analysis .................... 34
Creating the Project ........................................................................................................................ 34
Setting the Units in ANSYS Workbench ...................................................................................... 35
Adding Analysis and Component Systems ....................................................................................... 35
Adding New Materials for the Project .............................................................................................. 36
Release 17.0 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. iii
Adding Geometry to the Project ..................................................................................................... 37

Preparing the Steady-State Thermal Source Data ............................................................................. 37
Assigning the Material to the Geometry .................................................................................... 37
Generating the Mesh ................................................................................................................ 37
Defining the Physics for the Structural Analysis .......................................................................... 38
Defining the Steady-State Thermal Analysis ......................................................................... 38
Executing the Structural Analysis .............................................................................................. 39
Post-Processing the Structural Analysis Results .......................................................................... 39
Using External Data to Access the Steady-State Thermal Source Data ............................................... 41
Preparing the Fluid Flow Analysis .................................................................................................... 42
Importing the Mesh for the Fluid Flow Analysis ......................................................................... 42
Defining the Physics for the Fluid Flow Analysis ......................................................................... 42
Preparing and Executing the Coupled Thermal Analysis ................................................................... 44
Reviewing Results in CFD-Post ........................................................................................................ 45
Part 2: Transferring Data from the Fluid Flow Analysis to the Steady-State Thermal Analysis .................... 48
Exporting the Data ......................................................................................................................... 48
Adding Additional Analysis and Component Systems ...................................................................... 49
Using External Data to Access the Fluid Flow Source Data ............................................................... 50
Preparing the Steady-State Thermal Analysis ................................................................................... 50
Preparing and Executing the Coupled Thermal Analysis ................................................................... 50
Reviewing Results in the Mechanical Application ............................................................................. 51
Tutorial: Oscillating Plate with Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction using CFX, Mechanical, and System
Coupling ................................................................................................................................................... 55
Overview of the Problem to Solve ......................................................................................................... 55
Creating the Project .............................................................................................................................. 57
Adding Analysis Systems to the Project ................................................................................................. 57
Adding a New Material for the Project ................................................................................................... 59
Adding Geometry to the Project ........................................................................................................... 60
Defining the Physics in the Mechanical Application ............................................................................... 61
Generating the Mesh for the Structural System ................................................................................ 61
Assigning the Material to the Geometry .......................................................................................... 62
Inserting Loads ............................................................................................................................... 63
Defining the Fixed Support ....................................................................................................... 63
Defining the Fluid-Solid Interface .............................................................................................. 64
Defining the Pressure Load ....................................................................................................... 64
Completing the Setup for the Structural System .............................................................................. 65
Setting up your Fluid Analysis ............................................................................................................... 65
Generating the Mesh for the Fluid System ....................................................................................... 65
Defining the Physics Using CFX-Pre ................................................................................................. 68
Setting the Analysis Type .......................................................................................................... 68
Creating the Fluid ..................................................................................................................... 68
Creating the Domain ................................................................................................................ 69
Creating the Boundaries ........................................................................................................... 70
Fluid Solid External Boundary ............................................................................................. 70
Symmetry Boundaries ........................................................................................................ 70
Setting Initial Values ................................................................................................................. 71
Setting Solver Control ............................................................................................................... 71
Setting Output Control ............................................................................................................. 71
Setting Execution Control ......................................................................................................... 72
Defining and Running the Coupling in the System Coupling Application ............................................... 73
iv of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Creating the Data Transfers ............................................................................................................. 73

Preparing System Coupling for Restarts ........................................................................................... 74
Solving and Restarting the Coupled Analysis ................................................................................... 74
Viewing Results in CFD-Post .................................................................................................................. 75
Creating an Animation .................................................................................................................... 76
Plotting Results on the Solid ........................................................................................................... 78
Post-Processing in Mechanical ........................................................................................................ 79
Setting Up and Executing a Coupled Analysis Restart from Workbench .................................................. 79
Index .......................................................................................................................................................... 81
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. v
vi of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Tutorial: Oscillating Plate with Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction
using Fluent, Mechanical, and System Coupling
In this tutorial you will learn how to solve a Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) case. You will model struc-
tural deformation in a fluid using System Coupling to coordinate the ANSYS Mechanical and ANSYS
Fluent solvers.
Component Feature Details

ANSYS Workbench Analysis Systems Transient Structural
Fluid Flow (Fluent)
Component Systems System Coupling
Engineering Data Defining new materials
DesignModeler Geometry Import
Mechanical Meshing
Defining the physics
Named Selections
Coupled analysis restart
Coupled analysis batch
execution from command
line
Meshing Meshing
ANSYS Fluent Defining the physics
line
System Coupling Defining the coupling
line
CFD-Post Plots Vector
Animation
This tutorial includes:

Overview of the Problem to Solve
Creating the Project
Optional: Preparing for a Command-line Run
Adding Analysis Systems to the Project
Adding a New Material for the Project
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 1
Tutorial: Oscillating Plate with Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction using Fluent,
Mechanical, and System Coupling
Adding Geometry to the Project
Defining the Physics in the Mechanical Application
Setting up your Fluid Analysis
Defining and Running the Coupling in the System Coupling Application
Viewing Results in CFD-Post
Setting Up and Executing a Coupled Analysis Restart from Workbench
Executing the Coupled Analysis from the Command Line
Note
In the main flow of the tutorial, you use the user interface to completely solve the simulation.
However, at a series of points during the tutorial you have optional instructions that produce
files that will enable you to solve the simulation from the command line. The steps related
to this are:
1. Optional: Preparing for a Command-line Run (p. 4)

2. Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Structural System (p. 12)
3. Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Fluent System (p. 19)
4. Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the System Coupling System (p. 22)
5. Executing the Coupled Analysis from the Command Line (p. 27)
If you do not want to solve the simulation from the command line, you may ignore those
steps.

This tutorial uses an example of an oscillating plate within a fluid-filled cavity to demonstrate how to
set up and run a simulation involving a two-way coupled analysis in ANSYS Workbench.
A thin plate is anchored to the bottom of a closed cavity filled with fluid (air), shown in Figure 1: Dimen-
sions of the oscillating plate case (p. 3). There is no friction between the plate and the side of the
cavity. An initial pressure of 100 Pa is applied to one side of the thin plate for 0.5 s to distort it. Once
this pressure is released, the plate oscillates back and forth to regain its equilibrium, and the surrounding
air damps this oscillation. You will simulate the plate and surrounding air for a few oscillations to be
able to observe the motion of the plate as it is damped.
2 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Figure 1: Dimensions of the oscillating plate case
To simulate this case, you will set up a two-way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis. You will
model the motion of the oscillating plate using the Mechanical application’s Transient Structural
analysis system. You will model the motion of the fluid in the closed cavity using the Fluent application’s
Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system. The two analyses are solved at the same time with the System
Coupling system coordinating the solution process as well as the data transfers between the two ana-
lysis systems.
The two-way coupling involves two data transfers:
• Force data from the motion of the air is received by the Transient Structural analysis system as it solves
the structural behavior over time.
• Displacement data from the motion of the plate is received by the Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system as
it solves the fluid behavior over time.
The oscillation of the plate is dependent on time, and so you need to choose appropriate time values
for the coupled transient analysis:
• Time duration is the total time observed in the analysis. In this analysis, you will set the time duration to be
10 s, which is enough time to observe the plate oscillating a few times. With this time duration, you will not
model the full damping back to the plate’s equilibrium. When setting up a transient analysis, make sure that
you choose a time duration that will allow you to observe the behavior of interest in your system.
• Time step is the size of the time increments that you are solving within your transient analysis. In this ana-
lysis, you will set the time step to be 0.1 s, which is fine enough to observe the oscillations to a reasonable
degree. When setting up a transient analysis, make sure you choose a time step that works for the physics
you are solving. Too large a time step will miss behavior of the system, and too small a time step will be
computationally expensive.

Create the project by setting up Workbench and importing the project files:
1. Start ANSYS Workbench:
• To launch ANSYS Workbench on Windows, click the Start menu, then select All Programs > ANSYS 17.0
> Workbench 17.0.
• To launch ANSYS Workbench on Linux, open a command line interface and enter the path to runwb2.
For example:
~/ansys_inc/v170/Framework/bin/Linux64/runwb2
The Project Schematic appears with an Unsaved Project. By default, ANSYS Workbench is configured
to show the Getting Started dialog box that describes basic operations in ANSYS Workbench. Click
the [X] icon to close this dialog box.
2. Create a directory where you will store your project (this is your working directory). For example, under
My Documents, create a directory named SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate.
3. Select File > Save or click Save .
4. Select the path to your working directory to store files created during this tutorial.
5. Under File name, type SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate and click Save.
The project files and their associated folder locations appear under the Files view. To make the
Files view visible, select View > Files from the main menu of ANSYS Workbench.
6. This tutorial uses the geometry file, oscillating_plate.agdb, for setting up the project. To access
tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to http://support.ansys.com/training.
Copy the supplied geometry file, oscillating_plate.agdb, to the user_files directory

that is in the SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_files directory.
By working with a copy of the geometry file in your working directory, you prevent accidental
changes to the original geometry file.
Optional: Preparing for a Command-line Run

This tutorial runs from within Workbench. However, you also have the option of taking files created
from applications running in Workbench and performing a second system coupling run from a command
line. If you want to try this alternative, follow the instructions below to prepare the locations where this
second system coupling run will be performed. As you work through the tutorial in Workbench, you
will be prompted to add source files from the applications running in Workbench to the directories you
create here.
To prepare a directory structure for executing the analysis from a command line:
1. Create a high-level directory named SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine. This directory

should be a sibling to SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate.
2. In the SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine directory, create subdirectories within which

the Mechanical APDL, Fluent, and System Coupling service executables will be run. Name these subdirect-
ories: Structural_CmdLine, FluidFlow_CmdLine, and Coupling_CmdLine.

You are doing a two-way FSI analysis by coupling two analysis systems: a Transient Structural system
and a Fluid Flow (Fluent) system. You will use the System Coupling system to couple the other two
systems and to coordinate the solution execution.
To add these three systems to your Workbench project:
1. From the Analysis Systems toolbox located on the left side of the ANSYS Workbench window, select the
Transient Structural template. Double-click the template, or drag it onto the Project Schematic to create
a standalone system.
A Transient Structural system is added to the Project Schematic, with its name selected and ready
for renaming.
2. Type in the new name, Structural, to replace the selected text. In this tutorial,“Structural system” will
be used to refer to the Transient Structural system.
If you missed seeing the selected text, right-click the first cell in the system and select Rename
from the context menu. You will then be able to edit the name.
3. Drag a Fluid Flow (Fluent) analysis system on top of the Structural system’s Geometry cell (A3) and drop
it there.
A Fluid Flow (Fluent) system, coupled to the Structural system, is added to the Project Schematic.
This Fluid Flow (Fluent) system is connected to the Structural system through the Geometry cell
(A3 to B2), and so both of these systems will share the same geometry.
4. Change the name of this system to Fluid. In this tutorial,“Fluid system” will be used to refer to the
Fluid Flow (Fluent) system.
5. Expand the Component Systems toolbox, drag a System Coupling system and drop it to the right of
the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system.
6. Drag the Structural system's Setup cell (A5) and drop it on the System Coupling system’s Setup cell (C2).
7. Drag the Fluid system's Setup cell (B4) and drop it on System Coupling system’s Setup cell (C2). Now
all three systems are connected for a two-way FSI analysis.
8. Save the project.
The Project Schematic should appear as shown in Figure 2: System Coupling of Transient Structural
and Fluid Flow (Fluent) Systems (p. 6).
Figure 2: System Coupling of Transient Structural and Fluid Flow (Fluent) Systems
The Structural and Fluid systems have various cells. The icons on the right side of each cell provides
visual indications of a cell's state at any given time. In your current Project Schematic in Workbench
(shown in Figure 2: System Coupling of Transient Structural and Fluid Flow (Fluent) Systems (p. 6)),
most cells appear with a blue question mark ( ), indicating that cells need to be set up before continuing
the analysis. As these cells are set up, the data transfer occurs from top to bottom. See Understanding
Cell States for a description of various cell states.
Now that your project systems are in place, you can start working through your analysis. Your current
project systems enables you to perform your analysis by:
• adding a new material,
• sharing the geometry,
• setting up the physics in the Structural system,
• setting up the physics in the Fluid system,
• defining and running the coupling in the System Coupling system, and
• viewing the results in CFD-Post.

In the Project Schematic, the Structural system’s Engineering Data cell (A2) appears in an up-to-date
state because default material is already available for the project. You will use material for the oscillating
plate that is not in the default material available, and so you need to update this cell by adding this
new material to the Engineering Data.
The case requires a new material with properties that make it more flexible. You will create a new ma-
terial named Plate, define its properties to be suitable for oscillation, and set it as the default material
for the analysis.
1. On the Project Schematic, double-click the Engineering Data cell (A2) in the Structural system.
Engineering Data opens in a new tab in Workbench. The Outline and Properties views are among
the views that appear.
2. In the Outline of Schematic A2: Engineering Data view, click the empty row at the bottom of the table
to add a new material for the project. Type in the name Plate.
When you click away from that cell, Plate is created and appears with a blue question mark, indic-
ating that its properties need to be defined.
3. From the Toolbox on the left, expand Physical Properties. Select Density and drag it onto the cell con-
taining Plate (A4) in the Outline of Schematic A2: Engineering Data view. If the toolbox is not visible
by default, select View > Toolbox to make it visible.
Density is added as a plate property in the Properties of Outline Row 4: Plate view, as shown in
the following figure.
4. In the toolbox under Linear Elastic, drag Isotropic Elasticity onto Plate (A4) in the Outline of Schematic
A2: Engineering Data view.
Isotropic Elasticity is added as the plate property in the Properties of Outline Row 4: Plate view.
5. In the Properties of Outline Row 4: Plate view, set the Value of Density (B2) to 2550 [kg m^-3]. Do not
type in units.
6. In the Properties of Outline Row 4: Plate view, expand Isotropic Elasticity by clicking the plus sign.
Now set Young’s Modulus to 2.5e06 [Pa] and Poisson’s Ratio to 0.35. Do not type in units.
The desired plate data is created and is available to the remaining cells in the Structural system.
The next step is to set Plate as the default material for the analysis as outlined below:
1. In the Outline of Schematic A2: Engineering Data view, under Material, right-click Plate (A4) and select
Default Solid Material For Model.
2. From the main menu, select File > Save to save material settings to the project.
3. Close the Engineering Data tab to return to the Project Schematic.

You will add geometry to your project by importing an existing DesignModeler file. Once you add the
geometry, it will be shared between the Structural and Fluid systems because you have connected their
geometry cells in the Project Schematic. All of the geometry parts have to be unsuppressed at this point
in your project so that they are available for use later in the Structural and Fluid systems.
1. On the Project Schematic, right-click the Structural system’s Geometry cell (A3) and select Import
Geometry > Browse.
2. In the Open dialog box, browse to your working directory, select SystemCouplingOscillating-
Plate_files > user_files > oscillating_plate.agdb from your working directory, and click
Open.
3. In the Structural system, double-click the Geometry cell (A3) to edit the geometry using DesignModeler.
The DesignModeler application opens in a separate window.
4. In DesignModeler’s Tree Outline on the left, expand the branch 2 Parts, 6 Bodies to see all of the bodies
that compose the geometry. The one solid body is listed, and under Part are the five fluid bodies. Ensure
that all of these bodies are already unsuppressed (they should all have small green check marks).
5. The geometry is set up for the project. Save any changes by selecting File > Save Project from the main
menu in DesignModeler, and then select File > Close DesignModeler to return to the Project Schematic.
The updated geometry is now available for both the Structural and Fluid systems.
Later in the tutorial, when you generate the structural mesh, the fluid bodies will first be suppressed.
Similarly, when you generate the fluid mesh, the solid body will be suppressed. You will suppress these
bodies from within the Mechanical and Meshing applications, so no further changes are needed in
DesignModeler.
Note
Because the Structural system’s Geometry cell (A3) shares its content directly with the Fluid
system’s Geometry cell (B2), you can edit the geometry only through the Structural system’s
Geometry cell (A3).

