{
"cells": [
{
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"# Cold-Started Alpha Sweep\n",
"\n",
"This notebook demonstrates how to perform an angle of attack (alpha) sweep using the Flow360 Python API. The process involves creating a project, defining simulation parameters, launching a series of cases with varying alpha values, and waiting for all of them to complete.\n",
"\n",
"**Note:** The settings in this example are by no means a validation setup; they are crafted to showcase the capabilities of Flow360 and we have intentionally reduced node count and example FC cost. For rigorous validation, modify the settings as needed."
],
"id": "a94961e7"
},
{
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"## 1. Setup and Imports\n",
"\n",
"The following cell imports the necessary libraries and modules. `flow360` is the main package for interacting with the Flow360 platform, and `EVTOL` provides the example geometry used in this notebook.\n"
],
"id": "a1ceab36"
},
{
"cell_type": "code",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"import flow360 as fl\n",
"from flow360.examples import EVTOL"
],
"execution_count": 1,
"outputs": [],
"id": "8963fd17"
},
{
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"## 2. Project Creation\n",
"\n",
"A Flow360 `Project` is a container for simulations and their associated assets, such as geometries and meshes. A project can be initiated either from an existing volume mesh or from a CAD geometry file. When starting from a geometry, meshing parameters must be defined to instruct the platform on how to generate the volume mesh.\n"
],
"id": "9a939d59"
},
{
"cell_type": "code",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"EVTOL.get_files()\n",
"\n",
"project = fl.Project.from_geometry(EVTOL.geometry, name=\"Cold-Started Alpha Sweep\")\n",
"\n",
"geometry = project.geometry\n",
"geometry.group_faces_by_tag(\"faceName\")"
],
"execution_count": 2,
"outputs": [
{
"output_type": "display_data",
"data": {
"text/html": [
"[12:04:13] INFO: Geometry successfully submitted: \n",
" type = Geometry \n",
" name = sweep_evtol_from_geometry \n",
" id = geo-b66e23df-1030-4070-89e7-3d2e9b86e46d \n",
" status = uploaded \n",
" \n",
"\n"
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"\u001b[2;36m[12:04:13]\u001b[0m\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[36mINFO\u001b[0m: Geometry successfully submitted: \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m type = Geometry \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m name = sweep_evtol_from_geometry \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m id = geo-\u001b[93mb66e23df-1030-4070-89e7-3d2e9b86e46d\u001b[0m \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m status = uploaded \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m \n"
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"text/html": [
" INFO: Waiting for geometry to be processed. \n",
"\n"
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"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[36mINFO\u001b[0m: Waiting for geometry to be processed. \n"
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"text/html": [
"[12:06:07] INFO: Regrouping face entities under `faceName` tag (previous `_color`). \n",
"\n"
],
"text/plain": [
"\u001b[2;36m[12:06:07]\u001b[0m\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[36mINFO\u001b[0m: Regrouping face entities under `faceName` tag \u001b[1m(\u001b[0mprevious `_color`\u001b[1m)\u001b[0m. \n"
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"metadata": {}
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],
"id": "15b1576a"
},
{
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"## 3. Meshing parameters\n",
"\n",
"We define some simple meshing parameters to achieve appropriate resolution for this example. The use of `AngleBasedRefinement` will allow us to better model the flow at the leading edge."
],
"id": "771faa53"
},
{
"cell_type": "code",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"with fl.SI_unit_system:\n",
" meshing_params = fl.MeshingParams(\n",
" defaults=fl.MeshingDefaults(\n",
" boundary_layer_first_layer_thickness=1e-5, surface_max_edge_length=1\n",
" ),\n",
" volume_zones=[fl.AutomatedFarfield()],\n",
" refinements=[\n",
" fl.SurfaceEdgeRefinement(\n",
" name=\"leading_edges\",\n",
" edges=[geometry[\"leadingEdge\"]],\n",
" method=fl.AngleBasedRefinement(value=2 * fl.u.deg),\n",
" )\n",
" ],\n",
" )"
],
"execution_count": 3,
"outputs": [
{
"output_type": "display_data",
"data": {
"text/html": [
" INFO: using: SI unit system for unit inference. \n",
"\n"
],
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"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[36mINFO\u001b[0m: using: SI unit system for unit inference. \n"
]
},
"metadata": {}
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],
"id": "3442bfbf"
},
{
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"## 4. Boundary Conditions\n",
"\n",
"Boundary conditions define the physical behavior at the boundaries of the computational domain. We need to apply appropriate `Wall` and `Freestream` conditions to different surfaces of the geometry.\n",
"\n",
"Surface selection can be done using exact names or with wildcards, for example:\n",
"- geometry[\"*\"] will select all geometry boundaries\n",
"- geometry[\"*pylon\"] will select all geometry boundaries that end with `pylon`"
],
"id": "09e801b5"
},
{
"cell_type": "code",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"models = [\n",
" fl.Wall(surfaces=[geometry[\"*\"]]),\n",
" fl.Freestream(surfaces=fl.AutomatedFarfield().farfield),\n",
"]"
],
"execution_count": 4,
"outputs": [],
"id": "f291cb44"
},
{
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"## 5. Simulation Parameters\n",
"\n",
"The `SimulationParams` object encapsulates all settings for a simulation run. This includes meshing parameters, reference geometry, operating conditions, time-stepping scheme, physical models, and output specifications."
