Ansys Polyflow is data-integrated with Ansys Workbench, which provides you with convenient access to ANSYS applications and utilities that manage the product workflow. Design Exploration is one of the tools available in Ansys Workbench, and is particularly useful for exploring the designs of complicated parts and assemblies. Design Exploration allows you to easily manipulate parameters defined in any analysis system supported by Ansys Workbench, Ansys DesignModeler, and various CAD systems, and it provides unique means for understanding the subsequent analysis responses.
Unlike Ansys Polyflow’s internal optimizer, Design Exploration does not perform gradient-based optimization; instead, it uses a deterministic method based on the discipline of design of experiments (DOE). Using a goal-driven optimization technique, Design Exploration can obtain a multiplicity of design points, and then allow you to explore the calculated response surface and generate design points directly from the surface. With minimal effort, responses can be studied, quantified, and graphed.
After setting up your analysis in Ansys Workbench, you can use Design Exploration to:
parameterize your solution and view an interpolated response surface for the parameter ranges
view the parameters associated with the minimum and maximum values of your outputs
create a correlation matrix that shows you the sensitivity of outputs to changes in your input parameters
set output objectives and see what input parameters will meet those objectives
There are circumstances where it may be beneficial for you to use Design Exploration rather than or in conjunction with Ansys Polyflow’s internal optimizer when seeking optimal shape and flow parameters. For example, you may want to investigate changes to the mesh geometry that are not allowed as part of a mesh deformation preprocessor in Ansys Polydata (see Remarks and Limitations for details); you may want to take advantage of Ansys Workbench’s ability to easily link and update multiple analysis systems; or perhaps you want to use Design Exploration’s analysis tools. For more information about Ansys Workbench, see the separate Polyflow in Workbench User’s Guide. Details about Design Exploration can be found using the Ansys Workbench’s online help, which is available from the Help menu or any of the links in the quick help or sidebar help in Ansys Workbench.