In the Mechanical application, you are setting up the structural analysis and defining the coupling inter-
face. You will not solve the structural analysis from the Mechanical application because you will use
the System Coupling system to solve both structural and fluid systems at the same time.
When setting up your own two-way coupled analysis, it is a best practice to set up and solve the
structural analysis within the Mechanical application before continuing with your coupled analysis. If
issues occur within your structural system, the isolated analysis is easier to troubleshoot than the more
complex coupled analysis.
The structural Geometry cell (A3) is up-to-date, and so you start your setup by generating the structural
mesh. This section describes the step-by-step definition of the structural physics:
Generating the Mesh for the Structural System
Assigning the Material to the Geometry
Setting the Basic Analysis Values
Inserting Loads
Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Structural System
Completing the Setup for the Structural System

Generate the mesh for the Structural system directly in the Mechanical application:
1. On the Project Schematic, double-click the Structural system’s Model cell (A4) to open the Mechanical
application.
The Mechanical application opens in a separate window.
2. In Mechanical’s Outline on the left, expand Geometry to see the two geometries, solid and Part.
3. For the structural analysis, you need to generate the mesh for only the solid body. To do this, you need
to first suppress the Fluid bodies.
Right-click the Part geometry (which contains all of the fluid bodies), and select Suppress Body.
The fluid bodies are now suppressed and their status changes to an x mark. You now will see only
the solid body in the Graphics view. Click Zoom to Fit to view the entire model in the Graphics
view.
4. You will define the mesh by marking divisions on the edges of the solid. These divisions will be used as
guides for the mesh creation:
a. Click Edge .
b. Click an edge that lies parallel to the X axis.
c. In the Outline, right-click Mesh and select Insert > Sizing.
d. Beside Type, select Number of Divisions from the drop-down menu.
e. Beside Number of Divisions, select 1.
5. Repeat steps a to d to create 10 divisions on an edge that is parallel to the Y axis and 4 divisions on an
edge that is parallel to the Z axis. To summarize:
Edge Direction Number of Divisions

X axis 1
Y axis 10
Z axis 4
6. In the Outline, right-click Mesh and select Generate Mesh from the shortcut menu.
A hex mesh is generated on your solid body.

When you defined the Plate material, you set it to be the default for your solid body. In the Mechanical
application, you can see that this material is set correctly.
1. In the Mechanical’s Outline on the left, select Project > Model > Geometry > solid.
2. In the Details of “solid”, ensure that Material > Assignment is set to Plate. Otherwise, click the material
name and use the arrow that appears to make the appropriate change.

You now need to set up information about the transient analysis’ time steps, which are the basic ana-
lysis values needed for the transient structural analysis.
The time duration (10 s) is chosen so that the plate oscillates a few times during the analysis. A single
substep is used per coupling iteration. The coupling step size of 0.1s (which is also the size of the iter-
ations) will be defined later in System Coupling.
These time settings are dependent on the physics that you are observing, including the material prop-
erties of the plate. When setting your own transient analysis, make sure that you choose time settings
appropriate to the physics you are solving.
1. In the Mechanical application’s Outline view, select Project > Model > Transient > Analysis Settings.
The details of Analysis Settings appear in the Details of “Analysis Settings” below the Outline
view.
2. In the Details of “Analysis Settings”, specify the following settings under Step Controls (do not type
units next to the time values):
1. Set Step End Time to 10 [s].
2. Set Auto Time Stepping to Off.
3. Set Define by to Substeps.
4. Set the Number of Substeps to 1.
Inserting Loads
The loads applied for the structural analysis are equivalent to the boundary conditions in a fluid analysis.
In this section, you will set the following loads and interface:
• a fixed support on the bottom of the plate
• a fluid-solid interface where the plate interacts with the fluid
• a pressure load on one side of the plate, to start the oscillation
On the surfaces of the plate that lie coincident with the symmetry planes, you will not set a load. With
no load set, the default of an unconstrained condition will be applied on these two surfaces. For this
particular case, this unconstrained condition is a reasonable approximation of the frictionless support
that would otherwise be applied.
Defining the Fixed Support

The fixed support is needed to hold the bottom of the thin plate in place. Set up the fixed support:
1. Right-click Transient in the Outline view, and select Insert > Fixed Support from the shortcut menu.
2. Rotate the geometry using the Rotate button so that the bottom (low-y) face of the solid is visible,
then select Face and click the low-y face.
That face is highlighted to indicate the selection.
3. In the Details of “Fixed Support” view, click Apply beside Geometry to set the fixed support.
If the Apply button is not visible, select Fixed Support in the Outline view and, in the Details
view, click the text next to the Geometry setting to make the Apply button reappear.
The text next to the Geometry setting changes to 1 Face.
Defining the Fluid-Solid Interface

The fluid-solid interface defines the interface between the fluid in the Fluid system and the solid in the
Structural system. Data will be exchanged across this interface during the execution of the simulation.
When setting up your structural system for a coupled analysis, you need to define this interface on regions
in the structural model that will receive force data from the Fluid system.
1. In the Outline view, right-click Transient and select Insert > Fluid Solid Interface from the shortcut
menu.
2. Using the same face-selection procedure described earlier in Defining the Fixed Support (p. 11), select
the three faces of the geometry that form the interface between the structural model and the fluid
model (low-x, high-y and high-x faces). Hold down Ctrl to be able to select multiple faces.
3. In the Details of “Fluid Solid Interface”, beside Geometry, click Apply.
The text next to the Geometry setting changes to 3 Faces.
Note that this load (fluid-solid interface) is automatically given an Interface Number of 1.
Defining the Pressure Load

The pressure load on one side of the plate provides the initial pressure of 100 Pa for the first 0.5 s of
the simulation. This pressure to the plate starts the oscillation. It is defined using tabular data.
1. In the Outline view, right-click Transient in the tree view and select Insert > Pressure from the shortcut
menu.
2. In the Viewer, select the low-x face. In the Details of “Pressure” view beside Geometry, click Apply.
3. In the Details of “Pressure” view, click the cell next to Magnitude, and using the arrow that appears,
select Tabular.
The Tabular Data view appears on the bottom right of the Mechanical application window. The
times of 0 s and 10 s are the beginning and end of your analysis, based on the time duration (10
s) that you specified earlier.
4. In Tabular Data, set a pressure of 100 Pa in the table row corresponding to a time of 0. Do not type in
units.
5. You now need to add two new rows to the table. Do this by typing the new time and pressure data into
the empty row at the bottom of the table. Notice that the rows are automatically re-ordered based on
the time value. Add the data from Table 1: Tabular Data for Step Pressure Load (p. 12).
Table 1: Tabular Data for Step Pressure Load
Time (s) Pressure (Pa)

0 100
0.5 100
0.51 0
10 0
You now have tabular data similar to a step function for your pressure, with 100 Pa applied for 0.5
s. The step function is displayed in the graph to the left of the table.
6. The settings for the structural physics are now complete. Save these settings by selecting File > Save
Project from Mechanical’s main menu.
7. If you do not intend to execute a command line run using the set up from the Mechanical system, proceed
to Completing the Setup for the Structural System (p. 13). If you do intend to execute a command line
run, continue with the next section.
Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Structural System

If you intend to execute a command-line run using the set up from the structural system:
1. From the Mechanical application, select Tools > Write Input File.
2. Specify the path and APDL Input File (SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine\structur-

al.dat) that you will use later.
Tip
The Write Input File option is available only if you have Transient (A5) selected in the
Outline tree.
Note
Though out of the scope of this tutorial, below is information about augmenting your
structural setup, and transferring the structural setup from the Mechanical application to the
Mechanical APDL application.
• In some cases, you may need to augment your structural setup in the Mechanical APDL application.
If this is the case, then open that application and select File > Read Input From to choose the
.dat file created by Mechanical. Once the .dat file has been read, make your setup modifications
and write a Mechanical APDL Database file using File>Save As Jobname.db or File >Save As.
Starting the Mechanical APDL solver from the created database file is explained later in the tu-
torial.
• Transferring the structural setup from the Mechanical application to the Mechanical APDL applic-
ation is facilitated in ANSYS Workbench. To do this, right-click the Mechanical system's Setup
cell (A5), and select Transfer to New > Mechanical APDL. Once the new Mechanical APDL
system is introduced, update the upstream Mechanical system's Setup cell (A5). The setup will
be read into the Mechanical APDL user interface by right-clicking that system's Analysis cell and
selecting Edit in Mechanical APDL.

On the Project Schematic, the Structural system’s Setup cell (A5) appears in an update-required state.
To complete the setup in the Structural system, you need to ensure that all the data is in the right state
in the Project Schematic.
1. Select File > Close Mechanical to return to the Project Schematic.
2. In the Structural system, right-click the Setup cell (A5) and select Update from the shortcut menu.
The status of the Setup cell changes to up-to-date. All cells in the Structural system down to the
Setup cell should now appear in an up-to-date state.
3. From the main menu, select File > Save to save the project.
The set up for the Structural system is complete. Remember that you will not solve the structural ana-
lysis from the Mechanical application because you are using the System Coupling system to solve both
Structural and Fluid systems at the same time. In the next section, you will set up the Fluid system.
You will use the Fluent application to set up your Fluid system, but first you need to generate the mesh
using the Meshing application. The fluid Geometry cell (B2) is up-to-date because it shares the geometry
with the structural analysis, and so you start your Fluid system’s setup with creating a mesh.
Generating the Mesh for the Fluid System

You will generate a mesh for the Fluid system using the Meshing application. For this geometry, you
will use a swept mesh across the x-y plane, creating a hex mesh with a depth of one element.
1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the Fluid system’s Mesh cell (B3) to open the Meshing application.
The Meshing application appears in a separate window.
2. In the Meshing application’s Outline view on the left, expand Geometry to see the two geometries, solid
and Part.
3. For the fluid analysis, you need to generate the mesh for only the fluid bodies. To do this, you need to
first suppress the structural body.
Right-click solid and select Suppress Body.
The solid body is now suppressed and its status changes to an x mark. You now will only see the
fluid bodies in the Graphics view.
4. In the Outline on the left, click Mesh. In the Details of “Mesh” below, under Defaults, notice that the
Physics Preference is set to CFD and Solver Preference is set to Fluent.
5. Now you need to define sweep as the meshing method, and set up all of the information that the sweep
method needs:
a. In the Outline, right-click Mesh and select Insert > Method.
Automatic Method will appear under Mesh
b. In the Details of “Automatic Method” – Method, next to Scoping Method, click Geometry Selection.
Using the arrow that appears, select Named Selection.
c. Next to Named Selection, click None. Using the arrow that appears, select fluid_domain.
d. Under Definition, set Method to Sweep.
Notice that in the Outline above, under Mesh, the method is now renamed to Sweep Method.
e. In the Details of “Sweep Method” – Method, next to Src/Trg Selection, click Automatic. Using the
arrow that appears, select Manual Source.
Manual Source enables you to dictate which surfaces are used as the source for the sweep
meshing. Source is highlighted, indicating that information about which surfaces to use is
needed.
f. Select Face , then Ctrl-select all five fluid faces on one of the walls in the x-y-plane (either side of
the wall will work).
g. In the Details view, beside Source, click No Selection. Click the Apply button that appears.
The text next to Source changes to 5 Faces.
h. Set Free Face Mesh Type to All Quad so that all of the mesh elements are quadrilateral.
i. Next to Sweep Num Divs, set the value to 1.
j. In the Outline above, click Mesh. In the Details of “Mesh”, expand Sizing and set Min Size to 0.06
and Max Face Size to 0.2. These settings control the size of the mesh elements that will be generated.
6. Now that all of the settings for your swept mesh are complete, you need to generate the mesh. In the
Outline, right-click Mesh and select Update.
The swept mesh that you have defined is now generated for your fluid bodies.
7. Select File > Save Project, and then File > Close Meshing to close the Meshing application.
Defining the Physics in the ANSYS Fluent Application
In the Fluent application, you are setting up the fluid analysis, and defining the coupling interface. You
will not solve the fluid analysis from the Fluent application because you are using the System Coupling
system to solve both structural and fluid systems at the same time.
When setting up your own two-way coupled analysis, it is a best practice to set up and solve the fluid
analysis before continuing with your coupled analysis. If issues occur within your fluid system, the isolated
analysis is easier to troubleshoot than the more complex coupled analysis.
This section describes the step-by-step definition of the fluid physics:

Adding the Solution Setup Settings
Defining the Dynamic Mesh
Adding the Solution Settings
Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Fluent System
Adding the Solution Setup Settings

You now need to open your analysis in the Fluent application, set the Fluid analysis to be transient,
and add material to the fluid geometry.
1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the Fluid system’s Setup cell (B4) to open the Fluent application.
2. The Fluent Launcher opens in a new window. Under Options, select Double Precision.
3. Use the remaining default options (3D and serial), and click OK to close the Fluent Launcher.
The Fluent application opens in a new window, and the mesh file is automatically loaded.
4. In the Setting Up Physics tab, above Solver, select Transient.
5. In the Setting Up Physics tab, above Materials, select Create/Edit.... In the dialog box that appears, for
Density (kg/m3) type 1 and Viscosity (kg/m-s) type 0.2. Do not type units.
Click Change/Create to save these changes, and then click Close.
Defining the Dynamic Mesh

A dynamic mesh is needed for any coupled analysis where a system receives displacements. In this tu-
torial, the plate is oscillating back and forth, and the dynamic meshing settings determine how the
mesh of the fluid bodies react to this deformation of the moving structural body.
The mesh on the fluid-structural interface is static, so as the fluid mesh is modified to accommodate
the deformation in the transient system, the mapping on this coupling interface stays consistent.
Set up the dynamic mesh:
1. In the Setting Up Domain tab, above Mesh Models, select Dynamic Mesh....
2. In the Task Page, check the Dynamic Mesh option. The settings for Dynamic Mesh are now available.
3. Under Mesh Methods, Smoothing is checked by default. Click the Settings button to specify the settings
for the smoothing used.
The Mesh Method Settings dialog box appears.
a. On the Smoothing tab, set Method to Diffusion.
b. For the Diffusion Parameter, type 2. Click OK to close the dialog box.
4. Under Dynamic Mesh Zones, click Create/Edit to specify which zones in your geometry will have dynamic
meshing.
The Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box appears.
5. Define the dynamic mesh settings needed for the surface “symmetry1”, which is the wall in the x-y plane
that goes through the origin. This surface will be affected by the solid body’s displacement, and its mesh
needs to be able to deform.
a. In the Dynamic Mesh Zones dialog box, under the Zone Names drop down list, select the zone
“symmetry1”.
b. Set its Type as Deforming.
c. Select the Geometry Definition tab.
d. Specify the Definition as “plane”.
e. Specify Point on Plane as 0,0,0
f. Specify Plane Normal as 0,0,1
g. Click Create at bottom of dialog box to create this dynamic mesh zone.
The list of Dynamic Mesh Zones on the right side of the dialog box now includes the “sym-
metry1”.
6. Define the dynamic mesh settings needed for the surface “symmetry2”, which is the second wall in the
x-y plane. This surface will be affected by the solid body’s displacement, and its mesh needs to be able
to deform.
a. Under the Zone Names drop down list, select the zone “symmetry2”.
b. Set its Type as Deforming.
c. Select the Geometry Definition tab.
d. Specify the Definition as “plane”.
e. Specify Point on Plane as 0,0,0.4
f. Specify Plane Normal as 0,0,1
g. Click Create at bottom of dialog box to create this dynamic mesh zone.
The list of Dynamic Mesh Zones now includes the “symmetry2”.
7. Define the dynamic mesh settings needed for the surface “wall_bottom”, which is the two surfaces on
the bottom of the fluid zones (the two surfaces are interrupted by the solid body in the middle of the
geometry). This surface is not affected by the solid body’s displacement, and so its mesh should remain
stationary.
a. Under the Zone Names drop down list, select the zone “wall_bottom”.
b. Set its Type as Stationary, then click Create at bottom of dialog box to create this dynamic mesh
zone.
The list of Dynamic Mesh Zones now includes the “wall_bottom”.
8. Repeat the previous step's instructions to create stationary dynamic mesh zones for the three surfaces
below. These three surface complete the enclosed cavity, and they are not affected by the solid body’s
displacement. Their mesh should remain stationary.
• “wall_top”
• “wall_side1”
• “wall_side2”
9. Define the dynamic mesh settings needed for the surfaces in the zone “wall_deforming”, which are the
surfaces surrounding the solid body. These surface will deform throughout the simulation.
a. Under the Zone Names drop down list, select the zone “wall_deforming”.
b. Set its Type as System Coupling, then click Create at bottom of dialog box to create this dynamic
mesh zone.
The list of Dynamic Mesh Zones now includes the “wall_deforming”.
10. You now have seven dynamic mesh zones defined and listed on the right of the dialog box. Click Close.
Adding the Solution Settings

Set the solutions settings in the Fluent application so that your fluid system is ready to be solved:
1. In the Solving tab, above Solution, select Methods.
a. In the Task Page, under Pressure-Velocity Coupling > Scheme, select Coupled.
b. Under Spatial Discretization > Momentum, ensure Second Order Upwind is selected.
2. In the Solving tab, above Activities, select Autosave.... In the dialog box, specify Save Data File Every
(Time Steps) to be 2. Click OK.
3. In the Solving tab, above Run Calculation, click Advanced.... In the Task Page:
a. Specify Number of Time Steps to be 10. Note that the system coupling’s number of time steps will
override this value.
b. Specify the Max Iterations/Time Step to be 5. This value is the maximum amount of times that
Fluent can iterate within a coupling iteration.
c. Leave the default Time Step Size (s) as 1, but note that the system coupling’s time step size will
override this value.
4. In the Solving tab, above Initialization, set the Method to Standard.
5. In the Solving tab, above Initialization, click Initialize.
7. If you intend to execute a command line run using the setup from the Fluent system, go to Preparing for
a Command-Line Run of the Fluent System (p. 19).
8. If you do not intend to execute a command line run using the setup from the Fluent system, Select File
> Close Fluent to close Fluent and to return to the Project Schematic.
The setup for the Fluid system is complete. Remember that you will not solve the fluid analysis
from the Fluent application because you are using the System Coupling system to solve both
structural and fluid systems at the same time. In the next section, you will set up the System
Coupling system.
Proceed to the section Defining and Running the Coupling in the System Coupling Applica-
tion (p. 19).
Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Fluent System

If you intend to execute a command line run using the set up from the Fluent system, select File >
Export > Case from the main menu in the Fluent user interface, and specify the path and Case File
(SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine\fluidFlow.cas) that you will use later.
Important
You should perform this step before updating the coupled solution within the Workbench
environment for the following reasons:
• Editing the Fluent system’s Setup cell after a solution is executed will clear all existing solution
files.
• Editing the Fluent system’s Solution cell after a solution is executed will load the most recent
(rather than the original) case and data files.
You may now close Fluent.

