Overview

14. 5 Release

Introduction to ANSYS
DesignXplorer
1

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

What is DesignXplorer?
DesignXplorer (DX) is a tool that uses response surfaces and direct optimization to
efficiently explore the solution space.

Explore and understand the performance at other design or operating conditions

Find the conditions which give the best performance
Determine the key parameters influencing the design
Explore the robustness of the design

?
?

Single Point

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

What If?

Response
Surface
Release 14.5

DX Features
List of DX Features (discussed on following slides and lectures)

What if Study [does not require a DX license]

Parameter Correlation
Design of Experiments
Response Surface
Min/max search
Surface/XY plots
Sensitivities
Direct and response surface Optimization and trade-off plots
Robustness of design
Six Sigma Robustness Evaluation

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX Features
What if Study
Automatically run through a list of manually specified design points
[does not require a DX license]

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX Features
Parameter Correlation

1. Identify unimportant parameters

Input Parameter

Output Parameter
Output parameters not sensitive
to force variations
5

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX Features
Parameter Correlation

2. Identify the degree to which the relationship is linear/quadratic

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX Features
Design of Experiments

Specify the DOE Type

Specify the range for each
parameter

DX uses a DOE to select design

points with parameter
combinations intended to explore
the solution space efficiently

works best for fewer than 20

parameters

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX Features
Response Surface

A continuous response surface is formed from the DPs

Various formulations available

A response surface can be quickly explored by other DX features

Parameter 1
Curve fit
response

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Design
Points
Release 14.5

DX Features
Response Surface

Min/max search
Surface/XY plots
Sensitivities;
Optimization and trade-off
plots
Robustness of design

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX Features
Six Sigma Robustness Evaluation
Input parameters vary!

Output parameters

Understand how
your performance
will vary with your
design tolerances
10

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Determine how
many parts will
likely fail

Understand
which inputs
require the
greatest control
Release 14.5

DX
Small effort/cost, huge benefits.

Understanding

11

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Innovation

ROI
Release 14.5

Interface
14. 5 Release

Introduction to ANSYS
DesignXplorer
12

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

General Workflow

13

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

Parameters
Workbench Applications that allow for parameterization:

14

External CAD package

Engineering data
DesignModeler
Meshing
Mechanical
Mechanical APDL
ExplicitSTR
CFX
Fluent
CFD-Post
VistaTF
Polyflow
SpaceClaim
External Connections
Excel
AQWA
nCode
Ansoft Solutions (HFSS, Maxwell)

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

Parameters
Parameterizing CAD dimensions
In Workbench Options > Geometry Import, enable Parameters and
specify a filtering prefix and suffix
The default filterer is DS.
Example:
To expose a CAD parameter named Length in Workbench, it could be renamed as
dslength, Lengthds, ds_Length, Length_ds, etc. (the order is arbitrary as is
the underscore and the case).

Leaving the filter blank will cause all CAD parameters to be passed to
Workbench.

15

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

Parameters
Parameterizing WB dimensions, BCs, etc.

Parameter definition
based on ANSYS
Mechanical APDL
input files

Input and output parameters created in CAD,

DM, AMP, Mechanical

Input parameter created from an

expression in ANSYS CFX
16

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Input parameter created from an

expression in ANSYS FLUENT

Output parameters created from

an expression in ANSYS CFD
Post
Release 14.5

Parameters
Derived Parameters

Derived Parameters:
Parameters created using analytical expressions composed of input and output parameters.
Derived parameters can be defined using various built in arithmetic, trigonometric and

statistical functions.
Examples include (but are not limited to):
cost function (i.e., the product of mass and cost per mass)
normalized stress (i.e., stress response divided by an applied stress)
Mesh sizing (setting a mesh parameter as a function of a geometric parameter)

17

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

Parameter Set
All input and output parameters

Table of Design Points

[discussed on following slides]

Chart options

Create derived
Parameter

Properties of
selected parameter

18

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Charts
[discussed on following slides]

Release 14.5

Parameter Set
Table of Design Points (What-If Study)
Parameter settings
currently loaded in
applications

Update All Design Points

Select Export to retain

files associated with the
Design Point

RMB > Update Selected Design Points

19

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Status bar gives more info

about design points update.

Release 14.5

Parameter Set
Charts
Parameters Charts allow users to
configure and plot Input vs. Output
in XY plots.

show the chart output

vs. input parameter.

20

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

GOOD

Good

Bad

BAD
September 27, 2013

Pressure Drop

Flow Uniformity

Show how output parameters vary for

design point combinations.

Release 14.5

DX
Parameter Correlation
DX layout is very similar to Parameter Set
2
1

21

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX
Design of Experiments

3
1

Charts

22

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX
Response Surface
2

23

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX
Response Surface Optimization
2

1
3

24

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX
Direct Optimization

A Direct Optimization system is a

single-component system that utilizes
real solves.

Is not dependent on the quality of a

response surface.

Retrieve information via data links

from other components that contain
design point data, thus reducing the
time needed for the optimization
without altering the original source of
the design points.

To add a Direct Optimization system to

your project, drag it from the Design
Exploration section of the Workbench
Toolbox and drop it on your Project
Schematic.
25

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

DX
Six Sigma Analysis
2
1

26

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

Unified Reporting
DX Systems contribute to the unified report
Includes all DX tables and Charts

27

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

Reset Windows Layout

View > Reset Window Layout
The window types are connected between the various Workbench
Native applications. If you close the chart on one, it is closed on the
others. Use View > Reset window Layout if you get stuck

28

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

Summary
DX provides plenty of functionality to allow you to gain a deeper
understanding of your problem

Each tool within DX has a user interface that follows a common

methodical workflow

29

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

Release 14.5

Workshop 1
Excel will receive two inputs from Workbench (must be between 0 and 100) and
calculate the value of two output parameters according to the following
equations:
Out_1 = -2*(in_1/100-0.5)^3+SIN(2*PI()*in_2/100)
Out_2 = (in_1/100-0.5)^2+(in_2/100-0.5)^2

Plotting Out_1 in Excel produce the following charts. Notice that the maximum
value of out_1 occurs at approximately (in_1,in_2)=(0, 25)
Output 1

Output 1
100
90
80

-1.5--1

-0.5
-1

34
0

-0.5-0
-1--0.5

-1.5--1

-1.5

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

68

91

10

0-0.5

78

-1--0.5

0.5

65

20

0.5-1

52

30

-0.5-0

30

0-0.5

26

40

0.5-1

1-1.5

39

50

Input 2

60

1.5

13

1-1.5

70

Input 1
September 27, 2013

Input 1
Release 14.5

Workshop 1
Plotting Out_2 in Excel produce the following charts. Notice that the
maximum value of out_2 occurs at approximately (in_1,in_2)=(50, 50)
Since there is no set of input parameters that delivers the maximum values
of both out_1 and out_2, a tradeoff analysis will need to be conducted
when finding the optimal conditions

Output 2

Output 2

Input 1

31

2013 ANSYS, Inc.

September 27, 2013

0.4-0.5

0.4

0.3-0.4

0.3

0.2-0.3

0.4-0.5
0.3-0.4
0.2-0.3

0.2

0.1-0.2

0.1-0.2
0.1

68

0-0.1

96

84

72

60

48

34

24

0-0.1

0
12

Input 2

0.5

36

99

88

77

66

55

44

33

22

11

99
90
81
72
63
54
45
36
27
18
9
0

Input 1

Release 14.5