Example CFX Model running on ANSYS Cloud Direct
In this example, a CFX axial fan model with two design variations will be uploaded to the Cloud. The solve will complete on the Cloud and the results will be archived and downloaded to the local workstation. An In-browser interactive Cloud Desktop will be launched with 120 cores. This will result in freeing local resources for more than two days as well as retrieving and analyzing the results right away the next morning by launching the job at the end of the day and letting the job run over-night.
The first step is to prepare your model locally.
For this model, the file archive (Workbench>File>Archive…) will be uploaded from the local workstation. But prior to launching the Cloud Resources, Prepare your model locally and archive it for the most cost-effective workflow. Open the model and check the Setup and Solution Status.
You may want to rename the file, in this case the revision was updated and a “c” was appended to the name to indicate it is a file that will be transferred to the Cloud.
By inspecting the Workbench Project Schematic, you can see the model is not quite ready to upload and run as the Solution branches have the blue question marks in them. In this example, it is necessary to Right Click and choose reset on the Solution Cells for both A and B. If Solutions Controls are present in the CFX Preprocesor, enter CFX Pre and remove any existing Solution Controls. Right click on the Solution Cells of A and B and select Edit to launch the CFX Solver Controls. Select 120 Partitions and Intel Local Parallel for A and B. These models run in 2 hrs 24 minutes with Intel Local Parallel (The image shows Intel MPI Distributed Parallel). Note: this particular model ran faster with “Large Problem” turned on.
Once the model is set up with the appropriate configuration, a good practice is to check that units are consistent for command objects, all output settings to reduce data are as desired and all other checks are complete that might be done to avoid further editing on the Cloud. Once satisfied with the model, then Archive the file. Note the directory where you are saving the file.
You may wish to create a cloud_transfer directory on your local workstation. To reduce troubleshooting variables working with complex systems, I recommend avoiding spaces in your folder and file names.
Now, with your model archive saved…
First login with your credentials at Log in to https://cloud.ansys.com and then Choose Applications, then Cloud Desktop
The Hardware will be chosen with 120 Cores to match the settings in the Workbench Project file. The duration of the session set to 5.5 hours maximum because it is known the runs takes 4 hrs and 50 minutes and perhaps a bit of time needed for launch, setup and file uploads. I can stop the session once the solve completes to save costs if I am able at the time of completion. The Cloud will notify me when the run is complete via email. After you select files to upload, Click Start Session.
Clicking on Upload from your PC brings up a dialog box to select files. The archived file is selected for efficient upload to the cloud.
When you click on Start Session, the file will begin uploading and the hardware with the Ansys Version you choose will be prepared. Make sure to choose the version of Ansys you want to use as this cannot be changed unless you start a new Cloud session.
As the resources are being prepared, the Cloud portal will update progress. This can take several minutes, go get a cup of coffee, take a quick break, or multi-task on your current projects. In this example the 1.3 GB file was uploaded in 2 minutes and the system was ready for launch at 14 minutes.
When ready to launch using RDP or an Interactive browser session, the Icon for starting the Workbench session will appear as shown.
With an in-browser App, the file will automatically be moved to the Virtual Machine and the Desktop will appear as shown below.
Here is a snapshot of a key section of the Ansys Document:
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