Ansys

ANSYS, Inc.
Release Notes *
ANSYS, Inc. Release 18.0

Southpointe * February 2017 revision
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Table of Contents
Revision History ........................................................................................................................................... ix
Global ......................................................................................................................................................... xi
1. Advisories .......................................................................................................................................... xii
2. Compatibility with Previous Releases .................................................................................................. xii
3. Installation ........................................................................................................................................ xii
4. Licensing .......................................................................................................................................... xiii
5. Documentation ................................................................................................................................ xiii
6. Verification Manual ........................................................................................................................... xiii
6.1. Mechanical APDL ..................................................................................................................... xiv
6.1.1. New Verification Test Cases .............................................................................................. xiv
6.1.2. Modified Verification Test Cases ....................................................................................... xiv
6.2. Workbench .............................................................................................................................. xiv
6.2.1. Mechanical Verification Test Cases .................................................................................... xiv
6.2.2. SpaceClaim Verification Test Cases .................................................................................... xv
6.2.3. AIM Mechanical Verification Test Cases .............................................................................. xv
6.3. Fluids ....................................................................................................................................... xvi
6.3.1. AIM Fluids Verification Test Cases ..................................................................................... xvi
7. Online Video Access .......................................................................................................................... xvi
8. ANSYS Customer Portal ..................................................................................................................... xvi
9. ANSYS Elastic Licensing .................................................................................................................... xvii
10. New Product Levels ........................................................................................................................ xvii
I. ANSYS Structural Products ...................................................................................................................... 1
1. Mechanical Application Release Notes ............................................................................................. 3
1.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases .................................. 3
1.2. Schematic Enhancements ........................................................................................................... 4
1.3. General Enhancements ............................................................................................................... 5
1.4. Platform Enhancements .............................................................................................................. 6
1.5. Graphics Enhancements ............................................................................................................. 6
1.6. Geometry Enhancements ........................................................................................................... 6
1.7. Model Assembly Enhancements .................................................................................................. 7
1.8. External Model Enhancements .................................................................................................... 7
1.9. Contact and Connection Enhancements ...................................................................................... 8
1.10. Mesh Enhancements ................................................................................................................. 8
1.11. Fracture Enhancements ............................................................................................................ 9
1.12. Composites Enhancements ....................................................................................................... 9
1.13. Analysis Enhancements ............................................................................................................. 9
1.14. Linear Dynamics Enhancements ................................................................................................ 9
1.15. Loads/Supports/Conditions Enhancements ............................................................................. 10
1.16. Mapping Enhancements ......................................................................................................... 10
1.17. Solution Enhancements .......................................................................................................... 11
1.18. Rigid Body Solver Enhancements ............................................................................................ 11
1.19. Explicit Dynamics Enhancements ............................................................................................ 11
1.20. Results Enhancements ............................................................................................................ 12
2. Mechanical APDL ............................................................................................................................ 15
2.1. Structural ................................................................................................................................. 15
2.1.1. Contact ............................................................................................................................ 15
2.1.1.1. Coupled Diffusion-Mechanical Contact Interactions ................................................. 15
2.1.1.2. Performance Improvements for Large Contact Models ............................................. 16
2.1.1.3. Contact Robustness Improvements .......................................................................... 16
2.1.1.3.1. Frictional Stress Enhancement ......................................................................... 16
Release 18.0 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. iii
Release Notes
2.1.1.3.2. Beam-to-Beam Contact ................................................................................... 16

2.1.1.3.3. Initial Contact Stiffness Enhancements ............................................................ 17
2.1.1.3.4. Enhanced Calculation of Real Constants TCC, ECC, MCC, and PCC ...................... 17
2.1.1.4. General Contact Enhancements ............................................................................... 17
2.1.1.4.1. Vertex-to-Surface Contact in a General Contact Definition ............................... 17
2.1.1.4.2. General Contact and Cyclic Symmetry ............................................................. 17
2.1.1.5. Contact Pair-Based Maximum Torque ...................................................................... 17
2.1.1.6. Fluid Pressure-Penetration Loading Enhancement .................................................... 18
2.1.2. Elements and Nonlinear Technology ................................................................................. 18
2.1.2.1. 2-D to 3-D Analysis .................................................................................................. 18
2.1.2.1.1. Tire Analysis .................................................................................................... 18
2.1.2.2. Mesh Nonlinear Adaptivity ...................................................................................... 18
2.1.2.3. Axisymmetric Option with Torsion ........................................................................... 18
2.1.2.4. Mesh-Independent Reinforcing ............................................................................... 19
2.1.2.5. Surface Output ........................................................................................................ 19
2.1.2.6. Modeling Fluid Flow Through an Orifice ................................................................... 19
2.1.2.7. Cylindrical Coordinate System .................................................................................. 19
2.1.3. Material and Fracture Modeling ........................................................................................ 19
2.1.3.1. Porous Media .......................................................................................................... 20
2.1.3.2. Geomechanics ......................................................................................................... 20
2.1.3.2.1. Menetrey-Willam Material Model .................................................................... 20
2.1.3.2.2. Drucker-Prager Concrete Model ...................................................................... 20
2.1.3.3. Viscoplasticity or Creep with Static Recovery ............................................................ 20
2.1.3.4. Gasket Analysis ........................................................................................................ 21
2.1.3.5. Initial State .............................................................................................................. 21
2.1.3.6. Predefined Field Variables ........................................................................................ 21
2.1.3.7. Field Variable Interpolation ...................................................................................... 21
2.1.3.8. Fracture Parameter Evaluation ................................................................................. 22
2.1.4. Linear Dynamics .............................................................................................................. 22
2.1.4.1. Cyclic Symmetry ...................................................................................................... 22
2.1.4.2. Precise Mass Summary ............................................................................................. 22
2.1.4.3. Mode Selection ....................................................................................................... 23
2.1.4.4. Load Case Operation ............................................................................................... 23
2.1.4.5. Substructuring and Component Mode Synthesis (CMS) ............................................ 23
2.1.4.6. Rotordynamics ........................................................................................................ 23
2.1.4.7. Damping ................................................................................................................. 23
2.1.4.8. Mass Scaling ............................................................................................................ 23
2.2. Multiphysics ............................................................................................................................. 23
2.2.1. Acoustics ......................................................................................................................... 24
2.2.1.1. Mean Flow .............................................................................................................. 24
2.2.1.2. Irregular Perfectly Matched Layers (IPML) ................................................................. 24
2.2.1.3. Other Enhancements for Acoustic Analysis ............................................................... 24
2.2.2. Thermal ........................................................................................................................... 24
2.2.2.1. Field-Dependent Thermal Material Properties .......................................................... 24
2.2.2.2. Radiation Enclosure Enhancement for Radiosity Method .......................................... 25
2.2.3. Coupled-Field .................................................................................................................. 25
2.2.3.1. Strongly Coupled Electrostatic-Structural Analysis .................................................... 25
2.2.3.2. Thermomagnetic Analysis ........................................................................................ 25
2.2.3.3. New Coupled-Field Element ..................................................................................... 25
2.2.3.4. Linear Perturbation .................................................................................................. 25
2.3. Solvers ..................................................................................................................................... 25
2.3.1. Sparse Solver Enhancements ............................................................................................ 26
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Release Notes
2.3.2. Distributed ANSYS Enhancements .................................................................................... 26

2.3.3. Eigensolver Enhancements ............................................................................................... 26
2.3.4. MPI Software Command Line Option ................................................................................ 26
2.4. Commands ............................................................................................................................... 26
2.4.1. New Commands ............................................................................................................... 27
2.4.2. Modified Commands ........................................................................................................ 27
2.4.3. Undocumented Commands ............................................................................................. 30
2.5. Elements .................................................................................................................................. 30
2.5.1. New Elements .................................................................................................................. 30
2.5.2. Modified Elements ........................................................................................................... 30
2.5.3. Undocumented Elements ................................................................................................. 31
2.6. Documentation ........................................................................................................................ 31
2.6.1. Technology Demonstration Guide ....................................................................................... 32
2.6.2. Documentation Updates for Programmers ........................................................................ 32
2.6.3. Feature Archive ................................................................................................................. 32
2.7. Known Limitations .................................................................................................................... 32
2.8. Known Incompatibilities ........................................................................................................... 32
2.8.1. Default Settings for Cyclic Modal Analysis ......................................................................... 32
2.8.2. Nodal Velocities in a Static Analysis ................................................................................... 33
2.8.3. Writing and Reading Nodes .............................................................................................. 33
2.8.4. Command Syntax for 2-D to 3-D Analysis .......................................................................... 33
2.8.5. Electrostatic-Structural Coupled-Field Analysis .................................................................. 33
2.8.6. KEYOPT(1) for Acoustic Elements ...................................................................................... 33
2.8.7. General Contact Component Name Extensions ................................................................. 33
2.8.8. KEYOPT(10) for Contact Elements ..................................................................................... 33
2.8.9. Stress-Intensity Factor (SIF) Calculation (CINT,TYPE,SIFS) ................................................... 34
2.8.10. File Naming for Distributed Parallel Solutions .................................................................. 34
2.8.11. Secure Shell Protocol Used for Distributed Parallel Processing ......................................... 34
2.8.12. MPI Change for ANSYS LS-DYNA ..................................................................................... 34
3. Autodyn .......................................................................................................................................... 35
3.1. New Features and Enhancements .............................................................................................. 35
4. Aqwa ............................................................................................................................................... 37
4.1. Aqwa Solver Modules ............................................................................................................... 37
4.1.1. Multiple Wave Directions with Forward Speed .................................................................. 37
4.1.2. Hydrodynamic Database File Structure ............................................................................. 37
4.1.3. Efficiency Improvements in QTF Computations ................................................................. 37
4.1.4. Drag Linearization in Frequency Domain Dynamic Analyses with Forward Speed .............. 37
4.2. Hydrodynamic Analysis Systems ................................................................................................ 37
4.2.1. Time Domain Statistical Results Object ............................................................................. 37
4.2.2. External Meshing System ................................................................................................. 38
4.2.3. Tethers/Risers in Workbench ............................................................................................. 38
4.2.4. Equilibrium Position in Workbench ................................................................................... 38
5. ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) .................................................................................................. 39
5.1. New Features in ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 18.0 ............................................................. 39
5.1.1. Enhanced CAD Operations ............................................................................................... 39
5.1.2. Refactoring of the Material Class ....................................................................................... 39
5.1.3. Parameter Manager .......................................................................................................... 39
5.1.4. Node-Based Thicknesses .................................................................................................. 39
5.1.5. Improved Solid Model Extrusion ....................................................................................... 39
5.2.1. Improved Postprocessing for Solids .................................................................................. 40
5.2.2. Section Cut ...................................................................................................................... 40
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Release Notes
5.2.3. Butt Joint Sequence ......................................................................................................... 40

5.2.4. Enhanced BECAS Interface ............................................................................................... 40
5.2.5. Improved CSV Interface for Results Export ........................................................................ 40
5.3.1. Performance Improvements ............................................................................................. 41
5.3.2. Variable Offset Selection Rule ........................................................................................... 41
5.3.3. Enhancements to Python User Interface ........................................................................... 41
5.3.4. CAD Geometry Handling .................................................................................................. 41
5.3.5. Unified Mechanical Postprocessing Engine ....................................................................... 41
5.3.6. Text Labels for User-Defined Plots ..................................................................................... 41
5.4. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 18.0 ................................................. 41
5.5. Known Limitations and Incompatibilities ................................................................................... 41
5.5.1. Variable Material Data in Sampling Point and Failure Criteria ............................................. 41
5.5.2. NVIDIA Settings ................................................................................................................ 42
II. ANSYS Fluids Products .......................................................................................................................... 43
1. Fluent .............................................................................................................................................. 45
1.1. New Features in ANSYS Fluent 18.0 ........................................................................................... 45
1.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Fluent 18.0 ............................................................................... 53
1.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 18.0 ....................................................................................... 53
1.4. Resolved Issues and Limitations ................................................................................................ 55
1.5. Updates Affecting Code Behavior .............................................................................................. 56
2. CFX .................................................................................................................................................. 63
2.1. Supported Platforms ................................................................................................................. 63
2.3. Incompatibilities ....................................................................................................................... 64
2.4. Resolved Issues and Limitations ................................................................................................ 64
2.5. Issues ....................................................................................................................................... 64
3. TurboGrid ........................................................................................................................................ 65
4. BladeModeler .................................................................................................................................. 67
4.2. BladeEditor ............................................................................................................................... 67
4.2.1. New Features and Enhancements ..................................................................................... 67
5. CFD-Post .......................................................................................................................................... 69
6. Polyflow .......................................................................................................................................... 71
6.1. New Features ............................................................................................................................ 71
6.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Polyflow 18.0 .................................................................................... 72
6.4. Past Versions of ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes .......................................................................... 72
7. Forte ................................................................................................................................................ 73
7.2. Resolved Issues since Forte 17.2 ................................................................................................ 74
8. Chemkin-Pro ................................................................................................................................... 77
8.2. Resolved Issues since 17.2 ......................................................................................................... 78
9. FENSAP-ICE ..................................................................................................................................... 79
9.1. Supported Platforms for ANSYS FENSAP-ICE .............................................................................. 79
vi of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Release Notes
9.2. New Features in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE .......................................................................................... 79

9.3. New Limitations in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE ...................................................................................... 81
9.5. Past Versions of ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Release Notes (R17.1 & R17.2) .............................................. 82
III. ANSYS Electronics Products ................................................................................................................. 87
1. Icepak .............................................................................................................................................. 89
1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 89
1.2. New and Modified Features in ANSYS Icepak 18.0 ...................................................................... 89
1.3. Resolved Issues and Limitations in ANSYS Icepak 18.0 ................................................................ 90
IV. ANSYS Geometry & Mesh Prep Products ............................................................................................. 97
1. DesignModeler ................................................................................................................................ 99
2. SpaceClaim .................................................................................................................................... 101
3. CAD ................................................................................................................................................ 103
4. Meshing ......................................................................................................................................... 105
4.1. Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases ............................................................... 105
4.2. Physics Preference Enhancements ........................................................................................... 105
4.3. Quality and Mesh Metric Enhancements .................................................................................. 105
5. IC Engine Release Notes ................................................................................................................ 107
6. ICEM CFD ....................................................................................................................................... 109
6.1. Highlights of ANSYS ICEM CFD 18.0 ......................................................................................... 109
6.1.1. Creating O-grid Splits ..................................................................................................... 109
6.2. Documentation ...................................................................................................................... 109
6.2.1. Tutorials ......................................................................................................................... 109
7. Fluent Meshing .............................................................................................................................. 111
7.1. Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases ............................................................... 111
7.2. New Features .......................................................................................................................... 111
V. ANSYS Simulation Products ................................................................................................................ 113
1. Workbench .................................................................................................................................... 115
1.1. ANSYS Workbench .................................................................................................................. 115
1.1.1. ANSYS Workbench-Remote Solve Manager Enhancements ............................................. 115
1.1.2. ANSYS Workbench-EKM Enhancements .......................................................................... 115
1.2. External Connection ............................................................................................................... 115
1.3. Engineering Data Workspace ................................................................................................... 116
1.4. External Data .......................................................................................................................... 116
1.5. External Model ........................................................................................................................ 116
1.6. Enhancement to Mechanical Model Cells ................................................................................. 116
1.7. FE Modeler ............................................................................................................................. 116
1.8. System Coupling ..................................................................................................................... 116
1.9. TurboSystem Release Notes ..................................................................................................... 116
1.9.1. Supported Platforms ...................................................................................................... 117
1.9.2. New Features and Enhancements ................................................................................... 117
2. ANSYS ACT ..................................................................................................................................... 119
3. Remote Solve Manager (RSM) ....................................................................................................... 123
3.1. New Features and Enhancements ............................................................................................ 123
3.2. Resolved Issues and Limitations .............................................................................................. 124
4. EKM ............................................................................................................................................... 125
4.1. New Features and Enhancements ............................................................................................ 125
4.2. Issues Resolved in this Release ................................................................................................. 127
4.3. Deprecated Features ............................................................................................................... 128
4.4. Issues and Limitations ............................................................................................................. 128
5. DesignXplorer ............................................................................................................................... 129
VI. ANSYS AIM ......................................................................................................................................... 131
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Release Notes
1. Advisories ...................................................................................................................................... 133

2. Enhancements in AIM 18.0 ............................................................................................................ 135
3. Enhancement in AIM 17.2 ............................................................................................................. 137
4. Enhancements in AIM 17.1 ............................................................................................................ 139
5. Limitations .................................................................................................................................... 141
viii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Revision History
January 2017 Initial release
February 2017 Updated Compatibility with Previous Releases (Backwards Compatibility), and New
Product Levels (ANSYS CFD PrepPost) sections.
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. ix
x of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Global Release Notes
The release notes are specific to ANSYS, Inc. Release 18.0 and arranged by application/product, with
the exception of:
• Advisories (p. xii)
• Compatibility with Previous Releases (p. xii)
• Installation (p. xii)
• Licensing (p. xiii)
• Documentation (p. xiii)
• Verification Manual (p. xiii)
• Online Video Access (p. xvi)
• ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xvi)
• ANSYS Elastic Licensing (p. xvii)
• New Product Levels (p. xvii)
Note that installation- and licensing-specific information is detailed in some application and product
sections.
Release notes are available in printable format (PDF) via the product media, and accessible in the ANSYS
Help Viewer or online via the ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xvi) for the following:
• ANSYS 17.2
• ANSYS 17.1
• ANSYS 17.0
• ANSYS 16.2
• ANSYS 16.1
• ANSYS 16.0
See ANSYS Customer Portal> Downloads> Previous Releases> ANSYS Documentation and Input Files
to download zip files containing the Product and Release Documentation.
The Release Documentation files include the following:
• ANSYS Platform Support Strategy & Plans
• ANSYS, Inc. Installation and Licensing Tutorials
• ANSYS, Inc. Known Issues and Limitations
• ANSYS, Inc. Licensing Guide
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xi
Global
• ANSYS, Inc. Quick Start Installation Guide
• ANSYS, Inc. Quick Start Licensing Guide
• ANSYS, Inc. Release Notes
• Linux Installation Guide
• SpaceClaim Release Notes (as applicable)
• Windows Installation Guide
1. Advisories
In addition to the incompatibilities noted within the release notes, known non-operational behavior,
errors and/or limitations at the time of release are documented in the Known Issues and Limitations
document, although not accessible via the ANSYS Help Viewer. See the ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xvi)
for information about the ANSYS service packs and any additional items not included in the Known
Issues and Limitations document. First-time users of the customer portal must register to create a
password.
At release 18.0, ACT provides all ANSYS Workbench External Connection Add-in functionality and the
majority of Workbench Framework SDK coverage. Consequently, you should only use ANSYS ACT for
your automation and customization projects. ACT allows you to adopt the official, easy-to-use, consistent
customization methodology for all ANSYS products. For the same reason, please also consider transition-
ing legacy ANSYS customization solutions to ACT.
For products that use message passing interface (MPI) software during parallel processing, the name
“Platform MPI” has been changed to “IBM MPI” in the product interface and in the documentation. The
associated command line option has also changed. For details, refer to the parallel processing docu-
mentation for your specific product.
2. Compatibility with Previous Releases

Backwards Compatibility: ANSYS 18.0 has been tested to read and resume databases from the following
previous versions: 17.0, 17.1, and 17.2. Note that some products are able to read and resume databases
from releases prior to 17.0. Please see the specific product sections below for more details. For those
products that cannot read a 16.x database in 18.0, first resume that database in 17.2 and then resume
it in 18.0.
Upward/Forward Compatibility: No previous release has the ability to read and resume a database
from a more recent release.
3. Installation
The following features are new or changed at Release 18.0. Review these items carefully.
• ANSYS FENSAP-ICE is now included as part of the ANSYS product installation and can be selected on the
product selection menu for installation. For more information, see the section dedicated to ANSYS FENSAP-
ICE.
• A number of enhancements have been made to the product installer graphical display to improve the visib-
ility and user experience when performing installations.
xii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Verification Manual
• .NET Framework 4.5 is now required for running ANSYS products.
• To improve functionality, the installation includes an updated version of the 7zip program.
• Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 runtimes are no longer required for ANSYS products. The installer will no longer
install Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package as a software prerequisite.
4. Licensing
The following enhancements have been made to ANSYS, Inc. Licensing for Release 18.0:
• The Product Order File has been re-ordered to reflect product changes and additions. The installation program
should automatically upgrade the file for you, merging any changes that you have made.
• ANSYS License Manager must be upgraded to release 18.0 to run the ANSYS release 18.0 products.
• The ANSYS License Manager now supports the ANSYS FENSAP-ICE product. For more information, see the
section dedicated to ANSYS FENSAP-ICE.
• The ANSYS License Manager now supports four new CFD products: ANSYS CFD Enterprise, ANSYS CFD En-
terprise Solver, ANSYS CFD Premium and ANSYS CFD Premium Solver. Additionally, these products allow
you to use four non-GPU processors without using any HPC licenses.
• The first ANSYS HPC Pack License has been increased from 8 combined CPUs and GPUs to 10. All additional
HPC Pack License combined GPUs and CPUs continue without change.
• The FluentLm License Manager is no longer supported in Release 18.0 and newer. If you are still using Flu-
entLm licenses, please contact your ANSYS Sales Representative for a license that uses that ANSYS License
Manager.
5. Documentation
Documentation is now installed per-product; only the documentation associated with the products you
install will be included by default. You can choose to install all documentation by running a document-
ation-only install from the installation launcher.
Help Viewer Enhancements

Release 18.0 of the ANSYS Help Viewer has no new features or enhancements.
Updated Product Documentation

Visit the ANSYS Customer Portal Online Documentation page to view or search the latest updates to
the Release 18.0 documentation.
6. Verification Manual
Significant modifications and additions have occurred in the Verification Manuals at 18.0. These changes
provide greater coverage and accuracy in the verification of the ANSYS product suite.
The Verification Manuals for the following products have been updated at 18.0:
6.1. Mechanical APDL
6.2. Workbench
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xiii
Global
6.3. Fluids
6.1. Mechanical APDL

The following sections outline the changes to the Mechanical APDL Verification Manual:
6.1.1. New Verification Test Cases
6.1.2. Modified Verification Test Cases
6.1.1. New Verification Test Cases

The following new VMs are available:
• VM294 - Fourier Series Analysis of a Diode Rectified Circuit
Note
This problem was originally VM226. The element used in it (CIRCU125) was undocumented
at Release 17.0, but is now being documented again.
• VM295 - One Dimensional Terzaghi's Consolidation Problem with Permeability as Function of Depth
• VM296 - Radial Expansion of a Thermoplastic Cylinder
• VM297 - Acoustic Propagation with Mean Flow in a Muffler
6.1.2. Modified Verification Test Cases

The following VMs have been enhanced or otherwise modified:
• VM198 - Large Strain In-Plane Torsion Test. Updated to include a solution using PLANE182 and PLANE183
elements with the torsion option using the MAP2DTO3D method.
• VM230 - Radiation Between Two Concentric Spheres. Updated to include a solution with SURF252 elements.
• VM263 - Critical Speeds for a Rotor Bearing System with Axisymmetric Elements. Updated to include a
solution using the CMS substructuring approach.
• VM271 - Convection Treatment Problem for a Hollow Cylinder with Fluid Flow. Updated to include a solution
using SHELL131 and SOLID278 elements.
6.2. Workbench
The following sections outline the changes to the Workbench Verification Manual:
6.2.1. Mechanical Verification Test Cases
6.2.2. SpaceClaim Verification Test Cases
6.2.3. AIM Mechanical Verification Test Cases
6.2.1. Mechanical Verification Test Cases

The following new VMs are available:
• VMMECH095 - 2-D Double Cantilever Beam Problem
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Verification Manual
• VMMECH096 - 2-D Fracture Problem Under Thermal Loading
• VMMECH097 - Inclined Crack in 2-D Plate Under Uniform Tension Loading
• VMMECH098 - 2-D End Notched Flexure Problem
• VMMECH099 - Mode I Crack Growth Analysis of DCB Using Interface Delamination
6.2.2. SpaceClaim Verification Test Cases

The following new VMs cover the SpaceClaim product:
• VMSC_Geometry001 - Alter Model Using Sketch, Pull, and Fill
• VMSC_Geometry002 - Alter Model Using Split Face, Split Body, and Mirror
• VMSC_Geometry003 - Alter Model Using Linear, Circular, and Two-Dimensional Patterns
• VMSC_Geometry004 - Alter Model Using Revolve, Chamfer, and Offset Faces
• VMSC_Geometry005 - Alter Model Using Blend and Project
• VMSC_Geometry006 - Alter Model Using Sheet Metal Tools and Operations
• VMSC_Prepare001 - Midsurface, Extend, Imprint, and Spot Weld
• VMSC_Prepare002 - Volume Extract and Enclosure
• VMSC_Prepare003 - Beam Create, Extract, and Orient
• VMSC_Prepare004 - Remove Rounds, Interference, Faces, and Short Edges
• VMSC_Repair001 - Stitch, Gap, and Missing Faces
• VMSC_Repair002 - Merge Faces, Small Faces, Simplify, Straighten
• VMSC_Repair003 - Split Edges, Extra Edges, and Duplicates
6.2.3. AIM Mechanical Verification Test Cases

The following VMs now support AIM Mechanical:
• VMMECH007 - Thermal Stress in a Bar with Temperature Dependent Conductivity
• VMMECH025 - Stresses Due to Shrink Fit Between Two Cylinders
• VMMECH032 - Radial Flow Due to Internal Heat Generation in a Copper Disk
• VMMECH037 - Cooling of a Spherical Body
• VMMECH050 - Cylindrical Shell Under Pressure
• VMMECH051 - Bending of a Circular Plate Using Axisymmetric Elements
• VMMECH062 - Stresses in a Long Cylinder
• VMMECH071 - Centerline Temperature of a Heat Generating Wire
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Global
• VMMECH072 - Thermal Stresses in a Long Cylinder
6.3. Fluids
The following sections outline the changes to the Fluids Verification Manual:
6.3.1. AIM Fluids Verification Test Cases
6.3.1. AIM Fluids Verification Test Cases

The following new VMs provide verification coverage of AIM Fluids features:
• VMFL-AIM005 - Wall Roughness with Circular Pipe
• VMFL-AIM006 - Transient Flow Near a Wall Set in Motion
• VMFL-AIM007 - Flow Between Rotating and Stationary Concentric Cylinders
• VMFL-AIM008 - Supersonic Flow Over a Forward-Facing Step
• VMFL-AIM009 - Conduction in a Composite Solid Block
• VMFL-AIM010 - Turbulent Boundary Layer Shockwave Interaction Over Cylinder-Flare Geometry
• VMFL-AIM011 - Turbulent Boundary Layer Shockwave Interaction Over Impinging Shock Geometry
• VMFL-AIM012 - Air Flow Over an Aluminum Heated Plate in Channel
• VMFL-AIM013 - Turbulent Flow with Heat Transfer in a Backward-Facing Step
• VMFL-AIM014 - Natural Convection in a Concentric Annulus
• VMFL-AIM015 - Flow in a Curved Channel
• VMFL-AIM016 - Laminar Flow in a 90° Tee-Junction
• VMFL-AIM017 - Laminar Flow in a Triangular Cavity
7. Online Video Access

To review an extensive library of How-To Videos that detail how to use ANSYS product features, go to
the ANSYS How-To Videos YouTube page at YouTube.
8. ANSYS Customer Portal

If you have a password to the ANSYS Customer Portal (support.ansys.com), you can view additional
documentation information and late changes. The portal is also your source for ANSYS, Inc. software
downloads, service packs, product information (including example applications, current and archived
documentation, undocumented commands, input files, and product previews), and online support.
All the product documentation is available in printable format (PDF). Note that the content of the files
can be copied into word processing programs.
Customer Portal access points:
xvi of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
New Product Levels
• Tutorials and input files To access tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go
to http://support.ansys.com/training.
• Documentation To access documentation files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to http://support.an-

sys.com/documentation.
• General information For further information about tutorials and documentation on the ANSYS
Customer Portal, go to http://support.ansys.com/docinfo.
9. ANSYS Elastic Licensing

Pay-per-use licensing is offered in conjunction with traditional lease and paid-up licensing. ANSYS
Elastic Licensing provides hourly-based access to all ANSYS products (with the exception of the Semi-
conductor applications and SCAD applications) through a single license called ANSYS Elastic Units.
Elastic Licensing was launched on the ANSYS Enterprise Cloud (AEC) in September 2016.
More information and announcements about ANSYS Elastic Licensing and the ANSYS Enterprise Cloud
are available at ansys.com.
10. New Product Levels

For Release 18.0, new CFD product levels have been introduced. You can contact your ANSYS Account
Manager if you wish to move to one of these levels.
The following table outlines the capabilities of the new ANSYS CFD product levels at Release 18.0. Each
level provides single-task access to the listed applications. These new levels include access to four HPC
cores with a GPU being counted as a single core. ANSYS Workbench access is included with all levels.
Product Name Capabilities

ANSYS CFD Enterprise This level includes everything in ANSYS CFD
Premium and:
• ANSYS Polyflow
• ANSYS Forte
• ANSYS FENSAP-ICE
• ANSYS AIM Pro
• ANSYS Simplorer Entry
• ANSYS DesignXplorer
ANSYS CFD Enterprise Solver Includes everything in ANSYS CFD Premium

