Overview

14. 5 Release

Introduction to ANSYS
DesignXplorer
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 What is DesignXplorer?
DesignXplorer (DX) is a tool that uses response surfaces and direct optimization to
efficiently explore the solution space.
Explore and understand the performance at other design or operating conditions
Find the conditions which give the best performance
Determine the key parameters influencing the design
Explore the robustness of the design

?
?

Response
Single Point What If? Surface

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 DX Features
List of DX Features (discussed on following slides and lectures)
What if Study [does not require a DX license]
Parameter Correlation
Design of Experiments
Response Surface
Min/max search
Surface/XY plots
Sensitivities
Direct and response surface Optimization and trade-off plots
Robustness of design
Six Sigma Robustness Evaluation

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 DX Features
What if Study

Automatically run through a list of manually specified design points

[does not require a DX license]

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 DX Features
Parameter Correlation

1. Identify unimportant parameters

Input Parameter

Output Parameter

Output parameters not sensitive

to force variations

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 DX Features
Parameter Correlation

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

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 DX Features
Design of Experiments

Specify the DOE Type

Specify the range for each

parameter

DX uses a DOE to select design

points with parameter
combinations intended to explore
the solution space efficiently
works best for fewer than 20
parameters

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 DX Features
Response Surface

A continuous response surface is formed from the DPs

Various formulations available

A response surface can be quickly explored by other DX features

Parameter 1
Curve fit
response
Design
Points

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

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 DX Features
Six Sigma Robustness Evaluation
Input parameters vary!

Output parameters

Understand how Understand

your performance Determine how which inputs
will vary with your many parts will require the
design tolerances likely fail greatest control
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 DX
Small effort/cost, huge benefits.

Understanding Innovation ROI

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 Interface

14. 5 Release

Introduction to ANSYS
DesignXplorer
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 General Workflow

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 Parameters
Workbench Applications that allow for parameterization:
External CAD package
Engineering data
DesignModeler
Meshing
Mechanical
Mechanical APDL
ExplicitSTR
CFX
Fluent
CFD-Post
VistaTF
Polyflow
SpaceClaim
External Connections
Excel
AQWA
nCode
Ansoft Solutions (HFSS, Maxwell)
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 Parameters
Parameterizing CAD dimensions
In Workbench Options > Geometry Import, enable Parameters and
specify a filtering prefix and suffix
The default filterer is DS.
Example:
To expose a CAD parameter named Length in Workbench, it could be renamed as
dslength, Lengthds, ds_Length, Length_ds, etc. (the order is arbitrary as is
the underscore and the case).
Leaving the filter blank will cause all CAD parameters to be passed to
Workbench.

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 Parameters
Parameterizing WB dimensions, BCs, etc.

Parameter definition
based on ANSYS
Mechanical APDL
input files

Input and output parameters created in CAD,

DM, AMP, Mechanical

Output parameters created from

Input parameter created from an Input parameter created from an an expression in ANSYS CFD
expression in ANSYS CFX expression in ANSYS FLUENT Post
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 Parameters
Derived Parameters
Derived Parameters:
Parameters created using analytical expressions composed of input and output parameters.
Derived parameters can be defined using various built in arithmetic, trigonometric and
statistical functions.
Examples include (but are not limited to):
cost function (i.e., the product of mass and cost per mass)
normalized stress (i.e., stress response divided by an applied stress)
Mesh sizing (setting a mesh parameter as a function of a geometric parameter)

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 Parameter Set

Table of Design Points

All input and output parameters [discussed on following slides]

Chart options

Create derived
Parameter

Charts
Properties of
[discussed on following slides]
selected parameter

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

Select Export to retain

files associated with the
Design Point

Status bar gives more info

RMB > Update Selected Design Points
about design points update.

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

show the chart output

vs. input parameter.

Show how output parameters vary for

design point combinations.
Good
Flow Uniformity

Bad

Pressure Drop
GOOD
BAD

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

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 DX
Design of Experiments

Charts

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 DX
Response Surface
2

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 DX
Response Surface Optimization
2

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 DX
Direct Optimization

A Direct Optimization system is a

single-component system that utilizes
real solves.
Is not dependent on the quality of a
response surface.
Retrieve information via data links
from other components that contain
design point data, thus reducing the
time needed for the optimization
without altering the original source of
the design points.
To add a Direct Optimization system to
your project, drag it from the Design
Exploration section of the Workbench
Toolbox and drop it on your Project
Schematic.
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 DX
Six Sigma Analysis
2

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 Unified Reporting

DX Systems contribute to the unified report

Includes all DX tables and Charts

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

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

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

methodical workflow

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

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

Output 1 Output 1
100
90
80
1.5 1-1.5
70 1-1.5
60 1 0.5-1
0.5-1
Input 2

50 0.5 0-0.5
0-0.5 68
40 0 -0.5-0
-0.5-0
0

30
13 34 -1--0.5
-0.5 26
39
52
20 -1--0.5 0

65
78
-1 -1.5--1

91
10 -1.5--1
0 -1.5
100
0

30

60

90
10
20

40
50

70
80

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

Output 2 Output 2
99
90
0.5
81
72 0.4 0.4-0.5
0.4-0.5
63
0.3-0.4
0.3-0.4
Input 2

54 0.3
45 0.2-0.3
0.2-0.3
36 0.2
0.1-0.2
0.1-0.2
27 0.1 0-0.1
18 0-0.1 68
9 0 34
0
12

0
24
36
0
48
60
72
0
11
22
33
44
55
66
77
88
99

84
96
Input 1 Input 1

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