Add and Configure the Physics Simulation Adapter

Open Process Composer and configure the physics simulation adapter to operate on the beam model. Define the parameters to vary before executing the simulation as well as the parameters to extract after executing the simulation.

A physics simulation adapter defines the input parameters that drive the simulation before it runs and the output parameters that are extracted after the simulation is complete.

This task shows you how to:

Add the Adapter

Open Process Composer, and add a physics simulation adapter to the simulation process. When you add a physics adapter to a simulation process, Process Composer generates a simulation activity and adds a physics simulation step to the activity.

  1. From the Compass, click Process Composer .
  2. Select the Applications section of the action bar.
  3. Click to expand the action bar.
  4. Click Physics Simulation , and drop it on the process diagram.
    The physics simulation adapter is added to the simulation process.
  5. Select the simulation process in the top-right corner of the 3D area .
    The Process Details dialog box displays the name of the simulation process and a description.
  6. Change the name to DOE Simulation Process, and minimize the dialog box.

Configure the Execution

Select the physics simulation that will be executed by the adapter, and configure the execution of the simulation.

  1. Double-click the physics simulation adapter in the process diagram to open the editor.
  2. From the Execute tab of the physics simulation editor, select Search to search for the content.
  3. Click the Cantilever Beam Simulation tab to return to your physics simulation, and select the Cantilever Beam Simulation at the top of the tree.
    The cursor changes to a filter to indicate you can select the simulation, and the beam is highlighted in the 3D area. Once selected, the physics simulation appears as the content of the simulation process.
  4. Enter the number of cores in your desktop machine.
    Process Composer tries to run your simulation process as efficiently as possible by running in parallel on separate cores.
  5. Select Iterative (Low disk usage).

    You will configure the physics simulation to save the value of the output parameters after each run of the DOE. Choosing to not save the simulation data in addition to the parameter information increases the performance of the DOE simulation process.

  6. Select Generate images for each field plot, and enter Isometric for the camera name.
  7. Expand the Advanced section, and select Run in persistent session as the execution mode.
  8. Click Apply.

Configure the Pre-Execution

Pre-execution parameters are inputs to the physics simulation. In this example each iteration of the DOE updates the value of the beam dimensions before executing the physics simulation. The updated beam is simulated during the execution of the physics simulation.

  1. From the Physics Simulation Editor, select the Pre-Execute tab.
  2. From the tree in the editor, select Model > Cantilever Beam > 3D Shape > Parameters.
    A table of parameters appears.
  3. From the table, select the Height, Length, and Width parameters.
    The selected parameters appear in the Activity Parameter column.
  4. Click Apply.

Configure the Post-Execution

Post-execution parameters are outputs from the physics simulation. In this example, after executing the physics simulation, the outputs (mass and maximum stress and displacement) are fed back into the DOE.

  1. From the Physics Simulation Editor, select the Post-Execute tab.
  2. From the tree in the editor, select Model > Cantilever Beam > 3D Shape > Measure Intertia.
  3. From the table of parameters, select MeasureInertia.1\Mass.

    Tip: Enter Mass in the Name filter to show only the mass parameter.

    The selected parameter appears in the Activity Parameter column.
  4. From the tree, select Result > Result Of Structural Analysis Case.1 > Sensors > Max Von Mises Stress.
  5. From the table of parameters, select Maximum as shown below:



  6. Similarly, select Max Displacement from the tree and select the Maximum parameter.
  7. Click OK.
  8. Optional: Check that the three inputs (length, width, and height) and the three outputs (mass, maximum displacement, and maximum von Mises stress) are selected by clicking the physics simulation adapter and selecting Parameters from the context toolbar.
    All input and output parameters selected for the DOE appear in a list. You can organize the parameters by mode to separate the inputs from the outputs in the list.