2011ANSYS,Inc. May1,2012 1 Release14.

0
14.0Release
SolvingFSIApplicationsUsing
ANSYSMechanicalandANSYSFluent
Lecture6
CosimulationviaSystemCoupling
PartIV
2011ANSYS,Inc. May1,2012 2 Release14.0
Outline
Convergence
ThislecturefocusesonconvergingSystemCouplingsimulations.
Therearemanycontrolsthatcanimpactconvergence,sowellstart
byidentifyingthecontrolsavailable.
Obtaininggoodconvergencerequiresamethodicalworkflow.Well
discuss:
Usingseparatefluidandstructuralsimulationstofirstidentify
anynonFSIproblems
CorrectinitializationforFSIcases
Monitoringconvergence
Convergencecontrolsandtheireffect
IdentifyingunstableFSIcaseandhowtostabilizethesolution
Generalconvergenceadviceanddebugtools
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Convergencerequiresanunderstandingofthesolution
processandthephysicsthatyoursetupdefines
Thismaybedifferentthantherealworldphysics
E.g.yourinitialconditionsmaybedifferent
Whenconvergencedifficultiesareencountered,follow
thesolutionprocess:
Usemonitorpointsandbackupfilestoanswersthese
questions
Convergence
How does
the flow field
respond?
What is the
force passed to
the structure?
How does
the structure
respond?
What are the
displacements
passed back
to Fluent?
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Thereareanumberofcontrolsthatplayaroleingood
convergence,including:
Initialization
TimeStepSize
StabilityControls
NumberofFluentiterationsperstep
NumberofCouplingIterations
InterfaceUnderRelaxationFactors
Itisimportanttounderstandwhyacasehas
convergenceproblemsbeforeadjustingthesecontrols
Convergence
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BeforestartinganFSIsimulation,youshouldrun
separatefluidsandstructuralsimulationsusing
representativeloads:
Checksthatthebasicsetupiscorrectforeachside
UsesettingsthatareascloseaspossibletotheplannedFSI
simulation(sametimestepsize,etc)
StructuralsimulationusingafixedPressureboundary
AFluentsimulationwithafixedboundaryorasimplymoving
boundary
Ifitsdifficulttoproviderepresentativefluidloads,
couldrunaSystemCouplingsimulationwithloads
passed1wayfromFluenttothestructure
Convergence
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Next,considerhowtoinitializeyourFSIsimulation.Well
consideratransient2wayFSIsimulationhere:
Option1:Noprevioussteadystateresultsprovided
TheinitialFluentsolutioncomesfrompressureandvelocityvalues
setinFluent
Thestructureisnotprestressed(zeroinitialdisplacement)
Suitablewhentheinitialfluidpressurefieldisknownand
canbespecifiedaccurately(typicallyzero)
Noinitialforcepassedtothestructure
MakeuseoftheOperatingPressuresettinginFluent
Nootherloadsonthestructurethatrequireprestressing
Convergence Initialization
2011ANSYS,Inc. May1,2012 7 Release14.0
Convergence Initialization
Option2:SteadystateFluentresultsprovided
TheinitialFluentsolutioncomesfromaprevioussteadystaterun
Thestructureisnotprestressed(zeroinitialdisplacement)
SuitablewhentheinitialfluidforceontheFSIinterfacefromthe
steadystateflowresultswillnotcausesuddendeformationofthe
structureatthestartofthetransient,causingthesolverstofail
Nootherloadsonthe
structurethatrequire
prestressing
IftransientFluentresultsareprovided
asaninitialsolution,thetimemustbe
resettozerotobeconsistentwiththe
initialSystemCouplingtimeusing:
(rpsetvar flow-time 0)