Solver and:
• ANSYS Polyflow Solver
• ANSYS Forte Solver
• ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Solver
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• Can be used in combination with ANSYS CFD
PrepPost to run AIM Pro
ANSYS CFD Premium This level includes:
• ANSYS Fluent
• ANSYS CFX
• ANSYS Meshing (including ANSYS TurboGrid and

ANSYS ICEM CFD)
• ANSYS OptiGrid
• ANSYS SpaceClaim Direct Modeler
• ANSYS CFD-Post
• 4 HPC
ANSYS CFD Premium Solver This level includes:
• ANSYS Fluent Solver
• ANSYS CFX-Solver
• 4 HPC
ANSYS CFD PrepPost Prior to Release 18.0, ANSYS CFD PrepPost

included:
• ANSYS DesignXplorer
• ANSYS Meshing (including ANSYS TurboGrid and

ANSYS ICEM CFD)
• ANSYS Fluent PrepPost
• ANSYS CFX-Pre
• ANSYS CFD-Post
• ANSYS Polyflow PrepPost
Release 18.0 adds the following:
• ANSYS SpaceClaim Direct Modeler
• ANSYS OptiGrid
• Can be used in combination with ANSYS CFD

Enterprise solver to run AIM Pro
• ANSYS Forte PrepPost
xviii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
New Product Levels

ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Replaces ANSYS FENSAP-ICE
16/32/64/128/256/unlimited and includes:
• ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Solver
• ANSYS FENSAP-ICE PrepPost
• ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Turbo
• ANSYS OptiGrid
ANSYS FENSAP-ICE provides access to one

solver core.
Additional Product Availability
The ability to perform parametric analysis with ANSYS DesignXplorer is now bundled with ANSYS
Autodyn, ANSYS DesignSpace, ANSYS Mechanical Pro, Premium and Enterprise in ANSYS 18.0
Specific to the Mechanical products, Topology Optimization is now enabled at all license levels. Topology
Optimization is a physics driven optimization that is based on a set of loads and boundary conditions
provided by a preceding analysis.
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Part I: ANSYS Structural Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Structural products:
Mechanical Application (p. 3)

Mechanical APDL (p. 15)
Autodyn (p. 35)
Aqwa (p. 37)
ACP (p. 39)
Chapter 1: Mechanical Application Release Notes
This release of the Mechanical application contains all of the capabilities from previous releases plus
many new features and enhancements. Areas where you will find changes and new capabilities include
the following:
1.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases
1.2. Schematic Enhancements
1.3. General Enhancements
1.4. Platform Enhancements
1.5. Graphics Enhancements
1.6. Geometry Enhancements
1.7. Model Assembly Enhancements
1.8. External Model Enhancements
1.9. Contact and Connection Enhancements
1.10. Mesh Enhancements
1.11. Fracture Enhancements
1.12. Composites Enhancements
1.13. Analysis Enhancements
1.14. Linear Dynamics Enhancements
1.15. Loads/Supports/Conditions Enhancements
1.16. Mapping Enhancements
1.17. Solution Enhancements
1.18. Rigid Body Solver Enhancements
1.19. Explicit Dynamics Enhancements
1.20. Results Enhancements
Backwards Compatibility: ANSYS products strive to enable the reading and resuming of databases
from previous releases. We currently test this capability for the previous two releases and any included
point releases. This means version 18.0 has been tested and verified to be backwards compatible with
versions 16.0 and 17.0 as well as the associated point releases (16.x and 17.x). Although not verified for
even earlier releases, ANSYS Mechanical should allow resuming databases from them.
1.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous

Releases
Release 18.0 includes several new features and enhancements that result in product behaviors that
differ from previous releases. These behavior changes are presented below.
• Importing FE Data from External Model. Now, when you are importing finite element data from an External
Model system, Mechanical does not automatically create contacts between the synthesized parts/bodies.
• Solver Element for Remote Boundary Conditions. If you are using a Remote Boundary Condition, such
as a Spring or Remote Force, and a deformable formulation is applied to a 3D non-straight edge, the applic-
ation now uses CONTA177 as the underlying MAPDL solver element. In Mechanical R17.1 and any version
prior, the application used CONTA175.
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 3
Mechanical Application Release Notes
CONTA177 is used now because it provides better load distribution because as it accounts for the
underlying element shape functions while the CONTA175 does not.
If desired, you can still use CONTA175 by setting the variable name "edge contact type" to 175 in
the Variable Manager (Tools Menu > Variable Manager).
• Contact Pair for Semi-Elliptical Crack: Now, when a contact pair is generated with the Mesh Method
property set to Hex Dominant, the application generates the Contact surface on the buffer zone side of the
base mesh and the Target surface at the interface on the fracture affected zone side of the hex dominant
mesh. Note that in prior releases of Mechanical, the Contact and Target surfaces were the exact opposite
(fracture affected zone side versus buffer zone side), therefore, for a generated crack mesh database prior
to this release, the application automatically reversed the sides of the contact pair during the solution process.
• Damping Controls. The Constant Damping Ratio definition for a Full Harmonic Response analysis is no
longer a recommended practice by the Mechanical APDL solver. Use the new Structural Damping Coefficient
property to set the constant structural damping coefficient for a Full Harmonic Response analysis. Upon
resuming older databases which had Constant Damping Ratio defined for a Full Harmonic Response
Analysis, the new Structural Damping Coefficient property is used and set as twice the Constant Damping
Ratio value defined previously.
• Auto Suppression of Coordinate Systems. In line with the behaviors of objects such as contact regions,
joints, or springs, Mechanical now automatically suppresses a user-defined coordinate system when the
geometry that the coordinate system is scoped to becomes suppressed. In previous releases, the coordinate
system would be marked as underdefined (with a "?").
• Solution Object Property Name Change. Under the Post Processing category of the Solution object, the
property "Calculate Beam Section Results" has been renamed "Beam Section Results."
• Specifying Named Selections using Worksheet Criteria. The Worksheet used to specify Named Selections
is now, by default, displayed below the Geometry window so that you can view your geometry while simul-
taneously working with Named Selection worksheet entries.
• Merging Named Selections. Now, when merging Named Selections, Mechanical merges the target selections
into a Worksheet-based Named Selection. From the Worksheet, you can now modify and update (Generate)
your merged Named Selections, where previously, it was necessary to re-merge any modified Named Selec-
tions.
• Electric Probes - Joule Heat. In previous releases of Mechanical, the Joule Heat probe calculations reported
a result with the units of power per unit volume. Now, this probe reports a result with units of power. The
new calculation is σ(Element Joule Heat * Element Volume).
1.2. Schematic Enhancements

The following Workbench Project Schematic enhancements associated with Mechanical have been made
at Release 18.0:
• The application now enables you to link the Model cell to the Geometry cell. This action transfers the
geometry in a binary Part Manager Database (.pmdb) format and facilitates future geometry import
into SpaceClaim, DesignModeler, as well as re-importing the file back into Mechanical.
• Design Validation for Topology Optimization. You can setup a design validation study of the optimized
geometry by using the right-click option on the Topology Optimization system's Results cell and se-
lecting Transfer to Design Validation System.
4 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
General Enhancements
1.3. General Enhancements

The following general enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Selection Utilities Toolbar. Mechanical now provides a new toolbar to facilitate the manipulation of
entity selections: Selection Utilities. The options of this toolbar enable you to quickly make selections
of different geometric entities based on the active selection of a different entity type. The toolbar’s
functionality uses ANSYS ACT. The relevant python modules (selection.py and toolbar.py) are
available for review in the install folder: aisol/DesignSpace/DSPages/Python.
• Import and Export Named Selections. Mechanical now enables you to import and/or export element-
and node-based Named Selections in Mechanical APDL common database (.cdb) file format.
• Selecting Nodes and Elements by IDs. Mechanical now provides a graphical interface dialog that
enables you to select mesh nodes and elements by entering their ID. This feature also provides an option
to create Named Selections for your selected nodes or elements.
• Filtering the Tree Outline.
– The option Environment has been added to the tree filtering feature. For an analysis with multiple
environments, you can filter the tree for a specific environment. Once selected, all objects specific
to the environment are displayed in the tree.
– The Tree Filter Toolbar contains a new option, Sort Ascending, that, when selected, sorts objects in
alphanumeric order. This is primarily associated with lower level objects. That is, parent objects such
as Geometry, Coordinate Systems, Connections, etc. are not sorted but their child objects are. For
example, if you have a large number of contact regions, the application sorts them according to al-
phanumeric precedence.
• Delete Imported Group Objects. Mechanical now enables you to delete Imported Load/Thickness/Trace
(Group) objects from the Mechanical tree.
• Named Selections of Entities Shared Across Bodies. Mechanical has a new Worksheet Criteria: Shared
Across Bodies. Its options include Yes and No enabling you to generate Named Selections for faces,
edges, or vertices that you share or do not share across bodies.
• Group Tree Objects
– You can now group all of the child objects in the Named Selection folder using the Group All Similar
Children option.
– The F9 key, that hides bodies, is now supported for groups under the Geometry object.
– The Delete key can now be used to delete selected groups and their children.
• Hotkey Additions. The following new Hotkey options are now available:
– F9: Hide and show bodies from the tree view.
– N: Invokes the Named Selection dialog window to create a new named selection when the Geometry
window has focus.
– I: Enables you to toggle the Selection Information Window on and off when the Geometry window
has focus.
• Node-Based Scoping using the Object Generator. The Object Generator now supports node-based
scoping for Point Masses, Springs, Beams, Joints, Named Selections, Frequency Response, and Results.
• Path Construction Geometry. The Path option of the Construction Geometry feature now supports
edge-based Named Selections for geometry scoping.
1.4. Platform Enhancements

The following operating system platform enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Substructuring Analysis. The Substructuring feature of Mechanical is now supported on the Linux platform.
• Tree Navigation on Linux. On the Linux platform in previous releases, you may have experienced a lag
between the time you selected a tree object and when you were able to take another action. This condition
no longer exists.
1.5. Graphics Enhancements

The following graphical enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Graphics Annotations. The Graphics Annotations window now displays both result object Probe annota-
tions and User Defined annotations. The window displays the result value at the location of the probe an-
notation, with the appropriate units and the 3D coordinate location of the annotation. Additional graphical
features have also been extended to Probe annotations, such as the ability to select the annotation label
and move the label in the Geometry window.
• Status Bar. The status bar now displays information for the following types of selections:
– Node and element numbers when one node/element is selected on the geometry.
– Node location when only one node is selected on the geometry.
– The radius when a single circular edge or face is selected.
– The angle between three selected nodes.
– The angle between two planar surfaces or straight edges.
1.6. Geometry Enhancements

The following geometry enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Create Solid Parts using Construction Geometry. A new Construction Geometry object called Solid
is available. It enable you to create a solid box geometry by specifying the dimensions. The newly created
part will appear inside the Geometry folder.
• Stiff Beam. You can now specify the Stiffness Behavior property of a Line Body as Stiff Beam. This
option enables you to treat a line body's Stiffness Behavior as rigid.
• Distributed Mass. Mechanical now enables you to apply Distributed Masses to edges of your model.
• Specifying Gasket Bodies. When you select Gasket as the Stiffness Behavior of a body, the Body
object includes a new property, Gasket Initial Gap, that enables you to specify a gap value.
External Model Enhancements
• ACIS Units. Mechanical now enables the use of ACIS length units if they are available during the import
process. Length units are read-only in Mechanical, unless the ACIS geometry does not provide them
upon attach/update.
• Collapsing Line Bodies in SpaceClaim. For line body models in SpaceClaim, by default, the application
imports one line body for every edge present in the body in SpaceClaim. This may create an undesirable
number of bodies in Mechanical. To facilitate a more manageable model, SpaceClaim enables you to
“collapse” all of the line bodies that have the same cross section, material, and that touch one another,
into one body by setting the Share Topology property to either Share or Group.
1.7. Model Assembly Enhancements

For Model Assembly at Release 18.0, significant processing performance enhancements have been
made and the refresh times now as much as 15 times faster.
1.8. External Model Enhancements

The following enhancements for External Model have been made at Release 18.0:
• Geometry Creation improvements:
– External Model now uses a new algorithm for the geometry synthesis process that has improved processing
times, especially for larger models, while also using less memory.
– External Model now enables you to import FE data into a single part consisting of a combination of line,
solid, and shell bodies if they were defined by sharing nodes in source model.
• Importing Mesh-Based Geometry. Mechanical no longer provides the Body Grouping property associated
with the Mesh Conversion Options of the Model cell on the Workbench page. Instead, the application groups
imported elements into bodies based their connectivity and their materials. More importantly, the application
now imports element thicknesses as separate objects in the Mechanical tree when needed.
• The External Model system now supports the capability to transfer the data/objects listed below. Many of
these new data types utilize the Worksheet in order to better manage large amounts of finite element data.
– Pipe Elements as Line Bodies
– Constraint Equations and Couplings
– Coordinate Systems
– Element Orientations
– Flexible Remote Connectors
– Nodal Orientations
– Point Masses
– Rigid Remote Connectors
– Shell Thicknesses and Offset
– Springs Connectors
1.9. Contact and Connection Enhancements

The following contact and connection enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Remote Points:
– The Remote Point object has a new Scoping Method option: Free Standing. This option enables
you create a remote point that is not associated with the geometry or mesh of the model. Free
Standing Remote Points can be used to model structures such as Tuned Mass Dampers by directly
connecting pieces of your model together.
– The new property, Pilot Node APDL Name, is now available for Remote Points. This optional property
enables you to create an APDL parameter (in the input file) and assign its value to the pilot node
number of the Remote Point. This facilitates easy programmatic identification of the Remote Point’s
pilot node for later use/reference in a Command object.
• End Releases. Mechanical now enables you to specify two or more edges on a vertex when defining
an End Release. In prior releases, only a single edge could be released from a vertex.
• Connection Group. The Connection Group folder has a new option for the Search Across property:
Files. The Files option enables you to create contacts between the models of multiple External Model
source files and between copies of source files.
• New Constraint Type Options. Two new Constraint Type options have been added to the Advanced
category for Contact Regions: Projected, Displacement Only and Distributed, Normal Only. These
new constraint options enable you to further control the multipoint constraints on Contact Regions
now involving solid bodies. In addition, the option names, but not the functions, of the following
Constrain Type options have changed.
Previous Option Name New Option Name

Target Normal, Uncouple U Projected, Uncoupled U to ROT
to ROT
Target Normal, Couple U to Distributed, All Directions
ROT
Inside Pinball, Couple U to Distributed, Anywhere Inside Pinball
ROT
• Connections Display - Body Views. The Body Views view option is now the default view to display
parts and connections in separate auxiliary windows for Springs and Beam Connections.
• Bearings. You can now specify the Connection Type of a Bearing object as Body-Body. This option
enables you create a bearing connection between two bodies. For Body-Ground bearing the reference
side of the bearing is assumed to be grounded (or fixed) and the mobile side is set to the scoped entity.
For Body-Body bearing, both the reference and mobile sides can be set to the scoped entities.
• Beam Connection. You can now apply the Bolt Pretension load to a Beam Connection by specifying
the Scoping Method as Beam Connection.
1.10. Mesh Enhancements

The following mesh enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
Linear Dynamics Enhancements
• Specifying Options. The option Default Physics Preference is now available in the Meshing category of
the Options preference settings. This option enables you to specify a default physics preference for all
Mechanical systems.
Refer to the 18.0 Release Notes of the Meshing application for additional new features and enhancements
associated with Meshing in the Mechanical application.
1.11. Fracture Enhancements

The following fracture enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Pre-Meshed Crack. You can now specify crack symmetry for pre-meshed cracks in 2D and 3D analyses.
• Fracture Controls. You can exclude the computation of default computed fracture parameters (SIFS, J-in-
tegral, and C*-Integral) using the respective Fracture Controls (Analysis Settings).
1.12. Composites Enhancements

The following composite enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Composite Failure Tool. The Composite Failure Tool is a new post-processing option that enables you
to define and analyze failure criteria for composite ply structures modeled using ANSYS Composite PrepPost
(ACP). Additionally, sandwich failure criteria such as wrinkling and shear crimping are now evaluated for
shell and solid elements.
1.13. Analysis Enhancements

The following analysis enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Topology Optimization. You can now perform a Topology Optimization analysis in Mechanical. Topology
optimization creates an optimal structure based on the user-specified design region, optimization objectives,
optimization constraints and boundary conditions of the linked Static Structural or Modal analysis.
Please note that the Topological Optimization analysis is only available in our commercial products
(i.e. ANSYS DesignSpace, ANSYS Mechanical Pro, ANSYS Mechanical Premium, ANSYS Mechanical
Enterprise, ANSYS Mechanical Enterprise PrepPost, and ANSYS Mechanical Enterprise Solver) and
their academic variants. Please use the license preference feature to avoid any licensing issues.
• Substructuring Analysis. The Substructuring feature of Mechanical is now supported on the Linux platform.
• Beam Submodeling. The Submodeling feature now enables you to import forces and moments as well as
displacements and rotations from beam-based geometries from a source analysis to shell- or solid-based
submodel geometries in a target analysis.
• Pre-Meshed Cyclic Region. Mechanical now enables you to perform a cyclic symmetry analysis without
affecting the mesh using the Pre-Meshed Cyclic Region object. This feature is useful to define cyclic symmetry
when using geometry from Model Assembly, External Model, and ACP.
• Analysis Settings for Nonlinear Adaptive Analysis. The Remeshing Gradient property is now available
when performing a 3D Nonlinear Adaptive analysis.
1.14. Linear Dynamics Enhancements

The following enhancements have been made at Release 18.0 for Linear Dynamic features and analyses:
• Options for Analyses: Spin Softening. You can now specify whether to include or exclude the Spin
Softening effect when solving Pre-Stressed Modal and Pre-Stressed Harmonic Response analyses.
• Rotordynamics Controls. For a Static Structural analysis, Mechanical now provides the Rotordynamics
Controls Analysis Settings category and includes the Coriolis Effect property in a Stationary Reference
Frame. You can use this property when using the Static Structural analysis in the pre-stressed analysis for
Modal and Harmonic response analyses. The application ignores spin softening effects and centrifugal forces
when this property is set to On.
• Damping Controls. The Constant Damping Ratio definition for a Full Harmonic Response analysis is no
longer a recommended practice by the Mechanical APDL solver. Use the new Structural Damping Coefficient
property to set the constant structural damping coefficient for a Full Harmonic Response analysis. Upon
resuming the older databases which has Constant Damping Ratio defined for Full Harmonic Response
Analysis, the new Structural Damping Coefficient property is set as twice the Constant Damping Ratio
value defined previously.
• Frequency Response:
– You can now plot frequency response charts for Force Reactions as well as displacements scoped to a
Remote Point.
– (Harmonic Analyses) You can now plot frequency response results in any coordinate system: user-defined,
Solution Coordinate System, or the Global Coordinate System.
• File Management Enhancements for Response Spectrum Analysis. Mechanical has a new file management
method for Response Spectrum analyses that improves solution times by not copying the Modal Solution
files for "In Process" solutions. For larger models, solution processing time can be as much as two times
faster than previous releases.
• Campbell Diagram Chart Results. A new Campbell Diagram Chart property, Stable Motion Sign, is now
available. This property controls the sign (positive or negative) of Logarithmic Decrement Value for a stable
motion.
1.15. Loads/Supports/Conditions Enhancements

The following loads/supports/conditions enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Rotational Acceleration. Mechanical now provides a Rotational Acceleration loading condition for Static
Structural and Transient Structural analyses. A Rotational Acceleration load applies a constant rotational
acceleration to one or more bodies.
• Shared Topology on Remote Boundary Conditions. You can now scope remote boundary conditions on
the shared topology of edges, faces, and vertices.
• Line Pressure. You can now scope a vector- and component-based Line Pressure load to multiple edges.
• Bolt Pretension. You can now apply the Bolt Pretension load to a Beam Connection by specifying the
Scoping Method as Beam Connection.
1.16. Mapping Enhancements

The following mapping enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
Explicit Dynamics Enhancements
• Trace Mapping. The application now provides better control over the characteristics of vias imported
through Trace Mapping. The new controls now enables you to specify material, hollow vias or filled
vias, and plating thickness for hollow vias.
• Direct Assignment. Mechanical now enables you to assign the data directly onto the target nodes and
elements, when the Node ID/Element ID data is available from the connected External Data system.
• Imported Heat Generation. You can now scope an Imported Heat Generation object to mesh elements
as well as element-based Named Selections. In addition, for each time step, the total heat mapped to
the target system is available in the Imported Load Transfer Summary.
• Maxwell-Mechanical: Magnetostriction Capability. Mechanical now exports stress and strain results
to Maxwell for use in a subsequent solution of the upstream electromagnetic analysis.
• Importing Material Fields. The new object, Imported Material Fields, in combination with the Engin-
eering Data Workspace and the External Data system, now enables you to map user-defined Field
Variables onto the nodes or elements of your geometry.
1.17. Solution Enhancements

The following solution enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Restart Controls - Combined Restart Files. The Analysis Settings Restart Controls category has a new
property: Combined Restart Files. This property enables you to combine restart files to facilitate a solution
when you change the number of cores for a restart analysis compared to your previously saved analysis.
• Solve Process Settings. The Solve Process Settings feature now takes advantage of the new architecture
changes in the Remote Solve Manager. The new RSM architecture now utilizes cluster computing to process
and manage the solutions that you configure and submit from Mechanical using the Solve Process Settings
dialog. In addition, you can now also use the Solve Process Settings dialog to submit jobs using EKM.
• Specifying Options. The option Scratch Solver Files Directory is now available in the Analysis Settings
and Solution category of the Options preference settings. This option enables you to specify a disk that the
application will use to process the solution. You must specify an existing disk location. If the entry is invalid,
the application uses the default disk.
1.18. Rigid Body Solver Enhancements

The following Rigid Body Solver enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Geometry Export from Rigid Body Dynamics Results. Workbench and Mechanical now allow you to
link and transfer updated geometry and connections based on a simulation result from a Rigid Body
Dynamics system to a Mechanical Model system or to any Mechanical analysis system.
• Joint Friction. Mechanical allows you to introduce frictional behavior to revolute, cylindrical, and
translational joints when using the Rigid Body Dynamics solver.
1.19. Explicit Dynamics Enhancements

The Explicit Dynamics analysis system is a Workbench integrated provision of the Autodyn FE (Lagrange)
and multiple-material Euler solvers, and Euler-Lagrange Coupling (providing FSI).
The following Explicit Dynamics Solver enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Remote Force is now available for use in an Explicit Dynamics system.
• For Explicit Dynamics analyses, loads defined by functions are supported for Pressure, Velocity, Displacement,
Force, Remote Displacement and Remote Force boundary conditions, but only when defined as varying in
time.
• The previous maximum limit of 100 materials that can be used in a model has been removed. An unlimited
number of materials can now be used.
• Without an HPC license, the Explicit Dynamics solver will utilize 2 cores by default.
• Multi-material Euler solutions are now supported under the ANSYS Mechanical Enterprise license.
• Edge on Edge and Edge on Face bonded connections as well as bonded connections for line bodies are
now available.
• A new mass-weighted penalty force method greatly increases the robustness of bonded connections.
• The initialization of bonds has been improved and new methods for verification of initialized bonds are
available.
• An improved time step stability algorithm allows tetrahedral elements to be analyzed a factor of two faster
than before.
• The MPI software versions have been updated to: Intel MPI 5.1.3, IBM MPI 9.1.4.2, and MS MPI v7.1. The option
to specify the IBM Platform MPI software has changed from -mpi pcmpi to -mpi ibmmpi. This MPI software
is now referred to as "IBM MPI" rather than "Platform MPI" in the documentation.
1.20. Results Enhancements

The following results enhancements have been made at Release 18.0:
• Fatigue Tool. The Fatigue Tool is supported for Harmonic Response analyses as well as to perform spectral
analyses during a Random Vibration analysis.
• Position Probe. The Position probe now displays a graphical outline, a tracing, of the scoped geometry
though simulation time in a form of a 3d curve. This tracing can be animated to show the progression
through time.
• User Defined Result Expressions. You can now use two consecutive asterisk symbols "**" as an alternative
to the caret (^) symbol to specify the power operator.
• User Defined Results for the Mechanical APDL Solver. The following new element-based expressions used
to define User Defined Results are now available for use with the Mechanical APDL Solver.
– ENMO
– PNUMENAM
– CONTPNUMTYPE
– CONTPNUMREAL
– CONTPNUMMAT
Results Enhancements
– CONTPNUMSEC
– CONTPNUMESYS
– CONTPNUMELEM
– CONTPNUMENAM
• Heat Reaction. The Heat Reaction probe, used in Steady-state thermal and transient thermal analyses, now
enables you to scope the probe to Geometry selections, Contact Regions, and Construction Body Surfaces.
• Structural Probe. Mechanical now provides a Flexible Rotation Probe for Static Structural and Transient
Structural analyses.
• Electric Probe. Joule Heat is now an available probe type for electric-based analyses.
• Thermal Contact Results. The Contact Tool is now supported for Thermal analyses.
• Exporting Data. Mechanical now supports exporting mesh and result content in the ANSYS Viewer File
(AVZ) format. The export operation creates a 3D model that you can display in the ANSYS Viewer (installation
required).
Chapter 2: Mechanical APDL Release Notes
Release 18.0 of the Mechanical APDL application offers most of the capabilities from prior releases plus
many new features and enhancements. Areas where you will find changes and new capabilities include
the following:
• Structural (p. 15)
• Multiphysics (p. 23)
• Solvers (p. 25)
• Commands (p. 26)
• Elements (p. 30)
• Documentation (p. 31)
Also see Known Limitations (p. 32), Known Incompatibilities (p. 32), and the ANSYS Customer
Portal (p. xvi) for important information about this release.
Backwards Compatibility: Mechanical APDL18.0 can read database files from all past MADPL releases.
However, due to product improvements and defect corrections, results obtained from old databases
running in new releases may differ somewhat from the previously-obtained results.
2.1. Structural
Release 18.0 includes the new features and enhancements for the following structural analysis disciplines:
2.1.1. Contact
2.1.2. Elements and Nonlinear Technology
2.1.3. Material and Fracture Modeling
2.1.4. Linear Dynamics
2.1.1. Contact
Release 18.0 includes the following enhancements for structural analyses involving contact:
2.1.1.1. Coupled Diffusion-Mechanical Contact Interactions
2.1.1.2. Performance Improvements for Large Contact Models
2.1.1.3. Contact Robustness Improvements
2.1.1.4. General Contact Enhancements
2.1.1.5. Contact Pair-Based Maximum Torque
2.1.1.6. Fluid Pressure-Penetration Loading Enhancement
2.1.1.1. Coupled Diffusion-Mechanical Contact Interactions

The multiphysics capabilities of the surface-to-surface contact elements (CONTA171, CONTA172, CON-
TA173, CONTA174) and the node-to-surface contact element (CONTA175) now support coupled mech-
anical-thermal-electric-diffusion interactions between surfaces or between a surface and its surroundings.
Mechanical APDL
The contact elements can be used with the coupled-field solid elements (PLANE223, SOLID226, SOLID227)
and the diffusion solid elements (PLANE238, SOLID239, SOLID240).
The new capability is useful for modeling interface interactions or assembly between dissimilar meshes
for electromigration, thermomigration, and hydrostatic stress migration resulting from mechanical
loading, as well as thermal and diffusion stresses. Applications include ion and vacancy transport in
solder joints under intense electric current, thermal gradients due to Joule heating, and mechanical
stresses. For more information, see Modeling Diffusion Flow at the Contact Interface in the Mechanical
APDL Contact Technology Guide.
2.1.1.2. Performance Improvements for Large Contact Models

Significant performance improvements have been made for contact analysis:
• Contact searching is significantly faster for contact pairs associated with a large number of target elements,
particularly for models using general contact.
• Compared to the other contact-detection options, the surface-projection-based method (KEYOPT(4) = 3 on

contact elements) provides significantly more accurate and smoother stress distributions at a contact interface
between dissimilar meshes. A new algorithm for projection-based MPC bonded contact dramatically reduces
solution time and memory usage. In many cases, the solution performance is significantly faster than in the
previous release. These enhancements are crucial in terms of accuracy for the following types of models:
– Gasket interface assembly
– Connection between crack mesh and base-element mesh in a fracture analysis
– FSI interface for acoustic fluid-structure interaction
• Code re-architecture has eliminated a 32-bit integer-overflow issue which could cause solutions to fail for
large contact models (with millions of degrees of freedom) having a high percentage of contact and target
elements. The program can now solve very large contact applications, particularly for general contact
models or contact pair models using the projection-based formulation.
2.1.1.3. Contact Robustness Improvements

Significant robustness improvements have been made for contact analysis:
2.1.1.3.1. Frictional Stress Enhancement
2.1.1.3.2. Beam-to-Beam Contact
2.1.1.3.3. Initial Contact Stiffness Enhancements
2.1.1.3.4. Enhanced Calculation of Real Constants TCC, ECC, MCC, and PCC
2.1.1.3.1. Frictional Stress Enhancement

