How to Export Flow Simulation Results to Import into FEA
How to Export Flow Simulation Results to Import into FEA
Once you have completed a SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation study, it is common to need to analyze the structural aspects of the model using the Flow Simulation results as an input. You can input the pressure/force or temperatures into SOLIDWORKS Simulation FEA to run a structural analysis. The power of co-simulation to link the Fluid Flow and Structural Simulation world is amazing! In this article, we’ll walk you through the simple steps to accomplish this.
- Run a SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation study in a typical manner. The only difference in the setup is that you will likely want to set up additional goals of force or temperature in your flow simulation, to ensure accurate results are calculated (Depending on what you plan to import into your structural analysis). If you want to learn how to accurately setup and run SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation projects, check out our course offerings here: SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation Class Information.
- Make the results available to use from SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation to SOLIDWORKS Simulation. Without this step, the transfer will not work. To do this, go to “Tools” -> “Flow Simulation” -> “Tools” -> ”Export Results to Simulation”. You can also search for “Export Results…” in your command search and run the command from there. Nothing obvious will happen during this step, but the results have been prepared.
3. Make a note of the name of the result file in your flow simulation. To do this, go to the feature manager tree of your fluid flow simulation and find the name in parathesis in the results folder. In the screenshot below, the name of the file is “1.fld”
4. Using the same model, create a SOLIDWORKS Simulation (Structural Analysis) or open an existing study. Set up the study as you normally would for a SOLIDWORKS Simulation. In practical use, the order of setup of the SOLIDWORKS Simulation doesn’t matter. If you want learn more about how to accurately setup and run SOLIDWORKS Simulation projects, check out our course offerings here: SOLIDWORKS Simulation Class Information.
5. Import the results as an input by right-clicking the simulation study name in your feature manager tree and going to “Properties…”
6. Go to the “Flow/Thermal Effects” Tab. If you are inputting a temperature distribution for thermal expansion or material property changes, select the option “Temperature from SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation” and browse to the results file identified in step 3. If you are inputting the force/pressure into your simulation, check the box for “Include fluid pressure effects from SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation” and browse to the results file identified in step 3. As a side note, the pressures calculated in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation are absolute pressures (not gauge pressures) so there is an option to “Use reference pressure (offset) in .fld file” that generally should be left on and not changed for accurate transfer of loads. Click “Ok” on the dialog.
7. Ensure that the loads are present in your Simulation study tree.
Conclusion
That is all that needs to be run to run the co-simulation between SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and SOLIDWORKS Simulation. An incredible tool that is easy to use. If you have any questions and you purchased your SOLIDWORKS Simulation license through us, feel free to reach out with any questions and we are here to help.
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