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Convergence Initialization
Option3:SteadystateFSIresultsprovided
TheinitialFluentandstructuralsolutionscomefromaconverged
steadystate2wayFSIsimulation
Thisprovidesthemostconsistentstartingpointfora
transient
Suitablewhenyouneedtoprestress/deformthe
structuretoproduceasmoothstarttothetransient
RequiresaSteady/StatictoTransientrestart,whichisnot
currentlysupported
ButcanrunaninitialtransientSystemCouplingcasethat
behaveslikeaSteady/Staticcase
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TomimicaSteady/Staticcase:
SetTimeIntegrationoffintheTransientStructuralsystem
EquivalenttoaStaticStructuralcase
Fluentmustremainintransientmode
Canbehavelikeasteadystatesolverbyusingthepressurebased
coupledsolverwith1iterationpertimestep
UnderSolutionControlssetaFlowCourantNumberof1e6orhigher
andExplicitRelaxationFactorsof1forMomentumandPressure
SettheTimeStepSizeasapseudotransienttimestep
Solve,thenrestartafterturningonTimeIntegrationand
adjustingtheFluentsettingstoresolvethetruetransient
SeeRestartssection
Convergence Initialization
2011ANSYS,Inc. May1,2012 10 Release14.0
Option2(steadystateflowsolution)isthemostcommon
waytoinitializeatransientFSIcase
Typicallyprovidesanonzeroforcetothestructureatthe
startofthetransient
ThismaybeOK,producingasmallbumpatthestartofthe
transientthatcanbeignoredwhenpostprocessingtheresults
ItmaynotbeOKwhen:
Thefluidis(oralmostis)incompressible,particularlywhen
combinedwithasmalltimestep
Evensmallbumpscancauselargepressurechanges

Convergence Initialization
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ItmaynotbeOKwhen:
Thestructureisveryflexible
TheinitialforceproduceslargedeformationsthatcauseFluentto
failorproducelargepressurechangesthatarepassedbacktothe
structure
Theinitialbumpcausesstructuralvibrationsthattakealong
timetodieout
Stiffnessproportionaldamping(BETAdamping)canbeusedto
dampouttheunwantedhighfrequencystructuralresponse
Forceanddisplacementmonitorpointshelpshow
whatshappeningatthestartoftherun
Remembertotrackmonitordataeveryiterationsoyoucansee
howtheforce/displacementrespondateachCoupling
Iteration
Convergence Initialization
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Forstartupproblemsgobacktothequestionsoutlined
earlier:
Whataretheinitialforcespassedtothestructure?
Iftheresalargestepchangeintheforces,howwouldyouexpect
thestructuretorespond,givenyourtimestep?
Whatdisplacementscanyouexpect?
Howwouldyouexpectthefluidsystemtorespondtothose
displacements,givenyourtimestep?
Transientstartuprobustnessproblemsareoftenmade
worsebyreducingthetimestepsize
Foragivendeformation,thefluidhaslesstimetorespond>
largeracceleration,largerpressurechanges
Convergence Initialization
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ThedefaultDataTransferconvergencechartprovidesagoodoverview
oftheforce/displacementconvergenceattheFSIinterface(s)
Thesawtoothpatternisdesirable,showingconvergencewithineach
timestep,thentypicallyajumpatthestartofthenexttimestep
Bydefault,thenormalizedchangeinadatatransfermustbelessthan
1%(i.e.2ontheLogscale)tobeconverged
MonitoringConvergence
Note:thischartshows
CouplingSteponthex
axis,soitisclearthat
convergenceisachieved
withineachstep.Coupling
Iterationisthedefault.
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Asalreadydiscussed,alsomonitor:
TheFluentsolveroutputtoassessflowfield
convergence
TheMechanicalsolveroutputtoassessstructural
convergenceandthereceivedforces
Fluentmonitorpointsforforceanddisplacementat
eachiteration
MonitoringConvergence
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Thereareanumberofconvergencecontrols,soitseasy
toheaddownthewrongpath
Ingeneralstartwith:
Default#ofCouplingIterations:Min:1,Max5(fortransients)
DefaultDataTransferUnderRelaxationFactor:1
Perhaps5FluentiterationsperCouplingIteration(for
transients),butthisiscasedependent
ATimeStepSizebasedonthephysicsyouneedtoresolve
1/20
th
ofthehigheststructuralfrequencyofinterest
FlowfieldCourantnumber
Fromthisstartingpointyoucanadjustthecontrols
basedonthesolutionbehavior
ConvergenceControls
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AdjustthenumberofCouplingIterationswhen:
Acaseisconvergingwell,withforcesand/or
displacementsmovingtowardsasteadyvaluewithina
stepwithoutoscillating
YoujustneedafewmoreCouplingIterationstoreachtheData
TransferConvergenceTarget
Butconsiderreducingthetimestepfirstfortransientcases
Steadystatecasestypicallyneedmorethan5iterations,
assumingyouareusing1step
Alternativelyusing1iterationandmanysteps
Usuallytheresnoneedtochangethiscontrolfortransient
cases(donotmakethisthefirstthingyouchange)
ConvergenceControls CouplingIterations
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ConvergenceControls URF
AdjusttheDataTransferUnderRelaxationFactorwhen:
Youarerunningasteadystatecase
Shouldmovegraduallytowardsasteadystatesolution
AtypicalURFmightbe0.5
Fortransientcasesusethedefaultvalueof1ingeneral
Thephysicalinertiaofthesystemprovidesstabilitythatisnot
thereinsteadystatecases
Sometransientcasesareunstable,withforces/displacements
oscillatingwithinatimestep
IfyoucanachievestabilitybyreducingtheURFslightly,sayno
lowerthan0.75,thenthisisacceptable
Otherwiseusethestabilitycontrolsdiscussedlater
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Keepthefollowingformulainmindifyouadjustthe
UnderRelaxationFactor:
% LoadReceived=(1 (1 URF)^
Max.CouplingIters
)*100%
Forexample,givenaURFof0.25andamaximumof5
CouplingIterations,wehave:
% LoadReceived=(1 (1 0.25)^
5
)*100%=76%
Sobytheendofthestep,only76%ofthechangeina
loadwillhavebeenreceivedbythereceivingsolver
Assumingastepchangeintheload,whichthenremains
constant
ConvergenceControls URF
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JudgingthenumberofFluentiterationsto
useperCouplingIteration(notperTime
StepasshownintheGUI)requiresyouto
watchtheforcemonitorpointbehavior.
ConvergenceControls FluentIterations
ToomanyFluentiterationsper
CouplingStep wastedCPU.A
reasonableforceforthis
CouplingIterationcouldbe
obtainedinfeweriterations.
1Timestepshown
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ToofewFluentiterations
perCouplingIteration will
needtousemoreCoupling
Iterationunnecessarily
Theforceisincreasing
steadilywithineach
CouplingIterationandfrom
oneCouplingIterationto
thenext allowitto
increasefurtherbefore
exchangingdatawiththe
MAPDLsolver
ConvergenceControls FluentIterations
NoticeitsnotobviouswhereeachCouplingIterationstarts/ends
5 CouplingIterationsperstepwereusedhere
Timestep1
Timestep2 Timestep3
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Reasonablenumber
ofFluentiterations
Theforceisjust
startingtoflatten
outwithineach
CouplingIteration
ConvergenceControls FluentIterations
C.Iter 1 C.Iter 2 C.Iter 3 C.Iter 4 C.Iter 5
1TimeStep
TheresnopointinfullyconvergingwithineachCoupling
Iteration,sincetheforcewillchangeinthenextone
MoreFluentiterationsinthefirstCouplingIterationwouldhavecaused
theforcetomovefurtherawayfromtheconvergedvalue
Less Fluentiterationscanhelpstability keepstightercoupling
betweenMAPDLandFluentbynotlettingtheforcemovetoofarbefore
updatingthedisplacements
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TimeStepSizeguidelinesaregenerallythesameasforthe
individualsolvers;afewthingstowatchfor:
Makesuretheindividualsolversconvergewellusingthe
selectedtimestep
Asnotedearlier,ifyouhaveabumpatthestartofa
transient,asmallertimestepcanmakethisworse,not
better
