3.4.5. Report

CFD-Post automatically makes available a report of the output of your simulation. You can control the contents of the report in the Outline workspace, see the available sections of the report in the Report Viewer, add new sections in the Comment Viewer, and publish the report in HTML or in plain text form.

Here is an example of a report that uses the generic template; if you have a RES file loaded in CFD-Post, you can see a similar report by clicking on the Report Viewer tab at the bottom of the Viewer area.

Note:  The sample report shown in Figure 3.2: A Sample Report, Part 1, Figure 3.3: A Sample Report, Part 2, and Figure 3.4: A Sample Report, Part 3 is taken from a Report.html file, much like the one that you generate when you click the Publish button  .

Figure 3.2: A Sample Report, Part 1

A Sample Report, Part 1

Figure 3.3: A Sample Report, Part 2

A Sample Report, Part 2

Figure 3.4: A Sample Report, Part 3

A Sample Report, Part 3

A report is defined by the Report object and the objects stored under it. The Report object, like other objects, can be saved to, and restored from, a state file. For details, see File Types Used and Produced by CFD-Post. Only one Report object exists in a CFD-Post session.

 

3.4.5.1. Omitting Default Report Sections

You can remove major sections of the report by expanding the Report section in the Outline tree view and clearing the check box beside the section to be omitted. To see the results of such operations, right-click Report and select Refresh Preview.

Note:  The Title Page option controls the inclusion of the logo, title, dates, and Table of Contents sections.

 

3.4.5.2. Changing the Default Report Sections

To change a default section, right-click the section name in the Outline tree view and click Edit.

For the Title Page, you can:

  • Add a new logo (JPG or PNG only)

  • Remove the Ansys logo

  • Change the report’s title

  • Add the author’s name

  • Control the display of the date and the table of contents.

After making changes, click Apply and Refresh Preview to see the results in the Report Viewer.

The other report pages control detailed information about the mesh, physics, and solution. Again, after making changes, click Apply and Refresh Preview to see the results in the Report Viewer.

 

3.4.5.3. Adding New Sections to a Report

You can add new sections by using the Comment Viewer (at the bottom of the viewer pane):

  1. In the Comment Viewer toolbar, click New Comment   to ready the Comment Viewer for editing.

  2. Add a title for your new section in the Heading field.

  3. Set the level of the heading in the Level field (use "1" for new sections; "2" for subsections, and so on).

  4. Type your text in the large, white text-entry field (HTML code is not accepted because it is generated automatically).

  5. When your new section is complete, select its name in the Outline tree view under Report, then press Ctrl+Up Arrow (or Ctrl+Down Arrow) to move the new section in the report hierarchy.

  6. To see how the report will look, right-click Report and select Refresh Preview. The updated report appears in the Report Viewer.

  7. To publish the report so that it can be loaded into a third-party browser or editor, right-click Report and select Publish. For details, see Publishing the Report.

  8. To save the report, click OK. The report is written to the file you specified.

 

3.4.5.4. Report Templates

Report templates are available for rapidly setting up application-specific reports. Depending on the information contained in a results file, a report template will be selected automatically, and made available as a command in the following places:

  • The File > Report menu

  • The shortcut menu that appears when you right-click the Report object.

In the same places, there is a Report Templates command that invokes the Report Templates dialog box. This dialog box allows you to:

  • Browse the list of existing templates.

  • Add (register) a template.

    To do this:

    1. Click Add template   on the Report Templates dialog box to invoke the Template Properties dialog box.

    2. Select a state or session file that contains a report; alternatively, you can choose to use the current state of CFD-Post, and provide a filename to which to save the template.

    3. Provide a name and description for the template. You cannot use the name of an existing template.

    4. If you are loading a state or session file, and the filename does not end in .cst or .cse, set the Execution setting to either State or Session, as applicable.

  • View and/or edit the properties of a template.

    To do this:

    1. Click Edit Properties   on the Report Templates dialog box to invoke the Template Properties dialog box.

    2. View and/or edit the name, description, and path to the template file, as applicable. You can edit the properties for templates that were added, but not the standard templates.

  • Delete templates from the set of available templates.