In prior releases, the elastic slip due to sticking and frictional sliding in a contact analysis was guaranteed
not to exceed the maximum allowable limit within a substep. In this release, a new slip algorithm im-
plemented for the contact elements ensures that the elastic slip never exceeds the maximum allowable
limit (SLTO) during the entire solution, not just within a substep.
2.1.1.3.2. Beam-to-Beam Contact

The stress stiffness matrix of 3-D line contact elements (CONTA176, CONTA177) has been revised to
include more second-order terms for both frictional and frictionless contact. In general, this enhancement
improves solution convergence for 3-D beam-to-beam contact modeling.
Structural
2.1.1.3.3. Initial Contact Stiffness Enhancements

The following enhancements for calculating initial contact stiffness improve nonlinear convergence:
• Initial contact stiffness of contact elements overlaid on layered structural solid elements (SOLID185 or
SOLID186) is now influenced by the material properties of each layer weighted by the respective layer
thickness.
• Calculation of initial contact stiffness for contact elements overlaid on elements having an anisotropic
material has been improved.
• Initial contact stiffness of contact elements overlaid on gasket elements (INTER192 to INTER195) has
been improved.
2.1.1.3.4. Enhanced Calculation of Real Constants TCC, ECC, MCC, and PCC
Contact real constants TCC, ECC, MCC, and PCC are calculated automatically for a general contact
definition or when CNCHECK,AUTO is issued for a pair-based contact definition. To improve nonlinear
convergence, the calculation of the real constant values has been enhanced when contact elements
are overlaid on:
• Elements having anisotropic properties for thermal conductance, electric permittivity, magnetic per-
meability, or pore fluid permeability.
• Layered thermal solids (SOLID278 and SOLID279 with KEYOPT(3) > 0) or thermal shells (SHELL131 and
SHELL132).
2.1.1.4. General Contact Enhancements

The following enhancements are available for the general contact capability:
2.1.1.4.1. Vertex-to-Surface Contact in a General Contact Definition
2.1.1.4.2. General Contact and Cyclic Symmetry
2.1.1.4.1. Vertex-to-Surface Contact in a General Contact Definition

A supplementary 2-D or 3-D vertex-to-surface contact type (CONTA175) can now be specified in a
general contact definition to prevent penetration of convex corners of solid bodies and/or shell structures
and endpoints of beam structures into other surfaces. The general contact feature, therefore, now offers
automated contact definition and creation for all contact types, including 2-D and 3-D surface-to-surface
contact, 3-D beam-to-beam contact, 3-D edge-to-edge contact, 3-D beam-to-surface contact, 3-D edge-
to-surface contact, and 2-D and 3-D vertex-to-surface contact. The general contact procedure greatly
simplifies the contact-specification process and requires minimal input compared to the pair-based
contact-definition procedure.
2.1.1.4.2. General Contact and Cyclic Symmetry

General contact is now available for cyclic symmetry analyses.
2.1.1.5. Contact Pair-Based Maximum Torque

In a 2-D axisymmetric contact analysis, contact pair-based maximum torque (CTRQ) is now reported via
the NLHIST and NLDIAG commands. The reported torque is associated with a friction coefficient of
unity and can be evaluated by scaling the friction coefficient for a particular contact pair. The new
contact result is useful for modeling threaded connectors.
Mechanical APDL
2.1.1.6. Fluid Pressure-Penetration Loading Enhancement

Pressure-penetration loads can simulate surrounding fluid or air penetrating into the contact interface.
In prior releases, any contact detection point which was previously exposed to the fluid pressure remained
in the condition of “penetrating” unless the closed contact condition was reestablished. In this release,
new options for KEYOPT(14) of the contact elements specify that the fluid pressure-penetration load is
always newly applied from the initial starting points regardless of the history of “penetrating” conditions.
In this case, the penetrating path must be continuous following any starting point.
2.1.2. Elements and Nonlinear Technology

Release 18.0 includes the following enhancements to elements and nonlinear technology used in
structural analyses:
2.1.2.1. 2-D to 3-D Analysis
2.1.2.2. Mesh Nonlinear Adaptivity
2.1.2.3. Axisymmetric Option with Torsion
2.1.2.4. Mesh-Independent Reinforcing
2.1.2.5. Surface Output
2.1.2.6. Modeling Fluid Flow Through an Orifice
2.1.2.7. Cylindrical Coordinate System
2.1.2.1. 2-D to 3-D Analysis

The 2-D to 3-D analysis capability has been enhanced and streamlined. After mapping the stress state
from 2-D to 3-D, the MAP2DTO3D,SOLVE command equilibrates the new 3-D stress state with the
mapped loads and boundary conditions automatically. You can therefore generate a 3-D model and
results from 2-D analysis results and continue the solution in the 3-D domain without using initial state,
even applying new 3-D loads if desired. Postprocessing is also simpler, as the results file contains both
the 2-D and 3-D data. For more information, see 2-D to 3-D Analysis in the Mechanical APDL Advanced
Analysis Guide, and the EEXTRUDE and MAP2DTO3D commands. Also see Example: 2-D to 3-D Analysis
of a Simple Threaded Connection.
2.1.2.1.1. Tire Analysis

In a 2-D to 3-D analysis, enhanced support is now available for tire analysis. The EEXTRUDE command
has a new TIRE option, enabling automatic axisymmetric extrusion in the full 360 degrees, stepped
mesh-refinement near the contact patch, and appended 2-D node and element components.
2.1.2.2. Mesh Nonlinear Adaptivity

Mesh nonlinear adaptivity now offers consistent 2-D / 3-D remeshing sizing and gradient control. The
new capability maintains local sizing and sizing gradient transition automatically. For more information,
see Gradient Control in the Mechanical APDL Advanced Analysis Guide. Also, mesh nonlinear adaptivity
now supports Distributed ANSYS.
2.1.2.3. Axisymmetric Option with Torsion

Axisymmetric analyses using 2-D structural solid elements PLANE182 and PLANE183 can now account
for torsion about the global Cartesian Y axis (KEYOPT(3) = 6). The axisymmetric-with-torsion option in-
troduces the additional ROTY degree of freedom at the element nodes. You can apply torque as the
load, or ROTY as the constraint at each node.
Structural
Stress/strain outputs have six components, but modeling occurs on the 2-D plane (global Cartesian
XOY) as with a standard axisymmetric analysis. The result output is on the same XOY plane even if the
element is undergoing out-of-plane deformation caused by torsion. You can, however, plot the results
in 3-D space (/ESHAPE,1) when PowerGraphics is enabled (/GRAPHICS,POWER).
The 2-D smeared reinforcing element REINF263 also supports the axisymmetric-with-torsion option and
can be used to reinforce PLANE182 and PLANE183 elements.
2.1.2.4. Mesh-Independent Reinforcing

A new mesh-independent method for reinforcing offers much flexibility when the base elements are
arbitrary and have no distinct patterns for the reinforcing to attach.
The reinforcing location is represented via a mesh with MESH200 elements. Other model information,
including reinforcing material, cross-section area, spacing, and orientation, can be provided via by a
reinforcing element (REINFnnn) section (SECDATA) or MESH200 element data.
The mesh-independent method can be used for both smeared (2-D and 3-D) and discrete (3-D) reinfor-
cing.
For more information, see Reinforcing in the Mechanical APDL Structural Analysis Guide.
2.1.2.5. Surface Output

Surface output is available in the output on certain free surfaces of solid elements. A free surface is not
connected to any other element and has no degree-of-freedom constraint or nodal-force load on the
surface. The following elements support surface stress output (KEYOPT(17) = 4): PLANE182, PLANE183,
SOLID185 (nonlayered only), SOLID186 (nonlayered only), and SOLID187. For more information, see
Surface Solution in the Mechanical APDL Element Reference.
2.1.2.6. Modeling Fluid Flow Through an Orifice

You can now model fluid exchange between hydrostatic fluid elements (HSFLD241 or HSFLD242) and
the environment through an orifice by connecting a FLUID116 element to the pressure node of the
hydrostatic fluid elements. FLUID116 takes on the current density of the fluid modeled by the hydro-
static fluid elements.
2.1.2.7. Cylindrical Coordinate System

A cylindrical coordinate system can now have global Cartesian X as the axis of rotation. For more in-
formation, see Global and Local Coordinate Systems in the Mechanical APDL Modeling and Meshing
Guide, and the CSYS, RSYS and *DIM commands.
2.1.3. Material and Fracture Modeling

Release 18.0 includes the following enhancements to material modeling and fracture analysis technology
used in structural analyses:
2.1.3.1. Porous Media
2.1.3.2. Geomechanics
2.1.3.3. Viscoplasticity or Creep with Static Recovery
2.1.3.4. Gasket Analysis
2.1.3.5. Initial State
2.1.3.6. Predefined Field Variables
Mechanical APDL
2.1.3.7. Field Variable Interpolation

2.1.3.8. Fracture Parameter Evaluation
Some material properties are not available via the material property menus of the GUI. For a list of such
material properties, see GUI-Inaccessible Material Properties.
2.1.3.1. Porous Media

An optional thermal degree of freedom (TEMP) has been added to the CPTnnn elements, enabling
structural-pore-fluid-diffusion-thermal analysis. A porous media analysis can now account for partially
saturated porous-media flow and CPT damping (Rayleigh damping for CPTnnn elements). New porous-
media material specifications (TB,PM) are available to account for degree of saturation as a function of
pore pressure (TBPT), relative permeability as a function of pore pressure, and gravity magnitude. Initial
degree of saturation and relative permeability (INISTATE) are now available for CPTnnn elements. For
more information, see Porous Media in the Mechanical APDL Material Reference, Porous Media Flow in
the Mechanical APDL Theory Reference, Initial Degree of Saturation and Relative Permeability Application
in the Mechanical APDL Advanced Analysis Guide, and Structural-Pore-Fluid-Diffusion-Thermal Applications
in the Mechanical APDL Coupled-Field Analysis Guide.
2.1.3.2. Geomechanics
The following material modeling enhancements are used in geomechanical structural analyses:
2.1.3.2.1. Menetrey-Willam Material Model
2.1.3.2.2. Drucker-Prager Concrete Model
2.1.3.2.1. Menetrey-Willam Material Model

The new Menetrey-Willam constitutive model is based on the Willam-Warnke yield surface, incorporating
dependence on three independent invariants of the stress tensor. The Willam-Warnke surface is similar
to the Mohr-Coulomb surface, but without the sharp edges that can cause difficulty in the Mohr-Coulomb
surface stress solution. It also shares some characteristics with the Drucker-Prager model and can
model similar materials. The Menetrey-Willam model, however, is generally better for simulating the
behavior of bonded aggregates such as concrete. For more information, see Menetrey-Willam in the
Mechanical APDL Material Reference.
2.1.3.2.2. Drucker-Prager Concrete Model

The Drucker-Prager Concrete model now allows for reverse yielding during cyclic loading. The modific-
ation changes the evolution of the tension and tension-compression yield surfaces so that the composite
surface remains continuous during hardening and softening. For more information, see Drucker-Prager
Concrete in the Mechanical APDL Material Reference.
2.1.3.3. Viscoplasticity or Creep with Static Recovery

Kinematic static recovery (TB,PLAS,,,,KSR) can now be used with the following material model combin-
ations:
• Material plasticity (TB,PLAS,,,,MISO) + viscoplasticity (TB,RATE) + Chaboche nonlinear kinematic

hardening plasticity (TB,CHAB). For more information, see RATE and CHAB and PLAS (Multilinear Iso-
tropic Hardening) and PLAS (Kinematic Static Recovery) Example in the Mechanical APDL Structural
Analysis Guide.
Structural
• Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening plasticity (TB,CHAB) + implicit creep (TB,CREEP). For more
information, see CHAB and PLAS and CREEP Example in the Mechanical APDL Structural Analysis Guide.
Viscoplasticity and creep are often used to model thermo-mechanical fatigue, where materials are
subject to mechanical and thermal cyclic loading, leading to plastic deformation. The cyclic loading can
cause failures even at very few cycles. By adding kinematic static recovery, a time-dependent evolution
of the Chaboche backstress, the material devolves toward the annealed or initial state of the plasticity.
2.1.3.4. Gasket Analysis

Gasket elements (INTER192, INTER193, INTER194, INTER195) can now process all six components of
stress and strain (KEYOPT(8) = 1). The elements also account for a specified element coordinate system
attribute pointer (ESYS).
The gasket material model (TB,GASKET) now supports additional material parameters (TBOPT = TSMS)
including transverse shear, membrane stiffness, and other orthotropic parameters. The new parameters
are not thickness-factored (unlike TBOPT = TSS) and are therefore pure material parameters. For more
information, see Gasket in the Mechanical APDL Material Reference.
2.1.3.5. Initial State

A faster method for assigning node-based initial-state values is now available. The initial-state (.ist)
data-input file (read in via the INISTATE,READ command) now enables node-based initial-state data
input (activated by specifying /node,1 at the top of the initial-state input in the file). For more inform-
ation, see Initial-State (.IST) File in the Mechanical APDL Advanced Analysis Guide.
Initial degree of saturation and relative permeability are now available for coupled-pore-pressure-thermal
elements (CPTnnn). For more information, see Initial Degree of Saturation and Relative Permeability
Application.
2.1.3.6. Predefined Field Variables

Material property support for predefined field variables has been expanded from just temperature
(TEMP) and frequency (FREQ) to include time (TIME), pressure (PPRE), location (XCOR, YCOR, ZCOR), and
displacement (UX, UY, UZ). The field variables can be defined in the global coordinate system or in any
local or user-defined coordinate system. For more information, see Understanding Field Variables in the
Mechanical APDL Material Reference and the TBFIELD command.
2.1.3.7. Field Variable Interpolation

New multidimensional interpolation algorithms are available for supported material data tables:
• Linear multivariate (TBIN,ALGO,LMUL) is a local algorithm that uses points near the query location to perform
the interpolation process. The algorithm can have discontinuities based on the selection of the neighboring
points used for the interpolation process. It is faster than other interpolation algorithms for a large selection
of data points and is highly accurate when given a sufficient distribution of points.
• Nearest-neighbor (TBIN,ALGO,NNEI) interpolation searches the supporting point with the smallest Euclidean
distance to the query point and returns the corresponding dependent value.
Unlike simple linear interpolation, you can input a random collection of data points where the material
property was experimentally evaluated. It is not necessary to input data in any specific grid format.
Mechanical APDL
For more information, see Interpolation Algorithms in the Mechanical APDL Material Reference and the
TBIN command.
2.1.3.8. Fracture Parameter Evaluation

J-integral and stress-intensity factor (SIF) evaluation now account for the presence of initial strains and
body forces. For more information, see Evaluation of Fracture Mechanics Parameters in the Mechanical
APDL Fracture Analysis Guide.
The SIF calculations have been enhanced to improve the results at the ends of a crack front. Also see
Stress-Intensity Factor (SIF) Calculation (CINT,TYPE,SIFS) (p. 34).
2.1.4. Linear Dynamics

Release 18.0 includes the following enhancements for structural analyses involving linear dynamics:
2.1.4.1. Cyclic Symmetry
2.1.4.2. Precise Mass Summary
2.1.4.3. Mode Selection
2.1.4.4. Load Case Operation
2.1.4.5. Substructuring and Component Mode Synthesis (CMS)
2.1.4.6. Rotordynamics
2.1.4.7. Damping
2.1.4.8. Mass Scaling
2.1.4.1. Cyclic Symmetry

Cyclic modal analysis now fully supports distributed-memory parallelism. For more information, see
Distributed ANSYS Enhancements (p. 26).
When plotting modal coordinates from a mode-superposition harmonic cyclic symmetry solution, you
can now plot the amplitude (SRSS of the real and imaginary parts) by setting KIMG = 2 on the PLMC
command.
Aero coupling coefficients for both single and multiple mode families can now be calculated via the
AEROCOEFF command and included in a mode-superposition harmonic cyclic symmetry analysis. The
AEROCOEFF command uses pressures exported from a CFD flutter or aero damping analysis and writes
an array of aero coupling coefficients that can be input via the CYCFREQ,AERO command. Pressure files
exported from a ANSYS CFX flutter analysis now include a nodal diameter number and a scaling factor
used by AEROCOEFF.
For CSV output by the CYCCALC command, you can now specify a dot (.) or colon (:) as the field separ-
ator instead of the default comma (,).
The cluster option (HROUT) is now supported for mode-superposition harmonic cyclic symmetry solutions.
2.1.4.2. Precise Mass Summary

The total inertia about a node or point defined via SPOINT is now supported. It is printed in the precise
mass summary in the global Cartesian coordinate system.
Multiphysics
2.1.4.3. Mode Selection

The mode selection used in a dynamic design analysis method (DDAM) procedure is now supported
for single-point response spectrum (SPRS) analysis. The new capability is especially useful for large
models where local accelerations are high. For more information, see Mode Selection Based on the
DDAM Procedure.
2.1.4.4. Load Case Operation

For better performance when calculating the maximum derived stress, equivalent strain, and principal
strain for a complex solution, a new option on LCOPER is provided to define the sweep angle increment.
2.1.4.5. Substructuring and Component Mode Synthesis (CMS)

The element results (such as stresses) of the static constraint modes and the fixed-interface normal
modes can now be calculated and written to the .CMS file in the CMS generation pass (CMSMETH =
FIX and ELCALC = YES on CMSOPT), reducing the processing time required for the CMS expansion
pass.
In a substructure or CMS analysis, the maximum number of superelement load vectors generated and
stored on the .SUB file defaults to 1000, although you can increase the limit (Lab = NUMSUBLV on
/CONFIG). The number of superelement load vectors scaled in the subsequent use pass (Lab = SELV
on SFE) is now unlimited.
In a CMS generation pass using the fixed-interface (CMSMETH = FIX on CMSOPT) or free-interface
(CMSMETH = FREE on CMSOPT) method, you can now opt not to save the factorized matrix files (ExpMth
= NONE on SEOPT). The new option reduces disk space usage in cases where restarting the generation
pass does not occur and the expansion pass is not performed.
2.1.4.6. Rotordynamics
In a static analysis, the gyroscopic forces are now calculated from the gyroscopic matrix and instantaneous
nodal velocities. For more information, see Applying Quasi-Static Loads.
A rotordynamics analysis can now account for structural rotating damping. Rotating damping (both
structural and viscous) is supported by the COMBIN14, MATRIX27, and MPC184 elements. For more in-
formation, see Adding Damping.
2.1.4.7. Damping
In a full or mode-superposition transient analysis, structural damping is taking into account if an average
excitation frequency is specified (DMPSFreq on TRNOPT).
2.1.4.8. Mass Scaling

The assembled mass matrix can be scaled via the new MASCALE command. It is especially useful when
using non-SI mass units.
2.2. Multiphysics
Release 18.0 includes the following enhancements for analyses involving multiphysics environments:
2.2.1. Acoustics
2.2.2.Thermal
Mechanical APDL
2.2.3. Coupled-Field
2.2.1. Acoustics
The following acoustic analysis enhancements are available in this release:
2.2.1.1. Mean Flow
2.2.1.2. Irregular Perfectly Matched Layers (IPML)
2.2.1.3. Other Enhancements for Acoustic Analysis
2.2.1.1. Mean Flow

The 3-D acoustic elements can now simulate the mean flow effect. The mean flow effect is taken into
account by solving the convective wave equation with a defined mean flow velocity (BF,,VMEN) in a
harmonic analysis. For more information, see Solving the Convective Wave Equation for the Mean Flow
Effect in the Mechanical APDL Acoustic Analysis Guide.
2.2.1.2. Irregular Perfectly Matched Layers (IPML)

In addition to perfectly matched layers (PML), the 3-D acoustic elements can now be used to model ir-
regular perfectly matched layers (IPML) to absorb outgoing sound waves in a harmonic acoustic analysis.
Fewer buffering and absorbing elements are generated for IPML as compared to PML. The IPML must
be constructed as a convex region. For more information, see Irregular Perfectly Matched Layers (IPML)
in the Mechanical APDL Acoustic Analysis Guide.
2.2.1.3. Other Enhancements for Acoustic Analysis

• The coaxial duct port is now available as an acoustic port excitation (APORT).
• Multiple load steps for the one-way coupling .asi file are supported in harmonic and transient acoustic
analyses.
• In harmonic acoustic analysis, the more efficient symmetric FSI formulation is selected by default.
• On PML and IPML exterior surfaces, the constrained degrees of freedom are zeroed out by default.
• The sound pressure level (SPL), particle velocity, and acoustic energies are now available when postprocessing
a transient acoustic analysis.
2.2.2. Thermal
The following thermal analysis enhancements are available in this release:
2.2.2.1. Field-Dependent Thermal Material Properties

The SOLID278 and SOLID279 thermal elements now enable material property specification via data
tables (TB,THERM). The new capability is valid for both the homogeneous and layered element options.
Thermal properties can be a function of time, position, temperature, and user-defined field variables.
User-defined field variables can be defined at nodes (INISTATE) and modified via the userfld.F
subroutine.
Solvers
2.2.2.2. Radiation Enclosure Enhancement for Radiosity Method

New extrusion options (RSYMM) enable you to create a 3-D radiation enclosure from an underlying 2-
D body. You can construct a 3-D radiation enclosure (consisting of SURF252 elements) from underlying
solid and planar/axisymmetric elements, accomplished via multiple RSURF commands with some
commands acting on solid elements and some on planar/axisymmetric elements.
2.2.3. Coupled-Field
The following enhancements are available for analyses involving coupled-field elements PLANE222,
PLANE223, SOLID226, and SOLID227:
2.2.3.1. Strongly Coupled Electrostatic-Structural Analysis
2.2.3.2.Thermomagnetic Analysis
2.2.3.3. New Coupled-Field Element
2.2.3.4. Linear Perturbation
2.2.3.1. Strongly Coupled Electrostatic-Structural Analysis

For a coupled electrostatic-structural analysis, strong (matrix) coupling is now the default coupling
method. As a result, it is now possible to perform linear perturbation static, modal, and harmonic analyses
involving electrostatic force coupling. The matrix coupling also enhances convergence of nonlinear
static and transient electrostatic-structural analyses. Typical applications for electrostatic-structural
analysis include modeling dielectric electroactive polymers and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).
2.2.3.2. Thermomagnetic Analysis

The coupled-field element PLANE223 now supports the following coupled analysis types, used to solve
thermomagnetic problems involving joule heat generation inside current carrying conductors:
• Thermal-Magnetic (KEYOPT(1) = 10010)
• Thermal-Electromagnetic (KEYOPT(1) = 10110)
For more information, see Electromagnetic-Thermal Analysis in the Mechanical APDL Coupled-Field
Analysis Guide.
2.2.3.3. New Coupled-Field Element

The new PLANE222 element, which uses the full-integration B-bar method, is a 2-D, 4-node element
that supports structural-thermal coupling. In addition to thermal expansion, structural-thermal capabil-
ities include the piezocaloric and thermoplastic effects. The element also supports mesh nonlinear ad-
aptivity to improve results accuracy by modifying the mesh automatically during solution.
2.2.3.4. Linear Perturbation

The TRANS126 electromechanical transducer element now supports linear perturbation modal analysis
and linear perturbation harmonic analysis.
2.3. Solvers
Release 18.0 includes the following improvements to the solution process:
2.3.1. Sparse Solver Enhancements
2.3.2. Distributed ANSYS Enhancements
Mechanical APDL
2.3.3. Eigensolver Enhancements

2.3.4. MPI Software Command Line Option
2.3.1. Sparse Solver Enhancements

The following enhancements are available for the sparse solver:
• Total memory usage by the sparse solver has been significantly reduced for many simulations when using
distributed-memory parallel processing.
• Sparse solver performance is significantly improved for static, full transient, and full harmonic analyses when
using shared-memory parallel processing, especially with four or more cores.
2.3.2. Distributed ANSYS Enhancements

The following enhancements are available for distributed-memory parallel processing (Distributed ANSYS):
• Two new domain decomposition methods (DDOPTION) are available:
– Frequency domain decomposition method (Decomp = FREQ) for harmonic analyses.
– Cyclic-harmonic frequency domain decomposition method (Decomp = CYCHI) for cyclic symmetry analyses.
The new decomposition methods can significantly speed up simulations during a distributed parallel solution
when sufficient computational resources are available.
• A new procedure for multiframe restart enables you to change the core count between the base static or
full transient analysis and the restarted analysis. For details, see Restarts in Distributed ANSYS in the Mech-
anical APDL Parallel Processing Guide.
• Support for mesh nonlinear adaptivity (NLADAPTIVE) in a distributed solution has been added.
• The MPI software versions have been updated to: Intel MPI 5.1.3, IBM MPI 9.1.4.2, and MS MPI v7.1.
2.3.3. Eigensolver Enhancements

The following eigensolver enhancements are available:
• As an alternative to the default Block Lanczos (LANB) method or the Subspace (SUBSP) method, the QRDAMP
eigensolver can now use the Supernode (SNODE) eigensolver to solve the symmetric eigenvalue problem
(see QRDOPT).
• Performance has been improved for the Block Lanczos and QRDAMP eigensolver calculations, especially for
higher core counts (16 or more) and when many modes (50 or more) are requested.
2.3.4. MPI Software Command Line Option

When Distributed ANSYS is run from the command line, the option to specify the IBM Platform MPI
software has changed from -mpi pcmpi to -mpi ibmmpi. This MPI software is now referred to as the
"IBM MPI" rather than the "Platform MPI" in the Mechanical APDL Product Launcher and in the docu-
mentation.
2.4. Commands
This section describes changes to commands at Release 18.0:
Commands
2.4.1. New Commands

2.4.2. Modified Commands
2.4.3. Undocumented Commands
Some commands are inaccessible from menus and are available via the command input area or batch
file input only. The documentation for each command indicates menu path information, if available.
2.4.1. New Commands

The following new commands are available:
• AEROCOEFF -- Calculates the aero damping and stiffness coefficients and writes them to an APDL array.
• EXBOPT -- Specifies .exb file output options in a CMS generation pass.
• MASCALE -- Activates scaling of the entire system matrix.
• *SCAL -- Scales a vector or matrix by a constant.
2.4.2. Modified Commands

