5.15.17. System Coupling

You can use System Coupling to perform coupled simulations between multiple physics solvers, coupling active co-simulation participants and/or importing static data from a external data source. For example, you can run Mechanical and CFX in a coupled analysis or import data from an output file into a Fluent analysis. Once the physics and coupling setups are complete, the coupled analysis is executed and managed by System Coupling.

System Coupling can be used in the following contexts:

System Coupling's User Interfaces:

System Coupling is run from its graphical user interface (GUI) or its command-line interface (CLI). System Coupling's interfaces provide enhanced control over coupled simulation processes, including automatic starts and restarts for participants, the ability to manipulate System Coupling's data model, and an interactive solution workflow.

In these contexts, you still set up participant physics in the participant's user interface, but you'll perform the coupled analysis — starting System Coupling, loading participants, specifying values for coupling-related analysis settings, and automatically starting participants — using System Coupling's GUI or CLI. Alternatively, if a coupled analysis setup was exported from Workbench, you can open it and execute it in the GUI or CLI.

A list of supported coupling participants is given in Supported Coupling Participants in the System Coupling User's Guide.

For more information, see Using System Coupling's User Interfaces in the System Coupling User's Guide.

System Coupling in Workbench:

System Coupling is run from the Workbench interface.

In this context, you'll connect the Setup cell from a Workbench analysis system to the Setup cell for the System Coupling component system, signaling that the Mechanical solver will act as a co-simulation participant in a coupled analysis. Most of the coupling-related analysis settings are made using the System Coupling system's Setup cell.

Once the physics and coupling setups are completed in Workbench, you can either execute the coupled analysis in Workbench, or export the setup for execution in one of System Coupling's user interfaces.

A list of supported coupling participants is given in Supported Coupling Participants for System Coupling in Workbench.

For more information, see Using System Coupling in Workbench in the System Coupling User's Guide.

The few coupling-related settings that are required in the setup are described below in System Coupling Related Settings in Mechanical.

Once the physics and coupling setups are complete, the coupled analysis is executed and managed by System Coupling.