    You can delete only the templates that were added. To do this:

    1. Select a user template in the Report Templates dialog box.

    2. Click Delete  .

 
3.4.5.4.1. Turbo Report Templates

Postprocessing within CFD-Post is fully automated using the turbomachinery report templates. The turbo reports are designed for single-phase fluid analyses, and can only be used with steady-state cases. The turbo reports can be used for individual bladerows of a multi-bladerow analysis by loading each bladerow domain separately into CFD-Post using the domain selector. (To enable the domain selector, click the Edit > Options menu, select Files and select the Show domain selector before load option.)

Important:

  • Turbo reports attempt to auto-initialize Turbo mode. However if auto-initialization fails, you must initialize Turbo mode manually and re-run the turbo report.

  • CFD-Post cannot automatically detect a solution that is "360 Case Without Periodics", so you need to set this manually.

  • Turbo report templates are not designed for multifile usage or comparison mode. In these cases:

    • User charts that contain local variables will not have plots showing the differences in comparison mode.

    • Tables will not show differences in comparison mode.

    • There will be only one picture of the meridional view of the blades (corresponding to the first loaded results file).

  • Because transient blade row results are different in each passage, Turbo Reports are not designed for transient blade row cases, and results may not be what is expected. Plots in Turbo reports that appear to show multiple passages actually show copies of the first passage and not expanded passages. In other words, the turbo report tool follows the same behavior as any other solution method; that is, it makes an instanced copy of the first passage and plots the variables there.

These are the variables required for all Release 2024 R2 turbo reports:

CFX Variables Required for all Release 2024 R2 Turbo Reports

  • Density

  • Force X

  • Force Y

  • Force Z

  • Pressure

  • Total Pressure

  • Total Pressure in Stn Frame

  • Rotation Velocity

  • Velocity

  • Velocity in Stn Frame u

  • Velocity in Stn Frame v

  • Velocity in Stn Frame w

  • Velocity in Stn Frame

  • Velocity in Stn Frame Flow Angle

  • Velocity Flow Angle

  • Velocity in Stn Frame Circumferential

  • Velocity Circumferential

  • Velocity Meridional

Note:  If all of the turbo components in the results file are 'stationary', then variables having names ending with 'in Stn Frame' are not required.

Fluent Variables Required for all Release 2024 R2 Turbo Reports

  • Density

  • Static Pressure

  • Total Pressure

  • X Velocity

  • Y Velocity

  • Z Velocity

In addition to the variables mentioned above, the following variables are required for compressible flow reports:

CFX Variables Required for all Release 2024 R2 Compressible Flow Turbo Reports

  • Temperature

  • Total Temperature

  • Total Temperature in Stn Frame

  • Static Enthalpy

  • Total Enthalpy

  • Total Enthalpy in Stn Frame

  • Isentropic Total Enthalpy

  • Polytropic Total Enthalpy

  • Total Density in Stn Frame

  • Total Density

  • Specific Heat Capacity at Constant Pressure

  • Specific Heat Capacity at Constant Volume

  • Rothalpy

  • Static Entropy

  • Mach Number

  • Mach Number in Stn Frame

  • Isentropic Compression Efficiency

  • Isentropic Expansion Efficiency

Fluent Variables Required for all Release 2024 R2 Compressible Flow Turbo Reports

  • Static Temperature

  • Total Temperature

  • Enthalpy

  • Total Enthalpy

  • Specific Heat (Cp)

  • Rothalpy

  • Entropy

  • Mach Number

When variables are missing, lines in the turbo report tables that depend on these variables will be missing.

 
3.4.5.4.1.1. Procedures for Using Turbo Reports when Turbomachinery Data is Missing

Results files from Fluent (and from some other sources) will not have all the turbomachinery data that CFD-Post requires. For turbo results files that lack data about the number of passages, you must do the following:

  1. For Fluent files, prior to loading a turbo report template, create a new variable that the report expects (but which is not available from Fluent files):

    1. From the toolbar, click Variable  . The Insert Variable dialog box appears.

    2. In the Name field, type Rotation Velocity and click OK. The details view for Rotation Velocity appears.

    3. In the Expression field, type Radius * abs(omega) / 1 [rad] and click Apply. This expression calculates the angular speed (in units of length per unit time) as a product of the local radius and the rotational speed.

