3.3.14. Analysis Settings and Solution

The Analysis Settings and Solution group includes the following categories and preferences.

Note: You can control these settings in the Details pane of the Analysis Settings object under Restart Controls, or in the Options dialog under the Analysis Settings and Solution preferences list. The setting in the Details view overrides the preference setting.

Category	Preference	Description
Solver Controls	Solver Type	Specify the default Mechanical APDL solver to be used. Options include: Program Controlled (default) Direct Iterative
	Use Weak Springs	Specify the default setting of the Weak Springs property. The Program Controlled setting automatically enables weak springs to be added if an unconstrained model is detected, if unstable contact exists, or if compression only supports are active. Options include Program Controlled, On, and Off (default).
	Solver Pivot Checking	Specify the default setting of the Solver Pivot Checking property. Options include: Program Controlled (default): Enables the solver to determine the response. Warning: Instructs the solver to continue upon detection of the condition and attempt the solution. Error: Instructs the solver to stop upon detection of the condition and issue an error message. Off: Pivot checking is not performed.
Solver Control (Eigenvalue Buckling)	Include Negative Load Multiplier	This option enables you to evaluate either negative and positive load multipliers or only positive load multipliers. Options include Program Controlled (default), Yes, and No. The No setting evaluates positive load multipliers given the load directions. The Yes setting evaluates positive load multipliers given the load directions as well as the negative load multipliers by flipping the load directions.
Output Controls (Static and Transient)^[a]	Stress	Write result value to result file. Options include Yes (default) and No.
	Strain	Write result value to result file. Options include Yes (default) and No.
	Nodal Forces	Write result value to result file. Options include Yes and No (default).
	Contact Miscellaneous	Write result value to result file. Options include Yes and No (default).
	General Miscellaneous	Write result value to result file. Options include Yes and No (default).
	Calculate Reactions	Write result value to result file. Options include Yes (default) and No.
	Calculate Thermal Flux	Write result value to result file. Options include Yes (default) and No.
Output Controls (Modal)	Stress	Writes stress results to the result file (file.mode). Options include Yes (default) and No.
	Strain	Writes stress results to the result file (file.mode). Options include Yes (default) and No.
	Store Modal Results	Options include Program Controlled (default), No, or For Future Analysis.
Options (Modal, Harmonic and Transient Mode Superposition)	On Demand Expansion Option	Specify the default setting of the On Demand Expansion Option property. Options include Program Controlled (default), Yes, and No. You use this property to improve solution performance and reduce result file sizes.
	On Demand Mode Shapes	Specify the default setting for the On Demand Expansion property. Options include Yes (default) and No. When set Yes, the application automatically removes mode shape data from result files.
Options (Random Vibration)	Exclude Insignificant Modes	Specify the default setting of the Exclude Insignificant Modes property. Options include Yes and No (default). When set to Yes, the application excludes the modes for the mode combination based on the entry of the Mode Significance Level property.
Options (Random Vibration)	Mode Significance Level	Specify the default value of the Mode Significance Level property. The default setting is 0 (all modes selected). Supported entries are between 0.0 and 1. This property defines the threshold for the numbers of modes for mode combination. It is only displayed when the Exclude Insignificant Modes property is set to Yes.
Output Controls (Random Vibration)	Keep Modal Results	Include or remove modal results from the result file of Random Vibration analysis. Options include Yes and No (default).
	Calculate Velocity	Write Velocity results to the results file. Options include Yes and No (default).
	Calculate Acceleration	Write Acceleration results to the results file. Options include Yes and No (default).
Restart Controls	Generate Restart Points	Options include Program Controlled (default), Manual, and Off.
Restart Controls	Retain Files After Full Solve	When restart points are requested, the necessary restart files are always retained for an incomplete solve due to a convergence failure or user request. However, when the solve completes successfully, you have the option to request to either keep the restart points by setting this field to Yes, or to delete them by setting this field to No.
RSM	RSM Polling Delay (sec)	This preference controls how often the processing from a remote solution is polled or queried for result data. The default setting is 5 seconds. The supported range is 1 to 6000 seconds. This feature does not prolong solution processing. Solution completion ends the polling process.
