Hit the Solve button to start the analysis. Once the analysis is started, it changes to the STOP button.
Hit the STOP button to stop the analysis at the end of the current iteration.
For a new analysis, the mesh is generated prior to any iterations being solved.
For analyses started from Pro/Engineer using the Mechanica method, meshing occurs in the CAD interface. Autodesk® Simulation CFD minimizes while the mesh is generated. All status messages appear in the CAD interface. After the mesh is generated, the CAD tool minimizes and Autodesk® Simulation CFD returns so the analysis can proceed. During the analysis, the CAD tool remains in a minimized state, and can not be accessed. To shut down the CAD tool (to free up more memory), shut down the Autodesk® Simulation CFD interface (the analysis will continue to run) and shut down the CAD tool. Autodesk® Simulation CFD can then be started again, and the running analysis opened. The analysis will continue to run even when the Autodesk® Simulation CFD interface is shut down.
For Acis- and Parasolid- based CAD systems, the Autodesk® Simulation CFD interface does not minimize during the meshing, and status messages are listed in the Output bar.
To generate the mesh and not run any iterations (this is sometimes useful to inspect the mesh prior to running a large analysis) right click on either the Scenario or the Mesh Size branch on the Design Study Bar, and click Generate mesh. After the mesh generates, it can be inspected by opening the Results dialog.