In the System Coupling system, you are setting up the coupling between your Structural and Fluid
analyses. You will use the System Coupling system to solve both of these analyses at the same time.
Notice that in the Structural and Fluid systems, all of the cells up to Setup are marked as up-to-date.

To set up the transient analysis settings for your coupled analysis:
1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the System Coupling system’s Setup cell (C2).
In the dialog box, click Yes to allow upstream data to be read. The System Coupling system is ob-
taining data from the Structural and Fluid systems’ Setup cells (A5 and B4).
The System Coupling application opens in a new tab in your Workbench project.
2. In Outline of Schematic C1: System Coupling, select System Coupling > Setup > Analysis Settings.
3. In Properties of Analysis Settings (on the bottom left):
a. Set Duration Controls > End Time to 10.
The end time is the same as the Structural system’s time duration. The choice of 10 s gives
enough time to observe the plate oscillating a few times. System Coupling’s end time value
always overrides the number of time steps specified in the Fluent application.
b. Set Step Controls > Step Size to 0.1.
The coupling iteration size is same as the transient analysis’ time step, and the choice of 0.1
s is small enough for use to observe the plate’s oscillations to a reasonable degree. System
Coupling’s step size value always overrides the time steps size specified in the Fluent applica-
tion.
c. Ensure the Maximum Iterations is set to 5.
For this system to converge, 5 coupling iterations within each coupling step is sufficient. If
your own system has trouble converging within the coupling step, you may want to increase
the number of maximum iterations or reduce the time step size.
Creating the Data Transfers

For your two-way coupled analysis, data from the Structural and Fluid solutions need to be shared
throughout the solution process. System Coupling coordinates the transfer of data between these two
systems using the Data Transfers that you create.
1. In Outline of Schematic C1: System Coupling, expand System Coupling > Setup > Participants until
all region components are visible.
2. Ctrl-select the "wall_deforming" (from the Fluid system) and "Fluid Solid Interface" regions (from the
Structural system). With both selected, right-click on one of those regions and select Create Data
Transfer.
Under System Coupling > Setup > Data Transfers, Data Transfer and Data Transfer 2 are created:
a. Data Transfer: here, the surface of the Structural system around the plate transfers displacement to
the surface of the Fluid system around the plate.
b. Data Transfer 2: here, the surface of the Fluid system around the plate transfers force to the surface
of the Structural system around the plate.
Click on System Coupling > Setup>Data Transfers > Data Transfer. In the Properties of Data-
Transfer on the bottom left, notice that the source, target and variable transferred are already
defined for each of these data transfers. These settings are also already defined for Data Transfer
2.
Preparing System Coupling for Restarts

You should ensure that System Coupling is producing restart data, in the event that the System Coupling
analysis needs to be restarted.
1. Under System Coupling > Setup > Execution Control, select Intermediate Restart Data Output. The
restart output frequency for the system coupling analysis is defined and controlled by these settings.
2. In Properties of Intermediate Restart Data Output:
• Set Output Frequency to At Step Interval.
• Set Step Interval to 5.
3. Select File > Save to save your settings before solving.
Note
Recall that earlier, the Fluent auto-save frequency was set to 2 so that Fluent will output
result files (case and data files) every two time steps (that is, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc.). Fluent
will also output additional result files at 5, 10, 15, 20 etc. based on the Step Interval
frequency specified for the Intermediate Restart Data Output. In CFD-Post, both sets
of files will be available for post-processing.
Solving and Restarting the Coupled Analysis

During the solution process, the System Coupling system coordinates the solving of your Structural and
Fluid systems as well as the data transfers between these two systems. The Fluid system solves using
the Structural solution’s displacement data, and the Structural system solves using the Fluid solution’s
force data.
1. To start solving the coupled analysis, in Outline of Schematic C1: System Coupling, right-click Solution
and select Update.
The solution progress begins, and progress is summarized in the System Coupling Chart and
Solution Information views, as well as the Workbench schematic progress view. This solution will
run for 100 coupling steps because you specified an end time of 10 s in System Coupling (“time
duration” in Mechanical), and each coupling step represents 0.1 s (“step size” in System Coupling,
and “time step” in Mechanical).
Note that you can alternatively start solving the coupled analysis from Workbench’s Project
Schematic:
a. To return to the Project Schematic, click on the Project tab in Workbench. To start the solution
process from the Project Schematic view, right-click the System Coupling system’s Solution cell
(C3) and choose Update.
Notice that the Structural and Fluid systems’ Solution cells’ (A6 and B5) update operations
are disabled because the coupled solution process must be run through the System Coupling
system.
b. Click on the System Coupling tab to return to the System Coupling system and observe the coupled
solution progress.
If you closed the System Coupling application and so there is no System Coupling tab, you
can re-open the System Coupling user interface by double-clicking on its Solution cell (C3).
2. On the bottom right of the screen, click on Show Progress to see the progress of your solution.
3. As your analysis is solved, in the Solution Information view, information from the System Coupling Log
file is displayed. Useful information includes:
a. Each coupling step and coupling iteration is recorded with information about convergence of the
data transfer.
b. At the beginning of the file (scroll up in your Solution Information view), there is an overview of
the participants (the Fluid and Structural system), the data transfers, the System Coupling settings,
and a mapping summary.
c. The Mapping Summary has information about the percentage of nodes on your fluid-structure inter-
face that are mapped. This information is used to determine the quality of the mapping in your system.
4. Restart data will be output during the solution process. An additional note will be seen in the System
Coupling log output under Solution Information indicating the name and frequency of the system
coupling result file. For example, the intermediate result file is written: scResult_01_000005.scr. The restart
data for Fluent will also be output at the same frequency during the coupled solution. When the coupled
solution completes, Mechanical restart files (that is, file.r001, file.r002 etc.) will be visible in the Workbench
project files (that is, they are automatically transferred from the solver temporary/scratch folder). The file
naming convention is such that file.r001 refers to a Mechanical restart file at step 5, file.r002 refers to a
Mechanical restart file at step 10, and so on.
5. The System Coupling solution is complete when the System Information view reads “System coupling
run completed successfully.”
6. Select File > Save to save the project, and then click on the Project tab to return to the Project Schem-
atic.
Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the System Coupling System

If you intend to execute a command-line run using the setup from the System Coupling system, you
need to export the System Coupling Input (SCI) file. To do this:
1. In your Project Schematic, make sure that the System Coupling Setup cell (C2) is in an up-to-date state.
2. If your System Coupling tab is not open, double-click System Coupling’s Setup cell (C2).
3. From the System Coupling tab, in the main menu, select File > Export SCI File.
4. Specify the path and SCI file (SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine\coupling.sci)

that you will use later.
atic.

You will use CFD-Post to view the results of your coupled analysis. You have simulated the plate oscil-
lating in a closed cavity filled with air. The results you have obtained show the plate and surrounding
air for a few oscillations, and you will be able to use CFD-Post to see the motion of the plate as it is
damped.
In Workbench, you need to set up the Project Schematic so that CFD-Post can read the solution of
your Structural and Fluid systems.
To view the results in CFD-Post:
1. In the Project Schematic, drag the Structural Solution cell (A6) to the Fluid Results cell (B6).
2. Double-click the Fluent Results cell (B6) in the Fluid system to launch CFD-Post.
CFD-Post opens in a new window. Both sets of results are loaded into the CFD-Post session, and
are ready for you to view.
Creating an Animation
An animation is a good way to view results in a transient analysis. In this animation, you will show:
• The pressure and velocity of the fluid on the symmetry plane
• The deformation of the plate geometry, with stress visible
Set up your animation:
1. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Tools > Timestep Selector to open the
Timestep Selector dialog box.
The Timestep Selector dialog box shows the results time history for both Fluent and MAPDL system
coupling.
2. In the Timestep Selector dialog box, on the Fluid tab, select a Time of 0.2 s for the Fluid case, then click
Apply.
Close the Timestep Selector dialog box.
3. Under Cases > Fluid at 0.2s > Part Fluid, check the “symmetry1” zone under the Fluid case to display
that zone, then double-click to edit it.
a. In Details of symmetry1, on the Color tab set the Mode to Variable and set Variable to Pressure.
b. On the Render tab, clear the Lighting check box and check Show Mesh Lines.
c. Click Apply to save your changes. The pressure at 0.2 s is now visible on the one side of the fluid
geometry.
4. Under Cases > Structural at 0.2s > Default Domain, check the Default Boundary zone, then double-
click to edit it.
a. In the Details of Default Boundary, on the Color tab, set the Mode to Variable and set Variable
to Von Mises Stress.
b. On the Render tab enable Show Mesh Lines.
c. Click Apply. Stress is now visible on the structural body.
5. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Insert > Vector to create a vector plot.
Accept the default name and click OK.
a. In the Details view on the Geometry tab, set the Locations to symmetry1, set Sampling to Face
Center, and ensure that Variable is set to Velocity.
b. On the Symbol tab, set Symbol to Arrowhead3D.
c. Click Apply. A vector plot of the velocity is now visible on the one side of the fluid geometry.
6. In the Outline under User Locations and Plots, clear the Default Legend View 1 check box.
7. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Insert > Text and click OK to accept the
default name.
a. In the Details of Text 1 view, for Text String, type Time = . Check the Embed Auto Annotation,
and from the Expression drop-down list select Time.
b. On the Location tab, set X Justification and Y Justification to None, and set the Position text as
0.1 in the first field, and 0.2 in the second field.
c. Click Apply.
The corresponding transient results are loaded into the Animation in CFD-Post, and when you run the
animation, you can see the mesh move in both the Fluent and Mechanical regions.
1. Zoom in so that you can see the oscillating plate clearly.
2. At the top of the CFD-Post application, click Animation .
The Animation dialog box appears.
3. Select Keyframe Animation.
4. In the Animation dialog box:
a. Click New to create KeyframeNo1.
b. Highlight KeyframeNo1, then change # of Frames to 48.
c. Load the last timestep (100) using the Timestep Selector (found at the top of the CFD-Post Inter-
face).
d. Back in the Animation dialog box, click New to create KeyframeNo2.
The # of Frames parameter has no effect for the last keyframe, so leave it at the default value.
e. Click the More Animation Options button , then check the Save Movie check box.
f. Click Browse next to Save Movie to set a path and file name for the movie file.
If the file path is not given, the file will be saved in the directory from which CFD-Post was
launched.
g. Click Save.
The movie file name (including path) will be set, but the movie will not be created yet.
h. If frame 1 is not loaded (shown in the F: text box in the middle of the Animation dialog box), click
To Beginning to load it.
Wait for CFD-Post to finish loading the objects for this frame before proceeding.
i. Click Play the animation .
The movie will be created as the animation proceeds. This process will be slow, since a timestep
must be loaded and objects must be created for each frame.
j. Save the results by selecting File > Save Project from the main menu.
k. Close the animation dialog box. Your animation is now saved in the file path you specified. You can
play the video in any media player.
Plotting Results on the Solid

You will use a chart to display the deformation of the solid body. One point at the top of the plate is
used to track the displacement in the chart. This chart is a useful way to view the damping that occurs
in the plate’s motion due to the interaction with the fluid.
1. Create a point in the solid domain by using node number 77. This point is at the top corner of the solid
body, and will be used to track the deformation of the plate.
a. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Insert > Location > Point. Click OK
to accept the default name.
b. In the Details view, on the Geometry tab, set Domains to Default Domain, set Method to Node
Number, and set Node Number to 77.
c. Click Apply. On your model, cross hairs appear on node number 77, so you can see where this point
is on your solid body.
2. To view the deformation using the point you just created, insert an XY Transient Chart for the data at this
node (“Point 1”). In the chart you create, the x-axis is time, and the y-axis is the total mesh displacement.
a. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Insert > Chart; click OK to accept
the default name.
b. In the Details view, on the General tab, set Type to XY - Transient or Sequence
c. On the Data Series tab, for Name type System Coupling, and set Location to Point 1.
d. On the X Axis tab, ensure that the Expression is Time.
e. On the Y Axis tab, set the Variable to Total Mesh Displacement X.
3. Click Apply to generate the chart of mesh displacement over time.
After the chart is generated, note the damping that is visible in the plate’s motion. The plate does
not return to equilibrium in this chart because of the length of time we chose for the simulation
of this case. To see the full damping of the system, you would need to simulate the case for a
longer time duration.
4. Save the project and then select File > Close CFD-Post.
Post-Processing in Mechanical
You can also see the structural results of your FSI analysis in the Mechanical application. Note that the
Mechanical system does not have any information about results on the fluid bodies.
1. From the Project Schematic, double-click the Results cell (A7) to relaunch ANSYS Mechanical.
The Mechanical application opens in a new window.
2. In the Outline view, right-click Solution A6 and select Insert > Stress > Equivalent (von Mises) results.
3. Right-click Solution A6 again and select Insert > Deformation > Directional results.
4. Right-click Solution A6 again and select Evaluate All Results.
The equivalent stress and directional deformation of the place are now visible on your model.
5. Under Solution A6 click Equivalent Stress to view the stress on the structural body.
6. Under Solution A6 click Directional Deformation to view the deformation of the structural body.
7. From your Project Schematic, save the project.
All systems are now complete and the Project Schematic is up-to-date.

1. In the Mechanical application,
a. Under Project > Model > Transient, select Analysis Settings.
b. In Analysis Settings Details, set Restart Type to Manual.
c. In Analysis Settings Details, set Current Restart Point to Load Step 50, Substep 1 (that is, 5s).
d. Close ANSYS Mechanical.
2. From the Project Schematic, double-click the Fluid Solution cell (B5):
a. From the File menu, select Solution Files....
b. In the Solutions Files dialog box that appears, click on 100 time steps, 10s - Current to deselect it,
and then click on 50 time steps, 5s to select this time step.
c. Select the Read button. Fluent will read in the case/data file associated with 5s.
d. Close Fluent.
3. From the Project Schematic, double-click the System Coupling Setup cell (C2):
a. From the outline, select Setup > Analysis Settings.
b. In Properties of Analysis Settings, under Initialization Controls, from the Coupling Initialization
drop-down list, select Step 50, Time 5[s].
c. Optional: Under Execution Control > Intermediate Restart Data Output, set Output Frequency to
None. If this is not done, there will be a second set of restart files output under the Workbench project.
4. To start solving the coupled analysis restart, right-click the Solution branch in Outline of Schematic C1:
System Coupling, and select Update. A summary of the solution progress in the System Coupling Chart
(starting from 5s) and Solution Information views (also starting from 5s), as well as the Workbench
Schematic Progress view.
5. Once your solution is complete, select File > Save to save your project.
6. You have now used the Workbench, Fluent, Mechanical, and System Coupling interfaces to complete this
tutorial’s simulation. If you would like to complete the optional steps to run this tutorial using the command
line, continue with Executing the Coupled Analysis from the Command Line (p. 27).
Otherwise, you are now finished Oscillating Plate with Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction tutorial.
When you are finished viewing your results, and select File > Save from the main menu, and then
File > Exit to close your Workbench project.