Solution Information	Refresh Time	Specify how often any of the result tracking items under a Solution Information object get updated while a solution is in progress. The default is 2.5 s.
Solution Information	Activate FE Connection Visibility	Specify the default value of the Activate Visibility property. Options include Yes (default) and No.
Analysis Data Management	Scratch Solver Files Directory	Specify a unique disk drive that the application will use to process the solution. Using this entry field, you must specify an existing disk location. If the entry is invalid, the application uses the default disk.
	Save MAPDL Database	Set the default value for the Save MAPDL Database property. Options include No (default) or Yes. The setting of the Future Analysis control (see Analysis Data Management Help section) can sometimes require the database file to be written. In this case, the Save MAPDL Database control is automatically set to Yes.
	Solver File Verbosity	For loading conditions imported from External Model, this preference enables you to control how much information is written to the input file (ds.dat) and output file (solve.out) during the solution process. Options include: Minimum (default): The application does not write comments to the input and solver file. This option provides faster processing time from the Mechanical APDL solver. Medium: The application writes comments to the input file, but no comments are written (echoed) to the solver file. Verbose: The application writes comments to the input and solver file.
Analysis Data Management (Modal)	Future Analysis	Specify the default value of the Future Analysis property. The options include None (default), MSUP Analyses, and Topology Optimization. If this property is set to MSUP Analyses or Topology Optimization, the application creates the files needed for future MSUP analyses or Topology Optimization. If this property is set to None, the files are not created in order to improve solution time and reduce file size.
Analysis Data Management (Static Structural)	Future Analysis	Specify the default value of the Future Analysis property. The options include None (default) or Topology Optimization. If this property is set to Topology Optimization, the application creates the files needed for Topology Optimization. If this property is set to None, the files are not created in order to improve solution time and reduce file size.
Analysis Data Management (Structural Optimization)	Max Num of Intermediate Files	Specify the default value of the Max Num of Intermediate Files property. It specifies the number of intermediate topology files you wish to retain for all iterations solved. A value of 1 indicates that the generated file is overwritten each iteration. The default value for the property is set to the text string "All Iterations" that equals a setting of zero (0).
	Export Design Properties	Specify the default setting of the Export Design Properties property. Options include No (default), On Final Design, All Accepted Iterations, and Last Iteration.
	Export Design Properties File Format	Specify the default setting for the Export Design Properties File Format property. Options include HDF5 (default) and VTK.
Post Processing	Distributed Post Processing	Options for the property include Program Controlled (default), Yes, and No.
Advanced (Static Structure)	Inverse Solving	Specify the default setting for the Inverse Option property of the Advanced category in the Analysis Settings object. Options for the property include No (default) and Yes.
Advanced	Contact Split (DMP)	Options for the preference include Program Controlled (default), On, and Off. This property species the default setting for the Contact Split (DMP) property of the Advanced category of the Analysis Settings object.
	Contact Diagnostics for Modal and Harmonic	Options for the preference include No (default) and Yes. When you set this property to Yes and solve a stand-alone Modal or Harmonic Response analysis, Mechanical creates the CND file, file.cnd, that includes all the contact diagnostics information.
Solution History^[b]	Maximum Solutions to Store	Specify the default setting for the number of the solutions to be tracked. The default setting for this preference is `10`. The minimum value is `1` and the maximum value is `50`.
Solution History^[b]	Track Results	This preference specifies whether or not to collect and present result data. Options include Yes (default) and No.
Resource Prediction (Static Structural, Modal and Harmonic Response)	Resource Prediction During Solution	Options for the preference include No (default) and Yes. When you set this property to Yes, the application performs resource prediction while writing an input file or performing a solution and enables you to view the predicted data using the Resource Prediction option of the Solution Output property of the Solution Information object.

^[a]Specify the default settings of Analysis Settings > Output Controls properties. These properties define which result quantities the application writes to the result file. Including or not including gives you a certain amount of control of the size of the result file.

^[b]The category pertains to the content presented in the Worksheet when the Solution Output property is set to Solution History.