Creating Runs
Overview
Once geometries have been created/uploaded for a Project, a Run can be created. Runs are created from Created/Imported parts and a Recipe. Runs, once created, can be accessed from the Navigation Menu on the left.
There are two ways to create new runs - Parametric Sweep and New Run. For 2D airfoils, if you are planning to run an angle of attack sweep, it makes the most sense to choose Parametric Sweep over New Run. Parametric Sweep allows for easy multiple run creation over a range of angles of attack or velocities. New Run is more useful for 'one off' cases. Therefore, the Parametric Sweep process will be described first then the New Run option will be described.
It has been found that the most accurate way to run an airfoil is to use a parametric sweep. The way this works is that the first angle of attack (often, but not always, 0 degrees) is created and ran then the rest of the sweep follows from that first case. The next angle of attack is run as a continuation of the previously finished case by altering the flow direction to correspond to the new angle of attack. That case is run until it converges and then the next angle of attack uses this solution as a starting point and so on until the sweep is completed. Other than more accurate results, another benefit is that this method requires only one meshing of the airfoil and then subsequent runs are all ran from the original meshing. This saves computational resources and is reflected in the token cost per run.
We recommend that all airfoil cases be run using the parametric sweep option even if you think you will only run one angle of attack. This is because if you later decide to run another angle of attack it will be more economical (meshing is not required) and more accurate as indicated above.
Contents of this Page
Creating a Parametric Sweep
The Parametric Sweep function is a Run Sweep function. Instead of setting up multiple individual runs, you have the ability to setup a sweep of runs with this option. All of the jobs are sequentially dependent on the previous job.
Click on Parametric Sweep on top left navigation bar.
Click New Parametric Sweep and then select new. (Image 1)
Change the parent name to something meaningful. The sweep of runs will then be named parentName.0, parentName.1, etc when they are published. Note: Names cannot begin with numbers or special characters. (Image 2)
Select the Run Recipe (Image 2). There are three options
Airfoil-0.0.1 this is a koSST turbulence model
Airfoil-0.0.1-iret this is a Langtry Mentor transition model. This must be run from a a previously solved koSST case. Description of how that must be done is below.
airfoil_gurney_template-0.0.01 this is an updated meshing scheme to accommodate the inclusion of a Gurney on the trailing edge of the airfoil and uses the koSST turbulence model
Enter all available run setup inputs. Input parameters for angle of attack and velocity will be blocked out and you will have the opportunity to enter them in a table below. (Image 3)
Input the altitude. (The pressure, density, etc values are automatically populated to correspond to the altitude input. However, these values can be adjusted to match wind tunnel or other conditions if needed for comparison.)
Input the Reference Chord Length.
Select the parts. Multi-Element airfoils would need each of the elements selected so you would have multiple boxes checked in that case. (Image 4)
Click Save just below the geometry selection.
Image 1: Create Parametric Sweep
Image 2: Airfoil Recipes
Image 3: Input parameters
Image 4: Including the Geometry
Once you have Saved the initial settings as described above you can enter the sweep parameters.
Double click (or select and hit F2) in the desired box in the table and enter the available parametric sweep inputs. The 'Name' and 'Submitted' columns will auto populate. 'Parent Run' column will also auto populate but may need editing prior to submission.
Fill out the run sweep in the table making sure that the first row in the table is the baseline case (in our example it is 0 deg). The baseline case will be the one used to create the mesh that will be used for all the solutions in the sweep. For our example, the 4 deg case will be run after the baseline and is a continuation of the 0 deg case with the velocity direction change corresponding to 4 deg. After the 4 deg case completes then the 6 deg case will start from the results of the 4 deg case and with the required velocity direction change, and so on in series until all cases are complete.
Fill out as many rows as desired in the table to create the sweep. We suggest putting the negative angles at the end.
Once all sweep conditions are entered, click Save again, just above where it says Parametric Sweep.
After you save, you can make changes to the 'parent run' for any case as needed. For the example in Image 6a, the negative angles of attack are last in the table but it is desired to have the parent run for the -2 deg case be from the baseline case (0 deg AoA in this example). Therefore the parent run for -2 deg was changed to RUN010.0 and for -4 deg case the parent run is the -2 deg run as can be seen in the image.
Once these updates have been make you can Submit All or Submit the runs individually as desired. It is recommended that you submit the baseline case (0 deg in our example) first and make sure it meshes and runs properly before submitting subsequent runs.
The tree structure below the table shows the dependencies of the runs. This is shown for our example in Image 6b.
After running the initial sweep you might find you want to add some additional angles of attack to better define your curve. This can be done by adding points at the bottom of the table then saving the table using the Save button just above 'Parametric Sweep' and then adjusting the name of the parent runs as necessary.
Image 5a: Sweep before it is saved
Image 5b: Parametric Sweep before editing Parent Run
Image 6a: Parametric Sweep with Corrected Run Dependency
Image 6b: Example: Run Dependency Tree
Creating a Single Run
Click the New Run item in the Navigation Menu on the left side of the interface.
Change the name to something meaningful
Select a Recipe. There are two options
Airfoil-0.0.1 this is a koSST turbulent model
Airfoil-0.0.1-iret this is a Langtry Mentor transition model. This must be run from a a previously solved koSST case. Description of how that must be done is below.
Image 7: Creating a run using New Run
Input the altitude. (The pressure, density, etc values are automatically populated to correspond to the altitude input. However, these values can be adjusted to match wind tunnel or other conditions if needed for comparison.)
Enter Angle of Attack.
Enter Velocity.
Input the Reference Chord Length.
Select the parts.
Click Save.
Creating an iRet Run
As stated earlier it is necessary to run a koSST (turbulent boundary layer model) case prior to running iReT (transition boundary layer model). If you are running an iReT sweep you only need to run the koSST model for 0 deg angle of attack and then you can start the sweep from that one case and build from there.
After you have set up and ran your koSST case, you can create the iReT by doing similar to what was described previously:
Click on Parametric Sweep on top left navigation bar.
Click New Parametric Sweep and then new. (Image 1)
Change the parent name to something meaningful. The sweep of runs will then be named parentName.0, parentName.1, etc when they are published. Note: Names cannot begin with numbers or special characters. (Image 2) One name suggestion is the same run name as was used for the koSST case with "-iRet" added to the end.
Select the Run Recipe (Image9). Airfoil-0.0.1-iret this is a Langtry Mentor transition model. Once you select this a new box will open requiring you to select the existing solution from which this new case will use to start . Select the appropriate koSST case. ( or you could select an appropriate iReT case as necessary.) In the example here(Image 9) there is sweep data for the koSST cases the ".0" cases are 0 angle of attack cases and would be used for the start of the iReT case(s).
From this point you can go through the necessary steps of filling out the rest of the run conditions and the sweep conditions as they are described in the parametric sweep section above for the koSST case.
Save the Run Settings
Image 9: Existing solution choice