This section describes how to execute the analysis for this tutorial from the command line. In this example,
all executables are run in batch mode (there are no user interfaces or launchers) from a standard install-
ation on a single Windows 64-bit machine.
Note
In order to be able to execute runs from the command line, all executables and dynamic
library dependencies must be properly resolved. For more information, see Executing System
Couplings Using the Command Line.
Preparing the Required Input Files
Runs executed from the command line require input files for each of the executables used in the coupled
analysis.
1. If you have not been creating the input files for the command-line analysis as you worked through the
tutorial, then follow the instructions in Optional: Preparing for a Command-line Run (p. 4) to create the
file structure for the command-line run.
2. If you have not been creating the input files for the command-line analysis as you worked through the
tutorial, then follow directions in the sections referenced below and create the listed input files in the
SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine directory:
a. Create the file structural.dat according to Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Structural
System (p. 12).
b. Create the file fluidFlow.cas according to Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Fluent
System (p. 19).
c. Create the file coupling.sci according to Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the System
Coupling System (p. 22).
3. An additional input file is required to execute the Fluent solver in batch mode. In the SystemCouplin-
gOscillatingPlate_CmdLine directory, create a journal file named fluidFlow.jou that contains
the following:
file/start-transcript "Solution 1.trn"
file set-batch-options , yes ,
file/read-case/fluidFlow.cas
s i i
(sc-solve)
wcd FLUENTRestart.cas.gz
exit
ok
Running the Analysis

To run the analysis:
1. Open a command window, and from the SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine\Coup-

ling_CmdLine subdirectory, run System Coupling service using the following command:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v170\aisol\bin\winx64\Ansys.Services.SystemCoupling.exe"
–inputFile ..\coupling.sci
Tip
You may prefer to add the previous command to a batch file.
Now when you run the System Coupling service command, the coupling service starts and creates
the System Coupling Server File (SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine\Coup-
ling_CmdLine\scServer.scs). For details, see Files Generated by Coupling Service.
2. Open scServer.scs and review its contents, which will be similar to the following:
12345@yourmachine
2
Solution
Structural
Solution 1
Fluid
where:
• 12345 is the server port
• yourmachine is the host's name
• 2 indicates that two participant connections are expected
• The unique names to be used when starting the structural and fluid flow solvers are, respectively:
"Solution" and "Solution 1". The unique names from the solver(s) are encoded in the coupling service
input file and are reported here along with the names of the systems in the Workbench schematic.
Note this correlation, since the unique names are needed when starting the respective solvers. Note,
as well, that the unique names are determined by Workbench and can vary depending upon the order
in which systems were introduced into the schematic.
3. Copy the fluidFlow.cas file into the FluidFlow_CmdLine subdirectory.
This step ensures that Fluent treats that subdirectory as the run directory, and generates all sub-
sequent case and data files there. By keeping the basic input files separate from the run directories,
you can easily clear or delete the run directories for retries.
4. From a new command window, change to the FluidFlow_CmdLine subdirectory, then run the Fluent
solver by entering the following command:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v170\fluent\ntbin\win64\fluent.exe" 3ddp -hidden
-driver null -scport=12345 -schost=yourmachine -scname="Solution 1"
-i ..\fluidFlow.jou>FLUENT.out
5. From a new command window, change to the Structural_CmdLine subdirectory, then run the
Mechanical APDL solver by entering the following command:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v170\ansys\bin\winx64\ANSYS170.exe" -b -scport 12345
-schost yourmachine -scname "Solution" -i ..\structural.dat -o ANSYS.out
Note
• In steps 4 and 5 above, you may need to adjust the coupling service port and host (12345
and yourmachine, respectively) and solvers' unique names ("Solution" and "Solution 1"
for the Mechanical APDL and Fluent solvers, respectively) based upon information extracted
from the system coupling server file.
• The input file name, structural.dat, will need to be replaced with the name of the
manually-created input file (e.g. mapdl.dat) if such a file was created to enable a resume
from a Mechanical APDL database file.
Restart Analysis Execution
For the sake of simplicity, the restart analysis uses the same solver and coupling service directories in
which the initial analysis was performed.
Preparing the Required Input Files

In the SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine directory, create the following:
1. Create a restart journal file for the Fluent solver. Name this file fluidFlowRestart.jou, and have it
contain the following:
file/start-transcript "Solution 2.trn"
file set-batch-options , yes ,
rcd/fluidFlow-1-00050.cas
(sc-solve)
exit
ok
Note
The "-1-" in the file name fluidFlow-1-00050.cas represents the run number and
may be different in your system, depending upon how many runs were completed before
writing the .cas file.
2. Create a restart input file for the Mechanical APDL solver. Name this file structuralRestart.dat,
and have it contain the following:
/batch
/solu
/gst,on,on
antype,4,rest,50,1,continue
solve
save
finish
/exit
Run the Analysis

Much as when you ran the initial analysis:
1. Open a command window, change to the Coupling_CmdLine subdirectory, and run the System
Coupling service using the following command:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v170\aisol\bin\winx64\Ansys.Services.SystemCoupling.exe"
–inputFile ..\coupling.sci –resultFile scResult_01_000050.scr
2. Open the system coupling server file (scServer.scs) and note the coupling server’s port and host.
Note that the solvers’ unique names have not changed because they are encoded in the coupling service’s
input file.
3. Change to the FluidFlow_CmdLine subdirectory, and run the Fluent solver by entering the following
command:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v170\fluent\ntbin\win64\fluent.exe" 3ddp
-hidden -driver null -scport=12345 -schost=yourmachine -scname="Solution 1"
-i ..\fluidFlowRestart.jou>FLUENTRestart.out
4. Change to the Structural_CmdLine subdirectory, and run the Mechanical APDL solver by entering
the following command:
"C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v170\ansys\bin\winx64\ANSYS170.exe" -b
-scport 12345 -schost yourmachine -scname "Solution"
-i ..\structuralRestart.dat -o ANSYSRestart.out
Note
In steps 3 and 4 listed above, you may need to adjust the coupling service port and
host (12345 and yourmachine, respectively) and solvers' unique names ("Solution"
and "Solution 1" for the Mechanical APDL and Fluent solvers, respectively) based upon
information extracted from the system coupling server file.
Loading the Results into CFD-Post

To load the Results files into CFD-Post:
1. To start CFD-Post, from the Start menu, go to Start > All Programs > ANSYS 17.0 > Fluid Dynamics >
CFD-Post 17.0.
2. From CFD-Post, select File > Load Results.
3. Open the final CAS file, which will have a name similar to FluidFlow_CmdLine\fluidFlow-1-
00100.cas.
4. Again select File > Load Results.
5. In the dialog box that appears, select Keep current cases loaded, and clear Open in new view.
6. Open the file Structural_CmdLine\file.rst. When post-processing results, your structural results
are named after the name of the file they are loaded from. From this command line run, your structural
results will appear under the name “file” (because of file.rst).
7. Proceed to Viewing Results in CFD-Post (p. 23) for instructions on how to post-process the results. When
following these instructions, remember that your command line structural results will appear under the
name ”file”, and not “Structural”.
Tutorial: Heat Transfer from a Heating Coil
In this tutorial you will learn about executing a sequence of one-way thermal transfers in a heat exchanger
using the System Coupling infrastructure.

ANSYS Workbench Analysis Systems Steady State Thermal
Fluid Flow (Fluent)
External Data
DesignModeler Geometry and Named Selections Import
Steady State Thermal Defining the physics
ANSYS Fluent Defining the physics
CFD-Post Case Comparison Compare film coefficients
Examine temperatures and
temperature distributions

Part 1: Transferring Data from the Steady-State Thermal Analysis to the Fluid Flow Analysis
Part 2: Transferring Data from the Fluid Flow Analysis to the Steady-State Thermal Analysis

In this tutorial, a variety of ANSYS Workbench systems are used to analyze conjugate heat transfer in a
simple heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger involves the coupling of solid and fluid models. The solid model consists of a copper
alloy heating coil and the fluid model consists of an annular region with flowing water that envelops
the coil. A constant heat generation source of 8.72 e+6 W/m3 is specified for the coil and the heat
generated is made to convect away from its surface by water flowing at a nominal speed of 0.4m/s.
The tutorial is divided into two parts. In the first part, the convective heat transfer experienced by the
heating coil is estimated and the steady-state thermal analysis is executed for the solid model. The
resulting temperature from the coil surface is then used to execute the fluid analysis. In the second part
of the tutorial, the thermal analysis for the solid model is also executed, however the convective heat
transfer obtained from the fluid analysis is used instead of the original estimate.
In a case such as the one described here, there are advantages to using one-way data transfer instead
of conjugate heat transfer or two-way analysis. One-way data transfer works well when separate groups
are performing the computational fluid dynamics analysis and the thermal finite element analysis. The
individual solutions are simpler with a one-way analysis than they would be with a two-way coupled
analysis. Another advantage of one-way data transfer is that it provides a more flexible workflow; any
thermal variable of interest can be transferred. Coordinate transformations can also be applied when
using one-way data transfer.
Part 1: Transferring Data from the Steady-State Thermal Analysis to the

Fluid Flow Analysis
This part of the analysis has the following steps:
Adding Analysis and Component Systems
Adding New Materials for the Project
Preparing the Steady-State Thermal Source Data
Using External Data to Access the Steady-State Thermal Source Data
Preparing the Fluid Flow Analysis
Preparing and Executing the Coupled Thermal Analysis
Reviewing Results in CFD-Post

• To launch ANSYS Workbench on Windows, click the Start menu, then select Start > All Programs >
ANSYS 17.0 > Workbench 17.0.
Part 1: Transferring Data from the Steady-State Thermal Analysis to the Fluid Flow
Analysis
For example:
The Project Schematic appears with an Unsaved Project. By default, ANSYS Workbench is configured
to show the Getting Started dialog box that describes basic operations in ANSYS Workbench. To
control the display of this dialog box, select Tools>Options from the main menu and go to Project
Management>Startup and select or clear the Show Getting Started Dialog check box.
My Documents, create a directory named SystemCouplingHeatingCoilTutorial.
3. Select File>Save.
A Save As dialog box appears.
5. Under File name, type SystemCouplingHeatingCoil and click Save.
The project files and their associated directory locations appear under the Files view. To make the
Files view visible, select View>Files from the main menu of ANSYS Workbench.
6. This tutorial uses the geometry file, HeatingCoil.agdb, and a Fluent mesh file, HeatingCoilFLU-
ENTMesh.msh, for setting up the project. To access tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer
Portal, go to http://support.ansys.com/training.
Copy the supplied geometry file, HeatingCoil.agdb, and the mesh file, HeatingCoilFLU-
ENTMesh.msh, to the user_files directory that is in the SystemCouplingHeating-
Coil_files directory.
By working with copies of the geometry and mesh files in your working directory, you prevent
accidental changes to the original files.
Setting the Units in ANSYS Workbench

To ensure that the units for this project are set correctly, select Units from the top menu bar and confirm
that Metric (kg,m,s,°C,A,N,V) is checked.
Adding Analysis and Component Systems

In ANSYS Workbench, set up an analysis system in order to transfer data from a Steady-State Thermal
system to a Fluid Flow system, as outlined in this section.
1. From the Analysis Systems toolbox, drag a Steady-State Thermal system onto the Project Schematic.
2. From the Analysis Systems toolbox, drag a Fluid Flow (Fluent) system onto the Project Schematic and
drop it to the right of the Steady-State Thermal system.
3. You will use the System Coupling infrastructure to obtain data from the Steady-State Thermal system
for use in the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system. From the Component Systems toolbox, drag a System
Coupling system and drop it to the right of the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system.
4. Drag the Setup cell from the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system (B4) and drop it onto the Setup cell in the System
Coupling system (C2).
5. From the Component Systems toolbox, drag an External Data system onto the Project Schematic and
drop it between the Steady-State Thermal system and the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system.
Note that this changes the lettering of the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system from (B) to (C) and the
System Coupling system from (C) to (D).
6. Drag the Setup cell from the External Data system (B2) and drop it onto the Setup cell in the System
Coupling system (D2).
The connections between the setup cells establishes the relationship between the Fluid Flow system,
External Data, and the System Coupling system.
7. Save the project: click Save .
The Project Schematic should appear as shown in Figure 3: Project Schematic of a Fluid Solid Interface,
System Coupling Problem (p. 36).
Figure 3: Project Schematic of a Fluid Solid Interface, System Coupling Problem
The Structural and Fluid systems contain various cells. ANSYS Workbench provides visual indications of
the state of a cell at any given time via icons on the right side of each cell. In Figure 3: Project Schem-
atic of a Fluid Solid Interface, System Coupling Problem (p. 36), most cells appear with a blue question
mark , indicating that cells need to be set up before continuing the analysis. As these cells are set up,
the data transfer occurs from top to bottom. See Understanding Cell States for a description of various
cell states.
Now the project is ready for further processing. A project schematic such as this with interconnected
systems enables you to perform a multiphysics analysis by adding a new geometry, setting up the
physics of the individual systems (Steady-State Thermal, and Fluid Flow systems in this example), and
also viewing the results.
Adding New Materials for the Project

1. On the Project Schematic, double-click the Engineering Data cell in the Steady-State Thermal system
(A2).
In the tab that appears, you will set the Material Properties for the coil.
Analysis
2. In the Outline of Schematic A2: Engineering Data window, Structural Steel is the first entry in the Ma-
terial section. To add a new material, right-click the empty row at the bottom of the Material section,
just below the Structural Steel entry. Select Engineering Data Sources.
3. In the Data Source column of the Engineering Data Sources tab, select General Materials.
4. In the Outline of General Materials section, click the plus sign beside the Copper Alloy option to add
copper alloy material to the project.
5. You now have all the material properties that you need for the project. At the top of your Workbench
window, close the Engineering Data tab to return to the Project Schematic.
6. From the main menu, select File>Save to save material settings to the project.

Add the geometry by importing an existing DesignModeler file.
1. On the Project Schematic, in the Steady-State Thermal system, right-click the Geometry cell (A3) and
select Import Geometry>Browse.
2. In the Open dialog box, browse to your working directory, select SystemCouplingHeating-
Coil_files>user_files>HeatingCoil.agdb, and click Open.
Preparing the Steady-State Thermal Source Data

You will now define the physics for the steady-state thermal analysis.

To assign the material to the geometry:
1. On the Project Schematic, double-click the Model cell in the Steady-State Thermal system (A4). This will
open the Mechanical application.
2. In the Mechanical application, right-click Project>Model (A4)>Geometry>Part>Container and select

Suppress Body.
3. Click Project>Model (A4)>Geometry>Part>Coil.
4. In the Details of “Coil” view, use the Material>Assignment drop-down box to select Copper Alloy.
Generating the Mesh

Define and generate a mesh for the structural model of the heating coil.
1. In the Mechanical application Outline view, right-click Project>Model (A4)>Mesh and select Insert>Meth-
od.
2. In the viewer window, select the entire coil geometry in the viewer window by clicking on it.
3. In the Details of “Automatic Method” - Method view, click Scope>Geometry>Apply.
4. In the Details of “Automatic Method” - Method view, select Definition>Method>Sweep.
5. Click the box to the right of Definition>Free Face Mesh Type. Select All Tri.
This setting creates triangular elements on the source face. These triangular elements then get
swept through the coil body during the Sweep. Quad elements are not used for this case because
the coarse mesh that is used would result in a poor quality mesh on the source face.
6. Click Project>Model (A4)>Mesh to open the Details of “Mesh” view.
7. In the Details of “Mesh” view, select Sizing>Element Size and enter 0.05.
8. Right-click Project>Model (A4)>Mesh and select Generate Mesh.
Defining the Physics for the Structural Analysis

Define the physics for the steady-state thermal portion of the problem.
Defining the Steady-State Thermal Analysis

1. Define the initial temperature:
1. In the Mechanical application Outline view, click Project>Model (A4)>Steady-State Thermal

(A5)>Initial Temperature.
2. In the Details of “Initial Temperature” view, change Definition>Initial Temperature Value to

250°C.
2. Define the internal heat generation:
1. Right-click Project>Model (A4)>Steady-State Thermal (A5) and select Insert>Internal Heat

Generation.
2. Select the coil body in the viewer window.
3. In the Details of “Internal Heat Generation” view, click Geometry>Apply.
4. In the Details of “Internal Heat Generation” view, change Definition>Magnitude to 8.72e6

[W/m3]. Do not type in units. This is the source for the steady-state thermal calculation.
3. Define the convection boundary condition to allow the heat to escape from the area around the coil:
1. In the Mechanical application Outline view, right-click Project>Model (A4)>Steady-State Thermal

(A5) and select Insert>Convection.
Convection values will reflect the heat removal from the coil surface.
2. In the Details of “Convection” view, change Scope>Scoping Method to Named Selection.
3. In the Named Selection drop-down box, select CoilSurface.
4. Change Definition>Film Coefficient to 1000 [W/m2·°C]. Do not type in units.
5. Change Definition>Ambient Temperature to 30 [°C]. Do not type in units.
Analysis
The convection boundary condition is applied to the outer coil surface, not to the ends. The
heat that was introduced in the previous step will be dissipated due to convection.
The heat transfer (film) coefficient value should be approximately 1000 [W/m2·°C]. This is the
estimate that you use for this part of the tutorial. In a later part of this tutorial, you will run
the CFD analysis and compare the estimated number to the calculated number for the heat
transfer coefficient value. At that time, you will replace the estimated heat transfer coefficient
value with the full set of heat transfer coefficient values that are calculated from the fluid dy-
namics side.
4. Define the fluid-solid interface:

(A5) and select Insert>Fluid Solid Interface.
2. In the Details of “Fluid Solid Interface” view, change Scope>Scoping Method to Named Selection.
3. In the Named Selection drop-down box, select CoilSurface.
4. In the Export Results drop-down box, select Yes. This setting will make Mechanical export the static
results to an ANSYS External Data file (the .axdt file).
The .axdt files are generated from the results on defined fluid solid interfaces. These files
will be used to transfer thermal data from ANSYS Mechanical to ANSYS Fluent when you are
using External Data and System Coupling (this is the method used in this tutorial).
5. Add the temperature and total heat flux results to review:

(A5)>Solution (A6) and select Insert>Thermal>Temperature.