  2. When you load a turbo report for a case that is missing some variables, an error dialog box appears showing warnings and errors. Generally this means that some rows in the turbo report will not appear.

    Turbo reports for Fluent files will not display information about absolute Mach number. This causes charts of Mach number to display only the relative Mach number.

  3. For any results file that is missing the number of passages (such as Fluent files and CFX results files not set up using the Turbo Mode in CFX-Pre), after you load the turbo report template, do the following for each domain:

    1. A <domain_name> Instance Transform appears in the Outline tree view under User Locations and Plots. Prior to viewing the report, double-click this name to edit the instance transform. In the # of Passages field, ensure that the number of passages matches the number of passages in the domain. If you enter a new number, click Apply.

    2. On the Expressions tab, double-click the expression <domain_name> Components in 360 to edit it. Match the definition to the number of components in the domain. If you enter a new number, click Apply.

  4. In the Report Viewer, click Refresh to ensure that the contents are updated.

 
3.4.5.4.2. Choosing a Turbo Report

If the model was set up using CFX-Pre Turbo Mode, then CFD-Post will automatically be able to determine which report to load based on the machine type and flow type selected, and will prompt you to load it. The report can also be loaded manually by right-clicking on the Report item in CFD-Post. To avoid conflicts with the current CFD-Post state, you should load the report in a clean session.

In the Computed Results table, any values that are shown as "N/A" mean that the necessary scalar variables for computing these values were missing from the results file. This might happen if the solution was run using an older version of CFX, or if some of the scalar variables were manually disabled.

The report templates are CFD-Post session files located in the CFX install under the etc/PostReports directory. You can edit these reports or make new versions to add to the list of report templates. The following table shows the correspondence between the machine type, the flow type settings, and the report selection.

Machine TypeFluid TypeDomain Motion (Single Domains Only)Report Template
PumpAnyRotatingPump Impeller
StationaryStator
FanAnyRotatingFan
StationaryStator
FanAnyRotatingFan Noise
Axial CompressorCompressibleRotatingAxial Compressor Rotor
StationaryStator
Centrifugal CompressorCompressibleRotatingCentrifugal Compressor Rotor
StationaryStator
Axial TurbineCompressibleRotatingTurbine Rotor
StationaryTurbine Stator
Radial TurbineCompressibleRotatingTurbine Rotor
StationaryTurbine Stator
Hydraulic TurbineIncompressibleRotatingHydraulic Turbine Rotor
StationaryStator
OtherAnyRotatingPump Rotor
StationaryStator

Several reports support postprocessing results for multiple components/blade rows. These reports attempt to group the components into stages. You can control how the stages are formed by editing the corresponding report session file. The available session files include:

AxialCompressorReport.cse

Report template for axial compressors

CentrifugalCompressorReport.cse

Report template for centrifugal compressors

CompressibleTurbineReport.cse

Report template for compressible flow turbines.

HydraulicTurbineReport.cse

Report template for incompressible flow turbines.

PumpReport.cse

Report template for incompressible flow pumps.

Machine TypeFluid TypeReport Template
PumpAnyPump
Axial CompressorCompressibleAxial Compressor
Centrifugal CompressorCompressibleCentrifugal Compressor
Axial TurbineCompressibleTurbine
Radial TurbineCompressibleTurbine
Hydraulic TurbineIncompressibleHydraulic Turbine
 

3.4.5.5. Creating, Viewing, and Publishing Reports

To create or modify a report, do the following:

  1. Specify the settings for the report that are contained in the Report object.

    For details, see Report Object.

  2. Specify the settings for the title page that are contained in the Title Page object.

    For details, see Title Page Object.

  3. Decide which predefined tables to use.

    For details, see:

  4. Optionally, create objects that give additional content to the report.

    For details, see Adding Objects to the Report.

  5. Control which objects get included in the report, and the order in which they are included.

    For details, see Controlling the Content in the Report.

  6. Refresh the report.

    For details, see Refreshing the Report.

