Smart Shape Optimization with the ANSYS Adjoint Solver

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

A few iterations ago, ANSYS let users know that its CFD (computational fluid dynamics) software had new Adjoint Solver technology and that the technology was a work in progress. The Adjoint Solver technology in version 16, no doubt still under development, has come of age. It seems like an extraordinarily useful tool.

ANSYS Adjoint Solver smart shape optimization technology helped engineers identify the section of the design that needed to be modified to increase the down force in this racecar design. Image courtesy of ANSYS Corp.

So what is it about the Adjoint Solver that would make it an extraordinarily useful tool for you? Well, how about its capacity to help you get hours — even days — of your work life back?

See, with the ANSYS Adjoint Solver, you are not constantly feeding parameters into CFD setups as if they’re cousins of that toothy plant in the “Little Shop of Horrors” movie. And you’re not executing one CFD simulation after another to optimize a design’s shape. It helps you find the solution you need quickly.

What the ANSYS Adjoint Solver does is takes your CFD simulation results, mates them with your goals — say maximize lift-over-draft ratio — and figures out how to change your design to meet those goals. Automatically. And it works with ANSYS morphing technology to adjust your design’s shape and the computational mesh. Also automatically.

No kidding.

Really, you have to see version 16 of the ANSYS Adjoint Solver in operation to appreciate what this technology can mean for you. So here’s what you do: Hit today’s Check it Out link to go to the ANSYS Adjoint Solver web resource. You’ll find lots of good stuff there to keep you informed.

But first, scroll down the page just below the fold. Watch that video. It’s just 5 minutes, 42 seconds long. The theme is how to identify where to change the design of an exhaust system to reduce pressure drop. Compare and contrast it with your current shape optimization process. You’ll understand what the ANSYS Adjoint Solver can mean for you. Good stuff.

Watch how the ANSYS Adjoint Solver makes smart shape optimization possible.

Thanks, Pal. – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering