What’s New in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2017

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The newest release of SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2017 is packed with new user-requested enhancements that make it even easier and faster to determine the impact of a liquid or gas flow on your product designs during the design phase—long before physical protoypes are created. The insight gained from these computational fluid dynamic (CFD) studies provide insight that can help you pinpoint problems earlier so you can fix problems faster and at less cost. This blog post will introduce you to four new features including: import condition in model, multi-parameter optimization, transient simulation performance, instant switching between transient time moments.

  • Conditions from Low-Level Component: Import Condition in Model: The ability to import from model conditions defined for other projects (such as material properties, heat power etc.) can dramatically simplify project definition by creating a library of models with pre-defined conditions. How does this work in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2017?

First, a Flow Simulation project is saved in directly inside of your SOLIDWORKS model. If the model is used in an assembly, you can use conditions defined in this low-level component for the higher-level assembly without recreating this condition again.

For example, you analyze a PCB first and then you want to analyze the full electronics enclosure with the few PCBs installed. In that case instead of creating conditions for all PCBs again inside the assembly a few times, you just link the assembly’s project to the conditions defined in the PCB.

By default conditions are linked, so changing conditions in the component automatically updates conditions in the assembly. However, you can break the link so imported conditions are not linked to the original component.

To use conditions from a component (part of assembly), open the Import from Model dialog and select the project you want to use data from.

Once imported, conditions appear in the Stored in Model tree in the linked mode so that they are linked to the conditions in the component.

To break the link and move conditions to the main assembly’s project, right-mouse click on a condition in the Stored in Model tree and select Move to Project.

  • Multi-Parameter Optimization: Multi-parameter optimization is added to the Parametric Study. You can now conduct an optimization study for more than one input variable. You can select geometry or simulation parameters as variables. For each variable you define the range of variation and the target optimization goal such as maximize, minimize or match a Value.

To conduct multi-parameter optimization, create Parametric Study and in the top left corner set the Parametric study mode to Multi-parameter Optimization.

  • Transient Simulation Performance: Ability to minimize transient data saved by saving selected parameters only instead of the whole field. In the Calculation Control Options under the Saving tab, you can define when to save Full Results, and alternatively you can define time moments to save only Selected Parameters.

Saving selected parameters with a higher frequency allows you to explore interested quantities in all details while saving less data to the hard drive.

  • Instant Switching Between Transient Time Moments: A new transient post-processing mode allows you to explore transient results without waiting for a time moment to load. You move a slider and results are updated immediately.

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2017 is providing you with enhancements to optimize designers faster and easier than before. Explore what’s new today by visiting solidworks.com/launch.

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Lotfi Derbal

Lotfi Derbal

Lotfi Derbal is a Mechanical Engineer with a B. Sc. and M.Sc. in Engineering from Université de Paris VI, UPMC. He spent more than eight years at SIMPOE as Technical Director. His areas of expertise include finite elements, simulation software (structural, CFD, etc.), and plastics simulation. Lotfi joined DS SolidWorks in 2013 as Product Manager for SOLIDWORKS Plastics and Flow Simulation.