You may refresh the report at any time to see the effect of changes you make to the report settings and content. The report appears in the Report Viewer.

You can publish a report so that it can be loaded into a third-party browser or editor. For details, see Publishing the Report.

 
3.4.5.5.1. Report Object

The settings on the Appearance tab of the Report object are described next.

 
3.4.5.5.1.1. Figures: File Type

Choose the image format in which you want the image files to be saved.

 
3.4.5.5.1.2. Figures: Figure Size

Choose the size for figures that appear in the report. There are preset sizes, and an option for setting a custom size.

 
3.4.5.5.1.3. Figures: Width and Height

If you set Figure Size to Custom, set the figure width and height in pixels.

 
3.4.5.5.1.4. Figures: Fit all figures in the viewport before generation Check Box

When this option is selected, each figure is produced with the view centered and the zoom level set automatically.

 
3.4.5.5.1.5. Charts: File Type

Choose the image format in which you want the chart files to be saved.

 
3.4.5.5.1.6. Charts: Chart Size

Choose the size for charts that are saved as part of the report. There are options that specify preset sizes, an option for using the same size as figures, and an option for setting a custom size.

 
3.4.5.5.1.7. Charts: Width and Height

If you set Chart Size to Custom, set the chart width and height in pixels.

 
3.4.5.5.2. Title Page Object

The Title Page object is automatically generated and listed under the Report object. The settings of this object determine the content of the title page, and are described next.

 
3.4.5.5.2.1. Custom Logo Check Box

The Custom Logo check box determines whether or not a custom logo is included in the title page. The logo must be available in a file of compatible format.

 
3.4.5.5.2.2. Custom Logo

The Custom Logo setting indicates the image file to use for the custom logo.

 
3.4.5.5.2.3. Ansys Logo Check Box

The Ansys Logo check box determines whether or not the Ansys logo is included in the title page. The Ansys logo is shown in Figure 3.2: A Sample Report, Part 1.

 
3.4.5.5.2.4. Title

The Title setting holds the title of the report.

 
3.4.5.5.2.5. Author

The Author setting holds the name of the author of the report.

 
3.4.5.5.2.6. Current Date Check Box

The Current Date check box determines whether or not the date and time are included in the title page.

 
3.4.5.5.2.7. Table of Contents Check Box

The Table of Contents check box determines whether or not a table of contents is included in the title page. An example is shown in Figure 3.2: A Sample Report, Part 1.

Each entry in the table of contents is an active link to the corresponding section of the report. To follow a link, click the link using the left mouse button.

 
3.4.5.5.2.8. Table of Contents Check Box: Captions in Table of Contents Check Box

The Captions in Table of Contents check box controls the level of detail in the entries in the table of contents. When this check box is selected, the entries in the table of contents that link to objects in the report contain the titles of the objects.

 
3.4.5.5.3. File Report Object

A File Report object containing a file information table, is automatically generated for each loaded results file, and listed under the Report object. There are no user-adjustable settings except the check box in the tree view, which controls whether or not the file information is included in the report. An example of the file information table is shown in Figure 3.2: A Sample Report, Part 1.

 
3.4.5.5.4. Mesh Report Object

A Mesh Report object is automatically generated and listed under the Report object. The Mesh Report object contains settings for a mesh information table and a mesh statistics table. Examples of the mesh information table and mesh statistics tables are shown in Figure 3.3: A Sample Report, Part 2. The data in these tables are the same as given by the mesh calculator. For details, see Mesh Calculator.

 
3.4.5.5.5. Physics Report Object

A Physics Report object is automatically generated and listed under the Report object only when you load a CFX-Solver results file. The Physics Report object allows you to control the output of physics summary data for domains and boundaries. Examples of the physics summary tables are shown in Figure 3.3: A Sample Report, Part 2.

 
3.4.5.5.6. Solution Report Object

A Solution Report object is automatically generated and listed under the Report object only when you load a CFX-Solver results file. The Solution Report object allows you to control the output of boundary flow, force, and torque summaries in the report. CFD-Post uses the summary data contained in the results files.

Note:

  • The units of the values displayed in a Solution Report object are based on the solution units used by CFX-Solver, rather than those selected in CFD-Post.