Iftheforces/displacementsarechangingalotfromone
timesteptothenext,considerreducingthetimestep
buttoosmallatimestepmaystarttoresolvehigh
frequencystructuralmodesthatarenotofinterest
ConvergenceControls TimeStepSize
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SomeFSIcasesareunstablenomatterwhatsettingare
usedforthepreviousconvergencecontrols
Unstablecasestypicallyincludeoneormoreofthe
following:
Thinstructures
E.g.sheetmetal,diaphragms,membranes
StructuralmaterialswithalowYoungsModulus
E.g.hyperelasticmaterials,rubber
Gasesmodeledasconstantdensity(incompressible)
orliquids
ConvergenceStabilization
2011ANSYS,Inc. May1,2012 24 Release14.0
Toidentifyanunstablecaselookatthe
force/displacementmonitorpointsagain
Oscillationwithin atimestep,fromoneCouplingIteration
tothenext,isindicativeofFSIinterfaceinstability
ConvergenceStabilization
1TimeStep
Mechanical
solverfailed
Pressurevalues
veryhigh
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Theoscillationswilldevelopinthefirsttimestep
ThecasemayfailwithininthefirstfewCoupling
Iterations,oritmaymakeittothesecondorthirdtime
step,withtheoscillationsgrowinginmagnitude
Itisimportanttodistinguishandunstablecasefroma
poorlyinitializedcase
Apoorlyinitializedcaseshowsasuddenjumpatthestart
oftherun
Improvetheinitializationifthiscausesfailure
Anunstablecasestartswithsmalloscillationsthatgrow
Butwithhighlyunstablecasesyoumayonlyreachthe2
nd
or
3
rd
CouplingIteration,soitcanresembleasuddenjump
ConvergenceStabilization
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InstabilityMechanism:
ConvergenceStabilization
Fluent Mechanical
Initialpressure
onFSIinterface
Forcespassed
toMechanical
Fluent Mechanical
P
Theinterfacedeforms
inMechanicalduefluid
pressure
Fluent
Mechanical
P
Pressure
decreasesin
Fluentdueto
increasein
volume
Fluent Mechanical
Theinterface
deformsin
Mechanicalinthe
oppositedirection
Fluent
Mechanical
P
PressureinFluent
increasesmore
duetoreduced
volume
Displacements
passedtoFluent
Forcespassed
toMechanical
Displacements
passedtoFluent
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Tostabilizethesetypesofcases,tworpvars areavailable
intheFluentTUI:
(rpsetvar dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility-type <value>)
(rpsetvar dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility <value>)
Userpgetvar toquerythecurrentvalues:
(rpgetvar dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility-type)
(rpgetvar dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility)
ConvergenceStabilization
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Fromanumericalpointofview,theserpvars modify
thecoefficientsintheFluentlinearsolutionmatrixfor
thecontinuityequationforcellsattachedtoanFSI
interface
Fromaphysicalpointofview,thisslowsdownthe
pressureresponseinFluentattheFSIinterface
Thismeansthepressuredoesntincrease/decreaseasfastin
Fluentwhenanewdisplacementisreceived
Thisdampedpressureresponseallowsustomovetowardsa
convergedsolutioninacontrolledway,ratherthanoscillating
around
Therpvars havenoeffectonconverged results
ConvergenceStabilization
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Thesc-bc-compressibility-type rpvar defaultsto0,
whichmeansoff
Valuesof1and2arevalidandrepresentdifferentwaysto
adjustthematrixcoefficients
Type2hasprovenmostreliableandisalwaysrecommended
Thesc-bc-compressibility rpvar isascalingfactor
forthematrixcoefficientsanddefaultsto0,which
meansnoadjustmentismade
Values>0willadddampingwhenthetypeissetto1or2
Thelargerthevaluethemoredamping
Theappropriatevalueiscasespecific,butisgenerallyinthe
range0.01 500
ConvergenceStabilization
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Lookingathowthedampingvaluechangesthe
pressureresponse:
ConvergenceStabilization
(rpsetvar 'dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility 0)
Baselinedivergentcase
(rpsetvar 'dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility 1)
Stilldivergent,butcompletesmore
CouplingIterations
Noticethepressureresponseisno
longerastepchange
1TimeStep
1TimeStep
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ConvergenceStabilization
(rpsetvar 'dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility 10)
Nowstable,butoverdamped.
