Simultaneous solve of design points reduces the time required for a parametric study, and the new ANSYS HPC Parametric Packs make that process very affordable.

As the product manager for ANSYS DesignXplorer, I am always interested in software-related improvements that can help ANSYS customers get more parametric analysis done with less time. For over a decade, the vision of ANSYS has been Simulation-Driven Product Development, which we call SDPD. Our solver technology is world class on its own, but we want our customers to get even more out of simulation. Instead of just using it forensically to see what went wrong, we designed our tools so product R&D teams can use simulation to drive product development.

The ANSYS Workbench framework makes this relatively easy on users. You can use it to set up a parametric and persistent virtual prototype with a variety of parameterized inputs and solvers, then have ANSYS DesignXplorer (or third-party optimization tools such as OptiSLang, Optimus, Heeds, ModeFrontier, etc.) drive the software to explore the design space or simply optimize the design. The resulting data can provide understanding, which leads to innovation and ultimately a dramatic increase in the value of simulation.

So what is holding our customers back?  In the past, users talked about trouble with parameterizing dead models. So when software partner SpaceClaim solved that problem several years ago, I was very happy. More recent surveys show that the time it takes to run a series of design points is a major problem. Running a number of design point simultaneously (available in the ANSYS 14.0 release) was a great time saver, but it led to our third-ranking obstacle, insufficient software licenses.

Now, at ANSYS 14.5, we are able to offer a more affordable solution: ANSYS HPC Parametric Pack licensing. These new licenses amplify all the licenses needed by your project and allow users to run “n” design points simultaneously with only one set of keys. The design points can include the execution of multiple products (pre, meshing, solve, HPC, post). The HPC packs are also scalable. The first pack will allow you to go four-way simultaneous (2*2^{^}1=4), but each additional pack doubles the number of design points you can run, so that five packs gives you 2*2^{^}5=64 simultaneous runs.

The setup is easy also. Watch this tutorial video I put together, where I am not even solving remotely, but I use HPC to take advantage of the eight cores on my laptop. Then imagine the future …