Simulation Options

Discovery automatically adjusts solution options and applies appropriate modeling methods based on the physics inputs.

You can specify the solution options for a simulation or explicitly set the modeling method by clicking Simulation Options in the ribbon of the Simulation tab.

  1. Click Simulation Options>Units settings to set the units. Any change to these settings applies to the current session for all simulations. Changes to these units do not affect units from the status bar or those under File > Settings > Units and Display Precision.
  2. Click Include newly created bodies to include in the simulation by default all new bodies created in the model. Switch off this option if you want to suppress physics.
  3. Click Additional [Physics] Options to see the simulation options for each physics type.

You can also set up a natural frequency or modal analysis, which enables you to model the undamped, free vibration characteristics of a structure by determining natural frequencies and mode shapes, or a topology optimization analysis, which you can use to compute an optimal structural design for a selected region of your model.

For information about problems and error messages that you may encounter, see Troubleshooting.

Note: Many options are not available in the Explore stage. You must be in Refine to see all the available options.

This section contains the following topics:

Structural Simulation Options

Specify modeling method Choose between setting the modeling method to be Non-linear, in which case large deformations will be captured, or setting the method to be Linear, in which case sliding contact will be idealized and large deformation will not be included.
Specify solution progression Specify the substep progression in a nonlinear simulation.
Mesh Quality Metric Toggle on any mesh quality criteria you want to monitor, then specify upper and lower limits. After meshing, you are notified if any selected meshing criteria are not met. Meshing criteria available include Element quality, Jacobian ratio, and Aspect ratio. Jacobian ratio is on by default, but you can choose different defaults in the Physics Settings.

Fluid Simulation Options

Specify calculation type Choose between performing a Static or steady-state or Time-dependent calculation. Steady-state is used to determine the long-term behavior of a system that does not change over time. Time-dependent is used to follow behavior over a specified duration.
Stop on Choose Engineering convergence, Numerical convergence, or Monitored value convergence to determine the stopping criteria for when the problem has converged.
Use LiveGX solver On by default. Use LiveGX solver to leverage GPU solver technology combined with body-fitted meshing to provide both fast and accurate fluid solutions.
Specify modeling method Choose one of the turbulence models if modeling turbulent flow. Alternatively, if the flow is not turbulent, set the fluid flow modeling method to Laminar. Learn more about the different turbulence models.
Specify convergence criteria Specify the criteria for convergence. This is the point at which further iterations are no longer necessary. An important part of determining whether your solution is appropriate is to judge whether the solution has converged to an acceptable level.
Specify meshing method Choose between two meshing methods, Tetrahedra mesh and Polyhedra mesh. Your selection should take into consideration the complexity of your model, the solution accuracy you would like to achieve, and the computational expense.
Auto-adjust quality in low fidelity areas Discovery automatically improves mesh quality where needed by repositioning nodes.
Mesh Quality Metric Toggle on any mesh quality criteria you want to monitor, then specify upper and lower limits. After meshing, you are notified if any selected meshing criteria are not met. Meshing criteria available include Orthogonal quality, Skewness, and Aspect ratio. Orthogonal quality is on by default, but you can choose different defaults in the Physics Settings.

Solid Thermal Simulation Options

Specify calculation type Choose between performing a Static or steady-state or Time-dependent calculation. Steady-state is used to determine the long-term behavior of a system that does not change over time. Time-dependent is used to follow behavior over a specified duration.
Specify modeling method Choose between setting the modeling method to be Non-linear, in which case large deformations will be captured, or setting the method to be Linear, in which case sliding contact will be idealized and large deformation will not be included.
Specify solution progression Specify the substep progression in a nonlinear simulation.

Electromagnetics Simulation Options

Modify frequency points Specify the Far-field, Near-field and S-parameter frequency points.
Specify loss settings Specify whether Dieletric losses should be Based on materials or if they can be Ignored. Specify the Perfect conductivity threshold value to set the material threshold for electrical conductivity.
Specify convergence settings Specify the Maximum simulation duration for each simulation. The simulation is considered converged once the volume-integrated electric field intensity drops below a ratio of its peak value. Enter the Target numerical convergence to specify this threshold.