The following commands have been enhanced or otherwise modified:
• ANTYPE -- Specifies the analysis type and restart status. The Variational Technology (VT) restart option
(VTREST) has been removed.
• APORT -- Specifies input data for plane wave and acoustic duct ports. The new COAX label defines a coaxial
duct port in an acoustic analysis.
• BF -- Defines a nodal body force load. The new VMEN load label defines mean flow velocity as a body force
load in an acoustic analysis.
• COMBINE -- Combines distributed memory parallel files. You can now use the command to manually combine
multiframe restart files (Jobname.Rnnn) after a distributed parallel solution.
• CSYS -- Activates a previously defined coordinate system. Support has been added for a cylindrical coordinate
system with global Cartesian X as the axis of rotation.
• CMSOPT -- Specifies component mode synthesis (CMS) analysis options. New option for element calculation.
• /CONFIG -- Assigns values to Mechanical APDL configuration parameters. New option to specify the maximum
number of load vectors in substructuring and CMS analyses.
• CYCCALC -- Calculates results from a cyclic harmonic mode-superposition analysis using the specifications
defined via CYCSPEC. For CSV output, you can specify a dot (.) or colon (:) as the field separator instead of
the default comma (,).
• CYCFREQ -- Specifies solution options for a cyclic symmetry mode-superposition harmonic analysis. A new
option specifyies the array containing aerodynamic damping coefficients.
• DDOPTION -- Sets the domain decomposer option for Distributed ANSYS. Three new options (Decomp =
MESH, Decomp = FREQ, and Decomp = CYCHI) replace the previous options for domain decomposition.
The new options control decomposition based on the FEA mesh (for all analysis types), the frequency domain
(for harmonic analyses), or the harmonic indices (for cyclic symmetry analyses).
Mechanical APDL
• *DIM -- Defines an array parameter and its dimensions. Tabular load arrays can now be defined in global
Cartesian (default), cylindrical, spherical, or local coordinate systems.
• *DMAT -- Creates a dense matrix. When copying an existing complex value matrix, you can now specify
whether the real or imaginary part is copied to the output matrix.
• DMPOPTION -- Specifies distributed memory parallel file combination options. You can now control
whether or not the multiframe restart files (Jobname.Rnnn) are combined automatically after a distributed
parallel solution.
• EEXTRUDE -- Extrudes 2-D plane elements into 3-D solids. The command now supports tire analysis, enabling
automatic axisymmetric extrusion in the full 360 degrees, flat "tire" target elements, stepped mesh-refinement
near the contact patch, and appended 2-D node and element components. For axisymmetric and tire analyses,
the command can also control the nodal orientation in the third direction and boundary-condition mapping.
• EREINF – Generates reinforcing elements from selected existing (base) elements. The command now supports
mesh-independent reinforcing.
• /ESHAPE -- Displays elements with shapes determined from the real constants, section definition, or other
inputs. The command can now supports elements with special options, such as torsion for PLANE182 and
PLANE183.
• GCDEF -- Defines interface interactions between general contact surfaces. The command now supports
identification of contact surfaces based on vertex general contact elements (CONTA175)
• GCGEN -- Creates contact elements for general contact. The command now has options to create vertex
general contact elements (CONTA175).
• *GET -- Retrieves a value and stores it as a scalar parameter or part of an array parameter. The new general
item Entity = TBTYPE evaluates a material property coefficient for a given set of input field variables.
The preprocessing item Entity = SHEL can now retrieve section membrane and bending stiffness matrix
data, and section transverse shear stiffness matrix data.
• LCOPER -- Performs load case operations. A new option is added to specify the sweep angle increment.
• LDREAD -- Reads results from the results file and applies them as loads. A new VMEN load label applies
mean flow velocities as body force loads in a harmonic acoustic analysis. A new VOLT load label applies
voltages from an electric analysis as nodal loads or initial conditions in a subsequent electric analysis.
• MAP2DTO3D -- Initiates a 2-D to 3-D analysis and maps variables. The command syntax has been simplified.
The load step and substep at which a 2-D to 3-D analysis should start is specified via the START option. The
FINISH option maps solution variables from the 2-D mesh to the extruded 3-D mesh. A new SOLVE option
maps nodal and element solutions from the original 2-D model to the new 3-D model and rebalances the
solution results.
• *MOPER -- Performs matrix operations on array parameter matrices. Two new operations are available: INTP
returns element information based on specified coordinate locations, and SGET returns nodal results for a
given set of element information (for example, INTP results).
• NLDIAG, NLHIST -- These nonlinear diagnostic commands now report contact pair-based maximum torque
(CTRQ) for 2-D axisymmetric contact analyses.
• NUMOFF -- Adds a number offset to defined items. A new option enables you to add the specified number
offset to all attribute references (including undefined items).
Commands
• PLMC -- Plots the modal coordinates from a mode-superposition solution. The amplitude of the modal co-
ordinates can now be plotted after a harmonic analysis.
• PMLOPT -- In addition to perfectly matched layers (PML), you can now use the command to define irregular
perfectly matched layers (IPML) in an acoustic analysis.
• PMLSIZE -- Determines the number of PML or IPML layers. Support for irregular perfectly matched layers
(IPML) is now available. The command also offers a new WAVESPEED argument specifying the wave speed
in the PML or IPML medium.
• QRDOPT -- Specifies QRDAMP modal analysis options. The supernode algorithm (SNODE) can now be specified
as the mode-extraction method for the symmetric eigenvalue problem.
• RESCONTROL -- Controls file writing for multiframe restarts. The new MAXTotalFiles argument enables
you to set the maximum number of restart files saved.
• RSYMM -- Defines symmetry, rotation, or extrusion parameters for the radiosity method. A linear or circum-
ferential extrusion of radiosity surface elements is now possible, allowing 3-D radiation enclosures to be
constructed form underlying solid and planar/axisymmetric elements. In addition, an option to compute
the section angle automatically for a cyclic reflection is available.
• RSYS -- Activates a coordinate system for printout or display of element and nodal results. The command
now supports global cylindrical coordinate systems in the X, Y or Z direction.
• SECCONTROL – Supplements or overrides default section properties. For reinforcing sections, a new option
removes base-element material (mass and stiffness) in the space occupied by the reinforcing fibers, typically
leading to more accurate models.
• SECDATA – Describes the geometry of a section. A new MESH pattern is available to support mesh-inde-
pendent reinforcing.
• SECTYPE – Associates section type information with a section ID number. The command now supports
mesh-independent reinforcing.
• SEOPT -- Specifies substructure analysis options. New option to not save factorized matrix files.
• SF – Specifies surface loads on nodes. A new RIGW load label flags a rigid wall (Neuman boundary) in an
acoustic analysis.
• SLIST – Summarizes the section properties for all defined sections in the current session. The command has
improved support for reinforcing sections.
• SPOINT – Defines a point for force and moment summations or inertia calculation. The new InertiaKey
option activates the calculation of the total inertia with respect to the point or node defined.
• TB -- Activates a data table for material properties or special element input. The gasket material model
(TB,GASKET) now supports additional material parameters (TBOPT = TSMS) including transverse shear,
membrane stiffness, and other orthotropic parameters. A new thermal properties model (TB,THERM) is also
available.
• TBEO -- Sets special options or parameters for material data tables. You can now specify a coordinate system
to use with location or displacement field variables.
• TBFIELD -- Defines values of field variables for material data tables. Support has been added for several new
predefined field variables.
Mechanical APDL
• TRNOPT -- Specifies transient analysis options. The Variational Technology method (VT) has been removed.
New option for specifying the average excitation frequency to take structural damping into account.
• *VEC -- Creates a vector. When copying an existing complex value vector, you can now specify whether the
real or imaginary part is copied to the output vector.
2.4.3. Undocumented Commands

The following commands have been undocumented:
Command Reason
STAOPT The Variational Technology method has been removed
for nonlinear static analysis.
IMPD The command is obsolete.
For information about commands that have been undocumented in prior releases, see the archived
release notes on the ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xvi).
2.5. Elements
This section describes changes to elements at Release 18.0:
2.5.1. New Elements
2.5.2. Modified Elements
2.5.3. Undocumented Elements
Some elements are not available from within the GUI. For a list of those elements, see GUI-Inaccessible
Elements.
2.5.1. New Elements

The following new element has been added:
• PLANE222 – 2-D 4-Node Coupled-Field Solid
2.5.2. Modified Elements

The following elements have been enhanced:
• CONTA175 – This node-to-surface contact element can now be included in a general contact definition to
prevent penetrations between convex corners of solid bodies and shell surfaces, as well as endpoints of
beam structures, into other surfaces.
• CONTA171, CONTA172, CONTA173, CONTA174 -- New options for fluid pressure-penetration loading (KEY-
OPT(14)) have been added to these surface-to-surface contact elements.
• CONTA171, CONTA172, CONTA173, CONTA174, CONTA175 -- These surface-to-surface and node-to-surface

contact elements now support coupled mechanical-thermal-electric-diffusion interactions between surfaces
or between a surface and its surroundings. For more information, see Modeling Diffusion Flow at the Contact
Interface in the Mechanical APDL Contact Technology Guide.
• CONTA171, CONTA172, CONTA173, CONTA174, CONTA175, CONTA176, CONTA177 -- For these contact
elements, the contact stiffness update (controlled by KEYOPT(10)) now occurs at each iteration by default
instead of at each load step.
Documentation
• CPT212, CPT213, CPT215, CPT216, CPT217 – These coupled-pore-pressure elements now have an optional
thermal degree of freedom (TEMP), enabling structural-pore-fluid-diffusion-thermal analysis. New output
quantities account for void volume ratio (VRAT), degree of saturation (DSAT), and relative permeability
(RPER).
• FLUID30, FLUID220, and FLUID221 -- These 3-D acoustic elements can now be used to model irregular perfectly
matched layers (IPML) to absorb outgoing sound waves (KEYOPT(4) = 2). In addition, the elements now
support mean flow velocity as a body load.
• SHELL181 and SHELL281 – These structural shell elements now offer advanced and simplified curved-shell
formulations via KEYOPT(5). The advanced formulation incorporates initial curvature effects, where the cal-
culation for effective shell-curvature change accounts for both shell-membrane and thickness strains. Although
the advanced formulation generally results in better accuracy in simulations of curved-shell structures, the
simplified formulation generally results in more robust linear convergence, as it ignores curvature effects
in the shell-offset handling. The new KEYOPT(11) offers more control over the element x-axis orientation.
• INTER192, INTER193, INTER194, INTER195 – These gasket elements can now process all six components of
stress and strain (KEYOPT(8) = 1) and can now account for a specified element coordinate system attribute
pointer (ESYS).
• MESH200 – This meshing-facet element can now provide temporary representation of discrete reinforcing
fibers and smeared reinforcing layers, including their geometry, material, and orientation.
• PLANE182, PLANE183 – These 2-D structural solid elements offer the new KEYOPT(17) to enable extra surface
output. For axisymmetric analyses, the elements can now account for torsion (KEYOPT(3) = 6).
• PLANE223 – This 2-D coupled-field solid now includes the AZ degree of freedom and supports thermal-
magnetic and thermal-electric-magnetic coupling.
• PLANE223, SOLID226, SOLID227 – When using these coupled-field elements to model electrostatic-structural
coupling, the default coupling behavior is now strong (matrix) coupling. The elements now support linear
perturbation static, modal, and harmonic analyses involving electrostatic force coupling.
• REINF263, REINF264, REINF265 – These reinforcing elements now support mesh-independent reinforcing.
The elements can also account for redundant base-element material where the reinforcing fibers are located
(SECCONTROL,,REMBASE). The 2-D smeared reinforcing element REINF263 now supports the axisymmetric
option with torsion and can be used to reinforce 2-D structural solid elements PLANE182 and PLANE183.
• SOLID185 (nonlayered only), SOLID186 (nonlayered only), SOLID187 – These structural solid elements offer
the new KEYOPT(17) to enable extra surface output.
• TRANS126 -- This electromechanical transducer element now supports linear perturbation modal analysis
and linear perturbation harmonic analysis.
2.5.3. Undocumented Elements

No elements have been undocumented at this release. For information about elements that have been
undocumented in prior releases, see the archived release notes on the ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xvi).
2.6. Documentation
ANSYS, Inc. continues to refine the Mechanical APDL documentation set. To that end, the following
changes and enhancements to the documentation have occurred:
Mechanical APDL
2.6.1. Technology Demonstration Guide

The following example problem has been added to the Technology Demonstration Guide:
Surface Subsidence Caused by Reservoir Depletion – An analysis for predicting solid deformation
caused by coupling of pore-pressure diffusion and solid matrix deformation. Surface subsidence of
a disc-shaped compartmentalized reservoir in a homogenous poro-elastic continuum is used as a
demonstration case. The problem highlights geomechanics (soil analysis), coupled pore-pressure
mechanical solid elements, and the modified Cam-clay soil material model.
2.6.2. Documentation Updates for Programmers

Routines and functions documented in the Programmer's Reference have been updated to reflect the
current source code. To see specific changes in a file, ANSYS, Inc. recommends opening both the old
and current files (using a text editor that displays line numbers), then comparing the two to determine
which lines have changed. You can copy the updated files to your system by performing a custom in-
stallation of the product.
2.6.3. Feature Archive

Legacy features, commands, elements, and theory information continue to move to the Feature Archive.
While ANSYS, Inc. intends to support legacy capabilities for the immediate future, some may be undoc-
umented in future releases. Consider moving to their recommended replacements.
2.7. Known Limitations

On the Mechanical APDL Product Launcher's High Performance Computing Setup tab (Linux version),
when IBM MPI is the selected MPI type, an option to choose Secure Shell (ssh) instead of Remote Shell
(rsh) is displayed even though the default is now ssh. This will be corrected in the next release. At Release
18.0, if you wish to use ssh, no action is required; if you wish to use rsh, enter the -usersh command
line option in the Additional Parameters field of the Customization/Preferences tab.
2.8. Known Incompatibilities

The following incompatibilities with prior releases are known to exist at Release 18.0:
2.8.1. Default Settings for Cyclic Modal Analysis
2.8.2. Nodal Velocities in a Static Analysis
2.8.3. Writing and Reading Nodes
2.8.4. Command Syntax for 2-D to 3-D Analysis
2.8.5. Electrostatic-Structural Coupled-Field Analysis
2.8.6. KEYOPT(1) for Acoustic Elements
2.8.7. General Contact Component Name Extensions
2.8.8. KEYOPT(10) for Contact Elements
2.8.9. Stress-Intensity Factor (SIF) Calculation (CINT,TYPE,SIFS)
2.8.10. File Naming for Distributed Parallel Solutions
2.8.11. Secure Shell Protocol Used for Distributed Parallel Processing
2.8.12. MPI Change for ANSYS LS-DYNA
2.8.1. Default Settings for Cyclic Modal Analysis

By default, the CYCOPT command now writes only the basic sector results to the Jobname.MODE and
Jobname.RST files (CYCOPT,MSUP,1) for use in a subsequent mode-superposition-based analysis
Known Incompatibilities
(MODOPT,LANB). In prior releases, the command wrote the results for both the basic and duplicate
sectors to the Jobname.MODE and Jobname.RST files.
2.8.2. Nodal Velocities in a Static Analysis

Beginning with this release, the pseudo-structural nodal velocities in a static analysis are zero and not
calculated as the ratio of the specified displacement constraints (D command with structural labels UX,
UY, UZ, ROTX, ROTY, and ROTZ) to the time increment. Nodal velocities can be defined directly via the
D or IC commands (labels VELX, VELY, VELZ, OMX, OMY, and OMZ), or via the ICROTATE command.
2.8.3. Writing and Reading Nodes

The accuracy of nodal coordinates in the .node file generated via the NWRITE command has been
increased. Although the .node files are forward- and backward-compatible between this release and
prior releases, some third-party applications may encounter difficulty when reading the program-gen-
erated .node file.
2.8.4. Command Syntax for 2-D to 3-D Analysis

The syntax of the MAP2DTO3D command has changed. The load step and substep at which a 2-D to
3-D analysis should start is still specified via the START option, but the FINISH option only maps or
transfers boundary conditions and loads from the 2-D mesh to the extruded 3-D mesh. A new SOLVE
option maps nodal and element solutions from the original 2-D model to the new 3-D model and rebal-
ances the solution results.
2.8.5. Electrostatic-Structural Coupled-Field Analysis

In an electrostatic-structural analysis using elements PLANE223, SOLID226, or SOLID227, the reaction
solution for the electric potential (VOLT) degree of freedom is now negative electric charge, similar to
piezoelectric analysis. The element surface or volume charge density load (CHRGS or CHRGD) is now
interpreted as negative surface or volume charge density, respectively. As a result, in a circuit-driven
electrostatic-structural analysis using the CIRCU94 element, it is no longer necessary to set KEYOPT(6)
= 1 (positive electric charge).
2.8.6. KEYOPT(1) for Acoustic Elements

The symmetric element matrix option for modal analysis with FSI present (KEYOPT(1) = 1) has been re-
moved for acoustic elements FLUID220 and FLUID221.
2.8.7. General Contact Component Name Extensions

In prior releases, identifying general contact section IDs via component name extensions (_EDGE, _FACE,
_TOP, and _BOT) or ALL_ labels (ALL_EDGE, ALL_FACE, ALL_TOP, and ALL_BOT) was sometimes dependent
on the current select status of elements. At this release, component name extensions and ALL_ labels
apply to all defined general contact elements section IDs in the model without regard to the select
status of elements or attached nodes.
2.8.8. KEYOPT(10) for Contact Elements

For contact elements CONTA171 through CONTA177, KEYOPT(10) controls the contact stiffness update
scheme. At this release, the input values for KEYOPT(10) have changed. Now KEYOPT(10) = 0 and 2
specify contact stiffness updates at each iteration, and KEYOPT(10) = 1 specifies contact stiffness updates
Mechanical APDL
at each load step. The new KEYOPT(10) = 0 setting is equivalent to the old KEYOPT(10) = 2 setting; the
new KEYOPT(10) = 1 setting is equivalent to the old KEYOPT(10) = 0 setting. The new KEYOPY(10) = 2
setting is similar to KEYOPT(10) = 0, but with additional elastic slip control.
When resuming a database (.DB) file from a release prior to 18.0, KEYOPT(10) = 0 is converted to KEY-
OPT(10) = 1, and KEYOPT(10) = 2 is converted to KEYOPT(10) = 0. This is not the case when reading in
an input file created from a prior release.
2.8.9. Stress-Intensity Factor (SIF) Calculation (CINT,TYPE,SIFS)

The SIF calculations using the interaction integral method have been modified. In earlier versions, the
plane stress auxiliary fields were used over the entire crack front. In the current release, the plane strain
auxiliary fields are used for the crack front nodes. However, for an open crack front, the plane stress
auxiliary fields are used only at the end nodes. The change, in general, affects the results slightly on
the interior nodes.
2.8.10. File Naming for Distributed Parallel Solutions

In prior releases during a distributed parallel solution, the program appended a process-rank number
n to the current jobname (Jobnamen) for files created in each process, even if the jobname ended
with a numeric value. Now, if the jobname ends in a numeric value, the program inserts an underscore
before n (Jobname_n).
2.8.11. Secure Shell Protocol Used for Distributed Parallel Processing

In prior releases, the remote shell (rsh) protocol was the default for distributed-memory parallel pro-
cessing, and the -usessh command line option was required to run Distributed ANSYS on a Linux
cluster that uses the secure shell (ssh) protocol. At this release, the default protocol is changed to ssh,
so the -usessh command line option is no longer needed. Now, the -usersh command line option
is required to run Distributed ANSYS on a cluster that uses the rsh protocol.
2.8.12. MPI Change for ANSYS LS-DYNA

IBM Platform MPI is no longer supported by ANSYS LS-DYNA for massively parallel processing. Starting
at this release, you must use Intel MPI instead.
Chapter 3: Autodyn Release Notes
The ANSYS Autodyn product comprises all of the following explicit solvers: FE (Lagrange), Euler, FCT,
ALE, and SPH, and various means to couple them together. All are integrated into the Autodyn Com-
ponent system, while the FE (Lagrange) and Euler—including Euler-Lagrange coupling—are also integ-
rated into the Explicit Dynamics Analysis system (see Explicit Dynamics Enhancements (p. 11)).
3.1. New Features and Enhancements

The following new features and enhancements are available in release 18.0. Refer to the product specific
documentation for full details.
• The accuracy of the Euler-Lagrange coupling algorithm has been improved by the implementation of an
enhanced blending algorithm.
• Edge on Edge and Edge on Face bonded connections as well as bonded connections for beams are now
available.
• A new mass weighted penalty force method greatly increases the robustness of bonded connections.
• The initialization of bonds has been improved and new methods for verification of initialized bonds are
available.
• The previous maximum limit of 100 materials that can be defined and used in a model has been removed.
An unlimited number of materials can now be used.
• An improved time step stability algorithm allows tetrahedral elements to be analyzed a factor of two faster
than before.
• The MPI software versions have been updated to: Intel MPI 5.1.3, IBM MPI 9.1.4.2, and MS MPI v7.1. The option
to specify the IBM Platform MPI software has changed from -mpi pcmpi to -mpi ibmmpi. This MPI software
is now referred to as "IBM MPI" rather than "Platform MPI" in the documentation.
Chapter 4: Aqwa Release Notes
This release of the Aqwa related products contains all capabilities from previous releases plus many
new features and enhancements. The following enhancements are available in release 18.0. Refer to
the product specific documentation for full details of the new features.
4.1. Aqwa Solver Modules
4.2. Hydrodynamic Analysis Systems
4.1. Aqwa Solver Modules

The following new features provide extended capabilities in the Aqwa solver modules:
4.1.1. Multiple Wave Directions with Forward Speed

Analysis can now be performed with forward speed and multiple wave directions, including the effects
of negative encounter frequencies. For more information, see Wave Frequencies.
4.1.2. Hydrodynamic Database File Structure

The hydrodynamic database files have been modified to accommodate forward speed with multiple
wave directions. This may impact any user-developed results extraction utilities. The AQL functions
continue to work as expected.
4.1.3. Efficiency Improvements in QTF Computations

The computation time for the difference and sum frequency Quadratic Transfer Function (QTF) matrices,
and the directional coupling mean drift force coefficient matrix, has been reduced by at least an order
of magnitude.
4.1.4. Drag Linearization in Frequency Domain Dynamic Analyses with Forward

Speed
When using the new forward speed with multiple wave directions, drag linearization is now enabled
in a frequency domain analysis.
4.2. Hydrodynamic Analysis Systems

The following new features provide extended capabilities in the Hydrodynamic Analysis Workbench
systems:
4.2.1. Time Domain Statistical Results Object

The new Time Domain Statistics result object allows you to view statistics and probability distributions
for Time Response analysis. For more information, see Time Domain Statistical Results.
Aqwa
4.2.2. External Meshing System

Aqwa now supports adding an external meshing system upstream to a Hydrodynamic analysis system.
The external meshing system allows you to use the full suite of meshing tools available in the ANSYS
Meshing Application. For more information, see Aqwa Workflow and Systems.
4.2.3. Tethers/Risers in Workbench

Aqwa Workbench now supports Tethers and Risers. For more information, see Tethers/Risers.
4.2.4. Equilibrium Position in Workbench

You can now set the position at equilibrium in an Aqwa Hydrodynamic Diffraction analysis when applying
a structural connection stiffness. For more information, see Connection Stiffness Matrix.
Chapter 5: ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP)
The following enhancements are available in release 18.0. Refer to the product specific documentation
for full details of the new features. Notes on features incorporated into the 17.1 and 17.2 releases are
also included here for users upgrading between major releases.
5.1. New Features in ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 18.0
5.4. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 18.0
5.5. Known Limitations and Incompatibilities

The following features were added to ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) for the 18.0 release:
5.1.1. Enhanced CAD Operations
5.1.2. Refactoring of the Material Class
5.1.3. Parameter Manager
5.1.4. Node-Based Thicknesses
5.1.5. Improved Solid Model Extrusion
5.1.1. Enhanced CAD Operations

The stability and accuracy of geometry features has been improved. This enhancement solves certain
shortcomings in detecting point locations in the Snap-to, Cut-off, and Extrusion Guide features.
5.1.2. Refactoring of the Material Class

The material object in ACP has been completely refactored to gain performance and improve the
workflow when working with variable materials. This also brings changes in the Python user interface.
You should update your scripts if you are using the Python scripting capabilities.
5.1.3. Parameter Manager

The refactoring of the parameter manager in ACP resolves certain instabilities and guarantees the
proper synchronization of Workbench project parameters and parameters in ACP.
5.1.4. Node-Based Thicknesses

By default, ACP determines ply thicknesses at the element center and not at the nodal locations. The
node-based thickness option allows you to analyze ply tapering at the nodes which will result in a more
accurate ply representation, especially for solid model extrusions. For more information, see Model
Properties - General.
5.1.5. Improved Solid Model Extrusion

The solid model extrusion algorithm in ACP has been improved in the following areas:
ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP)
• The drop-off method Outside Ply now determines the ply boundary correctly.
• When multiple extrusion guides share an edge, the shape of the adjacent guides are respected. In some
cases, it eliminates the need for applying an extrusion guide twice to get the desired results.

5.2.1. Improved Postprocessing for Solids
5.2.2. Section Cut
5.2.3. Butt Joint Sequence
5.2.4. Enhanced BECAS Interface
5.2.5. Improved CSV Interface for Results Export
5.2.1. Improved Postprocessing for Solids

Failure criteria for sandwich structures in solid elements have been refactored. Criteria are now evaluated
independently of whether the results are shown on solid or shell elements. Additionally, accuracy in
evaluating failure criteria has been improved. For more information, see Postprocessing of a Composite
Solid Model.
5.2.2. Section Cut

A new visualization method for section cuts allows you to generate surface meshes instead of line
(wireframe) plots. For more information, see Section Cuts.
5.2.3. Butt Joint Sequence

The new Butt Joint Sequence entity allows you to define butt joints between plies. This information is
helpful in the generation of section cuts, and allows you to generate more precise surface meshes for
BECAS. For more information, see Butt Joint Sequence.
5.2.4. Enhanced BECAS Interface

The BECAS interface can now automatically deal with thick laminates and T-joints. The result is a more
precise representation of the laminate. For more information, see BECAS.
5.2.5. Improved CSV Interface for Results Export

The CSV export interface for solution objects now supports solid elements. Additionally, performance
has been improved during CSV export. For more information, see Solution Object.

5.3.1. Performance Improvements
5.3.2. Variable Offset Selection Rule
5.3.3. Enhancements to Python User Interface
5.3.4. CAD Geometry Handling
5.3.5. Unified Mechanical Postprocessing Engine
5.3.6.Text Labels for User-Defined Plots
Known Limitations and Incompatibilities
5.3.1. Performance Improvements

For Release 17.1, there has been an emphasis on performance. The modeling ply update has been re-
worked. The handling of the Fabric option Ignore for Postprocessing has been adapted as well. Both
changes yield significant reductions in update time for large models.
5.3.2. Variable Offset Selection Rule

The Variable Offset Selection Rule has been fully incorporated into ACP. Previously this selection rule
was available as an ACP add-on. This selection rule is an advanced version of the Tube Selection Rule,
combined with Ply Tapering. The Variable Offset Selection Rule allows you to select elements at varying
offsets from an Edge Set. If the same selection rule is applied to multiple Modeling Plies, a tapering can
also be defined. The offsets are defined using Look-up Tables and can be measured directly or along a
curvature.
5.3.3. Enhancements to Python User Interface

The access to model information through the Python user interface has been extended. The mesh_query
function now allows you to directly and quickly access model information such as elemental area,
volume, or weight.
5.3.4. CAD Geometry Handling

CAD Geometries which are imported into ACP are transferred to the Workbench Project file structure.
This removes an absolute file paths and makes sharing of ACP projects more stable. For more information,
see CAD Geometries.
5.3.5. Unified Mechanical Postprocessing Engine

Composite failure postprocessing is now available in Mechanical as well as ACP-Post. For more inform-
ation, see Composite Failure Tool.
5.3.6. Text Labels for User-Defined Plots

The functionality of User-Defined Plots has been extended so that user-defined text labels can be
presented on each element. The feature behaves in the same way as text labels for failure plots.
5.4. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 18.0

Platform/OS levels that are supported in the current release are posted on the ANSYS website.
5.5. Known Limitations and Incompatibilities

The following limitation exists in ANSYS Composite PrepPost for Release 18.0.
5.5.1. Variable Material Data in Sampling Point and Failure Criteria

Variable material data is not considered in the Classical Laminate Theory results of a Sampling Point.
Variable material data is also not considered in the evaluation of the face sheet wrinkling and shear
crimping failure criteria. In these cases, results are based on the material stiffness at the reference
temperature, 0 degree shear angle, and default field variable.
ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP)
5.5.2. NVIDIA Settings

For computers using NVIDIA drivers, it is important to use specific driver settings to ensure optimal ACP
performance. For information on these settings, see Post-Installation Procedures for ANSYS Composite
PrepPost (ACP).
Part II: ANSYS Fluids Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Fluids products:
Fluent (p. 45)

CFX (p. 63)
TurboGrid (p. 65)
ANSYS BladeModeler (p. 67)
CFD-Post (p. 69)
Polyflow (p. 71)
Forte (p. 73)
ANSYS Chemkin-Pro (p. 77)
FENSAP-ICE (p. 79)
Chapter 1: Fluent Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS Fluent 18.0.
1.1. New Features in ANSYS Fluent 18.0
1.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Fluent 18.0
1.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 18.0
1.4. Resolved Issues and Limitations
1.5. Updates Affecting Code Behavior
Backwards Compatibility: In most instances Fluent 18.0 can read case and data files from all past Fluent
releases. However, due to product improvements and defect corrections, results obtained from old
cases running in new releases may differ somewhat from the previously-obtained results. In addition,
while infrequent, changes made in UDF macros over time could lead to some user-defined functions
failing to compile without modification.
1.1. New Features in ANSYS Fluent 18.0