(A5)>Solution (A6) and select Insert>Thermal>Total Heat Flux.
6. Click File>Save Project.
Executing the Structural Analysis
To create the temperature and heat flux distribution solutions, click the Solve button from the
main toolbar at the top of the Mechanical application.
Post-Processing the Structural Analysis Results

When the solution is complete, review the temperature and total heat flux distribution results.
1. To look at the temperature distribution, in the Mechanical application Outline view, click Project>Model
(A4)>Steady-State Thermal (A5)>Solution (A6)>Temperature.
Figure 4: Temperature of the Coil
2. To look at the total heat flux distribution, in the Mechanical application Outline view, click Project>Model
(A4)>Steady-State Thermal (A5)>Solution (A6)>Total Heat Flux.
Analysis
Figure 5: Total Heat Flux Distribution on the Coil
In the Messages view, just under the viewer window, there will be an Info message that states:
"The thermal results at the Fluid Solid Interface(s) have been written to the solver files directory."
This tells you that the .axdt file has been created. You now have an ANSYS External Data file
(.axdt file) that can be brought into External Data. This file contains the Temperature and Heat
Flow values exported from the Fluid Solid Interface region that you defined. You will import this
file into External Data to provide thermal boundary conditions for Fluent via the System Coupling
component.
3. Click File>Save Project and File>Close Mechanical.
Using External Data to Access the Steady-State Thermal Source Data

You can access the ANSYS External Data file (.axdt file) as follows:
1. In the Files window, scroll down to find the .axdt file, and note that it’s named fsin_1.axdt.
2. On the Project Schematic, double-click the Setup cell in the External Data system (B2).
3. Under Location in the Outline of Schematic section, click the button and select Browse. Browse to
the fsin_1.axdt file.
4. Select the fsin_1.axdt file and click Open.
All the information about the external data for this project has been automatically entered into
the appropriate data sections. In the Properties of File section, the format type is AXDT. The Table
of File section summarizes the x, y and z coordinate data that appear in the Preview of File section.
There are also temperature values in Celsius and heat rate in Watts that have been imported from
the fsin_1.axdt file. You can scan this data to ensure that it seems reasonable for this project.
5. Close the External Data tab to return to the Project Schematic.
6. On the Project Schematic, right-click the Setup cell in the External Data system (B2) and select Update.
Preparing the Fluid Flow Analysis

To prepare the fluid flow analysis, import the fluid mesh, and set up the physics in Fluent.
Importing the Mesh for the Fluid Flow Analysis

Import an existing Fluent mesh file into the fluid analysis.
1. In the ANSYS Workbench Project Schematic, right-click the Mesh cell in the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system
(C3) and click Import Mesh File>Browse.
2. Browse to your working directory, select SystemCouplingHeatingCoil_files>user_files>HeatingCoil

FLUENTMesh.msh, and click Open.
In the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system, notice that the Geometry cell is automatically deleted and the
Mesh cell is renamed to Imported Mesh.
Defining the Physics for the Fluid Flow Analysis

Define the physics for the fluid analysis.
1. In the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system (C3), double-click the Setup cell to start Fluent.
2. In the Fluent Launcher, select Double Precision. Click OK.
The mesh file is automatically loaded into the Fluent session.
3. In the Setting Up Physics tab, above Models, check Energy to turn the energy equation on.
4. In the Setting Up Physics tab, above Models, select Viscous.... In the dialog box, under Model, select
k-epsilon (2 eqn). Under Near-Wall Treatment, select Scalable Wall Functions. Click OK.
5. Change the fluid material to water:
1. In the Setting Up Physics tab, above Materials, select Create/Edit....
2. In the dialog box, click the Fluent Database button.
3. In the Fluent Fluid Materials section, select water-liquid (h2o<l>).
4. Click the Copy button to add water as the material and click Close.
5. In the Create/Edit Materials panel, click Change/Create and Close.
6. In the Setting Up Physics tab, above Zones, click Cell Zones and then select Fluid.
7. In the Task Page, click on part-container, then select Edit....
8. In the Fluid dialog box, change Material Name to water-liquid. Click OK.
Analysis
6. Set the boundary conditions, starting with the fluid-solid interface on the coil’s surface:
1. In the Setting Up Physics tab, above Zones, click Boundaries and select All.
2. In the Task Page, select the Highlight Zone check box in order to display only the selected zone in
the viewer.
3. Under Zone, select coilsurface, and then select the Edit button.
4. In the Wall dialog box, on the Thermal tab, set the Thermal Conditions to via System Coupling.
Click OK.
This boundary is now marked as one that will participate in couplings. It will be able to accept
either temperature or heat flow data.
7. Set the inflow boundary:
1. In the Task Page, under Zone, select inflow.
2. Change the Type to velocity-inlet.
3. In the Velocity Inlet dialog box, set the Velocity Magnitude to 0.4 and click OK.
8. Set the outflow boundary:
1. In the Task Page, under Zone, select outflow.
2. Change the Type to pressure-outlet.
3. In the Pressure Outlet panel, verify that the Gauge Pressure is 0. Click OK.
9. Set up the solution controls:
1. In the Solving tab, above Solution, select Methods...
2. Set the Scheme to Coupled.
3. In the Solving tab, above Reports, select Residuals....
4. In the Residuals Monitors dialog box, under Equations, change Absolute Criteria for energy residual
from 1e-06 to 1e-05.
Click OK.
In this problem, energy residuals level off around 8e-06. This step ensures that Fluent terminates
once this level of convergence is reached during the coupled analysis.
5. In the Solving tab, above Run Calculation, set the No. of Iterations to 200.
6. In the Solving tab, above Initialization, set the Method to Standard. To the right, click Initialize.
10. Select File>Save Project to pass the changes to Workbench.
11. Now that the physics is defined, select File > Close Fluent. You will solve the Fluent system through the
System Coupling system.
The next step is to set up the coupled thermal analysis.

1. Set up the data transfer in the system coupling system:
1. In the ANSYS Workbench Project Schematic, double-click the Setup cell in the System Coupling
system (D2).
2. Click Yes in the pop-up window to read the upstream data.
3. In Outline of Schematic D1: System Coupling, select System Coupling>Setup>Participants

>External Data>Regions>File1.
This file is the .axdt file that was copied into External Data in the Using External Data to
Access the Steady-State Thermal Source Data (p. 41) section.
4. In Properties of Region: File1, right-click Topology>Output>File1:Temperature1 and select Create

Data Transfer.
5. In Outline of Schematic D1: System Coupling section, select System Coupling>Setup>Data

Transfers>Data Transfer.
6. In Properties of Data Transfer : Data Transfer section, in Target>Participant, select Fluid Flow
(Fluent).
7. In Target>Region, select coilsurface.
8. In Target>Variable, select temperature.
9. Select File>Save.
Note
For one-way steady thermal coupled analyses, it is good practice to use one coupling
iteration per run. This can be done by selecting Analysis Settings in the tree view
and changing Maximum Iterations to 1 in the details view. However, in this tutorial,
default settings will be used.
2. Add Fluent’s solution monitor:
1. Click on the Project tab in Workbench to return to the Project Schematic, keeping the System
Coupling tab open.
2. From the Project Schematic, right-click the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system’s Solution cell (C4) and select
Properties. In the Properties view that appears in Workbench, ensure that Solution Monitoring is
checked. This setting will allow you to monitor Fluent’s solution from Workbench.
Analysis
3. Right-click the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system’s Solution cell (C4) and select Show Solution Monitoring.
A new tab opens with the solution monitor. When you solve your analysis using System Coupling,
use this tab to watch Fluent solve the fluid part of this analysis.
3. Solve the coupled analysis and add a new chart to monitor the solution:
1. Click on the System Coupling tab in Workbench to return to the system coupling interface.
2. In Outline of Schematic D1: System Coupling, right-click System Coupling>Solution and select
Update.
This starts the coupled analysis. Fluent connects up to the coupling service and will run end-
to-end. Fluent will accept external data and will run through its full convergence. A summary
of the solution progress is in the System Coupling Chart and in the Solution tab.
3. In System Coupling tab, right-click System Coupling>Solution>Chart Monitors and select Create
Chart to create a new system coupling chart.
4. Right-click the new Chart 2 that appears and select Add Variable>External Data>Data Trans-
fer>Value>Average.
5. Right-click the Chart 2 again and select Add Variable>Fluid Flow (Fluent)>Data Transfer>Value>Av-
erage.
This new chart shows the difference between the average nodal temperature values in Kelvin,
transferred from the source region to the target region. Notice that the source and target
values differ by approximately 11 degrees. This difference is due to mismatching of the nodes
on the source and target sides.
4. Close the System Coupling tab to return to the Project Schematic.
Reviewing Results in CFD-Post

Review the graphical results of the project in CFD-Post.
1. In the ANSYS Workbench Project Schematic, double-click the Results cell in the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system
(C5) to start CFD-Post.
2. View the temperature along the ZX plane:
1. From the CFD-Post toolbar, click and select Plane.
2. Click OK to accept the default name of Plane 1.
3. In the Details of Plane 1 section, in the Geometry tab, set the Method to ZX Plane.
4. In the Color tab, set the Mode to Variable and the Variable to Temperature.
5. Set the Range to User Specified, the Min to 300 K, and the Max to 305 K.
The full temperature range is much larger due to temperature extremes on a small fraction
of the surface. By neglecting those extreme temperatures, more colors are used over the range
of interest.
6. Click Apply.
7. For a better view, click the y axis on the Viewer triad.
Figure 6: Advection of Heated Water Out of the Heat Exchanger (p. 46) shows the thermal
boundary layer around the coil surface and illustrates how the warmed-up fluid is being ad-
vected out of the heat exchanger.
Figure 6: Advection of Heated Water Out of the Heat Exchanger
3. View the heat transfer coefficient on the coil’s surface:
1. Disable the plane view by deselecting the Outline>User Locations and Plots>Plane1 check box.
2. Select the Outline>Cases>FFF>part container>coilsurface check box.
3. Right-click the coil surface in the Viewer and select Color>Wall Heat Transfer Coefficient.
Earlier in the tutorial, the heat transfer (film) coefficient value was estimated at approximately
1000 W/m2·°C. This estimate is slightly lower than with the average calculated value on the
coil surface in Figure 7: Wall Heat Transfer Coefficient on the Coil Surface (p. 47). Note that
the range on the left of the figure may vary slightly from your own rendered results.
Here, notice that there is variability in the distribution of the heat transfer coefficient on the
coil surface. In the second part of this tutorial where you will replace the estimated heat
transfer coefficient value with the full set of heat transfer coefficient values that are calculated
Analysis
from the fluid dynamics side. The data calculated here will be exported from CFD-Post and
brought into a system coupling analysis of a steady state thermal system.
Figure 7: Wall Heat Transfer Coefficient on the Coil Surface
4. View the wall adjacent temperature on the coil’s surface:
• Right-click the coil surface in the Viewer and select Color>Wall Adjacent Temperature.
In the Defining the Steady-State Thermal Analysis (p. 38) section, we estimated that the ambient
temperature of the coil surface would be approximately 30°C. Figure 8: Wall Adjacent Temper-
ature on the Coil Surface (p. 48) shows that the calculated wall adjacent temperature is close
to this value with some variation. Note that the range on the left of the figure may vary slightly
from your own rendered results. In the second part of this tutorial, you will replace the estim-
ated ambient temperature with the full set of adjacent temperature values that are calculated
from the fluid dynamics side. The data calculated here will be exported from CFD-Post and
brought into a system coupling analysis of a steady state thermal system.
Figure 8: Wall Adjacent Temperature on the Coil Surface
Part 2:Transferring Data from the Fluid Flow Analysis to the Steady-State
Thermal Analysis
This part of the analysis has the following steps:
Exporting the Data
Adding Additional Analysis and Component Systems
Using External Data to Access the Fluid Flow Source Data
Preparing the Steady-State Thermal Analysis
Reviewing Results in the Mechanical Application
Exporting the Data

Export results from the first part of the tutorial.
1. If you are not already in CFD-Post, in the ANSYS Workbench Project Schematic, double-click the Results
cell in the Fluid Flow (Fluent) system (C5) to start CFD-Post.
2. Click File>Export>Export External Data File.
3. In the Export External Data File panel, confirm that the File path is pointing to user_files/ex
port.axdt.
4. For the Location, select coilsurface.
Part 2: Transferring Data from the Fluid Flow Analysis to the Steady-State Thermal
Analysis
5. In the Select Recommended Variables box, select HTC and Wall Adjacent Temperature.
6. Click Save and close CFD-Post.
Adding Additional Analysis and Component Systems

The physics for this steady-state thermal system is identical to the physics in the first part of this tutorial,
except that the data for the convection boundary condition will be obtained from the output from the
first part of this tutorial through system coupling.
1. In order to create a copy of the first system, right-click the Setup cell (A5) in the Steady-State Thermal
system and select Duplicate. Duplicating from the Setup cell in this way produces a new system with
shared Engineering Data, Geometry and Model. The existing Setup cell state is copied to the new system.
2. From the Component Systems toolbox, drag a System Coupling system and drop it to the right of the
Copy of Steady-State Thermal system.
3. Drag the Setup cell from the Copy of Steady-State Thermal system (E5) and drop it onto the Setup cell
in the System Coupling system (F2).
4. From the Component Systems toolbox, drag an External Data system onto the Project Schematic and
drop it to the left of the Copy of Steady-State Thermal system. This External Data system will provide
data to the Steady-State Thermal system through the System Coupling system.
Note that adding this system changes the lettering of the Copy of Steady-State Thermal system
from (E) to (F) and the System Coupling system from (F) to (G).
5. Drag the Setup cell from the External Data system (E2) and drop it onto the Setup cell in the System
Coupling system (G2).
Figure 9: Project Schematic of a Fluid Solid Interface, System Coupling Problem Part 2
Using External Data to Access the Fluid Flow Source Data

The fluid flow source data was generated in the fluid analysis in the first part of this tutorial. Provide
the path to this data so that it can be used in the analysis.
1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the Setup cell in the second External Data system (E2).
2. In the Outline of Schematic section, under the Location column, click the ellipsis button and select
Browse. Browse to the file named export.axdt that was exported from CFD-Post. Click Open.
3. Close the External Data tab to return to the Project Schematic.
4. In the Project Schematic, right-click the Setup cell in the External Data system (E2) and select Update.
Preparing the Steady-State Thermal Analysis

Remove the estimated convection value from the thermal analysis.
1. Double-click the Setup cell in the Copy of Steady-State Thermal system (F5).
Note that setup information from the first system (A5) and this duplicate system (F5) are both listed
under Model (A4, F4).
2. In the Outline view of the Mechanical application, under Project>Model (A4, F4)>Steady-State Thermal
2 (F5), the estimate for the Convection condition is present. Ensure you’re looking at the convection
under Steady-State Thermal 2 (F5). Remove this estimate by right-clicking Convection and selecting
Delete.
3. The Fluid Solid Interface condition does not need to be modified.
In the first part of this tutorial, the fluid solid interface was used so that an .axdt file was created.
Temperature values and heat rates from that fluid solid interface region were output in this file. In
the second part of this tutorial, the Fluid Solid Interface will be used to receive data from system
coupling as well as to create an .axdt file.
4. Close the Mechanical application.
5. Right-click the Setup cell in the Copy of Steady-State Thermal system (F5) and select Update.

