Performing a Mesh Preview Run

You are advised to perform a mesh preview run before performing a full transient physics simulation with motion. A mesh preview run simulates the mesh motion only without any physics models involved. This approach allows you to analyze and verify the mesh motion that you define. A simulation without physics runs much faster and lets you trouble-shoot possible motion or meshing errors. For a mesh preview run, you define the motion and assign it to the moving regions of the mesh. Then, you employ the unsteady solver with a large time-step.

To perform a mesh preview run:

  1. Create a new physics continuum that contains the unsteady solver only:
    1. Right-click Continua and select New Physics Continuum.
    2. Rename the Physics 2 continuum as Mesh Preview Continuum.
    3. For the Mesh Preview continuum, select the following models:
      Group Box Model
      Time Implicit Unsteady
      Space Three Dimensional
      You leave the time-step at the default value of 0.001 s.
  2. Within Regions, multi-select the BG, Lobe1, and Lobe2 nodes and set Physics Continuum to Mesh Preview Continuum.
  3. Click (Run) to run the simulation.
    In the Graphics window, you see the lobes counter-rotating as expected. The mesh preview run reveals that the motion definition is correct.
  4. After verifying the motion of the lobes for several time steps, stop the run by clicking (Stop Iterating).
  5. Multi-select the BG, Lobe1, and Lobe2 nodes and set Physics Continuum to Physics 1.
    The regions are again associated with the physics continuum that contains all physics models required for the full lobe blower simulation.
  6. For the subsequent physics simulation to start from the initial mesh position, select Solution > Clear Solution, then click OK.