New features available in ANSYS Fluent 18.0 are listed below. Where appropriate, references to the rel-
evant section in the User's Guide are provided.
User Interface
• Improvements to the user experience:
– You can select multiple items in the tree, such as boundary conditions, to perform right-click operations
on the selected items.
– Single-clicks in the tree highlight the selected branch. Double-clicking a branch opens the corres-
ponding dialog box or task page.
– Dialog boxes containing lists are expandable.
– You can use text filtering in surface lists. For additional information, see Filter Text Entry Boxes in the
Fluent User's Guide.
– The Scale... command is now exposed as a button in the Setting Up Domain ribbon tab (Mesh
group box).
For additional information about the user interface, see Graphical User Interface (GUI) in the
Solver-Meshing
• The report produced by the standard mesh check will now include information about any left-
handed faces present at a mesh interface, as long as data exists for the interface (through initial-
ization or solution). Such poor quality elements will also now be addressed in the corrections
enabled through the solve/set/poor-mesh-numerics/enable? text command.
Fluent
• For dynamic mesh cases that involve periodic or quasi-periodic motion, you can now specify
that the smoothing uses a reference position, in order to improve the mesh quality consistency.
(Smoothing from a Reference Position)
• The user interface for repairing and improving the mesh is now more accessible:
– A Repair button is now available in the Setting Up Domain ribbon tab (Mesh group box) when a
repairable failure has been detected by the mesh check, providing the functionality of the
mesh/repair-improve/repair text command. (Repairing Meshes)
– The Smooth/Swap Mesh dialog box has been renamed the Improve Mesh dialog box and is now
opened using the Improve... button in the Setting Up Domain ribbon tab (Mesh group box). This
dialog box has also been streamlined to only provide the recommended mesh improvement method:
quality-based smoothing. Face swapping and smoothing based on a Laplacian operator or skewness
remain available through their text commands; however, the use of these mesh improvement
methods is discouraged, and they may be removed in a future release. (Improving the Mesh by
Smoothing and Swapping)
• It is now possible to automatically create non-conformal mesh interfaces for some or all of the
interface zones using a single text command. Fluent will determine which zones can be grouped
together to form the two sides of one or more mesh interfaces, rather than requiring you to
manually select them. This greatly simplifies the setup for cases that have many interface zones.
(Using a Non-Conformal Mesh in ANSYS Fluent)
• A Static option is now available for non-conformal mesh interfaces, which you can use to indicate
that the interface zones are neither moving nor deforming relative to each other at the interface.
Enabling this option can significantly reduce the memory usage and processing time, especially
when there are many zones on both sides of the interface. (The Static Option)
• In Fluent sessions that use multiple processes, cells and faces will now be automatically reordered
using the Reverse Cuthill-McKee algorithm when the case is read. Consequently, it is no longer
necessary to manually reorder the domain. Note that the Reorder drop-down has been removed
from the ribbon. (Reordering the Domain)
• For overset meshes, the following new features are available:
– Dynamic and sliding meshes are now supported as part of an overset case (with the first-order
transient formulation only, and not with overlapping boundary zones, closed domains, and/or
dynamic mesh remeshing or layering). (Compatibilities)
– It is now possible to specify that the least squares interpolation method is used for the overset
interfaces; this method is recommended for sliding mesh cases, but not for multiphase flows.
(Overset Meshing Best Practices)
– Second-order transient formulations are now fully supported with stationary overset meshes.
– For steady-state cases in parallel that use the default Metis partitioning, ANSYS Fluent will
now automatically repartition overset meshes when the solution is initialized or data is read;
a model-weighted partitioning that is designed for optimal performance is used.
– The implicit and explicit density-based solver is now supported for overset meshes in certain
circumstances, allowing the simulation of compressible flows. For complete details, see Overset
Meshing Limitations and Compatibilities.
New Features in ANSYS Fluent 18.0
Models
• Heat Transfer and Radiation
– A new radiation model, the Monte Carlo model, is available in the Radiation Model dialog
box. For more details, see Setting Up the MC Model in the Fluent User's Guide.
– In conjugate heat transfer cases, you can now specify a time step for the solid zones that is
different from that of the fluid zones. For more details, see Specifying a Solid Time step in the
– Improvements have been made to speed up the surface clustering algorithm for the Cluster
to Cluster basis. This will be more observable for simulations involving industrial cases with
a large number of processors.
– For thermally coupled walls, the Mapped mesh interface option now supports multiple face
zones on the same side of the interface.
– The option for accelerating the discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model calculations is now
available as a full feature. Note that it has been improved in terms of performance and solution
accuracy since it was available previously as a beta feature. (Accelerating Discrete Ordinates
(DO) Radiation Calculations)
• Combustion and Species Transport
– The CHEMKIN Mechanism Import dialog box has been reorganized. For gas-phase mechanisms,
you can now import thermodynamic and transport property data either as part of a gas-phase kinetics
input file and/or as a separate file. For surface CHEMKIN mechanisms, you can import a thermody-
namic database as part of either a surface kinetics file or gas-phase CHEMKIN thermodynamic database.
(Importing a Volumetric Kinetic Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format and Importing a Surface Kinetic
Mechanism in CHEMKIN Format)
– The new field variable, Porous Deposition Rate, reports the deposition rate for porous zones.
– You now can select the specific species you want to be displayed in boundary condition dialog boxes.
For more information, refer to Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture
Material in the Fluent User's Guide.
– You now can select the specific species you want to be monitored during simulation. For more in-
formation, refer to Enabling Species Transport and Reactions and Choosing the Mixture Material in
the Fluent User's Guide.
– The ability to postprocess PDF tables has been extended to the Flamelet Generated Manifold model.
(Steps for Postprocessing Look-Up PDF Tables with Flamelet Generated Manifolds)
– The DEFINE_PDF_TABLE user-defined function can now be used with partially premixed flamelet
cases.
– Chemkin mechanism and thermal files are no longer required to be stored along with the relevant
case file. Once you save your case after importing the Chemkin mechanism and/or thermal files, the
Chemkin mechanism and/or thermal data will be saved within the case file. ANSYS Fluent will auto-
matically retrieve this data as necessary.
– For the Eddy Dissipation Concept model, you can now specify model scales using the new
DEFINE_EDC_SCALES user-defined function. (DEFINE_EDC_SCALES)
Fluent
– The ISAT chemistry acceleration method has been extended and is now available for the CHEMKIN-
CFD Solver option.
• Discrete Phase Model
– The droplet evaporation modeling capability has been extended to pressure conditions above super-
critical. For more details, see Enabling Pressure Dependent Boiling and Description of the Properties.
– The beta feature capability to specify certain injection properties as input parameters is now full
feature. These properties will have a "P" icon to the right of their number entry boxes in the Set In-
jection Properties dialog box. Note that for cases utilizing this functionality before it was fully released
(beta) you will need to recreate the injections that contain properties specified as input parameters.
– Two new drag laws, Ishii-Zuber and Grace, are available for modeling gas-liquid flows. The laws take
into account that the interface between bubbles and liquid is not rigid due to the internal flow de-
veloping inside the bubbles. (Bubbly Flow Drag Laws )
– Miscellaneous improvements to the user interface have been introduced:
→ In the Discrete Phase Model dialog box, the Number of Continuous Phase Iterations per DPM
Iteration"option has been renamed as DPM Iteration Interval.
→ The controls in the Physical Models tab of the Set Injection Properties dialog box have been
reorganized to improve consistency.
– A new DPM wall-film model, called the Film Condensation Model, has been implemented. The
model allows you to simulate condensation of droplet and multicomponent particles on selected
walls. A new injection type, condensate, is available for cases where no real injections exist. (Film
Condensation Model)
– For film vaporization and boiling models, a new DPM wall-film option, Wall Boundary Layer Model,
has been added to enable the boundary layer formulations for the mass and heat transfer equations.
(Wall Boundary Layer Model)
– Cone injections have been extended and now include two new cone types: ring-cone and point-
cone. In the Set Injection Properties dialog box, the cone injection controls have been reorganized
as follows. When cone is selected for the Injection Type, the following four cone types become se-
lectable in the Point Properties tab:
→ point-cone
→ hollow-cone (previously available as cone in the Injection Type drop-down list)
→ ring-cone
→ solid-cone (previously available as solid-cone in the Injection Type drop-down list)
In addition, the Uniform Massflow Distribution cone injection option can now be enabled
in the graphical user interface. This option was previously available only through the text user
interface.
For more information, see Point Properties for Cone Injections in the Fluent User's Guide.
– The injection-specific Stagger Positions option can now be enabled in the Point Properties tab of
the Set Injection Properties dialog box. Previously, this option was available through the text user
interface only.
– The following new DPM field variables are now available for postprocessing:
→ DPM RMS Diameter (in the Discrete Phase Variables... category)
→ Mean DPM D20, Mean DPM D30, and RMS DPM Diameter (in the Unsteady DPM Statistics...
category)
In addition, the following DPM postprocessing field variables has been renamed:
Old Name New Name

DPM Mean D20 DPM D20
DPM Mean D30 DPM D30
DPM Mean Sauter Diameter DPM D32
– New erosion models based on the work of Finnie, McLaury et. al., and Oka et. al. have been added.
The previously implemented erosion model is now called Generic. The Generic erosion model
parameters previously specified in the Discrete Phase Model dialog box are now accessed from the
Wall dialog box. All erosion models are applicable to coupled and uncoupled simulations. For more
information, see Wall Erosion in the Fluent Theory Guide and Monitoring Erosion/Accretion of Particles
at Walls in the Fluent User's Guide.
– You can now create report definitions to monitor discrete phase quantities: mass source, enthalpy
source, sensible enthalpy source, injected mass, influid mass, evaporated mass, and penetration
length. The report definition data can be written to a file, plotted, and printed in the console.
• Eulerian Multiphase Model
– For a secondary phase, a new method, From Neighboring Cell, allows you to calculate the backflow
volume fraction at pressure outlet boundaries directly from the interior cells. This is an appropriate
method in case backflow volume fraction data at the outlet boundary is unavailable.
– The ability to model multiple compressible phases is now supported as a full feature. For details, see
Modeling Compressible Flows in the Fluent User's Guide.
– The multiphase case check capability that provides useful case summary information and recom-
mendations for your simulation setup has been promoted to a full feature. (Multiphase Case Check)
– The Relative Permeability model in porous cell zones is now supported as a full feature. This was a
beta feature in R17.0. The model accounts for the flow obstruction of a fluid phase in a porous medium
due to the presence of other fluid phases. In addition, it has been enhanced with the ability to specify
wetting and non-wetting phases in a porous medium. (Specifying the Relative Permeability)
– You can now use the alternative numerical boundary condition formulation for compressible flows.
(Modeling Compressible Flows)
– You can now track pathlines in any Eulerian phase or in the mixture of all phases. The default beha-
vior is to track pathlines in the primary phase as in previous releases.
• Eulerian Wall Film Model
Fluent
– For implicit film time discretization schemes, you can now specify the reporting frequency for wall
film sub-iterations. For transient flow simulations, you can also specify the reporting frequency for
wall film sub-time step calculations. (Setting Eulerian Wall Film Solution Controls)
– The Kuhnke impingement and splash model is now available for the Eulerian Wall Film model. You
can now select the particle impingement model and set model parameters for individual film walls.
(Setting Eulerian Wall Film Boundary, Initial, and Source Term Conditions)
– For cases with moving reference frames or moving walls, you can now specify the film momentum
flux or the initial velocity relative to the wall on which liquid film is defined. (Setting Eulerian Wall
Film Boundary, Initial, and Source Term Conditions)
– You can now specify phase change parameters (condensation and vaporization rates) using profile
user-defined functions. The Phase Change Options group box has been renamed Phase Change
Parameters and moved from the Eulerian Wall Film dialog box to the Wall dialog box (Wall Film
tab).
– The DEFINE_IMPINGEMENT, DEFINE_FILM_REGIME, and DEFINE_SPLASHING_DISTRIBU-

TION UDFs have been extended and are now available for the Eulerian Wall Film model.
Material Properties
• The ability to build lookup-tables and saturation curves for multiple-species NIST real gas models has
been promoted to a full feature. This was a beta feature in R17.0. For more information, see Using the
NIST Real Gas Models in the Fluent User's Guide.
• You can now access thermodynamic material properties using the new UDF macro,
get_prop_NIST_msp. (NIST Real Gas UDF Access Macro for Multi-Species Mixtures)
Cell Zones and Boundary Conditions
• For pressure outlet, exhaust fan, and outlet vent boundary conditions, the ability to impose a static
backflow pressure during flow reversal (as opposed to a backflow pressure that includes a dynamic
contribution from the velocity in the adjacent cell zone) is now generally available. (Defining Backflow
Conditions)
• GT-POWER v2016 is now supported.
• It is now possible to change the type for multiple zones of the same category through a single
action (either by multi-selecting in the tree and using the right-click menu, or by entering a
parenthetical list of zones in the text command prompt). This can be helpful especially when
you have a large number of internal boundary zones that you want to change to or from a wall
/ shadow pair, as it will greatly reduce the processing time associated with the change. (Changing
Cell and Boundary Zone Types)
• There are additional wall roughness options available for use in conjunction with the Spalart-
Allmaras and SST k-ω turbulence models, which are applicable for case that involve low-Re
number turbulence or that need fine near-wall meshes (meshes that fully resolve the boundary
layer). These models are primarily designed and tested for simulations of icing applications;
however, they may also be useful for other applications in which the boundary layer is fully re-
solved and there is surface roughness that is large relative to the near-wall mesh. (Additional
Roughness Models for Icing Simulations)
• You can use Contact Detection and Flow Control options with System Coupling Dynamic Mesh
zones. (Contact Detection Settings)
Parallel Processing
• In order to improve performance, the default behavior has been changed so that if the number
of machines specified in the hosts file or machine list is less than the requested number of par-
allel processes, then Fluent will allocate ranks to machines in contiguous blocks, where the block
sizes are as equal as possible. Note that you can revert to the round-robin assignment of processes
by setting the machine block allocation sizes to 1 in the hosts file or machine list (for example,
machine1:1, machine2:1, and so on).
• A new -cflush option is available when launching ANSYS Fluent from the command line on
a Linux machine. This option ensures that all of the associated file cache buffers are flushed,
which may resolve processing performance issues. (Clearing the Linux File Cache Buffers).
• When running on Linux, ANSYS Fluent now supports Omni-Path (with the Intel MPI). Note that
Omni-Path requires OFED driver version 10.2 or higher.
User-Defined Functions (UDFs) and User-Defined Scalars (UDSs)
• You can now write user-defined functions in the C++ programming language. For additional information
on user-defined functions, see the Fluent Customization Manual.
Data Import and Export
• Fluent can read and write profiles in comma separated values (CSV) format. For information on writing
CSV profile files, see CSV Profiles in the Fluent User's Guide.
Graphics, Postprocessing, and Reporting
• Solution monitoring is now fully handled using report definitions. Report definitions incorporate all of
the old monitor capabilities, while providing additional functionality. You can plot multiple related report
definitions in the same graphics window, allowing for direct comparison. Additionally, you can write
multiple report definitions to the same file, reducing the file clutter associated with monitoring numerous
quantities during a simulation.
When creating a report definition, you can enable Report File and Report Plot, to create a new
file and plot. Alternatively, you can select report files and plots from the lists of existing files and
plots.
Monitors defined in case files from previous releases will automatically be converted to report
definitions upon import into release 18.0, along with the corresponding report files and plots,
according to the settings in the old files. For additional information, see Monitoring Solution
Convergence and Monitoring and Reporting Solution Data in the Fluent User's Guide.
• Fluent automatically selects the best graphics driver for the given runtime environment, unless you
choose a specific graphics driver with a command line startup option or by the HOOPS_PICTURE en-
vironment variable.
• It is now possible to create output parameters from report definitions. For additional information, see
Monitoring and Reporting Solution Data and Creating Output Parameters in the Fluent User's Guide.
• It is now possible to create user defined report definitions. For additional information, see User Defined
Report Definition in the Fluent User's Guide.
• You can now use report definitions for judging convergence. See Convergence Conditions in the Fluent
User's Guide for additional information.
Fluent
• Gouraud is now the default lighting method.
• There is a new option for creating smooth contours in the Contours dialog box.
• You can now perform Fast Fourier Transforms on report file data.
• You can copy a report definition by right-clicking that report definition in the tree.
• Node-weight based interpolation is the default for postprocessing for all cases, except those with
overset meshing.
• Mesh, pathlines, particle tracks, and solution XY plots can now be created as graphics objects that are
saved with the case file.
• Similar to marking cells for adaption registers, you can create and save cell registers based on the
minimum/maximum value of a field variable, residual values, Yplus/Ystar values, and so on. For addi-
tional information, see Creating Surfaces and Cell Registers for Displaying and Reporting Data in the
• You can create expression report definitions, which allow you to combine report definitions with
mathematical expressions. See Expression Report Definition in the Fluent User's Guide for additional
information.
• Scenes allow you to save and display multiple graphics objects in a single graphics window. See Dis-
playing a Scene in the Fluent User's Guide for additional information. Scenes support mesh, contour,
and vector objects. The previous scene creation abilities in the Scene Description dialog box (which
supports pathlines, particle tracks, and so on) are accessible by clicking Compose... in the Viewing
ribbon tab (Graphics group box).
• Animations can now easily be created using any defined graphics objects, including scenes. See Anim-
ating the Solution in the Fluent User's Guide for additional information.
• You can copy the image displayed in the graphics window to your clipboard by right-clicking the
graphics window tab and selecting Copy to Clipboard. This functionality was previously available in
releases prior to 17.0, but was for Windows machines only. This feature is now available for both Linux
and Windows.
Add-Ons
• Adjoint Module
– The adjoint solver now supports single reference frame (SRF) and multiple reference frame
(MRF) approaches (with the absolute velocity formulation only). (Basic Assumptions and Con-
sistency Checks)
– For adjoint cases that use the dissipation stabilization scheme, a new Suppression option is
enabled by default to ensure that the growth of strong instabilities is not only stopped, but
that these undesirable patterns will then also decay as the calculation progresses. This should
generally improve robustness, convergence, and solution quality. (Dissipation Scheme)
– The adjoint solver now supports the inclusion of solid zones, as long as they do not use a
moving reference frame approach. This allows you to solve conjugate heat transfer problems.
(Basic Assumptions and Consistency Checks)
New Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 18.0
– The adjoint design tool now allows you to define cylindrical deformation regions. (Defining
the Region for the Design Change)
– Constant sources and adjoint-enabled user-defined sources (that is, DEFINE_SOURCE_AE)

are now supported for energy equations, allowing you to define heat sources in the adjoint
solver.
• Battery Module
– You can now run time-efficient simulations of a battery electrochemistry submodel in standalone
mode. This will allow you to quickly evaluate battery electric performance prior to coupling it to the
fluid flow simulation. (Specifying Advanced Option)
– You can now model open circuit potentials at negative and positive electrodes as a function of
temperature using the user-accessible functions real Compute_OCP_NE (real x, real
T) and real Compute_OCP_PE(real x, real T).
– Two new user-accessible functions, real Compute_Ds_PE(real cs, real T) and real
Compute_Ds_NE(real cs, real T), are now available for customizing the solid phase diffusion
coefficient as a function of concentration and temperature.
Beta Features
• There are also some exciting new enhancements available as beta features that you may be interested
in trying out. Detailed documentation is in the Fluent 18.0 Beta Features Manual, which is available on
the ANSYS Customer Portal.
1.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Fluent 18.0

Information about past, present, and future operating system and platform support is viewable via the
ANSYS website.
1.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 18.0

The following is a list of new or recently discovered limitations known to exist in ANSYS Fluent 18.0.
Where possible, suggested workarounds are provided.
• Models
– Beginning in R13.0, the Eulerian Wall Film model is not compatible with non-conformal interfaces.
– The coupled VOF Level Set model cannot be used on polyhedral meshes.
• Platform Support and Drivers
– If you lock the computer screen before the Fluent graphics are initialized, the Fluent session will not
launch if you are using the OpenGL graphics driver. To avoid this issue with the OpenGL driver, you
can use the alternative drivers x11 or null for Linux and msw or null for Windows. You can specify
an alternate graphics driver either by defining it in the HOOPS_PICTURE environment variable or
using the -driver Fluent command line option.
• Solver-Numerics
Fluent
– If your mesh topology has a step-wise prism mesh near the walls, do not use node-based gradients
with MUSCL.
• Graphics, Reporting, and Postprocessing
– In rare cases, the Curve Length X Axis Function for XY plots may not plot correctly, even if the cur-
vilinear surface is piecewise linear and appears to be a single closed curve. A workaround is to use
the Direction Vector X Axis Function.
– Transient statistics (Mean and RMS) reported for Fluent quantities that are nonlinear functions
of the underlying solution variables represent evaluations of those quantities using the Mean
or RMS values of the underlying solution variables. For instance, Mean Velocity Magnitude
is computed as the magnitude of a vector constructed from the mean velocity components,
and Mean Pressure Coefficient is computed as the pressure coefficient computed using the
mean pressure. To construct the true Mean and/or RMS values of such quantities, you can
define a custom field function and collect transient statistics of the custom field function. For
example, define a custom field function vmag_cff = sqrt (Vx ^ 2 + Vy ^ 2 + Vz ^ 2), and report
Mean and RMS of vmag_cff.
– The Draw Mesh and Draw Profile option settings are not saved with the contour, vector,
pathline, or particle track plot definitions. Once the dialog box is closed these settings will
revert to being disabled.
– Animation playback from a previously saved case and data file is only available for the HSF
File storage type (assuming the relevant animation sequence file *.cxa is available in the
appropriate folder).
– If you use the Playback dialog box to play a PPM Image animation sequence, you must close
the graphics window containing the animation object before resuming the calculation, or the
object orientation will be lost. Alternatively, you can use the HSF File format, which allows
you to modify the object view at any point, including when playing back the animation.
– MPEG movies and Picture Files saved from a PPM Image animation will not contain a
colormap, even if the original animation sequence did. You can use the HSF File animation
to avoid this issue.
– For a PPM Image animation, if you leave the Playback dialog box open and continue calcu-
lating, you may experience flickering in the graphics window and a loss of the object orientation.
To avoid these issues, use the HSF File storage type when creating an animation definition.
– The Clear History command, accessed by right-clicking the animation definition under the
Calculation Activities>Solution Animations branch in the tree or by using the text command
solve/animate/objects/clear-history, only applies to animations created using
the HSF File storage type.
– User defined report definitions can only be created through a right-click of the Report
Definitions branch in the tree (under Solution).
• User Interface
– Starting when they were introduced, the text commands in the solve/set/multi-grid-
controls menu are not consistent between serial and parallel versions of ANSYS Fluent:
there is an additional prompt to specify the multigrid method in serial. Journals / scripts that
Resolved Issues and Limitations
use these text commands must be edited when switching between single and multiple pro-
cessors.
• Add-Ons
– The adjoint solver has never supported thin walls or shell conduction.
– The temperature dependency of adjoint-enabled user-defined sources has never been taken
into account with the adjoint solver.
• Fluent in Workbench
– In a Fluent analysis system the Clear Generated Data option for the Solution cell will not
clear the files associated with animations. To have Clear Generated Data clear the animation
files as well, you must define the FLUENT_WB_REMOVE ALL_GENERATE_FILES as a system
environment variable on your local machine, prior to opening Workbench.
• Fluent as a Server
– When launching Fluent with the -gu or -g command line options and Fluent as a server enabled,
Fluent will run with the graphic user interface minimized.
• Other
– The Fluent License Manager is no longer supported, and must be replaced with the ANSYS, Inc. License
Manager.
• For a complete list of known limitations, including those that exist from previous releases, refer to
Known Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 18.0 in the Fluent Getting Started Guide.

This section lists issues and limitations that have existed in previous releases, but that have been resolved
and removed in ANSYS Fluent 18.0.
• Data Import and Export
– You can export Mach number values to I-deas.
– Images saved in VRML format are now watertight.
– Custom field functions can be exported when running Fluent in parallel.
• Models
– The DPM non-standard parcel release methods can now be used in combination with the autosave
option for case files.
– The DEFINE_RELAX_TO_EQUILIBRIUM UDF has been corrected.
– Combustion and Species Transport cases now support the import of Encrypted Surface Kinetics
mechanisms.
– For non- and partially- premixed models, the evaporating species viscosity and thermal conductivity
properties are now saved with the case file and are automatically restored when the case file is read.
Fluent
This fix affects cases where the Temperature Averaging Coefficient or the Composition Averaging
Coefficient is defined with a constant value other than 1 for a Droplet particle or Multicomponent
particle material.
• Solver
– The warped-face gradient correction (WFGC) is now compatible with the density-based solver.
• Graphics, Postprocessing, and Reporting
– You can rename report definitions at any point after you have created them.
– You can deactivate zones that are part of an evaluated report definition without needing to correct
the zone list for that report definition.
• Workbench
– Report definitions are saved whenever a Fluent session is closed.
• Other
– A fix has been introduced to ensure that opening the ACT Console from the ACT Start Page
in a Fluent session on Windows does not result in a Segmentation Violation and abnormal
termination of the Fluent session.
– A workaround has been found that allows you to open ACT when running a stand-alone in-
stance of Fluent in a mixed Windows / Linux configuration or from a remote Windows install-
ation: set the AWP_ROOT180 environment variable to point to the ANSYS installation directory.
Add-Ons
• Battery Module
– You can now simulate battery packs with larger than 10P50S configurations by increasing the limit
of the battery pack parallel and series connections using Scheme commands. (Specifying Electric
Contacts)

This section contains a comprehensive list of the code changes implemented in ANSYS Fluent 18.0 that
may affect the output generated by the previous release.
Note
Text that is in bold font represents key words that may facilitate your search for the
changes in code behavior.
Solver-Numerics
• In order to generally improve solution results, the warped-face gradient correction (in fast mode)
is now enabled by default for polyhedral meshes. Note that the use of fast mode may increase
memory consumption. For cases with shell conduction, you must ensure that the ability to define
multi-layer shells has not been disabled through the define/models/shell-conduc-
tion/multi-layer-shell? text command, as the warped-face gradient correction is not
Updates Affecting Code Behavior
supported in such circumstances. For details about the warped-face gradient correction, see
Warped-Face Gradient Correction.
• The following improvements have been made to the algebraic multigrid (AMG) solver, in order to increase
its robustness for hard-to-converge problems. For the rare cases when these changes adversely affect
your simulation, you can revert to pre-release 18.0 behavior as noted:
– The matrix reordering has been enhanced with regard to the selection of the starting "seed",
with the goal of making the cell orders more aligned with the flow direction. You can revert
to the previous reordering method using the Scheme command (rpsetvar 're-
order/amg-boundary-seed? #f).
– An enhanced divergence recovery handling is applied to simulations that start from a mesh
file. For simulations that previously converged, most should see no change or a decrease in
the number of iterations, though rare cases may be adversely affected. You can revert to the
previous divergence recovery handling by using the following Scheme command before running
the calculation: (rpsetvar 'amg/protective-enhanced? #f).
Note that for case files created in previous versions, you can take advantage of the enhanced
divergence recovery handling by using the following Scheme command before running the
calculation: (rpsetvar 'amg/protective-enhanced? #t).
• Improvements have been made in the PRESTO! pressure interpolation scheme when the low-
order formulation has been enabled (as described in User Inputs), in order to yield higher accuracy
while maintaining the same level of stability. This may result in small differences in the solution
and the convergence pattern compared to previous releases. You can revert to the previous low-
order formulation of PRESTO! using the Scheme command (rpsetvar 'pressure/presto-
low-order? #t).
• A correction has been made to ensure that the Profile Update Interval (defined in the Run
Calculation task page) is strictly respected.
• Parallel scalability has been significantly improved for cases using the Green Gauss Node Based
gradient calculation method, especially at higher core counts.
Solver-Meshing
• Solutions for cases with a mesh interface may be improved if the interface has left-handed faces and
the solve/set/poor-mesh-numerics/enable? text command is enabled. To verify that this is
the cause of a change in the solution, you can examine the mesh check report after initialization to see
if such left-handed faces exist.
• Solutions for cases with a fluid-fluid interface may change compared to the previous release,
and should show an improvement in the results.
• For overset meshes, the following improvements have been made:
– The numerical treatment that allows the solver to attempt to run with orphan cells is now
enabled by default (see Donor Search Fails Due to Orphan Cells for details).
– Hybrid initialization is now selected by default for single-phase steady-state flows. Note that
such a default has been and is currently used for non-overset meshes.
Fluent
– Hybrid initialization now automatically uses the least squares interpolation method with
overset meshes; this means that it is no longer necessary to manually enable this interpolation
method through a Scheme command.
– For steady-state cases in parallel that use the default Metis partitioning, ANSYS Fluent
will now automatically repartition overset meshes when the solution is initialized or data
is read; a model-weighted partitioning that is designed for optimal performance is used.
You can revert to the previous behavior by using the Scheme command (rpsetvar
'overset/partition/metis/use-mwp? #f).
• Improvements to the adaptive mesh refinement algorithm may result in solution differences
between 18.0 and previous releases.
• A fix has been introduced for parallel simulations with an adapted mesh and local cell remeshing
enabled, in order to eliminate performance slowdowns during the mesh update.
• Fluent sessions that use multiple processes may see some changes in the convergence behavior
and slightly longer case read times compared to previous releases, as a result of the automatic
reordering of cells and faces when the case is read. You can revert to the previous behavior
(which carries the risk of longer calculation times) by using the Scheme command (rpsetvar
'reorder/at-read 0).
• The parallel performance and scalability will improve for sliding mesh cases, as long as the mesh
topology does not change (through remeshing, adaption, dynamic layering, and so on) during
the simulation. Note that for this discussion, mesh motion is not considered as a topology change.
• A correction has been made to ensure that when two-sided walls are created (either automatically
when a mesh is read or manually), the locating of the shadow wall on a particular side of the
boundary is done consistently, regardless of the number of processors being used. As a result,
your solution data may be located on the opposite member of a wall / shadow pair compared
to previous versions.
Data Import, Export, and Storage
• Canceling a file-overwrite prompt when exporting to CFD-Post will not automatically launch the CFD-
Post application, even if the Open CFD-Post option is enabled.
• Nodal coordinates will now be stored and (by default) written in double precision for the single-
precision version of ANSYS Fluent. This ensures that there is no loss of precision when reading
case files back into the meshing mode, and may improve the accuracy of solutions for cases with
high-aspect-ratio cells. Compared to single-precision data, memory usage will increase between
1–5% when reading case files and when running ANSYS Fluent; case file size will also increase
by 5% (less if compression is used). The case file size increase can be eliminated (along with the
added precision) if you enable the file/single-precision-coordinates? text command
prior to writing.
Turbulence
• The wall distance values (that is, the normal distances between cell centroids and wall boundaries)
used in turbulence model calculations will now be computed by default with an algorithm that
is more robust for meshes with high-aspect-ratio quadrilateral, hexahedral, and/or polyhedral
cells that are adjacent to a wall. This algorithm was previously available through the
solve/initialize/repair-wall-distance text command. Case files that were created
prior to version 18.0 will not be affected, but can take advantage of the algorithm by using the
text command. For new case files, the wall distance and resulting solutions may change for such
meshes compared to earlier versions, and should be more accurate. The wall distance for cells
near sharp corners (such as behind the trailing edge) may be adversely affected by this algorithm;
this typically has minimal impact on the overall solution quality but in some cases (such as
stretched 2.5D meshes) the impact could be more substantial. You can disable the more robust
algorithm by using the following Scheme command prior to initializing the solution: (rpsetvar
'wall-distance/quad-correction? #f).
Note that the wall distance correction has also been improved for parallel performance: cases
that had the correction enabled in previous releases should now require less time and memory
for the calculations.
Heat Transfer
• A fix has been introduced for simulations that use the Solar Load model in parallel, to ensure
that the velocity and pressure inlets are not included in the solar flux calculation when these
boundaries are disabled from participating in radiation.
• A fix has been introduced for the Solar Load model where in release 17.2, FLUENT internally
considered some walls as participating although they were specified as non-participating in ra-
diation, leading to incorrect solar load calculations.
Reacting Flow
• For flamelet import into a non-premixed combustion case, an Oppdif file format is no longer supported.
• The non-adiabatic extension of the Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) PDF table has a new PDF table
format. In previous releases, the PDF table was three-dimensional and a function of enthalpy, mixture
fraction and mixture fraction variance. Now the PDF table is four-dimensional with the fourth dimensions
being progress variable. To use the new non-adiabatic FGM model with old non-adiabatic FGM pdf
files, you must regenerate the PDF table.
• Cases with surface reactions on a wall and an adjacent porous zone may see different surface deposition
rates if postprocessed with node-based interpolation disabled.
• The DEFINE_PDF_TABLE user-defined function has two extra arguments: the mean progress variable
cmean and the progress variable variance cvar. Existing UDFs must be revised to include these variables
in the argument list, even if the UDF does not use them.
• Starting in R17.0, for reacting flow simulations using ISAT tables, setting the ISAT Max. Storage to a
large fraction of the available memory is no longer required.
• The algorithm for reacting steady state flow simulations using the CHEMKIN-CFD solver has been
refactored resulting in more robust and faster performance.
• The Relax to Chemical Equilibrium model may now be used for transient simulations, keeping in mind
that this is a coarse approximation of the kinetics.
• The specific heat capacities of the fluid materials N2, CH4, CO, and H2 in the mixture created
automatically by the Coal Calculator dialog box have been corrected and now correspond to
the default piecewise polynomial functions in the properties database.
Fluent
Discrete Phase Model
• UDF access to components of the Particle data structure is being changed. All data within variables
of the type Particle and within instances pointed to by a pointer variable of the type Particle
should now be accessed through macros PP_.... Similarly, many elements of the Tracked_Particle
structure should now be accessed through macros TP_....
Access through the pre-existing macros P_... or direct access as in tp->... will still work in
R18 but should no longer be used, because plans are to change the Particle data structure
in future releases. When the change takes effect, P_... will cease to work, and the underlying
data structures will change. The new PP_... and TP_... macros will be maintained so that
their use will be independent of the actual data structures.
To modify your UDF source code:
1. Find all instances of P_... macro usage:
– If the p argument is a Particle, prepend a "P" (resulting in PP_...)
– If the p or tp argument is a Tracked_Particle, prepend a "T" (resulting in TP_...) and