  • The Solution Report object uses monitor data from the CFX-Solver results file. Only the monitor data from the last time step or iteration will be used to generate the report table, regardless of which time step is loaded into CFD-Post for a transient case.

  • Some CFX-Solver cases, particularly some transient blade row cases, do not contain the necessary monitor data to generate the tables. For these cases, the tables will be omitted even if the Solution Report object is enabled.

 
3.4.5.5.7. Operating Points Report Object

An Operating Points object is automatically generated and listed under the Report object only when you load a CFX-Solver results file from an operating point case (.mres).

The operating point parameter table for a given case is listed under Report > Operating Points > [case name].

The details view for the operating point parameter table has no settings.

To see the operating point parameter table in the Table Viewer, double-click it in the Outline tree view, or right-click it and select Edit.

The operating maps for a given case are listed under Report > Operating Points > [case name], and again under Cases > [case name] > Operating Maps.

The details view for an operating map is described in Operating Maps.

To see an operating map in the Operating Points Viewer, double-click it in the Outline tree view, or right-click it and select Edit.

 
3.4.5.5.8. Adding Objects to the Report

You can create objects of the following types to add additional content to the report:

Such objects are listed beneath the Report object in the tree view.

 
3.4.5.5.9. Controlling the Content in the Report

Report objects can be shown or hidden in the report by setting the check box next to them in the Outline tree view. The changes take effect the next time the report is refreshed or published.

You can control the order of Report objects by selecting one or more, then right-clicking on the selection and using the Move Up and Move Down shortcut menu commands as necessary. You can also press Ctrl+Up Arrow and Ctrl+Down Arrow to move selected items.

 
3.4.5.5.10. Refreshing the Report

To refresh the report, you can do any of the following:

  • Right-click the Report object, or any of the report objects under it, then select Refresh Preview from the shortcut menu.

  • Click the Refresh Preview button in the details view for the Report object, or any of the report objects under it that have this button.

  • Click the Refresh button in the Report Viewer.

  • Select File > Report > Refresh Preview.

Note:  The first time you visit the Report Viewer after loading a results file, the report will be refreshed automatically.

 
3.4.5.5.11. Viewing the Report

After the report preview has been generated, you can view it in the Report Viewer.

 
3.4.5.5.12. Publishing the Report

You can publish a report so that it can be loaded into a third-party browser or editor. To publish a report, click the Publish button in the Report Viewer toolbar to access the Publish Report dialog box, adjust settings as appropriate, and click OK. You can also access the same dialog box by doing any of the following:

  • Right-click the Report object, or any of the report objects under it, then select Publish.

  • Select File > Report > Publish.

 
3.4.5.5.12.1. Format

Set Format to one of:

  • ARZ

    Writes the report in ARZ format, an Ansys zipped report format that can be viewed using the Ansys Viewer. For details, see Ansys Viewer Basics in the Ansys Viewer User's Guide.

  • HTML

    Writes the report in HTML format.

  • Text

    Writes the report in a plain text format.

Note:  Existing HTML reports previously generated can be converted to .arz format by using an application supplied as part of the CFD-Post installation:

<CFDPOSTROOT>/bin/cfx5htmlconvert <html-file>
 
3.4.5.5.12.2. File

Set File to the filename to use for saving the report.

 
3.4.5.5.12.3. Figures

You have the following options:

  • 2D and 3D images

    Both a 2D and 3D image is generated for each figure in the report. The 3D image can be viewed by clicking the 2D image in the report.

  • 2D images only

    Only a 2D image is generated for each figure in the report.

 
3.4.5.5.12.4. Save images in separate folder Check Box

(applicable for HTML and Text formats)

Selecting the Save images in separate folder check box causes all image files to be put in a directory that is beside the main output file.

 
3.4.5.5.12.5. More Options Button

The More Options button opens the Publish Options dialog box. The Publish Options dialog box offers the same settings as the Report object (accessible through the Outline tab), and overrides the latter for the purpose of publishing the report.

Note:  The Publish Options dialog box settings are overwritten with the settings of the Report object if you change or otherwise apply the settings of the latter.