Subsystem Configurations as Design Variables

Tutorial Level: Intermediate In this tutorial, you will learn how to use subsystem configurations as design variables in Design Explorer.

Before you begin, copy the file(s) used in this tutorial to your working directory:

Open the Model

  1. Start HyperMesh.
  2. From the menu bar, click File > Open > HyperMesh Model.
  3. Browse to your working directory, select frame.hm, and click Open.
    If prompted, click Change to change the solver interface to OptiStruct while opening the model.
    A finite element model appears in the modeling window.
    Figure 1.


Review the Subsystem Configurations

In this step, you will review the preexisting subsystem configurations already in the model.

  1. From the Assembly ribbon, click the Subsystems tool.
    Figure 2.


    The Subsystem Browser opens.
  2. In the Subsystem Browser, click the view icon and set it to .
    This view shows the Subsystem Configuration view.
  3. In the top-left portion of the Subsystem Configuration view, click back and forth from one active subsystem configuration to the other.
    Each time a subsystem configuration is made active, click Yes when prompted to realize connectors.
    Figure 3.


    Observe that when a subsystem configuration is made active, the model is updated accordingly.
    Figure 4.


  4. Make Subsystem Configuration 1 Active, and close the Subsystem Browser.

Create an Exploration

  1. From the Design Explorer ribbon, Exploration tool group, click the Create Explorations tool.
    Figure 5.


    The Explorations dialog opens.
  2. Click and select DOE.
  3. In the Study Path field, browse to and select the folder to store your exploration files.
    Figure 6.


  4. Close the Explorations dialog.
  5. From the Exploration tool group, click the Design Explorer tool.
    Figure 7.


    The Design Explorer Browser opens. You can see the newly created exploration. Additional exploration entities will appear here as well.

Create the Exploration Inputs

  1. From the Design Explorer ribbon, click the Configuration tool.
    Figure 8.


    The Subsystem Configuration DV dialog opens.
  2. In the Subsystem Configuration DV dialog, select both subsystem configurations.
    Figure 9.


  3. Click Create.
    One configuration design variable is created.
    Figure 10.


Create the Exploration Responses

  1. From the Design Explorer ribbon, click the Mass/Volume tool.
    Figure 11.


  2. On the guide bar, click .
    A mass response is created.
  3. On the guide bar, click .
  4. Click the Disps. tool.
    Figure 12.


  5. On the guide bar, click to open the Advanced Selection dialog.
  6. In the Advanced Selection dialog, complete the following steps.
    1. Set the selection drop-down to By ID.
    2. Enter 220903.
    3. Click OK.
    A displacement response is created.
  7. On the guide bar, click .
    The DOE now consists of one design variable and two response variables.
    Figure 13.


Evaluate the Exploration

  1. From the Design Exploration ribbon, Evaluate tool group, click the Evaluate tool.
    Figure 14.


    The Evaluate dialog opens.
  2. Optional: Increase the number of concurrent runs by increasing the Multi Execution number.
  3. Click Run.
    The DOE is evaluated. In this case, there will be a nominal run plus 10 optimization runs.

    This may take a few minutes depending on your computer.

    When the evaluation is complete, the Evaluation Status dialog should look like Figure 15.
    Figure 15.


  4. Close the Evaluation Status dialog.

Review the Evaluation

  1. From the Design Exploration ribbon, Evaluate tool group, click the Results Explorer tool.
    Figure 16.


    The Results Explorer opens.
  2. Review the Summary table, which shows the input, objective, and constraint values for each run of the optimization.
    Figure 17.


    Try loading the results for runs one and two to visualize and compare the results.

  3. Right-click on run 1 and run 2, and select Apply variables to model.
  4. Click Yes when prompted.

    The subsystem configuration used by the selected run is loaded. If additional design variables had been used, such as part thicknesses, they would also be applied to the model.

    Figure 18 shows subsystem configuration 2 from run 2 applied.

    Figure 18.