verify that the resulting macro exists (see the header files or the Fluent Customization Manual).
If it does not exist, revert to the original P_... macro.
2. Find all instances where components of the Particle structure are accessed directly and replace
them with the PP_... macros that is analogous to an appropriate TP_... macro listed in the
Fluent Customization Manual.
Once you have modified your UDF source code, you can verify that it no longer uses any of the
P_... macros by inserting the following line:
#define HAVE_OLD_P_MACROS 00
before the line
#include "udf.h"
• The regime for the vaporization models has been extended to supercritical pressure conditions when
Pressure Dependent Boiling is enabled. Previously, for supercritical pressures, the normal boiling
point defined for the droplet material was imposed as a switching condition from vaporization to
boiling, which is unrealistic. As a result, the droplet vaporization rates and particle tracks may show
differences under supercritical pressure conditions. You can set the text user interface command
define/models/dpm/options/allow-supercritical-pressure-vaporization? to
no to revert to previous behavior.
• An improvement has been made to reacting flows functionality: particle surface reactions are no longer
computed in a fluid cell zone in which Reaction is disabled. This improves reacting flow modeling
consistency compared to previous releases.
• For the Stanton-Rutland splashing model, the default over-range mass fraction of the splashed particle
has been changed from 0.7 to 0.75 (The Stanton-Rutland Model in the Fluent Theory Guide). This may
result in more accurate solution. You can reset this value to the previous default of 0.7 via the text user
interface.
• A correction has been made to the formulation of RMS of transient DPM statistics. When reading
a data file from earlier releases, ANSYS Fluent release 18.0 will skip field variables from the Discrete
Phase Variables and Unsteady DPM Statistics categories. If you want to postprocess field
variables from those categories, you must continue the simulation up to the first DPM iteration
(for steady analysis) or run a single time step (for transient analysis). To restore transient DPM
statistics, you must recalculate the full sampling period.
Eulerian Multiphase Models
• For compressible flows, the enhanced numerical treatment is now enabled by default. The treatment
provides better stability at startup and during simulation.
• A correction has been made for Eulerian multiphase cases that use the Non-Iterative Time Advancement
(NITA) scheme, resulting in improved convergence behavior.
Volume of Fluid Model
• When using the explicit volume fraction formulation, the Hybrid method, which is a blending of the
Velocity Based and Flux Averaged methods, is now used as a default sub-time step size method. The
Hybrid method is less sensitive to presence of bad cells in the interfacial regime than the previous
default Flux Based method. For more details about this method, see Setting Time-Dependent Parameters
for the Explicit Volume Fraction Formulation in the Fluent User's Guide.
• For steady-state volume of fluid (VOF) problems, the Pseudo Transient solution method and the
Coupled pressure-velocity coupling scheme are now enabled by default for improved solution stability
and convergence.
• Parallel scalability of cases using the VOF model has been significantly improved, especially at
higher core counts.
Eulerian Wall Film Model
• For cases with Lagrangian wall film, when postprocessing a wall film on wall faces with zero film masses,
the reported temperature is now the wall surface temperature. Previously, it was the temperature of
the adjacent fluid cell.
Fluent in Workbench
• A fix has been introduced in Workbench, to ensure that parameterized variables for shell conduc-
tion walls update in Fluent for each new solution.
Parallel Processing
• When writing case and data files in the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF), the default compression
level has changed from 0 to 1. This should result in significant reductions in the writing time
and the size of the files, though they may take slightly longer to read compared to uncompressed
files.
• When launching Fluent or a Fluent utility from the command line, note that the option to specify
the use of the IBM Platform MPI has changed from -mpi=pcmpi to -mpi=ibmmpi. This MPI
is now referred to as the "IBM MPI" rather than the "Platform MPI" in the user interface and the
documentation.
Adjoint Solver Add-On Module
• You may see differences in observables (pressure-drop, surface-Integral of total pressure, volume-integral
of total pressure, and so on) due to a change in the total pressure calculation.
Fluent
• For adjoint cases that use the dissipation stabilization scheme, the new Suppression option
(enabled by default) should generally improve robustness, convergence, and solution quality.
• The normalization of the residuals for the adjoint local flow rate equation has been improved,
and now gives a better measure of the convergence of the adjoint local flow rate equation by
providing residual levels that are more consistent with the adjoint continuity, momentum and
energy equation residuals. To revert to the previous normalization, you can use the following
Scheme command: (rpsetvar 'adjoint/pre18-flow-rate-normalization? #t).
Dual-Potential MSMD Battery Add-On Module
• The user-accessible functions real Compute_OCP_NE(real x, real T) and real Com-

pute_OCP_PE(real x, real T) have an additional argument, temperature T . The existing
scripts must be modified accordingly.
• The default inputs for the NTGK battery model has been modified: the reference capacity units have
changed to Ah/m2, and the specific area is no longer required. The results of the simulation using the
default settings may be different compared to those in the older versions due to this change.
Graphics, Reporting, and Postprocessing
• Surface, volume, force, and moment monitors have been fully replaced by report definitions. For further
information on migrating from monitors to report definitions, see this document on the ANSYS Customer
Portal: Using Report Definitions for Solution Monitoring in Fluent.
• Output parameters are now only created using report definitions.
• Node-weight based interpolation is now the default for postprocessing for all cases, except those with
overset meshing. This may cause changes to results in some cases. You can revert to the prior behavior
by setting display/set/nodewt-based-interp? to no.
• The annotation text display in the Preview window and in hardcopy is now consistent with how it ap-
pears in the graphics window for the OpenGL graphics driver as well as the other graphics drivers. The
annotation text also respects its specified z-depth to avoid confusion about its position (that is, text
located behind the geometry will not be visible until the model is rotated to make it visible).
• The Scene Description dialog box is now accessed by clicking Compose... in the Viewing ribbon tab
(Graphics group box).
User Interface
• The user interface for exhaust fans, inlet vents, intake fans, and outlet vents has been corrected to no
longer display options that are not supported, including the Radial Equilibrium Pressure Distribution,
Average Pressure Specification, and Target Mass Flow Rate options and the Acoustic Wave Model
group box. For case files set up in previous releases of Fluent, such settings will be ignored (and thus
may result in more accurate results).
Chapter 2: CFX Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for Release 18.0 of ANSYS CFX.
2.1. Supported Platforms
2.3. Incompatibilities
2.5. Issues

Note
Cray MPT 7.x is supported by the default solver. The solver that supports Cray MPT 5.x is for
legacy platform support, and will be discontinued in a future release.

This section lists features and enhancements that are new in Release 18.0 of ANSYS CFX.
• Transient periodic flow in blade flutter cases can be solved more efficiently by using Harmonic Analysis, a
frequency-based solution method that avoids the need to march in time. For details, see Harmonic Analysis
in the CFX-Solver Theory Guide.
• There is a new option for pre-coarsening meshes before partitioning takes place. This option helps to avoid
convergence difficulties, particularly with diffusion-only type equations, by helping to prevent partition
boundaries from passing through areas of high aspect ratio cells. For details see Mesh Precoarsening in the
CFX-Solver Manager User's Guide.
• NUMA memory containment can improve performance by restricting memory access for a solver process
to its local memory. For details, see the description for the numa command line option in Command-Line
Options and Keywords for cfx5solve in the CFX-Solver Manager User's Guide.
• Applying process affinity restricts execution of a solver process to a processing element (for example, a CPU
core) so that the process is not free to migrate between processing elements. This can improve performance
by increasing the use of cached data. For details, see the description for the affinity command line option
in Command-Line Options and Keywords for cfx5solve in the CFX-Solver Manager User's Guide.
• You can now turn on face set topology simplification to improve solver performance for models with a large
number of 2D primitives. For details, see the description for expert parameter topology simplification
in Physical Models Parameters in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide.
CFX
2.3. Incompatibilities
This section describes the operational changes, the procedural changes (actions that have to be done
differently in this release to get an outcome available in Release 17.2), and the support changes (func-
tionality that is no longer supported) in Release 18.0 of ANSYS CFX.
• Instead of specifying a positive or negative value for the nodal diameter, you now specify the magnitude
of the nodal diameter plus the direction of the traveling wave. For details, see Case 3: Blade Flutter in the
CFX-Solver Modeling Guide.
To select the convention that was used in Release 17.2, set expert parameter mesh
disp_phase_angle_convention to 0. For details, see the description for meshdisp phase angle
convention in Physical Models Parameters in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide.
• Harmonic Forced Response export functionality has been enhanced to include the nodal diameter and
mode shape multiplier along with the pressure harmonics. For existing cases to work with this new function-
ality, it is recommended that you follow the update steps described in Case 4: Harmonic Forced Response
in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide.

and removed in Release 18.0 of ANSYS CFX.
• Before Release 18.0, if the Number of Data Instances setting was greater than 1 for a case with mesh de-
formation (for example, a blade flutter case), the graphical positions of the data instances would not correctly
reflect the calculated Total Mesh Displacement variable, except for in the original domains. This issue
has been resolved in Release 18.0.
2.5. Issues
• For some homogeneous multiphase steady-state cases with domain interfaces, a restart might not be smooth.
For some homogeneous multiphase transient cases with domain interfaces, the results after the restart
may be slightly different than the results obtained without a restart. It is recommended that you
ensure good convergence for the first time step after any restart (and check the results carefully).

This section contains a list of changes that may cause the solution results from ANSYS CFX to differ
between Release 18.0 and Release 17.2.
Before Release 18.0, in cases involving immersed solid boundary tracking (see Immersed Boundary
Tracking in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide), the immersed solid solution variables that were used to
evaluate immersed solid source terms (for momentum imparted on the fluid) were out-of-date by one
time step (transient cases), one outer iteration (steady-state cases), or one coupling iteration (General
Coupling Control option for the rigid body solver using immersed solids; see Rigid Body Control
Tab in the CFX-Pre User's Guide). As of Release 18.0, the ANSYS CFX-Solver no longer uses out-of-date
variables, giving improved solution results for non-stationary immersed solids.
Chapter 3: TurboGrid Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for Release 18.0 of ANSYS TurboGrid.


This section lists features and enhancements that are new in Release 18.0 of ANSYS TurboGrid.
By default, BladeEditor will now send CAD surface and curve data for blade features to TurboGrid in
Workbench. The BladeEditor ExportPoints feature is no longer required. For details, see Export to ANSYS
TurboGrid in the TurboSystem User's Guide and Geometry in the TurboGrid User's Guide.
Chapter 4: ANSYS BladeModeler Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for Release 18.0 of BladeGen and BladeEditor.
4.2. BladeEditor

4.2. BladeEditor
4.2.1. New Features and Enhancements
This section lists features and enhancements that are new in Release 18.0 of ANSYS BladeEditor.
Note
The default geometry editor has changed from DesignModeler to SpaceClaim Direct Modeler.
You can change this default in the ANSYS Workbench options (Tools > Options) under
Geometry Import > General Options > Preferred Geometry Editor.
Chapter 5: CFD-Post Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for Release 18.0 of ANSYS CFD-Post.


This section lists features and enhancements that are new in Release 18.0 of ANSYS CFD-Post.
You can now monitor selected variables on Monitor Surface locations during a solver run in cases in-
volving rotating domains through the use of rotating coordinate frames. For details, see Monitor Surfaces:
Frame Overview in the CFX-Pre User's Guide.
Chapter 6: Polyflow Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS Polyflow 18.0.
6.1. New Features
6.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Polyflow 18.0
6.4. Past Versions of ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes
6.1. New Features

The new features in ANSYS Polyflow 18.0 are as follows:
• Ability to use orthotropic materials for 3D and shell models. See Orthotropic Material for more inform-
ation.
• There is a new convergence strategy for rheology and slipping. The Enable convergence strategy for
rheology/slip option in the Numerical parameters menu allows you to reach the desired solution in
most cases without user-defined evolution schemes. The required CPU time also compares favorably
with common user strategies. See Convergence Strategy for Rheology and Slipping for more information.
• There is now an Injection Stretch Blow Molding Workbench template. This pre-defined setup allows
you to load your own geometry, set operating conditions via the pre-defined parameters, or to perform
a simple update. A report is automatically generated allowing you to easily compare results.
• Improvements in the convergence strategy for non-isothermal flows. The Enable evolution for non-
isothermal flows option in the Numerical parameters menu assists with converging flows when
temperatures are involved. See Using Evolution in Heat Conduction and Nonisothermal Flow Calculations
for more information.
• The Set prescribed volume = volume of sub-domain(s) option in ANSYS Polydata allows you to define
the target volume as the volume of the mesh. With this option, loading a data file with another mesh
file will update the target volume automatically. Under ANSYS Workbench, this allows you to define
different design points for different geometrical parameters and to perform an Update All Design
Points (UADP) operation. See Volume Conservation for more information.
• Improvement in the display of convergence status in the listing file. The listing file now contains tabulated
information related to solution convergence, including: field name, relative variations, as well as reduction
and values of the right-hand side; as well as changes in the message listing of GPU usage for an iteration.
See Contents of a Sample Listing File for more information.
• Improvement of STL output. The Enable STL (StereoLithography) output option allows you to exploit
the output of a die design calculation and the latest result of a simulation that stopped due the poor
quality of the deformed mesh. See Exporting Mesh and Solution Data for more information.
• Improvement of restart from existing .res and .rst files. The behavior is now exactly the same as
for a single run without restart. Restart is now available for VOF calculations. See Starting an ANSYS
Polyflow Calculation from an Existing Results File for more information.
Polyflow

ANSYS website.
6.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Polyflow 18.0

There are no new limitations to note for ANSYS Polyflow 18.0. For limitations that are present in ANSYS
Polyflow 18.0 but that were discovered during previous releases, see Known Limitations in ANSYS
Polyflow 18.0 in the Polyflow User's Guide.
6.4. Past Versions of ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes

Previous versions of the ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes are installed as PDFs with the product.
To access these PDFs, point your web browser to
• For Windows:
path \ANSYS Inc\v180\polyflow\polyflow18.0.x\help\index.htm
• For Linux:
path \ansys_inc\v180\polyflow\polyflow18.0.x\help\index.htm
where path is the directory where you installed ANSYS Polyflow and x represents the appropriate
number for the release (for example, 0 for polyflow18.0.0).
Chapter 7: Forte Release Notes
The enhancements and defect corrections listed below are releative to ANSYS 18.0.
7.2. Resolved Issues since Forte 17.2

This section lists new features and enhancements in Release 18.0 of ANSYS Forte CFD, organized by
topic.
Simulation Interface
• New option to define a reference time frame in the Simulation Interface, to establish a reference frame
for boundary motion, events, and time-based profiles relative to a reference time.
• When the project is validated or saved, the input-validation check now processes each run defined in
the parameter-study set-up as well as the nominal conditions.
• Improved the user interface for setting up steady-state detection.
• Changed the default for new projects that use the body-fitted sector-mesh-generator option, such that
mesh smoothing is not used; this has been found to be more robust.
Job Submission, Monitoring, and Running Options
• Monitor probes now have a general data sampling option to generate instantaneous, time-averaged,
root-mean-square (RMS), and covariance results for a cloud of user-specified points.
• A new option has been added to specify the time durations (start and end time) for each Monitor Probe.
• A new option has been added to specify additional output time points (in addition to fixed time intervals)
for each Monitor Probe.
• In the Run Options and Run panel, the default simulation setup for a new project was changed to use
MPI and a validation check was added to verify that the MPI argument is at least 2.
• Due to changes in the meshing structure, simulations using automatic mesh generation require restart
files to be regenerated with the current software version. Restart files from 17.2 or older will not be
compatible for automatic meshing simulations. In addition, restart files from serial runs are no longer
compatible with restart files using MPI, and vice versa.
Engineering Models and Computation
• There is a significant reduction in memory usage for projects with automatic mesh generation (as much
as 50%) and improvements to parallel scaling, which reduce simulation turnaround time for large
numbers of cores.
Forte
• The default for defining the unburned conditions used to determine the laminar flame speed is changed.
The local unburned conditions will now be selected at a fixed distance away from the local point on
the flame front. An option in the Simulation Interface allows resetting this method to the legacy approach
of using the nearest cell center. The new approach provides less mesh dependency for the flame
propagation model, but may require some recalibration of model settings.
• Added n-butylbenzene to the fuel properties included in the Forte fuel library.
• Modified the wall-film model to force flash boiling of wall-film particles in the event that the wall tem-
perature exceeds the film saturation temperature.
• Steady-state detection is now enabled for simulations that include mesh adaptation or time-dependent
mesh controls, such that the mesh is not static. [DE132422]
• Added the degree of constant volume (DCV) and the total heat-transfer loss as engine performance
outputs reported. [DE133573]
Visualization and Analysis
• Added net mass flow rate of the computational domain to the list of variables available for use in steady-
state detection.
• Added a button to launch ANSYS CFD-Post from the Run Simulations panel, which automates loading
of the Forte simulation results.
7.2. Resolved Issues since Forte 17.2

Simulation Interface
• Corrected an error that occurred when a user attempted to delete a surface that was referenced by a
sub-volume region. [DE132887]
• Fixed a failure that occurred for surfaces that were deleted and then re-imported, when those surfaces
were also used in a sub-volume region definition. [DE132889]
• Added a validation check to alert the user when multiple disconnected surfaces are selected for a single
inlet boundary condition, which is not allowed. [DE133830]
• Fixed issues that occurred when a new chemistry set is imported but the user selects not to re-map
any species. [DE135415]
• Improved robustness of copy-and-paste operations for editing profile data. [DE136105]
• Improved the robustness and accuracy of the seat-the-valve utility, which is available in the panel for
boundary conditions involving valve motion. [DE140002]
• Corrected the updating of the spray-cone preview in the Simulation Interface for hollow-cone injectors.
[DE140291]
Job Submission, Monitoring and Running Options
• Fixed a problem in which the mass and volume fluxes reported for each open boundary could be incor-
rect if any inlet(s) were listed after outlet(s) on the boundary conditions tree. This involved only the
output reporting and did not affect calculation results. [DE135230]
Supported Platforms
• Fixed issues that caused the simulation to stop when the wall-sampling probe was enabled. [DE133096,
DE133097]
• Corrected the handling of wall-sampling and statistical sampling probes for time-averaging of solutions
across a restart, when the old solutions are not provided. [DE135031]
• Removed an incorrect warning that occurred in the MONITOR file during restart when valves are already
open. [DE131593]
Engineering Models and Computation
• Automatically normalize the direction vectors of moving boundaries, so that the user does not have
to assure that they are unit vectors.
• Improved the averaging procedure for the reported wall-related output parameters, such as shear stress
that provides more accurate values for interface vertices, such as a free-slip/no-slip interface or a con-
ductive/adiabatic interface. [DE133226]
• Allow a sub-volume control to be specified using time controls for the entire domain defined as the
sub-volume [DE134662].
• Fixed an issue that caused wall heat transfer information to be excluded in spatially resolved output
on surfaces that have wall film. [DE140862]
• Improved the robustness of meshing for 2-stroke engines. [DE132014]

Information about present and future operating system and platform support is viewable via the ANSYS
website.
Chapter 8: Chemkin-Pro Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for Release 18.0 of Chemkin:
8.2. Resolved Issues since 17.2

Chemkin-Pro
• Added new reaction-rate formulations to more accurately represent the pressure dependence of reactions
using the modified TROE and modified PLOG form, to better account for the 3rd body effects.
• The Chemkin-Pro Visualizer now offers the ability to modify the appearance of XY plots, including the
chart, axes, and plot lines, after they are created. Additional plot symbol sizes are available and the log-
axis plot has been revised.
• Allow Help PDF documents to be opened using an internet browser in case a PDF viewer is not specified
or available in the user preferences. [DE126610]
Energico
• ANSYS Fluent case/dat file reading is now much faster when there are multiple zones defined in the
Fluent case. [DE131119]
• Users may now import a list of filter levels from a *.csv file when applying a filter using the custom in-
tervals option. [DE131609]
• Users may now override values calculated for inlet streams. Values are automatically loaded when using
ANSYS Fluent case and data files.
• Inlet properties may be specified manually for a dispersed-phase coal-particle inlet surface or for a liquid
injection. Injection properties may also be imported from the file exported using ANSYS Fluent export
of the injector settings.
• Added preference for handling source terms as inlet conditions when flow fields are stagnant, and the
ERN reports zones without inlet streams.
Reaction Workbench
• Added the Reid Vapor Pressure as a property target for Surrogate Blend Optimization.
• Added the capability to apply multiple mechanism extraction options at once on the Mechanism Ex-
traction panel.
• Added n-butylbenzene fuel properties in the Surrogate Blend Optimization example.
Chemkin-Pro
8.2. Resolved Issues since 17.2

and removed in Release 18.0.
Chemkin-Pro
• Addressed an issue with displaying reaction strings for reactions that include real numbers for stoi-
chiometric coefficients, during post-processing using the Visualizer or Reaction Path Analyzer. [DE132074]
• Fixed an issue that caused the copy-paste function in the User Interface to only work the first time
during a session for some reactor types. [DE132890]
• Fixed an issue where Chemkin runs terminated with an MKL error on some Linux platforms (including
those with Intel AVX2 processors). [DE134297]
• Allow the Reaction Path Analyzer to work with Coal-related simulations. [Defect 132465]
• Added error check to catch deprecated user-defined site density (defined outside of the surface reaction-
mechanism input file) that might exist in an old Chemkin project file and inadvertently override the
mechanism value. [DE135741]
• For the multi-zone HCCI IC Engine Model, fixed an error related to specifying an EGR rate for an indi-
vidual zone, which caused a "Missing EGR species fraction" error in multi-zone model simulations.
[DE140486])
Energico
• Provided a fix for a rare occurrence of stream data becoming corrupted during the reactor-cluster val-
idation, when the Create ERN step is invoked. [DE132586]
• Fixed a solution-index error that occurred when loading CGNS files exported from ANSYS Fluent solution
where 2-D region data was written before cell-volume data. [DE136059]
Reaction Workbench
• Fixed a license-checkout failure that occurred when using the user interface buttons to go back and
forth between Chemkin and Reaction Workbench interface windows during a single Chemkin-Pro session.
[DE132830]
• For Mechanism Reduction, provided additional IC Engine simulation targets, including CA10, CA50,
CA90. [DE134568]
Chapter 9: FENSAP-ICE Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS FENSAP-ICE 18.0.
9.1. Supported Platforms for ANSYS FENSAP-ICE
9.2. New Features in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE
9.3. New Limitations in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE
9.5. Past Versions of ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Release Notes (R17.1 & R17.2)
9.1. Supported Platforms for ANSYS FENSAP-ICE

ANSYS website.
9.2. New Features in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE

New features available in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE 18.0 are listed below.
Workbench Integration
• ANSYS Workbench can be used to configure and execute icing workflows covering air flow (using FENSAP,
Fluent, or CFX), droplet impingement (DROP3D), and ice accretion (ICE3D). The capability is offered as an
add-on, and enables connections to other Workbench tasks, project parameterization, design point invest-
igations, and optimization studies.
Note
A new High Roughness (Icing) option is available for wall boundaries in Fluent R18.0 to
provide appropriate wall roughness treatment when incorporating icing roughness in a
Fluent airflow simulation (whether running in Workbench or standalone).
UDF Sticking Model
• A custom ice crystal sticking model functionality has been added, which allows the user to compute a
sticking fraction using a user defined program file.
Multishot Icing Simulations with Automatic Remeshing
• A new multishot sequence is available in the Solver → Sequence panel which performs automatic
remeshing instead of simple ALE mesh movement on iced geometries.
– The grid is modified only about the iced surfaces to limit changes to the overall grid and air/droplet
solutions.
FENSAP-ICE
– OptiGrid is automatically launched by FENSAP to remesh iced regions, adapting for ice surface curvature.
Note
→ The feature is currently limited to 3D prism/tetra grids with a constant number of prism
layers across the entire grid.
→ The process is fully parallelized, however, there may be limitations to launching more than
one MPI process per submitted job on some cluster queuing systems. The default setting is
to run OptiGrid in serial mode.
→ Due to the change in grid topology between shots, Viewmerical will not be able to animate
numbered grid and solution files.
C3D / CHT3D De-icing User Interface and Efficiency
• The C3D Cycle configuration panel has been overhauled and improved to simplify configuration and
modification of more complex heater activation sequences.
• A new Automatic time stepping scheme introduced in C3D and CHT3D that adjusts the physical time
step based on heat loads in the solid, to maintain a stable run.
– This new scheme removes the difficulty of determining a suitable time step in unsteady CHT3D cal-
culations such as de-icing runs.
– A Maximum time step must be provided, which can be larger than the default 0.5 seconds that was
recommended in the previous versions with Constant time stepping.
– With Automatic time stepping selected, less number of CHT3D iterations suffice for each time step.
The default 10 sub-iterations can typically be reduced to 3 to save on computational time.
– Automatic time stepping sets the numbered solution output interval based on time instead of iter-
ations, which must be 1 for Constant time stepping for Viewmerical to be able to load these solution
sets. This reduces the disk space requirements when using Automatic time stepping.
– The default time stepping option is now Automatic, however Constant time stepping can still be
specified in the current release.
Note
These options are intended to be merged in a future release, and it is recommended

that Automatic time stepping be used as default practice.
• Min/Max temperature graphs now include iterations as well as time in seconds.
– The graphs that plot the data against time use the time-accurate data at the end of each CHT time
step, while the graphs with iterations display the convergence history within each CHT time step.
The latter can be useful in judging if more CHT3D sub-iterations are needed to be set.
DROP3D TURBO Particle Reinjection
• Detailed mass balance tables are included in the log file for primary and secondary (reinjection) flows
section by section, with a final summary of overall inflow/outflow of particles through each TURBO
row.
• Mass balance history for primary and reinjection runs are provided in convergence graphs.
• A new stopping criterion based on Mass deficit is introduced, which is a more efficient way to auto-
matically stop primary and reinjection section flows and minimize solution time.
Crystal Icing for External Flows
• The crystal icing calculation option that was previously limited to TURBO runs is now available for
single grid (for example, external flow) runs. This is of interest especially for analyzing heated air data
probes under crystal icing conditions.
License Keys
• ANSYS FENSAP-ICE now uses ANSYS license keys and connects to a license server running the ANSYS
License Manager.
9.3. New Limitations in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE

The following is a list of new or recently-discovered limitations known to exist in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE
18.0. Where possible, suggested workarounds are provided.
• ICE3D does not permit water film flow across non-conformal interfaces.
• FENSAP does not move nodes on inlet and exit boundaries when surface nodes connected to such
boundary condition families are displaced. These could be engine inlet/exit boundary conditions that are
connected to the hub and shroud, etc.
• De-icing runs cannot work with very large ice growths due to ice grid becoming too skew or degenerate at
the extremities. If there is a steady accretion of ice throughout the run possibly due to run-back water re-
freezing on unprotected parts, the total simulation time will need to be limited.