Set up the data transfer and solve the coupled analysis.
1. Double-click the Setup cell in the System Coupling system (G2). Click Yes to read the upstream data.
2. In the Outline of Schematic G1: System Coupling window, Ctrl-select Fluid Solid Interface and File 1.
Right-click File 1 and select Create Data Transfer to automatically create a pair of data transfers.
Data Transfer created transfers the heat transfer coefficient, and Data Transfer 2 created transfers
the reference temperature.
Analysis
4. Right-click the Solution section and select Update. As the system solves, system coupling draws the data
from the external data system and provides it to the Mechanical application.
5. After the solution has finished, close the System Coupling tab to return to the Project Schematic.
6. Right-click the Results cell in the Copy of Steady-State Thermal system (F7) and select Update.
Reviewing Results in the Mechanical Application

1. Double-click the Results cell in the Copy of Steady-State Thermal system (F7) to open the Mechanical
application.
2. To compare the results from the first part of the tutorial with those from the second part, split the viewer
window into two parts. Click the Viewport icon in the top menu bar and select Vertical Viewports.
3. Click in the left viewport and then in the Outline view, click Steady-State Thermal (A5)>Solution
(A6)>Temperature.
4. Click in the right viewport and then in the Outline view, click Steady-State Thermal 2 (F5)>Solution
(F6)>Temperature.
The left view now shows the original, uncoupled case and the right view is the coupled result.
5. To synchronize the two views, click the Manage Views icon in the top menu bar.
6. The Manage Views window appears in the lower left part of the Mechanical application window. Click
in the left viewport and click the Create a View icon, .
7. Click in the right viewport, select View 1 and click the Apply a View icon, .
8. To allow a better comparison of the two sets of results, both the scales should be changed to the same
values. Double-click the second-lowest value in the colored legend and change it to 200 and change the
second-highest value in the colored legend to 1600. Do this in both the left and right viewports. Note
that the ranges in the figures below may vary slightly from your own rendered results.
Figure 10: Comparison of Coil Temperature Contours from the First and Second Parts of the
Tutorial
As noted at the end of the first part of the tutorial, the constant heat transfer coefficient value applied
in the thermal analysis of the coil under-predicts the spatially-varying values generated by the fluid
analysis. Qualitative and quantitative differences are consequently observed between thermal analyses
of the coil in the first and second parts of the tutorial. When the larger, spatially-varying heat transfer
coefficient values are applied, the resulting temperature values decrease appropriately and temperature
variations occur over the coil surface. For example, the lowest temperatures are observed on the lower,
side portions of the coil cross-section due to increased convective cooling in those regions. Convective
cooling decreases on the lower and upper portions due to flow stagnation and recirculation, respectively.
The effect of the larger, spatially-varying heat transfer coefficient values on the heat flux solution values
from the thermal analyses corroborate these observations.
1. To compare the total heat flux, select the left viewport and click Steady-State Thermal (A5)>Solution
(A6)>Total Heat Flux.
2. Select the right viewport and select Steady-State Thermal 2 (F5)>Solution (F6)>Total Heat Flux. Note
that the ranges in the figures below may vary slightly from your own rendered results.
Analysis
Figure 11: Comparison of Coil Total Heat Flux Contours from the First and Second Parts of
the Tutorial
3. When you are finished viewing your results, select File>Save Project from the main menu, and then
File>Close Mechanical. Select File>Exit to close your Workbench project.
Tutorial: Oscillating Plate with Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction
using CFX, Mechanical, and System Coupling
In this tutorial you will learn how to solve a Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) case. You will model struc-
tural deformation in a fluid using System Coupling to coordinate the ANSYS Mechanical solver and CFX-
Solver.

ANSYS Workbench Analysis Systems Transient Structural
Fluid Flow (CFX)
Engineering Data Defining new materials
DesignModeler Geometry Import
Mechanical Meshing
Defining the physics
Named Selections
Meshing Meshing
CFX-Pre Defining the physics
CFD-Post Plots Vector
Animation


This tutorial uses an example of an oscillating plate within a fluid-filled cavity to demonstrate how to
set up and run a simulation involving a two-way coupled analysis in ANSYS Workbench.
Tutorial: Oscillating Plate with Two-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction using CFX,
A thin plate is anchored to the bottom of a closed cavity filled with fluid (air), shown in Figure 12: Di-
mensions of the oscillating plate case (p. 56). There is no friction between the plate and the side of the
cavity. An initial pressure of 100 Pa is applied to one side of the thin plate for 0.5 s to distort it. Once
this pressure is released, the plate oscillates back and forth to regain its equilibrium, and the surrounding
air damps this oscillation. You will simulate the plate and surrounding air for a few oscillations to be
able to observe the motion of the plate as it is damped.
Figure 12: Dimensions of the oscillating plate case
To simulate this case, you will set up a two-way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis. You will
model the motion of the oscillating plate using the Mechanical application’s Transient Structural
analysis system. You will model the motion of the fluid in the closed cavity using the CFX application’s
Fluid Flow (CFX) analysis system. The two analyses are solved at the same time with the System
Coupling system coordinating the solution process as well as the data transfers between the two ana-
lysis systems.
The two-way coupling involves two data transfers:
• Force data from the motion of the air is received by the Transient Structural analysis system as it solves
the structural behavior over time.
• Displacement data from the motion of the plate is received by the Fluid Flow (CFX) analysis system as it
solves the fluid behavior over time.
The oscillation of the plate is dependent on time, and so you need to choose appropriate time values
for the coupled transient analysis:
• Time duration is the total time observed in the analysis. In this analysis, you will set the time duration to be
10 s, which is enough time to observe the plate oscillating a few times. With this time duration, you will not
model the full damping back to the plate’s equilibrium. When setting up a transient analysis, make sure that
you choose a time duration that will allow you to observe the behavior of interest in your system.
• Time step is the size of the time increments that you are solving within your transient analysis. In this ana-
lysis, you will set the time step to be 0.1 s, which is fine enough to observe the oscillations to a reasonable
degree. When setting up a transient analysis, make sure you choose a time step that works for the physics
you are solving. Too large a time step will miss behavior of the system, and too small a time step will be
computationally expensive.

Create the project by setting up the directories needed, importing the project files, and setting the license
preference:
• To launch ANSYS Workbench on Windows, click the Start menu, then select All Programs > ANSYS 17.0
> Workbench 17.0.
For example:
The Project Schematic appears with an unsaved project. By default, ANSYS Workbench is configured
to show the Getting Started dialog box that describes basic operations in ANSYS Workbench. Click
the [X] icon to close this dialog box.
2. If you have an ANSYS Multiphysics license, set the licensing preferences for a coupled analysis:
a. Select Tools > License Preferences.
b. Select Use a separate license for each application.
c. Click OK.
My Documents, create a directory named SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate.
4. Select File > Save or click Save .
6. Under File name, type SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate and click Save.
The project files and their associated folder locations appear under the Files view. To make the
Files view visible, select View > Files from the main menu of ANSYS Workbench.
7. This tutorial uses the geometry file, oscillating_plate.agdb, for setting up the project. To access
tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to http://support.ansys.com/training.
Copy the supplied geometry file, oscillating_plate.agdb, to the user_files directory

that is in the SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_files directory.
By working with a copy of the geometry file in your working directory, you prevent accidental
changes to the original geometry file.

You are doing a two-way FSI analysis by coupling two analysis systems: a Transient Structural system
and a Fluid Flow (CFX) system. You will use the System Coupling system to couple the other two
systems and to coordinate the solution execution.
To add these three systems to your Workbench project:
1. From the Analysis Systems toolbox on the left side of the ANSYS Workbench window, select the Transient
Structural template. Double-click the template, or drag it onto the Project Schematic to create a stan-
dalone system.
A Transient Structural system is added to the Project Schematic, with its name selected and ready
for renaming.
2. Type in the new name, Structural, to replace the selected text. In this tutorial,“Structural system” will
be used to refer to the Transient Structural system.
If you missed seeing the selected text, right-click the first cell in the system and select Rename
from the context menu. You will then be able to edit the name.
3. Drag a Fluid Flow (CFX) analysis system on top of the Structural system’s Geometry cell (A3) and drop
it there.
A Fluid Flow (CFX) system, coupled to the Structural system, is added to the Project Schematic.
This Fluid Flow (CFX) system is connected to the Structural system through the Geometry cell (A3
to B2), and so both of these systems will share the same geometry.
4. Change the name of this system to Fluid. In this tutorial,“Fluid system” will be used to refer to the
Fluid Flow (CFX) system.
5. Expand the Component Systems toolbox, drag a System Coupling system and drop it to the right of
the Fluid Flow (CFX) system.
6. Drag the Structural system's Setup cell (A5) and drop it on the System Coupling system’s Setup cell (C2).
7. Drag the Fluid system's Setup cell (B4) and drop it on System Coupling system’s Setup cell (C2).
The Project Schematic should appear as shown in Figure 13: System Coupling of Transient Structural
and Fluid Flow (CFX) Systems (p. 58).
Figure 13: System Coupling of Transient Structural and Fluid Flow (CFX) Systems
The Structural and Fluid systems have various cells. The icons on the right side of each cell provides
visual indications of a cell's state at any given time. In your current Project Schematic in Workbench
(shown in Figure 13: System Coupling of Transient Structural and Fluid Flow (CFX) Systems (p. 58)),
most cells appear with a blue question mark ( ), indicating that cells need to be set up before continuing
the analysis. As these cells are set up, the data transfer occurs from top to bottom. See Understanding
Cell States for a description of various cell states.
Now that your project systems are in place, you can start working through your analysis. Your current
project systems enables you to perform your analysis by:
• adding a new material,
• sharing the geometry,
• setting up the physics in the Structural system,
• setting up the physics in the Fluid system,
• defining and running the coupling in the System Coupling system, and
• viewing the results in CFD-Post.

In the Project Schematic, the Structural system’s Engineering Data cell (A2) appears in an up-to-date
state because default material is already available for the project. You will use material for the oscillating
plate that is not in the default material available, and so you need to update this cell by adding this
new material to the Engineering Data.
The case requires a new material with properties that make it more flexible. You will create a new ma-
terial named Plate, define its properties to be suitable for oscillation, and set it as the default material
for the analysis.
1. On the Project Schematic, double-click the Engineering Data cell (A2) in the Structural system.
Engineering Data opens in a new tab in Workbench. The Outline and Properties views are among
the views that appear.
2. In the Outline of Schematic A2: Engineering Data view, click the empty row at the bottom of the table
to add a new material for the project. Type in the name Plate.
When you click away from that cell, Plate is created and appears with a blue question mark, indic-
ating that its properties need to be defined.
3. From the Toolbox on the left, expand Physical Properties. Select Density and drag it onto the cell con-
taining Plate (A4) in the Outline of Schematic A2: Engineering Data view. If the toolbox is not visible
by default, select View > Toolbox to make it visible.
Density is added as a plate property in the Properties of Outline Row 4: Plate view, as shown in
the following figure.
4. In the toolbox under Linear Elastic, drag Isotropic Elasticity onto Plate (A4) in the Outline of Schematic
A2: Engineering Data view.
Isotropic Elasticity is added as the plate property in the Properties of Outline Row 4: Plate view.
5. In the Properties of Outline Row 4: Plate view, set the Value of Density (B2) to 2550 [kg m^-3]. Do not
type in units.
6. In the Properties of Outline Row 4: Plate view, expand Isotropic Elasticity by clicking the plus sign.
Now set Young’s Modulus to 2.5e06 [Pa] and Poisson’s Ratio to 0.35. Do not type in units.
The plate data is created and is available to the remaining cells in the Structural system.
The next step is to set Plate as the default material for the analysis as outlined below:
1. In the Outline of Schematic A2: Engineering Data view, under Material, right-click Plate (A4) and select
Default Solid Material For Model.
2. From the main menu, select File > Save to save material settings to the project.
3. Close the Engineering Data tab to return to the Project Schematic.

You will add geometry to your project by importing an existing DesignModeler file. Once you add the
geometry, it will be shared between the Structural and Fluid systems because you have connected their
geometry cells in the Project Schematic. All of the geometry parts have to be unsuppressed at this point
in your project so that they are available for use later in the Structural and Fluid systems.
1. On the Project Schematic, right-click the Structural system’s Geometry cell (A3) and select Import
Geometry > Browse.
2. In the Open dialog box, browse to your working directory, select SystemCouplingOscillating-
Plate_files > user_files > oscillating_plate.agdb from your working directory, and click
Open.
3. In the Structural system, double-click the Geometry cell (A3) to edit the geometry using DesignModeler.
The DesignModeler application opens in a separate window.
4. In DesignModeler’s Tree Outline on the left, expand the branch 2 Parts, 6 Bodies to see all of the bodies
that compose the geometry. The one solid body is listed, and under Part are the five fluid bodies. Ensure
that all of these bodies are already unsuppressed (they should all have small green check marks).
5. The geometry is set up for the project. Save any changes by selecting File > Save Project from the main
menu in DesignModeler, and then select File > Close DesignModeler to return to the Project Schematic.
The updated geometry is now available for both the Structural and Fluid systems.
Later in the tutorial, when you generate the structural mesh, the fluid bodies will first be suppressed.
Similarly, when you generate the fluid mesh, the solid body will be suppressed. You will suppress these
bodies from within the Mechanical and Meshing applications, so no further changes are needed in
DesignModeler.
Note
Because the Structural system’s Geometry cell (A3) shares its content directly with the Fluid
system’s Geometry cell (B2), you can edit the geometry only through the Structural system’s
Geometry cell (A3).

In the Mechanical application, you are setting up the structural analysis and defining the coupling inter-
face. You will not solve the structural analysis from the Mechanical application because you will use
the System Coupling system to solve both structural and fluid systems at the same time.
When setting up your own two-way coupled analysis, it is a best practice to set up and solve the
structural analysis within the Mechanical application before continuing with your coupled analysis. If
issues occur within your structural system, the isolated analysis is easier to troubleshoot than the more
complex coupled analysis.
The structural Geometry cell (A3) is up-to-date, and so you start your setup by generating the structural
mesh. This section describes the step-by-step definition of the structural physics:
Inserting Loads

Generate the mesh for the Structural system directly in the Mechanical application:
1. On the Project Schematic, double-click the Structural system’s Model cell (A4) to open the Mechanical
application.
The Mechanical application opens in a separate window.
2. In Mechanical’s Outline on the left, expand Geometry to see the two geometries, solid and Part.
3. For the structural analysis, you need to generate the mesh for only the solid body. To do this, you need
to first suppress the fluid bodies.
Right-click the Part geometry (which contains all of the fluid bodies), and select Suppress Body.
The fluid bodies are now suppressed and their status changes to an x mark. You now will see only
the solid body in the Graphics view. Click Zoom to Fit to view the entire model in the Graphics
view.
4. You will define the mesh by marking divisions on the edges of the solid. These divisions will be used as
guides for the mesh creation:
a. Click Edge .
b. Click an edge that lies parallel to the X axis.
c. In the Outline, right-click Mesh and select Insert > Sizing.
d. Beside Type, select Number of Divisions from the drop-down menu.
e. Beside Number of Divisions, select 1.
5. Repeat steps a to d to create 10 divisions on an edge that is parallel to the Y axis and 4 divisions on an
edge that is parallel to the Z axis. To summarize:
Edge Direction Number of Divisions

X axis 1
Y axis 10
Z axis 4
6. In the Outline, right-click Mesh and select Generate Mesh from the shortcut menu.
A hex mesh is generated on your solid body.

When you defined the Plate material, you set it to be the default for your solid body. In the Mechanical
application, you can see that this material is set correctly.
1. In the Mechanical’s Outline on the left, select Project > Model > Geometry > solid.
2. In the Details of “solid”, ensure that Material > Assignment is set to Plate. Otherwise, click the material
name and use the arrow that appears to make the appropriate change.

