Manage Automation Templates

Use the Template Manager to define rule-based logic for groups, geometric operations, and setup and automate simulation processes.

The Template Manager is useful for:
  • Automating the simulation process – since templates are defined based on rules, they can be applied to other models which have the same attributes.
  • Defining best practices for meshing and solver parameters and sharing with others
  • Parametric studies
  1. Click the arrow next to the Home tool set, then select Template Manager.


    Figure 1.
  2. Create groups.
    Groups allow you to define collections of parts, solids, surfaces, and lines based on rules.
    1. Click Groups under Template Categories.
    2. Click to add a group.
    3. Give the group a name and select a geometry type.
    4. Use the Definition drop-down and the Metadata Key/Value fields to define the grouping.
      By Assembly Name
      Define full assembly names or use * to find assemblies with a partial name match (for example, assembly*).
      By Parts Name
      Define full part names or use * to find parts with a partial name match (for example, part*).
      By Visibility
      Group based on visibility.
      Supported values are: All and Displayed
      By Metadata
      Define a metadata key and value.
      By Find and Select
      Group based on topological definition.
      Supported values are: Free surfaces, Internal surfaces, Intersecting surfaces, Baffles, Non-manifold surfaces, Sharp surfaces, Sliver surfaces, and Self-intersecting surfaces
      Tip: For By Assemblies, By Parts, and By Metadata, use comma separated lists to provide multiple values.
    5. Use the Active checkboxes to select which groups you want to use.

    These groups are referenced in the rest of the template categories for selection.

    These groups are dynamic; they are evaluated while a specific instance of a category is being evaluated.


    Figure 2.
  3. Define template instances.
    1. Click one of the setup options beneath Template Categories.
    2. Click to add a new instance.
      When there are multiple types of instances in a category – like Inlet, Outlet, Wall – you can activate multiple instances at a time to create them all in one go.
    3. For boundaries and mesh controls, assign a name.
    4. Define the instance and select the group it will act on. Click to edit parameters.
      Tip: For the Operation category, the group selection can be either the groups defined in the template manager or pre-defined groupings of geometry.
    5. Use the Active checkboxes to select which instances you want to use.
      Inactive instances will not be evaluated.


    Figure 3.
  4. Select the processes to be executed in sequence.
    Delete existing setup
    If on, the existing setup will be removed.
    Run operations
    If on, it will run the active instances defined in the Operation category.
    Validation
    If on, geometry validation will be performed after running operations or before performing setup, meshing, or solver run.
    Click to change the sliver surface threshold used for validating sliver surfaces and sliver solids.
    If there are errors, they are highlighted with an exclamation icon. On clicking the icon, you can see a list of errors and update operations accordingly.
    Simulation set up
    If on, the process will check geometry validity and perform evaluation of active template instances.
    If geometry is not valid, it will terminate the process and update the geometry validation flag.
    Perform meshing
    If on, and the model is valid, the meshing job will be submitted.
    Click to define batch mesh settings.
    If geometry is not valid, it will terminate the process and update the geometry validation flag.
    Submit solver run
    If on, the process will check for model validity and the presence of volume mesh then submit the solver job.
    Click to define AcuSolve launch settings.
    If volume mesh is not present, the solver job will not be submitted.
  5. Click Run.
Tip:
  • Click to export a defined template or to import a template.
  • To delete a group or template instance, select it and click

Advanced Creation Options

Create multiple rules for groups, boundaries, mesh controls.

  • Create groupings
    1. Click the Groups tab in the Template Manager.
    2. Click .
    3. In the dialog, select the entity type.
    4. Choose a grouping method: Per Part | Per Assembly | Per Metadata.
    5. Select items to the create group from.
    6. Click Apply.
      A group is created per selection in the Advanced Create dialog with the same name as the selection.
  • Create boundaries
    1. Click the Boundaries tab in the Template Manager.
    2. Click .
    3. In the dialog, select the boundary condition type.
    4. Select the group entity type: Solid | Surfaces.
    5. Select available groups from the list.
    6. Click Apply.
      Boundaries are created per group selected in the Advanced Create dialog with the same name as the group.
  • Create mesh controls
    1. Click the Boundaries tab in the Template Manager.
    2. Click .
    3. In the dialog, select the mesh control type.
    4. Select the group entity type: Solid | Surfaces.
    5. Select available groups from the list.
    6. Click Apply.
      Mesh controls are created per group selected in the Advanced Create dialog with the same name as the group.

Perform a Batch Mode Run Using the Template Manager

Run automations in batch mode using template files.

  1. Click the arrow next to the Home tool set, then select Template Manager.


    Figure 4.
  2. Set up your template categories.
  3. Click to export the template file.
  4. Create a script to open the model file and run based on defined templates.
    Use the following Tcl command to run the template manager.
    ::UserProfiles::HyperWorksCFD::CfdRunAutomation <.hmtpl file path> 2 0 1 0

flag1

1: Surface mesh

2: Surface + Volume mesh

flag2 -

0 - retain surface mesh 

1 - Redo surface mesh

flag3 -

volume meshing thread usage:

1 - all threads

flag4 -

0 - Do not auto calculate mesh size

1 - Auto calculate mesh size
  5. Once you define the Tcl file, you can run in batch mode using the following command:

    "C:\Program Files\Altair\<version>\hwdesktop\hm\bin\win64\hmbatch.exe" -tcl <tcl file path>