Grids with Centerline Boundary Conditions
• Structured grids with hexahedral elements meeting at the rotation axis (centerline) are now required to
contain a 5100, 5200, or 5300 boundary condition family for the collapsed facets on the centerline.
– This eliminates the arbitrary tolerance-based search algorithm of centerline and periodic nodes which
could be problematic for some grids where the nodes are not exactly positioned on the axis.
– When importing from a CFX .RES file, this axis boundary should be defined as SYMM on the CFX side for
the conversion tool to auto-assign the appropriate centerline boundary condition family tag.
• A correction is made in the integration of energy and turbulence equations on centerline nodes connected
to both periodic planes, improving convergence stability and solution accuracy of air flows.
C3D / CHT3D Parallel Performance
FENSAP-ICE
• Enhanced parallel load balancing algorithm for partitioning the automatically generated ice grid in CHT3D
de-icing improves scalability for large number of CPUs on sufficiently large meshes (2D surface meshes are
normally too small for improvements to be noticeable).
ICE3D
• The Concavity Fix feature is now mass / volume conservative, and is now re-enabled for de-icing simulations
(it was disabled in R17.2 due to its previous non-conservative nature).
– Concavity fix adds a small artificial displacement to some nodes that get stuck between faster growing
grid surrounding nodes. This improves the overall surface quality and usability of the final iced mesh.
– This update works by shifting some of the volume already being added to faster growing nodes to the
nodes that need concavity fixing, thereby not adding artificial mass and volume to the final ice shape.
– The maximum displacement that can be added to concave nodes is limited to the mass of ice that can
be shared by their neighboring nodes.
– Multishot and de-icing calculations get a prolonged life-span due to better handling of concave nodes.
DROP3D Particle Reinjection
• A new stabilization scheme for DROP3D Complete reinjection calculations eliminates issues of stability and
mass conservation of such flows.
• The combination algorithm of primary and secondary solutions was updated to be more accurate, especially
on walls and TURBO grid row interfaces.
9.5. Past Versions of ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Release Notes (R17.1 & R17.2)
New features, updates, and corrections introduced in releases 17.1 and 17.2 are summarized below.
Updates and Additions to Solver Modules
• FENSAP
– Speed-up in mesh displacement calculations (ALE) after icing and increased algorithm robustness allowing
greater mesh displacement for 3D tetra/prism grids.
– Improved convergence for grids with collapsed hexahedra on the periodic centerline.
– Engine Inlet boundary condition that takes Total pressure and Total temperature as inputs, along with
either the average Mach number or the total mass flow rate is introduced. It is a characteristics-based
boundary condition that is more robust than the standard Stagnation Inlet BC, however the values are
allowed to float in the vicinity of prescribed conditions.
– Intermittency-based laminar-to-turbulent transition option added to kw-SST.
– Support provided for non-conformal interfaces with some nodes used by both sides of the interface.
• DROP3D
– Improvements to the non-conformal grid interface algorithm to increase robustness where multiple block
interfaces meet at a corner.
Past Versions of ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Release Notes (R17.1 & R17.2)
– Various improvements to the Complete reinjection Model for better convergence and accuracy.
– Improved convergence for grids with collapsed hexahedras on the periodic centerline.
– Support provided for non-conformal interfaces with some nodes used by both sides of the interface.
– New option to write air+droplets solution file to facilitate post-processing and make it possible to
adapt on both air and droplet solution fields with OptiGrid.
– A scaling error in Simple reinjection mode was corrected which could result in extra mass of reinjected
particles to be transmitted to the downstream rows.
– Complete reinjection log files show axial coordinate limits of each reinjection section.
ICE3D
• Surface grid movement calculation is postponed until after the film flow calculation in order to reduce
computational time for cases that run with a very small auto time step. In most external flow cases, the
overall ICE3D run time is reduced up to 9x.
• Multiple Sink boundary conditions can be defined in the Boundaries panel.
• A dynamic load balancing algorithm based on wetted surface nodes that improve parallel scalability and
speed-up execution of high run-back flow cases up to 7x.
• Automatic reduction of number of CPUs for very small grids.
• Mass conservation of water film flowing across TURBO row interfaces has been improved.
• Concavity fix is disabled for de-icing simulations due to its addition of fictitious volume that can interfere
with the accuracy of the ice/water mass conservation.
Note
In R18.0, this is addressed and the concavity fix is re-enabled, as noted in ??? (p. 82).
C3D/CHT3D
• Speed-up in de-icing simulations through improved parallel processing and reductions in ICE3D execution
time.
• DROP3D can now be a part of the CHT3D loop. This is useful for situations where crystals can melt and
droplets can warm up or even evaporate as they traverse through heated air. The Wet air & droplets option
in the CHT initial configuration panel must be selected.
• Electro-thermal heating added as a new physics model in C3D where voltage and current can be set at
electrical terminals to calculate Joule heating. The voltage can be turned on/off just like heat fluxes of
heater pads in an unsteady CHT3D simulation (de-icing).
• Added support for ice crystals in CHT.
OptiGrid
• Support for large Fluent files.
FENSAP-ICE
• Improved accuracy of derivatives & error computation on MPI partition interfaces.
• OptiGeo: Fixed possible crashes on Windows platforms, 64-bit Windows support for larger grids.
• Adaptation on curvature enabled by default, with the option to disable it.
• Eliminated possible issues with pyramids.
• Log output details the remaining number of tetras below the aspect ratio threshold.
• Compliance with the minimum tetra aspect ratio threshold, for any new tetrahedra, is ensured.
• The automatic sequence of Adapt-FENSAP-DROP3D has been added to adapt the grid using air and
droplet solutions together. This is useful when sharper shadow zone limits are needed as part of the
analysis.
GUI
• FENSAP
– Grids that are divided into multiple subdomains (material IDs) automatically enable the specification of
separate initial conditions in each subdomain.
• DROP3D
– Break-up-by-post-processing can now be used in combination with any droplet distribution, and also in
multishot icing simulations.
– Extended Icing Data (EID) free stream temperature limitation lifted.
– Up to 16 rows can be executed in TURBO calculations.
– Axis of rotation is automatically transferred by drag & drop from DROP3D-TURBO to ICE3D-TURBO
Platforms
• MPI
– Only the Intel MPI library is now supported. Support for MPICH2 (Windows) and OpenMPI (Linux) is no
longer required and has been removed.
• Windows
– Improved file-system handling of symbolic links, and shared-drive support.
• Linux and Windows
– The -nolink option can be set in the fensapiceGUI command line to disable symbolic link usage and
enforce file copy.
Coupling with Fluent and CFX
• .MSH format files can be used as the input grid, in addition to .CAS/.DAT files.
• Optimized the initial read of Fluent .CAS files
Past Versions of ANSYS FENSAP-ICE Release Notes (R17.1 & R17.2)
• ICE3D runs with input CFX grids: the grid displacement is now handled by CFX, therefore creating a new
.RES file. Roughness profiles are written in CFX format.
• CFX-Pre/CFX-Solver/CFX-Post can be launched directly from the contextual menu, on the input icon of a
run.
• Curved translationally-periodic surfaces are now supported.
• Added support for complex multi-block interface pairing.
• Compatibility with any row ordering from CFX when setting up TURBO runs. The rows will be executed in
the proper order based in interface connections.
• Additional information automatically configured in TURBO runs during import from CFX include:
– Axis of rotation
– Rotation speed of each wall
– Counter rotating walls
Part III: ANSYS Electronics Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Electronics products:
Icepak (p. 89)

Chapter 1: Icepak Release Notes
Release 18.0 of the ANSYS Icepak application offers most of the capabilities from previous releases plus
many new features and enhancements.
• Introduction (p. 89)
• New and Modified Features in ANSYS Icepak 18.0 (p. 89)
• Resolved Issues and Limitations in ANSYS Icepak 18.0 (p. 90)
1.1. Introduction
ANSYS Icepak 18.0 is a release of ANSYS Icepak that has new features and resolved issues and limitations.
1.2. New and Modified Features in ANSYS Icepak 18.0

• Graphical User Interface
– Added capability to zoom in on a Network temperature curve plot. See Network Temperature Plots of
the User’s Guide.
• Model Import/Export
– Added enhancements to streamline the ECAD import using EDB. Gerber files are still done using the ex-
isting method.
• Model Building
– Added capability to calcualte streamwise-periodic (fully-developed) fluid flow. See Adding a Periodic
boundary to Your ANSYS Icepak Model of the User’s Guide.
– Added capability to disable radiation was added to allow vacuum thermal modeling for fluid blocks. See
User Inputs for the Block Thermal Specification of the User’s Guide.
• Solver Setup
– Added capability to use the PRESTO discretization scheme for flows with high swirl numbers, high-Rayleigh-
number natural convection, high-speed rotating flows, and flows in strongly curved domains. See
Choosing the Discretization Scheme of the User’s Guide.
• Post-processing
– Added capability to use the surface probe on 3D plane cut contours. See Contour Attributes of the User’s
Guide.
• Reports
Icepak
– For transient simulations, an All times option was added to the Define full report panel to generate a
full report including all time steps. See Full Reports of the User’s Guide.
1.3. Resolved Issues and Limitations in ANSYS Icepak 18.0

• Import/Export
– When importing an ANF file containing a netname that begins with #, it is treated as a comment, thereby
causing import to fail. (134366)
– Hidden soldermask layers in an ANF file shows up as a blank first layer produces an error with Fluent
solver. (134373)
– When importing SIwave projects with copies of the same board or two different boards with identical
layer names, Icepak imports values for only one board. (131893)
– When an assembly containing trace and siwave power profile is moved the results are largely different
from the assembly without any offset. (134977)
– When importing a specific model, the coordinate system of the traces is different than that of the corres-
ponding block. (DE135782)
– Import of old parametric settings failed. (123706)
– When importing SIwave profile files, Icepak can not read more than 30 files. (129687)
• Meshing
– The surface mesh of a higher priority fluid block does not cut through the lower priority PCB. (119470)
– An error occurs when processing object element maps after meshing. (120445)
– For a specific model, an error occurs while loading the case file in the solver. (127552)
– For a specific model, a network object is not completely meshed. (133968)
– When using 2D multi-level mesh with a PCB within a CAD block, skewed mesh cells are generated. (69894)
– For a specific model, enabling multi-level mesh settings generates no difference in mesh element count.
(135257)
– Two specific cases do not run due to missing mesh faces. (134885)
– A specific model does not run as expected due to a mesh check error. (138131)
– Meshing a large model produces an error and fails to mesh as expected. (138136)
– For a specific model, the mesher generates skewed cells. (122247)
– For a specific model, the mesher generates a poor quality mesh between objects. (126091)
– For a specific model with two rotated fans, meshing produces an error. (139513)
– For a specific model, acceptable mesh quality results in a solver error. (120183)
– For a specific model, meshing stalls and exceeds maximum element number. (123992)
Resolved Issues and Limitations in ANSYS Icepak 18.0
– For a specific model, the PCB's plates are not meshed due to a CAD block intersecting them. (125784)
– Polygonal blocks with very small thickness values in comparison to the other dimensions on the plane
do not get meshed. (125959)
– For a specific model, meshing in Icepak produces inconsistent, stretched cells. (124515)
– For some models, mesh does not fit the geometry. (126089)
– For a specific model, zero skewness cells cause long mesh time. (127072)
– For a specific case with a high mesh count, an error occurs. (127754)
– Small geometry values (sub-nanometer) are rounded automatically), which can cause meshing problems.
(129723)
– For a specific model, the mesher has problems meshing wirebonds. (130364)
• Model Building
– After rotating a 3D inclined fan by a specified degree, the updated fan position is incorrect. (118793)
– When an MRF block is copied with an offset, the location definitions remain the same, and one block is
turned off. (119239)
– Fluid temperature and radiation temperature cannot be set independently for Openings. (115280)
– When using the Copy from function on a PCB, no objects appear in the Copy from object list. (117890)
– The Copy from function should work with PCB objects at least when there are multiple identical objects.
(118951)
– Changing the fan flow direction input does not update the direction of the flow through the fan. (120136)
– An error message is not displayed if a user places a wall or opening object at the model boundary. (134079)
– The Move trace with object option is not enabled by default. (136306)
– For a specific model, rotating polgonal objects by -90 or -270 degrees produces an error. (138779)
– Changes to heat sink objects are not saved when editing multiple objects. (121838)
– For a specific model, an opening object does not create a hole in a solid block. (123923)
– The files *.condstate and *.gridcut are not deleted after running ECAD cleanup. (130204)
– The translate function does not copy as expected when copying a Cylinder object with some quandrants
turned off. (130579)
– When using internal openings to create a porous jump, absorptivity is also added, causing some of the
solar energy to be lost. (120227)
– For a specific model, the DELPHI extraction process stops working when a folder is present in the project
directory. (106438)
Icepak
– After unpacking a project in an existing Icepak session, clicking Edit in the Create Krylov ROM panel pro-
duces a stack trace error. (129746)
• Parametric Trials
– Deleting a parametric variable doesn't remove the variable from objects in the inactive tree. (128831)
– When creating a parametric variable with values of 0 or 1, defining the variable as 0 causes it to disappear
from the parametric panel. (126203)
– For parametric simulations, specifying trial names with a space character displays a warning message but
runs and cannot postprocess. (127660)
• Post-processing (Solver)
– Object's actual surface area is reported under Trial report. (112595)
• Project File
– An error occurs when writing the case file for an model with recirc openings. (119149)
• Project Parameters
– In the Solar Load model parameters panel, when Specify flux and vector direction is selected, North direction
vector is uneditable, causing the solution to fail if incorrectly set. (123634)
– Icepak displays an error when attemping to solve for flow and temperature with full restart data after
running a flow-only solution. (123830)
• Reports
– The user is not notified that multiple time steps can not be displayed on a Summary or Overview Report
when entering time steps and writing the report. (118990)
– For a specific model, individual sides for a cylinder are unable to be selected. (128257)
– For specific models, HFSS surface loss data does not match the Fluent calculated value in parallel when
ray tracing in enabled. (125507)
– There is no way to report a material being used for a simulation when the material has been parameterized.
(119115)
– In parallel, the monitor plot frequency (default 10) is applied to only point monitors and not surface
monitors, which are plotted every iteration. (119263)
– A solution overview report does not report the correct calculated value for the package powers. (119370)
– An overview report does not include max temp info on the package objects in the model. (119378)
– For a specific simulation, convected heat flow data is incorrectly reported. (134335)
– For a specific model, heat flux for an object face displays unexpected results. (130125)
– For a specific model, the heat transfer coefficient of a cylindrical object displays unexpected values.
(133452)
– The calculated heat flow for a fan object is incorrectly displayed in the summary report. (118989)
– In the Summary report for a specific solution, Heat flow and Radiative heat flow indicates the same value
for an opening. (114685)
– In the Summary report for a specific solution, the Heat flow value for a fan object is incorrect. (118989)
– For a Source object, the specified and calculated power do not match even after convergence. (125160)
– For a specific simulation, the summary report does not report node temperature when using full restart
data. (125772)
– For a specific case run on Linux, Icepak quits when writing an overview report. (117101)
– The mean temperature of face nodes in both network blocks and network objects is incorrect. (129934)
• Solution
– An error occured during case file writing where assembly mesh faces are associated with multiple interface
boundary. (118007)
– SItemp map does not run properly on off-set boards. (115433)
– When using Remote Solve Manager from Windows to Linux64, a UDF path error occurs. (131607)
– For a specific model, the energy equation diverges in the first iteration. (132629)
– A specific model containing three fluids produces a Fluent error. (132623)
– A specific model failed to run, producing an error message about missing key for pid. (132794)
– For a specific model, an error occurs when the simulation ends. (133691)
– When running numerous trials in batch mode, Fluent stops functioning. (134758)
– There is no ability to specify the location of .bat files for batch processing. (134404)
– Solver failed to start with a message indicating something was wrong with the current model even though
the model ran successfully in previous version of Icepak. (121923)
– When closed, Fluent residuals can't be re-opened. (122519)
– For some transient cases, Icepak displays a discontinuity in the Transients graph. (125657)
– For a specific complete convection case, Icepak quits without a warning message. (127466)
– For a specific model, the solver does not start as expected. (128310)
– For a specific model, Icepak quits when running a solution. (123224)
– For specific models, Icepak simulations in Siwave produce a failure when running commands in the .tcl
file. (130646)
– Some models consisting of compiled UDFs fail when solved using the "remote Linux nodes" in parallel
solver settings on Windows. (131771)
– For a specific model, the solution diverges in R17 while it converged in R16.2. (126650)
Icepak
– For a specific simulation, Full data restart does not function as expected. (134352)
– When running a full restart solution for a transient case from a steady-state case, the steady-state solution
data is not used for network objects. (134201)
– For a specific model, spatial power profiles do not work as expected. (122775)
– For a specific model, flow rate is not calculated correctly at face nodes connected to a C-link. (127428)
– For a specific model containing a blower object, the solver does not start. (106380)
– Krylov ROM simulation does not support 2D sources. (128423)
– Solar loading contours are inconsistent between solutions run in Serial and Parallel modes. (129503)
– For a specific model, heat transfer between two assemblies occurs only when they are deactivated. (132139)
– For a specific model, fixed interface creation part so we do not get empty list. (131409)
– For a specific model, surface monitor points are not plotted. (134334)
– Fast trials quit after the first trial without notification. (121811)
– When attempting to run a solution for a specific model, Icepak displays an error stating "Interface zone
list 2 is empty." (123913)
– For a specific model, surface monitors are not created and not plotted. (126924)
– Zone name includes round braces causes CFD-Post error. (119506)
– A model that converges in R16 diverges in 17.0. (122877)
• Solver Setup
– A Fluent error occurs while meshing using the auto-hexa mesher due to missing mesh faces on interface
boundary. (119634)
– Second order discretization scheme can not be specified for the discrete ordinates radiation model.
(134761)
– Convergence criteria can not be specified for the discrete ordinates radiation model. (135162)
– When using the K-Omega SST Flow regime, the Specific dissipation rate in the Basic Settings panel is not
available for editing. (129716)
– Parametric trials setup uses the interpolated data set to initialize a trial if the restart option is used in the
trial setup. (121782)
– Parametric trials do not populating in the correct order for a specific case. (122079)
– On the State-space tab of the Parameters and optimization panel, group selection does not work in the
Input and Output drop-down lists. (123353)
• User Interface
– Press Shift +P to get to project edit preferences window to change color. (120030)
– Press Shift + F to scale to fit object. (120146)
– In the Network temperature curve plot, now you are able to zoom in. (91340)
– In WB if WB color scheme is unchecked then Icepak color preferences settings take precedence else WB
settings over ride Icepak's. (102050)
– Currently, only binary encoded PPM file is supported for texturing. (119880)
– When material names have special characters and material is defined as a parameter, Icepak displays an
error message. (127773)
– For a specific model, the mesh progress bar is displayed after the meshing process is terminated. (133519)
– No warning message is displayed if the total thickness of PCB layers exceeds the thickness defined in the
PCB object properties. (133569)
– For a specific detailed, flip-chip package, the orientation is not retained after using the Move tool and
subsequently opening the Edit panel and updating. (135517)
– When selecting Display preferences, the selection is applied to the current project even if the user clicks
Cancel. (131147)
– When importing an SIwave profile on a PCB, the legend that displays the powermap information does
not apply the format specified in the display preferences. (126718)
– A point probe is required when showing metal fractions. (116888)
– The Parameters and optimization panel appears blank after running a State-space solution. (126336)
– The surface probe does not work when viewing CTM power map temperature values. (128000)
– The Shift+x hot key orients the Y direction as up rather than the Z direction. (128834)
– The Icepak language environmental variable conflicts with that of other applications. (128929)
– Instructions at the bottom of the Model Display window overlap with axis making it difficult to see.
(129679)
– On Linux systems, the View buttons for CTM data are not displayed in the Import CTM profile file panel.
(131105)
– Tooltips for Update and Replace in Workbench only refer to DesignModeler as the source. (130632)
– For geometry-based correlations of a simplified heat sink, Icepak allows the selection of both Longitudinal
and Pins options. (121027)
Part IV: ANSYS Geometry & Mesh Prep Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Geometry & Mesh Prep products:
DesignModeler (p. 99)

SpaceClaim (p. 101)
CAD Integration (p. 103)
Meshing (p. 105)
IC Engine (p. 107)
ICEM CFD (p. 109)
Fluent Meshing (p. 111)
Chapter 1: Geometry Release Notes
This section summarizes the new features in DesignModeler Release 18.0. Topics include:
Read-Only Parameter Support
DesignModeler now allows publishing of read-only parameters to the project schematic. The parameter
manager in DesignModeler has also been enhanced to denote read-only fields in a blue color.
For more information, see Parameters and Project Schematic Operations> Parameters in Project
Schematic> CAD Parameter Publishing in the DesignModeler User’s Guide.
Body Filter Support for AIM
DesignModeler now respects the body filter preferences specified in the import options of the Geometry
task in AIM, whereas previously DesignModeler sent any applicable bodies to AIM. The behavior for
DesignModeler with Workbench remains unchanged.
For more information, see the ANSYS AIM Documentation.
Chapter 2: SpaceClaim
For detailed information specific to SpaceClaim 2017, see the SpaceClaim 2017 Release Notes on the
ANSYS Customer Portal (support.ansys.com) at Knowledge Resources> Online Documentation> Geometry.
To view previous release notes, select applicable release under the Previous Releases menu at Knowledge
Resources> Online Documentation. Alternatively, see Downloads> Previous Releases> ANSYS Document-
ation and Input Files to select the applicable Release Documentation file.
Chapter 3: CAD
Note
Support for the Plug-in Creo Parametric’s Wildfire 5.0 version is discontinued with the release
of ANSYS 18.0
This section summarizes the new features in CAD Integration Release 18.0.
Part Name Assignments
The part names of geometry imported from ANSYS Workbench interfaces into SpaceClaim are now as-
signed to the components.
For more information, see the CAD Integration section of the ANSYS Help.
IMAN License Requirement
Importing geometry opened in NX from Teamcenter no longer requires the IMAN_ROOT license to be
installed.
For more information, see the CAD Integration section of the ANSYS Help.
Geometry Interfaces Update for New CAD Releases
Geometry interfaces are updated to support new CAD releases including:
• ACIS 2017 (Reader)
• NX 11 (Plug-in)
• Solid Edge ST9 (Plug-in)
• SolidWorks 2017 (Plug-in)
For detailed version support information, see CAD Integration> Geometry Interface Support in the CAD
Integration section of the ANSYS Help.
Information about past, present and future CAD, operating system and platform support is viewable
via the ANSYS, Inc. website (Support> Platform Support).
Chapter 4: Meshing Application Release Notes
This release of the Meshing application contains many new features and enhancements. Areas where
you will find changes and new capabilities include the following:
4.1. Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases
4.2. Physics Preference Enhancements
4.3. Quality and Mesh Metric Enhancements
Many of the enhancements detailed in the Mechanical Application Release Notes (p. 3) are relevant
to the Meshing application.

• The legacy assembly meshing methods CutCell and Tetrahedrons are no longer accessible via the Beta
flag.
• The local size functions will now be respected when the MultiZone method is used.
• Multibody parts that contain mixtures of body types can now be meshed together in a single operation.
You can mesh multibody parts that contain solid bodies and sheet bodies together, or multibody parts that
contain sheet bodies and line bodies together. However, you cannot mesh multibody parts that contain
solid, sheet, and line bodies together.
• The Shape Checking option has been eliminated. If you resume a database that was saved in an earlier
product version, the shape checking criterion will be determined by the value of Physics Preference. Also
see Quality and Mesh Metric Enhancements (p. 105).
• The Quadrilateral Dominant surface mesher and the Triangles surface mesher now mesh in a patch inde-
pendent manner and thus support the Topology Checking control. Previously, support for Topology
Checking was limited to the Patch Independent Tetra, MultiZone, and MultiZone Quad/Tri mesh methods.
If Topology Checking is enabled, scoping a load, boundary condition, Named Selection, or other object to
a topology after the mesh has been generated will cause the mesh to become obsolete.
4.2. Physics Preference Enhancements

You can now set your Physics Preference to Hydrodynamics.
4.3. Quality and Mesh Metric Enhancements

This release includes many enhancements related to quality and mesh metrics:
• A new Quality group has been added to the Details view. The Target Skewness option and Smoothing
option have been relocated to the new Quality group, along with several of the new options that are listed
here.
• The Shape Checking option has been eliminated. The shape checking criterion is now determined by the
value of Physics Preference.
Meshing
• When your physics preference is Mechanical, you can use the new Error Limits option to select either
Standard Mechanical or Aggressive Mechanical shape checks.
• You can set these new quality target metric values based on your physics preference:
– Target Quality lets you set a target element quality.
– Target Jacobian Ratio (Corner Nodes) lets you set a target Jacobian ratio.
• You can set Check Mesh Quality to control how the mesher responds when elements reach error or warning
limits. If Check Mesh Quality is set to Yes, Errors and Warnings, and the mesh contains elements that do
not meet the target metric values, a message is displayed. You can access the new Show Elements option
from the Messages window to create Named Selections for the elements.
• The presentation of Jacobian ratio has been improved. When viewing mesh metric information, you can
now choose to view any of the following:
– Jacobian Ratio (MAPDL)
– Jacobian Ratio (Corner Nodes)
– Jacobian Ratio (Gauss Points)
• The Characteristic length mesh metric has been added.
• Several options on the meshing Options dialog box have been reorganized. A Quality subcategory has
been added to the dialog box.
Chapter 5: IC Engine Release Notes
Release 18.0 has no new features or enhancements.
Chapter 6: ICEM CFD Release Notes
This section summarizes the new features in ICEM CFD Release 18.0. Topics include:
6.1. Highlights of ANSYS ICEM CFD 18.0
6.2. Documentation
6.1. Highlights of ANSYS ICEM CFD 18.0

Release 18.0 development efforts included enhancement of ANSYS ICEM CFD as a standalone application
as well as continued development of its underlying technology exposed within the ANSYS Workbench-
based Meshing application.
ANSYS ICEM CFD 18.0 includes new features and improvements in the following areas:
6.1.1. Creating O-grid Splits
6.1.1. Creating O-grid Splits

A new control has been added to the Split Block → O-grid Block dialog box. If Link Shape is enabled,
all faces and edges of the internal O-grid block will be shaped by the corresponding geometry.
6.2. Documentation
All documentation for ANSYS ICEM CFD Release 18.0 is accessible using the Help menu. Visit the
ANSYS ICEM CFD website for more information.
6.2.1. Tutorials
To access tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to http://support.ansys.com/
training. The Customer Portal also contains links for training, and PDF versions of the Tutorial manual
or of individual tutorials.
Chapter 7: Fluent Meshing Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS Fluent Meshing Release 18.0:
7.2. New Features

• Interior zones between different cell zones will no longer be automatically converted to internal type when
the mesh/case file is read.
• The file size and time taken for writing case files in the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) should be significantly
reduced due to a change in the default compression level.
• Domains are now updated to include new zones after face zones are remeshed and replaced.
• The option for creating intersection loops for marked cross-object intersections has been changed to create
only cross-object intersection loops.
7.2. New Features

The new features available in the meshing mode in Fluent include enhancements to many existing
features, and improved robustness through defect fixes.
The following enhancements have been made:
• Dialog boxes containing lists are expandable.
• An octree option has been added for hexcore cell generation. This option will result in faster hexcore mesh
generation but does not support hexcore generation up to boundaries.
• The Inverse Orthogonal Quality measure has been added.
• New scripting commands are available for marking faces; improving and remeshing boundary faces; and
connecting overlapped face zones.
Part V: ANSYS Simulation Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Simulation products:
Workbench (p. 115)

ANSYS Customization Toolkit (ACT) (p. 119)
RSM (p. 123)
EKM (p. 125)
DesignXplorer (p. 129)
Chapter 1: Workbench
The ANSYS Workbench platform offers many new features and enhancements. Areas where you will
find changes and new capabilities include the following:
1.1. ANSYS Workbench
1.2. External Connection
1.3. Engineering Data Workspace
1.4. External Data
1.5. External Model
1.6. Enhancement to Mechanical Model Cells
1.7. FE Modeler
1.8. System Coupling
1.9.TurboSystem Release Notes
1.1. ANSYS Workbench

Enhancements have been made to the following areas:
1.1.1. ANSYS Workbench-Remote Solve Manager Enhancements
1.1.2. ANSYS Workbench-EKM Enhancements
1.1.1. ANSYS Workbench-Remote Solve Manager Enhancements

Submitting System Coupling Jobs to RSM
Projects containing a System Coupling system can be submitted to Remote Solve Manager (RSM) for
remote update. Only project updates are supported for remote execution. For more information, see
Submitting Project Updates to Remote Solve Manager (RSM) or an EKM Portal and Submitting System
Coupling Jobs to RSM in the Workbench User's Guide.
Updating Solution Cells and Design Points