You now need to set up information about the transient analysis’ time steps, which are the basic ana-
lysis values needed for the transient structural analysis.
The time duration (10 s) is chosen so that the plate oscillates a few times during the analysis. A single
substep is used per coupling iteration. The coupling step size of 0.1s (which is also the size of the iter-
ations) will be defined later in System Coupling.
These time settings are dependent on the physics that you are observing, including the material prop-
erties of the plate. When setting your own transient analysis, make sure that you choose time settings
appropriate to the physics you are solving.
1. In the Mechanical application’s Outline view, select Project > Model > Transient > Analysis Settings.
The details of Analysis Settings appear in the Details of “Analysis Settings” below the Outline
view.
2. In the Details of “Analysis Settings”, specify the following settings under Step Controls (do not type
units next to the time values):
1. Set Step End Time to 10 [s].
2. Set Auto Time Stepping to Off.
3. Set Define by to Substeps.
4. Set the Number of Substeps to 1.
Inserting Loads
The loads applied for the structural analysis are equivalent to the boundary conditions in a fluid analysis.
In this section, you will set the following loads and interface:
• a fixed support on the bottom of the plate
• a fluid-solid interface where the plate interacts with the fluid
• a pressure load on one side of the plate, to start the oscillation
On the surfaces of the plate that lie coincident with the symmetry planes, you will not set a load. With
no load set, the default of an unconstrained condition will be applied on these two surfaces. For this
particular case, this unconstrained condition is a reasonable approximation of the frictionless support
that would otherwise be applied.
Defining the Fixed Support

The fixed support is needed to hold the bottom of the thin plate in place. Set up the fixed support:
1. Right-click Transient in the Outline view, and select Insert > Fixed Support from the shortcut menu.
2. Rotate the geometry using the Rotate button so that the bottom (low-y) face of the solid is visible,
then select Face and click the low-y face.
That face is highlighted to indicate the selection.
3. In the Details of “Fixed Support” view, click Apply beside Geometry to set the fixed support.
If the Apply button is not visible, select Fixed Support in the Outline view and, in the Details
view, click the text next to the Geometry setting to make the Apply button reappear.
Defining the Fluid-Solid Interface

The fluid-solid interface defines the interface between the fluid in the Fluid system and the solid in the
Structural system. Data will be exchanged across this interface during the execution of the simulation.
When setting up your structural system for a coupled analysis, you need to define this interface on regions
in the structural model that will receive force data from the Fluid system.
1. In the Outline view, right-click Transient and select Insert > Fluid Solid Interface from the shortcut
menu.
2. Using the same face-selection procedure described earlier in Defining the Fixed Support (p. 63), select
the three faces of the geometry that form the interface between the structural model and the fluid
model (low-x, high-y and high-x faces). Hold down Ctrl to be able to select multiple faces.
3. In the Details of “Fluid Solid Interface”, beside Geometry, click Apply.
The text next to the Geometry setting changes to 3 Faces.
Note that this load (fluid-solid interface) is automatically given an Interface Number of 1.
Defining the Pressure Load

The pressure load on one side of the plate provides the initial pressure of 100 Pa for the first 0.5 s of
the simulation. This pressure to the plate starts the oscillation. It is defined using tabular data.
1. In the Outline view, right-click Transient in the tree view and select Insert > Pressure from the shortcut
menu.
2. In the Viewer, select the low-x face. In the Details of “Pressure” view beside Geometry, click Apply.
3. In the Details of “Pressure” view, click the cell next to Magnitude, and using the arrow that appears,
select Tabular.
The Tabular Data view appears on the bottom right of the Mechanical application window. The
times of 0 s and 10 s are the beginning and end of your analysis, based on the time duration (10
s) that you specified earlier.
4. In Tabular Data, set a pressure of 100 Pa in the table row corresponding to a time of 0. Do not type in
units.
5. You now need to add two new rows to the table. Do this by typing the new time and pressure data into
the empty row at the bottom of the table. Notice that the rows are automatically re-ordered based on
the time value. Add the data from Table 2: Tabular Data for Step Pressure Load (p. 65).
Table 2: Tabular Data for Step Pressure Load
Time (s) Pressure (Pa)

0 100
0.5 100
0.51 0
10 0
You now have tabular data similar to a step function for your pressure, with 100 Pa applied for 0.5
s. The step function is displayed in the graph to the left of the table.
6. The settings for the structural physics are now complete. Save these settings by selecting File > Save
Project from Mechanical’s main menu.

On the Project Schematic, the Structural system’s Setup cell (A5) appears in an update-required state.
To complete the setup in the Structural system, you need to ensure that all the data is in the right state
in the Project Schematic.
1. In the Structural system, right-click the Setup cell (A5) and select Update from the shortcut menu.
The status of the Setup cell changes to up-to-date. All cells in the Structural system down to the
Setup cell should now appear in an up-to-date state.
2. From the main menu, select File > Save to save the project.
The set up for the Structural system is complete. Remember that you will not solve the structural ana-
lysis from the Mechanical application because you are using the System Coupling system to solve both
Structural and Fluid systems at the same time. In the next section, you will set up the Fluid system.

You will use CFX-Pre to set up your Fluid system, but first you need to generate the mesh using the
Meshing application. The fluid Geometry cell (B2) is up-to-date because it shares the geometry with
the structural analysis, and so you start your Fluid system’s setup with creating a mesh.
Generating the Mesh for the Fluid System

You will generate a mesh for the Fluid system using the Meshing application. For this geometry, you
will use a swept mesh across the x-y plane, creating a hex mesh with a depth of one element.
1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the Fluid system’s Mesh cell (B3) to open the Meshing application.
The Meshing application appears in a separate window.
2. In the Meshing application’s Outline view on the left, expand Geometry to see the two geometries, solid
and Part.
3. For the fluid analysis, you need to generate the mesh for only the fluid bodies. To do this, you need to
first suppress the structural body.
Right-click solid and select Suppress Body
The solid body is now suppressed and its status changes to an x mark. You now will only see the
fluid bodies in the Graphics view.
4. In the Outline on the left, click Mesh. In the Details of “Mesh” below, under Defaults, notice that the
Physics Preference is set to CFD and Solver Preference is set to CFX.
5. Now you need to define sweep as the meshing method, and set up all of the information that the sweep
method needs:
a. In the Outline, right-click Mesh and select Insert > Method.
Automatic Method will appear under Mesh
b. In the Details of “Automatic Method” – Method, next to Scoping Method, click Geometry Selection.
Using the arrow that appears, select Named Selection.
c. Next to Named Selection, click None. Using the arrow that appears, select fluid_domain.
d. Under Definition, set Method to Sweep.
Notice that in the Outline above, under Mesh, the method is now renamed to Sweep Method.
e. In the Details of “Sweep Method” – Method, next to Src/Trg Selection, click Automatic. Using the
arrow that appears, select Manual Source.
Manual Source enables you to set which surfaces are used as the source for the sweep
meshing. Source is highlighted, indicating that information about which surfaces to use is
needed.
f. In the Outline, expand Named Selections. Right-click symmetry2 and select Select Items in Group
to select the five faces that make up the large side of the cavity.
g. In the Outline, select Mesh > Sweep Method. In the Details view, beside Source, click No Selection.
Click the Apply button that appears.
The text next to Source changes to 5 Faces.
h. Set Free Face Mesh Type to All Quad so that all of the mesh elements are quadrilateral.
i. Next to Sweep Num Divs, set the value to 1.
j. In the Outline above, click Mesh. In the Details of “Mesh”, expand Sizing and set Min Size to 0.06
and Max Face Size to 0.2. These settings control the size of the mesh elements that will be generated.
6. Now all of the settings for your swept mesh are complete. In the Outline, right-click Mesh and select
Update.
The swept mesh that you have defined is now generated for your fluid bodies.
7. Select File > Save Project, and then File > Close Meshing to close the Meshing application.
Defining the Physics Using CFX-Pre
In CFX-Pre, you are setting up the fluid analysis, and defining the coupling interface. You will not solve
the fluid analysis from CFX-Solver Manager because you are using the System Coupling system to solve
both structural and fluid systems at the same time.
When setting up your own two-way coupled analysis, it is a best practice to set up and solve the fluid
analysis before continuing with your coupled analysis. If issues occur within your fluid system, the isolated
analysis is easier to troubleshoot than the more complex coupled analysis.
This section describes the step-by-step definition of the fluid physics:

Setting the Analysis Type
Creating the Fluid
Creating the Domain
Creating the Boundaries
Setting Initial Values
Setting Solver Control
Setting Output Control
Setting Execution Control
Setting the Analysis Type

You now need to open your analysis in CFX-Pre and set the fluid analysis to be transient.
1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the Fluid system’s Setup cell (B4) to launch CFX-Pre.
2. In CFX-Pre’s Outline tree view, right-click Analysis Type and select Edit.
3. In the Basic Settings tab, configure the following settings:
a. For Analysis Type > Option, select Transient.
b. For Time Duration > Option, select Total Time, and set the Total Time to 1 s.
c. For Time Steps > Option, select Timesteps, and set the Timesteps to 0.1 s.
d. For Initial Time > Option, select Automatic.
The system coupling’s values for number of time steps and time step size will override the values
set above.
4. Click OK.
Creating the Fluid

Create a custom fluid with specify its properties.
1. At the top, click Material and set the name of the material to Fluid.
a. For Option, select Pure Substance.
b. Select Thermodynamic State, and for Thermodynamic State select Liquid.
3. In the Material Properties tab, configure the following settings:
a. Set Equation of State > Molar Mass to 1 [kg kmol^-1].
The molar mass is not used for this tutorial setup and has been set only for the completeness
of the fluid property.
b. Set Density to 1 [kg m^-3].
c. Expand Transport Properties, and select Dynamic Viscosity. Set Dynamic Viscosity to 0.2 [Pa s].
4. Click OK.
Creating the Domain

In order to enable the ANSYS Mechanical solver to communicate mesh displacements to CFX-Solver,
mesh motion must be activated in CFX-Pre.
1. In the Outline tree view, right-click Case Options > General and select Edit. Ensure that Automatic
Default Domain is selected. Click OK.
2. In the Outline tree view, right-click Simulation > Flow Analysis 1>Default Domain and select Edit.
a. For Fluid 1 > Material, select Fluid.
b. For Pressure > Reference Pressure, set 1 [atm].
Using the default settings, the reference pressure does not affect this simulation. If you use
the expert parameter include pref in forces = t, then the reference pressure will
be included in the total force sent to System Coupling.
c. For Mesh Deformation > Option, select Regions of Motion Specified.
d. For Mesh Deformation > Displacement Rel. To, select Previous Mesh.
e. Expand Mesh Motion Model, and for Option select Displacement Diffusion.
f. For Mesh Stiffness > Option, set Increase near Small Volumes.
g. For Mesh Stiffness > Model Exponent, set 2.
h. For Reference Volume > Option, select Mean Control Volume.
4. In the Fluid Models tab, configure the following settings:
a. For Heat Transfer > Option, select None.
b. For Turbulence > Option, select None (Laminar).
5. Click OK.
Creating the Boundaries
This case needs two types of boundaries:
• Fluid Solid External Boundary (p. 70) which results from the fluid-solid interface, and
• Symmetry Boundaries (p. 70).
Fluid Solid External Boundary

The interface between ANSYS Mechanical and CFX is considered as an external boundary in CFX-Solver
with its mesh displacement being defined by the System Coupling process.
On this boundary, CFX-Solver will send the ANSYS Mechanical solver the forces on the interface. The
ANSYS Mechanical solver will send back the mesh displacement it calculates given the forces passed
from CFX-Solver and the other defined loads.
1. Select Insert > Boundary, and name the new boundary Interface.
a. For Boundary Type, select Wall.
b. For Location, select wall_deforming.
3. In the Boundary Details tab, under Mesh Motion > Options, select System Coupling.
4. Click OK.
Symmetry Boundaries
Since a 2D representation of the flow field is being modeled (using a 3D mesh with one element
thickness in the Z direction) symmetry boundaries will be created on the low and high Z 2D regions of
the mesh.
1. Select Insert > Boundary, and name the new boundary Sym1.
a. For Boundary Type, select Symmetry.
b. For Location, select symmetry1.
3. Click OK.
4. Select Insert > Boundary, and name the new boundary Sym2.
a. For Boundary Type, select Symmetry.
b. For Location, select symmetry2.
6. Click OK.
Setting Initial Values

Since a transient simulation is being modeled, initial values are required for all variables.
1. At the top, click Global Initialization .
2. In the Global Settings tab, configure the following settings:
a. For Caretsian Velocity Components > U, set 0 [m s^-1].
b. For Caretsian Velocity Components > V, set 0 [m s^-1].
c. For Caretsian Velocity Components > W, set 0 [m s^-1].
d. For Relative Pressure, set 0 [Pa].
These settings ensure that the fluid is at rest initially, so that the flow is generated by the initial
motion of the plate.
3. Click OK.
Setting Solver Control

Within each time step, a series of coupling or stagger iterations are performed to ensure that CFX-Solver,
the Mechanical solver and the data exchanged between the two solvers are all consistent. Within each
stagger iteration, the Mechanical solver and CFX-Solver both run once each, but which one runs first
is a user-specifiable setting. In general, it is slightly more efficient to choose the solver that drives the
simulation to run first. In this case, the simulation is being driven by the initial pressure applied in the
Mechanical application, so the Mechanical application is set to solve before CFX-Solver within each
coupling iteration.
1. At the top, click Solver Control .
a. For Advection Scheme > Option, select Upwind.
b. For Transient Scheme > Option, select Second Order Backward Euler.
c. For Convergence Control > Max. Coeff. Loops, set 5.
3. In the Advanced Options tab, select Velocity Pressure Coupling.
4. Click OK.
Setting Output Control

Set up transient results files so that they are written at set intervals.
1. At the top, click Output Control .
2. In the Trn Results tab, click Add new item , and click OK to accept the default name.
3. In the Trn Results tab, configure the following settings:
a. For Transient Result 1 > Option, select Selected Variables.
b. For Output Variable List, select Pressure.
c. For Output Frequency > Option, select Timestep Interval.
d. For Timestep Interval, set 2.
This setting writes a transient results file every two system coupling time steps.
4. In the Monitor tab, select Monitor Objects.
5. Under Monitor Points and Expressions:
a. Click Add new item and accept the default name.
b. For Monitor point 1 > Option, select Cartesian Coordinates.
c. For Output Variables List, select Total Mesh Displacement X.
d. Set the Cartesian Coordinates to [10.05, 1, 0].
This monitor point measures the x-component of the total mesh displacement at the top of
the plate.
6. Click OK.
Setting Execution Control

Set up the CFX-Solver so that it runs with double precision.
1. At the top, click Execution Control .
2. On the Run Definition tab, under Run Settings, select Double Precision.
3. Click OK.
The settings for fluid physics are now complete. Remember that you will not solve the fluid analysis
from CFX-Solver Manager because you are using the System Coupling system to solve both struc-
tural and fluid systems at the same time. In the next section, you will set up the System Coupling
system.
4. Select File > Save Project to save these changes to the project, and select File > Close CFX-Pre to close
CFX-Pre and to return to the Project Schematic.

In the System Coupling system, you are setting up the coupling between your Structural and Fluid
analyses. You will use the System Coupling system to solve both of these analyses at the same time.
Notice that in the Structural and Fluid systems, all of the cells up to Setup are marked as up-to-date.