Notquitefullyconvergedwithinthe
timestepafter7CouplingIterations.
1TimeStep
(rpsetvar 'dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility 2)
Nolongerdiverges,butstillunder
damped.Didnotfullyconvergeafter
7CouplingIterations.
1TimeStep
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Forthecaseshownavalueof3wasthemagicnumber,
butthiswillbedifferentforothercases
Alwaysstartwithsmallvaluesthenincrease
Thefirstvalueyoutryshouldstilldiverge
Avoidsfallingintoatrapwheretheresponseissoover
dampedthatitappearsflat(i.e.converged!)
ConvergenceStabilization
(rpsetvar 'dynamesh/sc-bc-compressibility 3)
Goodresponse.Wellconvergedafter
5CouplingIterations.
1TimeStep
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Notethattheresponseisafunctionoftherpvar value
ANDthenumberofFluentiterations
Considerthecaseshown ifyouperformmoreFluent
iterationsperCouplingIterationeachoscillationwouldextend
further(moreunstable)
Inpracticesetthenum.ofFluentiterationstoasmallnumber
andthenadjusttherpvar togettheoptimalresponse
TheresnopointinusinglotsofFluentiterations
ConvergenceStabilization
1TimeStep
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See2022119intheKnowledgeResourcesontheANSYSCustomerPortal
forarecordeddemoofstabilizinganunstableFSIcase(justsearchFSI)
ConvergenceStabilization
2011ANSYS,Inc. May1,2012 35 Release14.0
Anumberofredflagsthatmayindicateyouareonthe
wrongpathtoimprovingconvergence:
UseofalargenumberofCouplingIterationspertimestep
Useofsmallinterfaceunderrelaxationfactorsintransient
cases
Atimestepsizethatismuchsmallerthanthatrequiredbythe
fluidonlyorstructuralonlysimulations
AlargenumberofFluentiterationsperstep,whencompared
withafluidonlysimulation
ConvergenceAdvice
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ConvergenceAdvice
Iftherunfails:
Findoutwhichsolverfailedfirst lookatall theoutput
filestodeterminewheretheerrorstarted
Checkthemapping
IfMAPDL,werereasonableforcespassed?
IfFluent,werereasonabledisplacementsreceived?
Weretheindividualfieldsolversconverging?
Ifarunfailsinthefirstfewtimesteps,rerunforalimited
numberoftimestepsand/orwithalimitednumberof
CouplingIterationssothatyoucangenerateresultsfiles
andexaminetheresults
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Canrequestadditiondebugoutput
inSCunderExecutionControl
Usefulfordebugging:
Mappingproblems
Toseetheforce/displacementvalues
thataretransferred
Simulationsthatcrash
Findoutwhichsolverencountered
problemsfirst,whattheerrorswere
DebugOutput
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Summary
Obtaininggoodconvergencerequiresagoodunderstandingof
thedatatransferprocessbetweenparticipantsolversandhow
eachsolverwillreacttothenewboundarydatareceived.
ThoughtneedstobegiventohowSystemCouplingcasesare
initialized,particularlywhentheinitialfluidfieldwillcause
significantstructuraldeformations
Relyingonerrormessagesoradjustingcontrolswithout
understandingwhyasolverfailedisunlikelytoresolve
problems
Examiningmonitordataandbackupfilesareimportanttoolsto
guideparameterchangestoimproveconvergence
MonitordataisalsousedtoidentifyunstableFSIcases.rpvars
inFluentcanbeusedtostabilizethesecases