Previously under special circumstances, it was possible to enable updating both the Solution cell and
design points simultaneously via RSM. This capability has been removed.
1.1.2. ANSYS Workbench-EKM Enhancements

The Save to Repository action now provides the option of saving local files to the EKM repository, in
addition to the current project.
1.2. External Connection

In the Workbench External Connection Add-In guide, the following changes have been made to the
appendices:
• The tables in Appendix A. ANSYS Workbench Component Inputs and Outputs have been updated and a
new "Topology Optimization" table has been added.
Workbench
• The table in Appendix D. Addin Data Types and Data Transfer Formats has been updated.
1.3. Engineering Data Workspace

The following enhancements have been made to Engineering Data:
• Transverse Shear and Membrane Stiffness is a new Gasket material property option.
• You can now specify an initial gap for a Gasket in Workbench Mechanical.
1.4. External Data

No enhancements have been made to the External Data add-in.
1.5. External Model

For the 18.0 release, the following new features are now available in the External Model system:
• The Definition section of the Properties of File pane has a new property: Material Field Data. This
property is used in combination with the Engineering Data Workspace and Mechanical to enable you
to import and map external data values to the nodes or elements of a geometry.
1.6. Enhancement to Mechanical Model Cells

You can use an External Data component to import a circuit board’s trace layout file (TGZ, Ansoft ANF,
or Cadence BRD, MCMP, or SIP) for use by a Mechanical system’s Model cell. The External Data com-
ponent also enables you to perform rigid transformations to the trace file.
1.7. FE Modeler
Release 18.0 for FE Modeler has no new features or enhancements.
1.8. System Coupling

The following enhancements were made to System Coupling for Release 18.0:
Submitting System Coupling Jobs to RSM

Projects containing a System Coupling system can be submitted to Remote Solve Manager (RSM) for
remote update. Only project updates are supported for remote execution. For more information, see
Submitting Projects to Remote Solve Manager for Remote Update and Submitting System Coupling
Jobs to RSM in the Workbench User's Guide.
1.9. TurboSystem Release Notes

TurboSystem is a set of software applications and software features that help you to perform turboma-
chinery analyses in ANSYS Workbench. For details, see Introduction in the TurboSystem User's Guide.
These release notes cover:
• Performance Map System
• Turbo Setup System
TurboSystem Release Notes
• Vista AFD, Vista CCD, Vista CPD and Vista RTD
• Vista TF
These release notes do not cover:
• ANSYS BladeModeler (see ANSYS BladeModeler Release Notes)
• TurboGrid (see TurboGrid Release Notes)
• CFX-Pre (see CFX Release Notes)
• CFD-Post (see CFD-Post Release Notes)
Note
After reviewing the TurboSystem release notes, you are encouraged to see Usage Notes,
which describes some known TurboSystem workflow issues and recommended practices for
overcoming these issues.
1.9.1. Supported Platforms

1.9.2. New Features and Enhancements

This section lists features and enhancements that are new in Release 18.0 of TurboSystem.
Chapter 2: ANSYS ACT
The following enhancements are available in the 18.0 version of ANSYS ACT:
ACT Console Enhancements

As you type in the command line of the ACT Console, the “smart” auto-completion is now even smarter.
• In the scrollable list of suggestions, icons are color-coded so that different types are easily distinguishable.
• Added to this list are predefined snippets for basic Python commands and ACT-specific commands. When
a snippet is inserted, you can tab from one editable field to the next to quickly enter and change values.
• In property tooltips, accessibility syntax uses the more common “get” and “set” terminology rather than the
previous “read-only” and “write” terminology.
• In property and method tooltips, Returns, Remarks, and Examples display if any are available.
To clearly signify that it is used to create and manage snippets, the former Bookmarks pane is renamed
to Snippets pane. The documentation has been updated and expanded accordingly.
For more information, see ACT Console.
Custom Workflow Enhancements

Automation API Wrappers
Workbench tasks, task templates, task groups, task group templates, parameters, and properties are
now exposed at the user level through Automation API wrappers in the Ansys.ACT.WorkBench.Auto-
mation.Workflows namespace. For more information about the many new APIs that are available,
see:
• Accessing Task APIs
• Accessing Task Template APIs
• Accessing Task Group APIs
• Accessing Task Group Template APIs
• Accessing Parameter APIs
• Accessing Property APIs
State Handling
State values are now accessed from the Ansys.ACT.Interfaces.Common.State enumeration,

which provides additional APIs for controlling state handling. For more information, see Accessing State
Handling APIs.
ANSYS ACT
Mechanical API Enhancements

Worksheet Access
The ACT API can be used to access Mechanical worksheets for layered sections and bushing joints. For
more information, see:
• Layered Section Worksheets
• Bushing Joint Worksheets
Model Objects
The ACT API can be used to export the Geometry object in the Mechanical tree to an STL file and extract
minimum and maximum tabular data for boundary conditions from an Analysis object in the Mechan-
ical tree. For more information, see:
• Geometry: Export Geometry Object to an STL File
• Analysis: Extract Min-Max Tabular Data for Boundary Conditions
New Properties
The following properties have been added to the Mechanical API.
• Use ExtAPI.Application.Hidden to get the status of the Mechanical application.
• Use ExtAPI.Application.ActiveUnitSystem to get or set the unit system in the Mechanical

application for the current user.
Additional Changes
Other changes to the Mechanical API follow.
• MechanicalSelectionInfo replaces SelectionInfo throughout the Ansys.ACT.Work-

Bench.Automation API.
• Documentation is added for the CommandSnippet API that was exposed in ANSYS 17.2. This API provides
for defining a MAPDL script that you want to invoke during the preprocessing, solution solving, or postpro-
cessing phase of your analysis. For more information, see Working with Command Snippets.
ACT Beta Features

ACT App Builder
A beta feature exists for the ACT App Builder, a standalone utility for creating ACT extensions in a
visual environment. When this beta feature is turned on, you can launch the ACT App Builder from
Workbench or AIM to create and edit the XML code for an ACT extension within a graphical user interface.
For more information, refer to the ACT App Builder Beta document on the ANSYS Customer Portal. After
selecting Downloads > ACT Resources to display the ACT Resources page, expand the Help & Support
section, where you will find this document.
AIM Guided Simulations
Beginning in ANSYS 18.0, you can use ACT to create custom templates for AIM guided simulations. A
guided simulation sets up an application in which your own defined vision of simulation displays in a
persisted view. The user of a guided simulation does not have to interact directly with AIM and can
move forward and backward through the distinct steps in the workflow. For more information, refer to
the ANSYS AIM Beta Feature Documentation on the ANSYS Customer Portal. After selecting Knowledge
Resources > Online Documentation to display the online documentation page for 18.0, expand the
ANSYS AIM section, where you will find this document.
Chapter 3: Remote Solve Manager (RSM)
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS Remote Solve Manager 18.0:

RSM has changed significantly in Release 18, resulting in a more simplified and efficient architecture. If
you have a previous installation of RSM, here are the key changes and concepts you should know about:
• RSM runs directly within ANSYS Workbench, Mechanical, and EKM. There are no longer RSM Manager and
Compute Server services.
• RSM no longer provides job scheduling. RSM jobs are always submitted to a cluster, and it is the cluster that
will do the job scheduling. Even a user's local machine (localhost) can be considered a single-node ANSYS
RSM Cluster (ARC). You integrate RSM with clusters by creating cluster configurations in RSM. Cluster config-
urations determine how the client communicates with the cluster, how files are handled, and which queues
are available for job submission. See RSM Configuration.
• If you are not integrating with a third-party scheduler, you can use the new ANSYS RSM Cluster (ARC) system
to schedule and run jobs. When run in basic mode (as a single-node cluster), an ARC requires no special
setup, as job scheduling and execution occur on the same node. When run in advanced mode (like a com-
mercial cluster), you will need to install master/slave cluster services on cluster nodes, and perform other
configuration tasks. See ANSYS RSM Cluster (ARC) Configuration.
• The RSM Setup Wizard has been removed. The new RSM Cluster Configuration application, with its built-in
intelligence and wizard-like responsiveness, helps you create cluster configurations with ease.
• If jobs will be submitted to a remote cluster, the RSM launcher service (Ans.Rsm.JMHost.exe) provides
a service for launching the user proxy. There is no need to install any service on the client machine.
• RSM no longer has alternate accounts. Instead, the account credentials used to access a remote cluster are
the only credentials cached with RSM. You do not need to cache credentials if you are submitting a job to
your local machine (localhost).
For improved account security, passwords are always cached on the client machine, even if jobs will
be submitted to a remote cluster. Passwords are no longer centrally cached and managed as they
were in previous releases.
• The Windows RSM Admins group or Linux rsmadmins group is no longer used to control a user's ability
to change the RSM configuration. The ability to change the RSM database and configuration settings is fully
controlled by IT through a user's OS permissions.
• The RSM configuration application no longer provides a standalone job monitoring interface. Job monitoring
is now embedded within Workbench and EKM.
For general information on the RSM R18 architecture and workflow, see How RSM Works.
Remote Solve Manager (RSM)

• There are no known issues at this time.
Chapter 4: ANSYS EKM Release Notes
ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager (EKM) 18.0 consists of EKM, the EKM server product, and its
companion web application. The following sections provide an overview of new features and enhance-
ments in ANSYS EKM 18.0:
4.2. Issues Resolved in this Release
4.3. Deprecated Features
4.4. Issues and Limitations

If you have used previous versions of EKM, Release 18.0 offers many significant changes and improve-
ments:
Installation and Configuration

• An EKM workspace can now be configured to have a job-only view in which non-admin users see only the
Jobs page.
• The Sun Java Development Kit (JDK) that is set up by the EKM Server product installation has been upgraded
to version 1.8.8_91.
• A new defaultAccessTypeForAutoCreatedUsers setting in the WorkspaceConfig.xml file

enables you to change the default access level that is granted to users whose accounts are automatically
created upon sign-in. Acceptable values are basic, analyst, and shared.
• Wildfly has been updated to version 10.0.0.
• Java Service Wrapper has been replaced by Yet Another Java Service Wrapper.
• EnginFrame is no longer included in the EKM installation. EnginFrame bundles and installation documents
can be obtained from the NICE web site. EKM has been configured to support the new (2016) version of
EnginFrame and client libraries.
• The emagInstallationDirectory setting has been removed from the ekm.xml file, and there is
therefore no requirement that all versions of AEDT be installed under a single root directory. An environment
variable can now be used to specify a version-specific AEDT application path.
• A new Manage Cluster Configurations feature enables you to add, edit and delete RSM cluster configurations
directly from EKM. The cluster configurations that you create are validated and then added to the cluster
configuration (.rsmcc) file in RSM.
User Management
• Users are now identified throughout the EKM interface by their first and last name instead of their username.
EKM
• A search bar has been added to the Users page, enabling you to search for a user by first name, last name,
or username. Predefined filters such as Online Users and Shared Users enable you to filter the list of users
by online status or access level.
• When auto-creating users from LDAP, the Title and Phone attributes in LDAP are now synced with EKM
user account attributes.
Data Management
• The Dependencies view has been simplified and provides a consistent experience across files and analysis
projects. References have been removed from the Dependencies view, and now appear in a new, separate
Where used section on an object's Details page.
• The Email Link action has been replaced with a Share action that enables you to easily share an object with
EKM users and groups. Access permission will be automatically granted to users who do not already have
it.
• When uploading .cas, .sum and .avz files to the repository, EKM automatically associates the .sum and
.avz files with the .cas file, resulting in only the .cas file being present in the repository after the upload.
EKM uses the data in the .sum and .avz files to generate the simulation details report and image for the
.cas file, eliminating the need for EKM to use Fluent for data extraction after the upload.
• Selecting a VRML (.wrl) file in the repository displays the image in the interactive viewer on the Image
tab.
• When using the Set Visibility feature in the interactive image viewer, you can now Shift+click to toggle
multiple faces simultaneously.
• If a system in a Workbench project contains a file that has a 3D image associated with it, the image will be
displayed in an embedded 3D viewer in the project's simulation details report.
• Data is now extracted from .aedt projects.
Job Management
• A new Workbench Batch Job application on the Applications panel enables you to launch a Workbench
project update or design point update on remote compute resources.
• A Start Remote Desktop action is now available on the Jobs page, enabling you to quickly start up a remote
desktop session.
• When running a batch job, you can now specify that you want output files in the job's working directory to
be copied to the EKM repository after job completion.
• The built-in Electronics job template supports the upload of ANSYS Electronics Desktop project archives
(.aedtz files).
• The terminology used for job status in the Job Monitor and job status view is now consistent with the ter-
minology used in RSM. 'Executing' has been replaced by 'Running', and 'Executed' is now 'Finished'.
• Design Points and Messages remain displayed in the Job Monitor after a Workbench job (project update
or design point update) has been executed.
Issues Resolved in this Release
• A new Associated types option in job templates enables you to associate specific file types with a template,
making the template available on the Execute menu when you start jobs from those types of files in the
repository.
• If you are solving a non-linear problem using MAPDL, and the input file contains the command inputs ne-
cessary to perform non-linear diagnostics, NLH monitors will be displayed in the Monitors panel in the job
view.
• When running a CFX server-mode job, related monitors are now grouped into a single chart in the Job
Monitor.
• Selecting an AVZ, WRL or MP4 file in the job working directory displays the object directly within the working
directory view.
• A new File System page in the Jobs section enables you to access an EKM server's file system.
• You can now create a multi-region deployment in which users can run jobs on Slave servers using data from
a central Master repository. A new Transfer Progress dialog box enables you to monitor transfers in a
Master-Slave setup.
• Job Management preferences enable you to override the credentials that are used for RSM services and
Cluster Configurations.
• Interactive job options are only available if EnginFrame has been installed and correctly configured to work
with EKM.
Usability Enhancements
• The EKM interface has been simplified in many areas, creating a more streamlined user experience.
For example:
– Profile settings have been merged into the Settings dialog.
– The Jobs and Processes pages have been simplified to focus exclusively on starting and monitoring jobs
and processes.
– The New > Object action has been removed.
– The Applications panel and Saved Queries panel have been simplified for ease-of-use.
– Interactive job templates and features are hidden from view if EnginFrame is not installed and configured
to work with EKM.
– The Recycle Bin link has been removed from the Home page, and is available on the user menu only.
• The EKM documentation set now includes a Troubleshooting Guide.
4.2. Issues Resolved in this Release

Below are the major issues that have been resolved since the release of 17.2.
• The sessionTimeout setting in the ekm.xml file now takes effect if you leave EKM on a page that displays
an auto-updating status, such as the job view or the Extraction Monitor page.
EKM
4.3. Deprecated Features

A few features have been removed or reconfigured in release 18.0:
• When a Workbench project archive (.wbpz file) is selected in the repository, the New > Design Point Run,
New > Design Exploration and Edit > Update Project actions are no longer available on the toolbar or
context menu. You can now launch project updates and design point runs using the new Start Workbench
Job application on the Applications panel.
• The ability to conduct Design Exploration studies on Workbench projects has been removed, with the ex-
ception of processes that contain DOE or Optimization tasks (see next item).
• DOE and Optimization nodes have been removed from EKM Studio, and can no longer be added to process
templates. If you have existing process templates that contain these node types, you will be able to continue
using them throughout the 18.0 release. Note, however, that support for these nodes will cease in release
19.0.
• The mobile interface for smartphones will no longer be supported. Although the mobile interface will still
be available if you sign in to EKM on a smartphone, some features may not work.
• When running a Mechanical APDL server-mode job, you can no longer pause, interrupt or otherwise steer
the solution in the Job Monitor. Only standard job details and live monitoring are available.
• The following object types are no longer supported in EKM:
– FeModelInput
– AbaqusInput
– AbaqusResult
– AbaqusOutputDatabase
– NastranBulkData
– NastranResult
4.4. Issues and Limitations

All issues and limitations known at the time of release are listed in Appendix A: Known Issues and Lim-
itations in the EKM Troubleshooting Guide.
Chapter 5: DesignXplorer
The following enhancements have been added to ANSYS DesignXplorer 18.0:
Performance and Memory Enhancements

DesignXplorer includes the following performance and memory enhancements:
• The time it takes to display, select, and edit DesignXplorer tables with lots of data in Workbench has
been significantly improved. Testing with 12,000 design points yield the following results:
– Loading of the Design of Experiments table is more than 50% faster.
– Loading of the Table of Design Points in the Parameter Set is 10 to 20% faster.
– Selecting many rows or all rows in the Design of Experiments table is instantaneous.
– Opening the context menu on the Table of Design Points or the Design of Experiments table is up
to four times faster.
• For Mechanical simulations, a new option is available: Tools > Options > Mechanical > Maximize
Design Point Performance. On each design point update, results data for design points is copied by
default when parameters are changed. However, because design points are not reevaluated in these
cases, selecting the Maximize Design Point Performance check box prevents ANSYS Workbench from
copying the results data unnecessarily.
• Because a Genetic Aggregation response surface can take longer to generate than other type of response
surface, memory management improvements have been made, resulting in reducing by 40% the alloc-
ated memory used during a response surface update.
Additional DesignXplorer Extensions

The following new extensions are available for use with any 17.x release:
• LHS with Parameter Relationships
• Full Factorial DOE
To access these two new extensions, along with many others, go to the ANSYS App Store and filter the
applications by typing DesignXplorer in the Search Apps field.
DesignXplorer Extension Compatibility Updates

The following extensions have been updated for compatibility with the 17.2 release:
• DOE from Correlation
• Import Parameters and DOE
DesignXplorer
• Parameter Sweep
• MATLAB Optimizers
• Response Surface Reader
• Direct Optimization from RSO
Compatibility updates for the 18.0 release are in progress and will be released promptly upon completion.
Part VI: ANSYS AIM
The following enhancements are available in ANSYS, Inc. Release 18.0 (ANSYS AIM). Accessible via the
Help Viewer in the product and online via the ANSYS Customer Portal, the release notes are intended
to provide an overview of the product. Enhancements published in the Release 17.1 and Release 17.2
release notes are included for reference.
Chapter 1: Advisories
In addition to any incompatibilities noted within the release notes, known non-operational behavior,
errors and/or limitations at the time of release are documented in the ANSYS, Inc Known Issues and
Limitations document, accessible via the ANSYS Customer Portal (account required). First-time users of
the customer portal must register to create a password. See the ANSYS Customer Portal for information
about ANSYS service packs, and any additional items not included in the Known Issues and Limitations
document.
Chapter 2: Enhancements in AIM 18.0
The following enhancements have been made to ANSYS AIM for release 18.0.
• The ability to simulate magnetic frequency response including eddy/displacement currents.
• Enhanced material properties that include frequency dependent magnetic material properties.
• Enhanced magnetics template that automatically creates surrounding enclosure.
• The ability to simulate solid heating due to induction heating by using physics coupling to transfer
heat rate to a thermal simulation.
• The ability to include field variables and quality functions (average, minimum, maximum, etc.) in expres-
sions to define fluid conditions.
• The ability to transfer mesh and selection set data from AIM to Fluent via a Workbench project schem-
atic connection.
• Enhanced AIM templates enable model transfer from AIM to either Fluent or Mechanical.
• Enhanced material properties that include the ability to define the state of matter - solid, liquid or gas
- for a given material definition.
• The ability to continue a fluid solution from the previous solution if the only change is the number of
iterations.
• The ability to map surface fluid force using a conservative mapping algorithm with an automatic gap
tolerance to a structural simulation modeled with shell elements.
• The ability to define either a spatially varying pressure or force per unit area using a position dependent
expression.
• The ability to define a cylindrical reference frame for displacement and support conditions.
• Enhanced prescribed displacements that include the display of a vector arrow.
• Enhanced bolt pretension that enables a single bolt pretension to represent a collection of bolts, and
the ability to post-process the bolt adjustment and the bolt working load.
• Enhanced group view for the results task that allows the display of multiple results in the same graphics
scene.
• Enhanced calculated values that include the display of an annotation for the calculated value in the
graphics scene.
• The ability to specify the AIM user interface color theme - light (default), white or dark - based on user
preference.
Enhancements in AIM 18.0
• Enhanced multiphysics workflow that automatically copies material assignments from the previous
physics task when connected to the same geometry task
• Enhanced monitoring of calculated values that includes a user interface shortcut to add calculated
values to a monitor chart.
• Enhanced simulation steps that includes access to the simulation step manager from boundary condi-
tions, and the ability to visualize applied factors.
• Enhanced definition of results that includes the ability to automatically use variable names when defining
new results.
• The ability to display the AIM user interface in the Chinese language.
• The ability to execute geometry modeling operations via a Python script.
• The ability to simulate conjugate heat transfer for polymer extrusion including fluid-solid, fluid-fluid
and solid-solid region interfaces.
• Enhanced material models for polymer extrusion that include a simplified viscoelastic model to account
for extrudate swelling.
Chapter 3: Enhancement in AIM 17.2
The following enhancements have been made to ANSYS AIM for Release 17.2.
• The ability to perform static structural stress simulation in multiple steps. Structural loads and physics
coupling interfaces can be activated or deactivated in each step.
• The ability to apply bolt pre-tension loads in structural simulation including an option to lock the pre-
tension and apply loads (additional bolt tensioning or operational) in subsequent simulation steps.
• The ability to perform time-dependent (transient) thermal simulations. Define initial temperatures,
apply time varying thermal conditions through tabular data or expressions, post process results over
time.
• The ability to define one or more momentum sources/sinks as fluid physics conditions.
• The ability to define heat sources/sinks fluid and fluid-thermal simulations.
• The ability to define rotational or translational periodic region interfaces.
• Enhanced wall boundary condition to allow specification of wall roughness height.
• Enhanced fluid viscosity definition to allow viscosity to be defined as a function of strain rate for fluid
flow simulation.
• The ability to monitor calculated values during the solution of a fluid flow simulation.
• The ability to include thermal effects in polymer extrusion simulation.
• Enhanced, generalized Newtonian, viscosity models for polymer extrusion.
• The ability to include generalized slipping models for polymer extrusion.
• Enhanced performance for 1-way physics coupling through the use of 2-core parallel processing for all
surface and volumetric data mapping.
• The ability to transfer geometry, mesh and selection sets to a Mechanical system from the AIM study.
• The ability to display the AIM UI in Japanese language.
• The ability to create an HTML report to provide a summary of all simulation data.
• Enhanced animation controls in graphics.
• Enhanced usage of conditionally up-to-date state messaging.
• Enhanced performance for geometry with large number of facets.
• Automatic selection of primary field for editing when working with the immersive data entry panel.
Enhancement in AIM 17.2
• Enhanced field level help. Some fields now include short video demonstrations within the field level
help window. You can double-click on the video to launch a larger version in your default video player.
Chapter 4: Enhancements in AIM 17.1
The following enhancements have been made to ANSYS AIM for Release 17.1.
• The ability to simulate static electromagnetic fields using a guided workflow with an adaptive solution.
Options include the computation of magnetic flux density, magnetic field intensity, current density,
Ohmic loss, magnetic force, magnetic torque and inductance.
• Enhanced material properties include linear and nonlinear magnetic materials for many common ma-
terials.
• The ability to simulate solid heating due to electromagnetic effects by using physics coupling to
transfer heat rate to a thermal simulation.
• The ability to model polymer extrusion using a guided workflow to simulate various aspects of the
deformation of molten plastic pushed through a die. Options include: simulating the flow within the
die, predicting the extrudate shape for a particular die, and predicting the required die shape in order
to obtain a desired extrudate shape.
• Material library enhanced to enable the modification and specification of appearance properties.
• The ability to perform static structural and modal analysis using shell elements including the ability to
create a mid-surface from solid geometry using the Geometry Modeling task.
• The ability to apply displacement and/or rotation boundary conditions remotely on model topology
or a construction point.
• Enhanced displacement boundary condition allows components to be unconstrained by entering “Free”

as an expression.
• Enhanced support boundary condition, which includes fixed (default), frictionless and user specified
options.
• The ability to automatically hide bodies not applicable to a contact or joint definition for structural,
thermal and electric conduction stimulation.
• The ability to automatically hide bodies not applicable for a region when a physics condition is selected
for fluid flow and extrusion simulation.
• Enhanced solution monitors that include solution convergence charts for nonlinear structural, thermal
and electric solutions.
• Enhanced solution monitors for fluids that includes automatic filtering of monitors by defined physics
models.
• Enhanced performance and memory usage for conjugate heat transfer models with complex topology
(many faces).
Enhancements in AIM 17.1
• Enhanced solver meshing control for fluids simulation to control the conversion of the mesh to poly-
hedral.
• Enhanced solver transcript for fluids simulation that includes information on partitioning, mesh statistics,
flow balances and wall clock times.
• The ability to include multiple interface generators with a specific scope and tolerance for conjugate
heat transfer simulation.
• Enhanced physics task layout that includes improved organization and physics specific naming conven-
tions.
• Enhanced navigation bar that collapses to current navigation for simpler model navigation.
• Enhanced next step suggestion intelligence.
• The ability to include structural mass as a calculated value for inclusion in design point studies or op-
timization.
• Enhanced custom templates that include multiple steps to provide greater flexibility for the creation
of custom applications.
• Geometry Modeling is now enabled by default in the standard Simulation Process Templates.
• Enhanced Geometry Modeling look-and-feel for improved consistency and easier navigation.
• Improved persistence of locations and named selections for enclosures and extracted flow volumes
created in Geometry Modeling.
• Sheet Metal and Midsurface tools are now available in Geometry Modeling.
Chapter 5: Limitations
The Known Issues and Limitations document is accessible via the ANSYS Customer Portal (account re-
quired). Via Knowledge Resources> Online Documentation, open the General section to view the current
Known Issues and Limitations document. First-time users of the customer portal must register to create
a password.

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ANSYS, Inc.

ANSYS, Inc. Release 18.0

© 2016 SAS IP, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.

U.S. Government Rights

Published in the U.S.A.

2.1.1.3.2. Beam-to-Beam Contact ................................................................................... 16

2.3.2. Distributed ANSYS Enhancements .................................................................................... 26

5.2.3. Butt Joint Sequence ......................................................................................................... 40

9.2. New Features in ANSYS FENSAP-ICE .......................................................................................... 79

1. Advisories ...................................................................................................................................... 133

• Advisories (p. xii)

• Compatibility with Previous Releases (p. xii)

• Installation (p. xii)

• Licensing (p. xiii)

• Documentation (p. xiii)

• Verification Manual (p. xiii)

• Online Video Access (p. xvi)

• ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xvi)

• ANSYS Elastic Licensing (p. xvii)

• New Product Levels (p. xvii)

The Release Documentation files include the following:

• ANSYS Platform Support Strategy & Plans

• ANSYS, Inc. Installation and Licensing Tutorials

• ANSYS, Inc. Known Issues and Limitations

• ANSYS, Inc. Licensing Guide

• ANSYS, Inc. Quick Start Installation Guide

• ANSYS, Inc. Quick Start Licensing Guide

• ANSYS, Inc. Release Notes

• Linux Installation Guide

• SpaceClaim Release Notes (as applicable)

• Windows Installation Guide

2. Compatibility with Previous Releases

• .NET Framework 4.5 is now required for running ANSYS products.

Help Viewer Enhancements

Updated Product Documentation

6.1. Mechanical APDL

6.1.1. New Verification Test Cases

• VM294 - Fourier Series Analysis of a Diode Rectified Circuit

• VM296 - Radial Expansion of a Thermoplastic Cylinder

• VM297 - Acoustic Propagation with Mean Flow in a Muffler

6.1.2. Modified Verification Test Cases

6.2.1. Mechanical Verification Test Cases

• VMMECH095 - 2-D Double Cantilever Beam Problem

• VMMECH096 - 2-D Fracture Problem Under Thermal Loading

• VMMECH097 - Inclined Crack in 2-D Plate Under Uniform Tension Loading

• VMMECH098 - 2-D End Notched Flexure Problem

• VMMECH099 - Mode I Crack Growth Analysis of DCB Using Interface Delamination

6.2.2. SpaceClaim Verification Test Cases

• VMSC_Geometry001 - Alter Model Using Sketch, Pull, and Fill

• VMSC_Geometry003 - Alter Model Using Linear, Circular, and Two-Dimensional Patterns

• VMSC_Geometry004 - Alter Model Using Revolve, Chamfer, and Offset Faces

• VMSC_Geometry005 - Alter Model Using Blend and Project

• VMSC_Geometry006 - Alter Model Using Sheet Metal Tools and Operations

• VMSC_Prepare001 - Midsurface, Extend, Imprint, and Spot Weld

• VMSC_Prepare002 - Volume Extract and Enclosure

• VMSC_Prepare003 - Beam Create, Extract, and Orient

• VMSC_Prepare004 - Remove Rounds, Interference, Faces, and Short Edges

• VMSC_Repair001 - Stitch, Gap, and Missing Faces

• VMSC_Repair002 - Merge Faces, Small Faces, Simplify, Straighten

• VMSC_Repair003 - Split Edges, Extra Edges, and Duplicates

6.2.3. AIM Mechanical Verification Test Cases

• VMMECH007 - Thermal Stress in a Bar with Temperature Dependent Conductivity

• VMMECH025 - Stresses Due to Shrink Fit Between Two Cylinders

• VMMECH032 - Radial Flow Due to Internal Heat Generation in a Copper Disk