To set up the transient analysis settings for your coupled analysis:
1. In the Project Schematic, double-click the System Coupling system’s Setup cell (C2).
In the dialog box, click Yes to allow upstream data to be read. The System Coupling system is ob-
taining data from the Structural and Fluid systems’ Setup cells (A5 and B4).
The System Coupling application opens in a new tab in your Workbench project.
2. In Outline of Schematic C1: System Coupling, select System Coupling > Setup > Analysis Settings.
3. In Properties of Analysis Settings (on the bottom left):
a. Set Duration Controls > End Time to 10.
The end time is the same as the Structural system’s time duration. The choice of 10 s gives
enough time to observe the plate oscillating a few times. System Coupling’s end time value
always overrides the number of time steps specified in CFX-Pre.
b. Set Step Controls > Step Size to 0.1.
The coupling iteration size is same as the transient analysis’ time step, and the choice of 0.1
s is small enough for use to observe the plate’s oscillations to a reasonable degree. System
Coupling’s step size value always overrides the time steps size specified in CFX-Pre.
c. Ensure the Maximum Iterations is set to 5.
For this system to converge, 5 coupling iterations within each coupling step is sufficient. If
your own system has trouble converging within the coupling step, you may want to increase
the number of maximum iterations or reduce the time step size.
Creating the Data Transfers

For your two-way coupled analysis, data from the Structural and Fluid solutions need to be shared
throughout the solution process. System Coupling coordinates the transfer of data between these two
systems using the Data Transfers that you create.
1. In Outline of Schematic C1: System Coupling, expand System Coupling > Setup > Participants until
all region components are visible.
2. Ctrl-select the "Fluid Solid Interface" regions (from the Structural system) and "Interface" (from the Fluid
system). With both selected, right-click on one of those regions and select Create Data Transfer.
Under System Coupling > Setup > Data Transfers, Data Transfer and Data Transfer 2 are created:
a. Data Transfer: here, the surface of the Structural system around the plate transfers displacement to
the surface of the Fluid system around the plate.
b. Data Transfer 2: here, the surface of the Fluid system around the plate transfers force to the surface
of the Structural system around the plate.
In the Properties on the bottom left, notice that the source, target and variable transferred are
already defined for each of these data transfers.
Preparing System Coupling for Restarts

You should ensure that System Coupling is producing restart data, in the event that the System Coupling
analysis needs to be restarted.
1. Under System Coupling > Setup > Execution Control, select Intermediate Restart Data Output. The
restart output frequency for the system coupling analysis is defined and controlled by these settings.
2. In Properties of Intermediate Restart Data Output:
• Set Output Frequency to At Step Interval.
• Set Step Interval to 5.
3. Select File > Save to save your settings before solving.
Note
Recall that earlier, the CFX output frequency was set to a time step interval of 2 so that
CFX-Solver will output a transient results file every two time steps (that is, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10,
etc.). CFX-Solver will also output additional result files at 5, 10, 15, 20 etc. based on the
Step Interval frequency specified for the Intermediate Restart Data Output. In CFD-
Post, both sets of files will be available for post-processing.
Solving and Restarting the Coupled Analysis

During the solution process, the System Coupling system coordinates the solving of your Structural and
Fluid systems as well as the data transfers between these two systems. The Fluid system solves using
the Structural solution’s displacement data, and the Structural system solves using the Fluid solution’s
force data.
1. To start solving the coupled analysis, in Outline of Schematic C1: System Coupling, right-click Solution
and select Update.
The solution progress begins, and progress is summarized in the System Coupling Chart and
Solution Information views, as well as the Workbench schematic progress view. This solution will
run for 100 coupling steps because you specified an end time of 10 s in System Coupling (“time
duration” in Mechanical), and each coupling step represents 0.1 s (“step size” in System Coupling,
and “time step” in Mechanical).
Note that you can alternatively start solving the coupled analysis from Workbench’s Project
Schematic:
a. To return to the Project Schematic, click on the Project tab in Workbench. To start the solution
process from the Project Schematic view, right-click the System Coupling system’s Solution cell
(C3) and choose Update.
Notice that the Structural and Fluid systems’ Solution cells’ (A6 and B5) update operations
are disabled because the coupled solution process must be run through the System Coupling
system.
b. Click on the System Coupling tab to return to the System Coupling system and observe the coupled
solution progress.
If you closed the System Coupling application and so there is no System Coupling tab, you
can re-open the System Coupling user interface by double-clicking on its Solution cell (C3).
2. On the bottom right of the screen, click on Show Progress to see the progress of your solution.
3. As your analysis is solved, in the Solution Information view, information from the System Coupling Log
file is displayed. Useful information includes:
a. Each coupling step and coupling iteration is recorded with information about convergence of the
data transfer.
b. At the beginning of the file (scroll up in your Solution Information view), there is an overview of
the participants (the Fluid and Structural system), the data transfers, the System Coupling settings,
and a mapping summary.
c. The Mapping Summary has information about the percentage of nodes on your fluid-structure inter-
face that are mapped. This information is used to determine the quality of the mapping in your system.
4. Restart data will be output during the solution process. An additional note will be seen in the System
Coupling log output under Solution Information indicating the name and frequency of the system
coupling result file. For example, the intermediate result file is written: scResult_01_000005.scr. The restart
data for CFX will also be output at the same frequency during the coupled solution. When the coupled
solution completes, Mechanical restart files (that is, file.r001, file.r002 etc.) will be visible in the Workbench
project files (that is, they are automatically transferred from the solver temporary/scratch folder). The file
naming convention is such that file.r001 refers to a Mechanical restart file at step 5, file.r002 refers to a
Mechanical restart file at step 10, and so on.
5. The System Coupling solution is complete when the System Information view reads “System coupling
run completed successfully.”
atic.

You will use CFD-Post to view the results of your coupled analysis. You have simulated the plate oscil-
lating in a closed cavity filled with air. The results you have obtained show the plate and surrounding
air for a few oscillations, and you will be able to use CFD-Post to see the motion of the plate as it is
damped.
In Workbench, you need to set up the Project Schematic so that CFD-Post can read the solution of
your Structural and Fluid systems.
To view the results in CFD-Post:
1. In the Project Schematic, drag the Structural Solution cell (A6) to the Fluid Results cell (B6).
2. Double-click the CFX Results cell (B6) in the Fluid system to launch CFD-Post.
CFD-Post opens in a new window. Both sets of results are loaded into the CFD-Post session, and
are ready for you to view.
Creating an Animation
An animation is a good way to view results in a transient analysis. In this animation, you will show:
• The pressure and velocity of the fluid on the symmetry plane
• The deformation of the plate geometry, with stress visible
Set up your animation:
1. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Tools > Timestep Selector to open the
Timestep Selector dialog box.
The Timestep Selector dialog box shows the results time history for both CFX and MAPDL system
coupling.
2. In the Timestep Selector dialog box, on the Fluid tab, select a Time of 0.2 s for the Fluid case, then click
Apply.
Close the Timestep Selector dialog box.
3. Under Cases > Fluid at 0.2s > Default Domain, check the “Sym1” zone under the Fluid case to display
that zone, then double-click to edit it.
a. In Details of Sym1, on the Color tab set the Mode to Variable and set Variable to Pressure.
b. On the Render tab, clear the Lighting check box and check Show Mesh Lines.
c. Click Apply to save your changes. The pressure at 0.2 s is now visible on the one side of the fluid
geometry.
4. Under Cases > Structural at 0.2s > Default Domain, check the Default Boundary zone, then double-
click to edit it.
a. In the Details of Default Boundary, on the Color tab, set the Mode to Variable and set Variable
to Von Mises Stress.
b. On the Render tab enable Show Mesh Lines.
c. Click Apply. Stress is now visible on the structural body.
5. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Insert > Vector to create a vector plot.
Accept the default name and click OK.
a. In the Details view on the Geometry tab, set the Locations to Sym1, set Sampling to Face Center,
and ensure that Variable is set to Velocity.
b. On the Symbol tab, set Symbol to Arrowhead3D.
c. Click Apply. A vector plot of the velocity is now visible on the one side of the fluid geometry.
6. In the Outline under User Locations and Plots, clear the Default Legend View 1 check box.
7. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Insert > Text and click OK to accept the
default name.
a. In the Details of Text 1 view, for Text String, type Time = . Check the Embed Auto Annotation,
and from the Expression drop-down list select Time.
b. On the Location tab, set X Justification and Y Justification to None, and set the Position text as
0.1 in the first field, and 0.2 in the second field.
c. Click Apply.
The corresponding transient results are loaded into the Animation in CFD-Post, and when you run the
animation, you can see the mesh move in both the CFX and Mechanical regions.
1. Zoom in so that you can see the oscillating plate clearly.
2. At the top of the CFD-Post application, click Animation .
The Animation dialog box appears.
3. Select Keyframe Animation.
4. In the Animation dialog box:
a. Click New to create KeyframeNo1.
b. Highlight KeyframeNo1, then change # of Frames to 48.
c. Load the last timestep (100) using the Timestep Selector (found at the top of the CFD-Post Inter-
face).
d. Back in the Animation dialog box, click New to create KeyframeNo2.
The # of Frames parameter has no effect for the last keyframe, so leave it at the default value.
e. Click the More Animation Options button , then check the Save Movie check box.
f. Click Browse next to Save Movie to set a path and file name for the movie file.
If the file path is not given, the file will be saved in the directory from which CFD-Post was
launched.
g. Click Save.
The movie file name (including path) will be set, but the movie will not be created yet.
h. If frame 1 is not loaded (shown in the F: text box in the middle of the Animation dialog box), click
To Beginning to load it.
Wait for CFD-Post to finish loading the objects for this frame before proceeding.
i. Click Play the animation .
The movie will be created as the animation proceeds. This process will be slow, since a timestep
must be loaded and objects must be created for each frame.
j. Save the results by selecting File > Save Project from the main menu.
k. Close the animation dialog box. Your animation is now saved in the file path you specified. You can
play the video in any media player.
Plotting Results on the Solid

You will use a chart to display the deformation of the solid body. One point at the top of the plate is
used to track the displacement in the chart. This chart is a useful way to view the damping that occurs
in the plate’s motion due to the interaction with the fluid.
1. Create a point in the solid domain by using node number 77. This point is at the top corner of the solid
body, and will be used to track the deformation of the plate.
a. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Insert > Location > Point. Click OK
to accept the default name.
b. In the Details view, on the Geometry tab, set Domains to All Structural Domains, set Method to
Node Number, and set Node Number to 77.
c. Click Apply. On your model, cross hairs appear on node number 77, so you can see where this point
is on your solid body.
2. To view the deformation using the point you just created, insert an XY Transient Chart for the data at this
node (“Point 1”). In the chart you create, the x-axis is time, and the y-axis is the total mesh displacement.
a. From the task bar at the top of the CFD-Post application, select Insert > Chart; click OK to accept
the default name.
b. In the Details view, on the General tab, set Type to XY - Transient or Sequence
c. On the Data Series tab, for Name type System Coupling, and set Location to Point 1.
d. On the X Axis tab, ensure that the Expression is Time.
e. On the Y Axis tab, set the Variable to Total Mesh Displacement X.
3. Click Apply to generate the chart of mesh displacement over time.
After the chart is generated, note the damping that is visible in the plate’s motion. The plate does
not return to equilibrium in this chart because of the length of time we chose for the simulation
of this case. To see the full damping of the system, you would need to simulate the case for a
longer time duration.
4. Save the project and then select File > Close CFD-Post.
Post-Processing in Mechanical
You can also see the structural results of your FSI analysis in the Mechanical application. Note that the
Mechanical system does not have any information about results on the fluid bodies.
1. From the Project Schematic, double-click the Results cell (A7) to relaunch ANSYS Mechanical.
In the dialog box, select Yes to read the upstream data. The Mechanical application opens in a
new window.
2. In the Outline view, right-click Solution (A6) and select Insert > Stress > Equivalent (von Mises) results.
3. Right-click Solution (A6) again and select Insert > Deformation > Directional results.
4. Right-click Solution (A6) again and select Evaluate All Results.
The equivalent stress and directional deformation of the place are now visible on your model.
5. Under Solution (A6) click Equivalent Stress to view the stress on the structural body.
6. Under Solution (A6) click Directional Deformation to view the deformation of the structural body.
7. From your Project Schematic, save the project.
All systems are now complete and the Project Schematic is up-to-date.

This section describes how to restart the coupled analysis from a restart point. Here, the solution is re-
started from 5 s, halfway through the simulation.
1. In the Mechanical application,
a. Under Project > Model > Transient, select Analysis Settings.
b. In Analysis Settings Details, set Restart Type to Manual.
c. In Analysis Settings Details, set Current Restart Point to Load Step 50, Substep 1 (that is, 5s).
d. Close ANSYS Mechanical.
2. From the Project Schematic, double-click the Fluid Solution cell (B5) to open CFX-Solver Manager:
a. On the Initial Values tab, set Initialization Option to Initial Conditions.
b. Select Initial Values Specification.
c. Under Initial Values Specification > Initial Values, select Initial Values 1.
d. Under Initial Values Specification > Initial Values > Initial Values 1 Settings > File Name, click
Browse .
The Initial Values File dialog box appears.
e. In the Initial Values File dialog box, under Files of type, select CFX-Solver Backup Results
(*.bak).
f. Browse to your working directory, select SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_files > dp0 >

CFX > CFX > Fluid_001 > 50_SC_ess.bak from your working directory, and click Open.
g. Under Initial Values Specification, ensure Continue History From is selected and set to Initial Values
1.
h. Ensure Use Mesh From is set to Solver Input File.
i. Click Save Settings and then close CFX-Solver Manager.
3. From the Project Schematic, double-click the System Coupling Setup cell (C2):
a. From the outline, select Setup > Analysis Settings.
b. In Properties of Analysis Settings, under Initialization Controls, from the Coupling Initialization
drop-down list, select Step 50, Time 5[s].
c. Optional: Under Execution Control > Intermediate Restart Data Output, set Output Frequency to
None. If this is not done, there will be a second set of restart files output under the Workbench project.
4. To start solving the coupled analysis restart, right-click the Solution branch in Outline of Schematic C1:
System Coupling, and select Update. A summary of the solution progress is in the System Coupling Chart
(starting from 5s), in the Solution Information views (also starting from 5s), as well as in the Workbench
Schematic Progress view.
5. Once your solution is complete, select File > Save to save your project.
6. You have now used the Workbench, CFX, Mechanical, and System Coupling interfaces to complete this
tutorial’s simulation.
When you are finished viewing your results, select File > Save from the main menu, and then File
> Exit to close your Workbench project.
T
Index transient mechanical analysis
example, 10, 63
C transient results files
CHT (Conjugate Heat Transfer) example, 33 writing at intervals, 71
conjugate heat transfer transient scheme
example, 33 setting solver controls for, 71
transient simulation
E requires initial values, 71
examples
2D modeling with 3D mesh, 70
CHT, 33
conjugate heat transfer, 33
heat exchanger, 33
solid region, 33
steady state simulation, 33
transient mechanical analysis, 10, 63
transient results files
writing at intervals, 71
transient scheme
setting solver controls for, 71
transient simulation
requires initial values, 71
external coupling
how to choose, 71
F
fluid-solid interactions, 1, 55
H
heat exchanger example, 33
M
moving mesh
configuring, 69
S
simulation example
steady state, 33
solid
region example, 33
solvers
coupling two-model interactions, 2, 55
stagger iterations, 71
steady state simulation example, 33
structural deformations
modeling, 1, 55
structural properties
assigning the material to geometry, 10, 62

System Coupling Users Guide - r170

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

System Coupling Users Guide - r170

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

System Coupling Tutorials

ANSYS, Inc. Release 17.0

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

U.S. Government Rights

Published in the U.S.A.

Adding Geometry to the Project ..................................................................................................... 37

Creating the Data Transfers ............................................................................................................. 73

Component Feature Details

This tutorial includes:

1. Optional: Preparing for a Command-line Run (p. 4)

Overview of the Problem to Solve

Figure 1: Dimensions of the oscillating plate case

The two-way coupling involves two data transfers:

Creating the Project

1. Start ANSYS Workbench:

3. Select File > Save or click Save .

5. Under File name, type SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate and click Save.

Copy the supplied geometry file, oscillating_plate.agdb, to the user_files directory

Optional: Preparing for a Command-line Run

1. Create a high-level directory named SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine. This directory

2. In the SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine directory, create subdirectories within which

Adding Analysis Systems to the Project

To add these three systems to your Workbench project:

8. Save the project.

• adding a new material,

• sharing the geometry,

• setting up the physics in the Structural system,

• setting up the physics in the Fluid system,

• viewing the results in CFD-Post.

Adding a New Material for the Project

3. Close the Engineering Data tab to return to the Project Schematic.

Adding Geometry to the Project

The DesignModeler application opens in a separate window.

Defining the Physics in the Mechanical Application

Generating the Mesh for the Structural System

The Mechanical application opens in a separate window.

b. Click an edge that lies parallel to the X axis.

c. In the Outline, right-click Mesh and select Insert > Sizing.

d. Beside Type, select Number of Divisions from the drop-down menu.

e. Beside Number of Divisions, select 1.

Edge Direction Number of Divisions

Assigning the Material to the Geometry

Setting the Basic Analysis Values

1. Set Step End Time to 10 [s].

2. Set Auto Time Stepping to Off.

3. Set Define by to Substeps.

4. Set the Number of Substeps to 1.

• a fixed support on the bottom of the plate

• a fluid-solid interface where the plate interacts with the fluid

• a pressure load on one side of the plate, to start the oscillation

Defining the Fixed Support

then select Face and click the low-y face.

That face is highlighted to indicate the selection.

The text next to the Geometry setting changes to 1 Face.

Defining the Fluid-Solid Interface

3. In the Details of “Fluid Solid Interface”, beside Geometry, click Apply.

The text next to the Geometry setting changes to 3 Faces.

Defining the Pressure Load

The text next to the Geometry setting changes to 1 Face.

Table 1: Tabular Data for Step Pressure Load

Time (s) Pressure (Pa)

Preparing for a Command-Line Run of the Structural System

2. Specify the path and APDL Input File (SystemCouplingOscillatingPlate_CmdLine\structur-