Compare Design Alternatives

A single scenario is the first step in the simulation process. In many cases, you will want to explore and investigate design alternatives and then compare the results to determine which variation worked the best. There are two ways to do this. One is to compare the effects of geometry changes. This involves modifying the CAD model to produce design iterations. The other is to use the same geometry model and compare the effects of changing simulation settings. Examples include changing boundary condition values or material definitions.

To compare geometry variations

1. You must first make a copy of the design in the Design Study bar. To do this, right click on the design name, and click Clone. Enter a name for this new design, select which scenarios you wish to include in the cloned design, and indicate if you want to include the mesh and results in addition to the geometry and settings.
2. Return to your CAD model, and modify the geometry as needed.
3. Launch Autodesk® CFD. In the Design Study Manager, select the name of the new design, and click Update design.

Click here to learn more about this process.

Alternate workflow:

1. Instead of cloning the design, return directly to the CAD model and modify the geometry.
2. Launch Autodesk® CFD. In the Design Study Manager, select the name of the new design, and click Add to design study.

Click here to learn more about this process.

To compare simulation settings on the same geometry

To vary settings such as boundary conditions, materials, or mesh settings on the same design clone the scenario instead of the design:

1. Right click on the scenario name in the Design Study bar, and click Clone.
2. Enter the name of the new scenario, and indicate if you want to include the mesh and results in addition to the geometry and settings.
3. Modify the appropriate simulation settings on the new scenario.

After you have run the new simulations, you will want to compare the results to understand the effects of the changes. The following topics describe tools for comparing results from multiple simulations in a design study.