],
"id": "37c99350"
},
{
"cell_type": "code",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"with fl.SI_unit_system:\n",
" params = fl.SimulationParams(\n",
" meshing=meshing_params,\n",
" reference_geometry=fl.ReferenceGeometry(moment_center=(0, 0, 0), moment_length=1, area=1),\n",
" operating_condition=fl.AerospaceCondition(velocity_magnitude=100, alpha=0 * fl.u.deg),\n",
" time_stepping=fl.Steady(max_steps=5000, CFL=fl.AdaptiveCFL()),\n",
" models=[\n",
" *models,\n",
" fl.Fluid(\n",
" navier_stokes_solver=fl.NavierStokesSolver(),\n",
" turbulence_model_solver=fl.SpalartAllmaras(),\n",
" ),\n",
" ],\n",
" outputs=[\n",
" fl.VolumeOutput(\n",
" output_format=[\"tecplot\"],\n",
" output_fields=[\n",
" \"Mach\",\n",
" \"Cp\",\n",
" \"mut\",\n",
" \"mutRatio\",\n",
" \"primitiveVars\",\n",
" \"qcriterion\",\n",
" ],\n",
" ),\n",
" fl.SurfaceOutput(\n",
" surfaces=[\n",
" geometry[\"fuselage\"],\n",
" geometry[\"*pylon\"],\n",
" geometry[\"*wing\"],\n",
" geometry[\"*tail\"],\n",
" ],\n",
" output_fields=[\n",
" \"Cp\",\n",
" \"yPlus\",\n",
" \"Cf\",\n",
" \"CfVec\",\n",
" \"primitiveVars\",\n",
" \"wallDistance\",\n",
" ],\n",
" output_format=[\"tecplot\"],\n",
" ),\n",
" ],\n",
" )"
],
"execution_count": 5,
"outputs": [
{
"output_type": "display_data",
"data": {
"text/html": [
" INFO: using: SI unit system for unit inference. \n",
"\n"
],
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"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[36mINFO\u001b[0m: using: SI unit system for unit inference. \n"
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],
"id": "dbddb634"
},
{
"cell_type": "markdown",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"## 6. Executing an Alpha Sweep\n",
"\n",
"A sweep is performed by iterating through a list of alpha values. In each iteration, the `operating_condition` in `SimulationParams` is updated with a new alpha, and new `Case` is run using `project.run_case()`. The returned `Case` objects are collected in a list. The cases will be running in parallel on the cloud. We then wait for all cases to complete before proceeding.\n",
"\n",
"To not recreate the entire `SimulationParams` every time, we can modify existing one's alpha angle by doing `params.operating_condition.alpha = alpha_angle`.\n"
],
"id": "068fa8cb"
},
{
"cell_type": "code",
"metadata": {},
"source": [
"case_list = []\n",
"\n",
"alphas = [-10, -5, 0, 5, 10, 12, 14] * fl.u.deg\n",
"\n",
"for alpha_angle in alphas:\n",
" params.operating_condition.alpha = alpha_angle\n",
"\n",
" case = project.run_case(params=params, name=f\"alpha_{alpha_angle.value}_case\")\n",
"\n",
" print(f\"The case ID is: {case.id} with {alpha_angle=} \")\n",
" case_list.append(case)\n",
"\n",
"print(\"Waiting for cases to complete...\")\n",
"for case in case_list:\n",
" case.wait()\n",
"print(\"All cases completed.\")"
],
"execution_count": 6,
"outputs": [
{
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"[12:26:25] INFO: using: SI unit system for unit inference. \n",
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"data": {
"text/html": [
"[12:26:29] INFO: Successfully submitted: \n",
" type = Case \n",
" name = alpha_-10_case \n",
" id = case-420f149b-69b1-41f1-a8b5-20ee88f153d2 \n",
" status = pending \n",
" \n",
"\n"
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"\u001b[2;36m[12:26:29]\u001b[0m\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m\u001b[36mINFO\u001b[0m: Successfully submitted: \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m type = Case \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m name = alpha_-10_case \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m id = case-\u001b[93m420f149b-69b1-41f1-a8b5-20ee88f153d2\u001b[0m \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m status = pending \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m \n"
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"text": [
"The case ID is: case-420f149b-69b1-41f1-a8b5-20ee88f153d2 with alpha_angle=unyt_quantity(-10, 'degree') \n"
],
"name": "stdout"
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"[12:26:31] INFO: Successfully submitted: \n",
" type = Case \n",
" name = alpha_-5_case \n",
" id = case-d9f7acb8-7c1a-44b1-8672-b0bbef43859a \n",
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"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m type = Case \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m name = alpha_-5_case \n",
"\u001b[2;36m \u001b[0m id = case-\u001b[93md9f7acb8-7c1a-44b1-8672-b0bbef43859a\u001b[0m \n",
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"The case ID is: case-d9f7acb8-7c1a-44b1-8672-b0bbef43859a with alpha_angle=unyt_quantity(-5, 'degree') \n"
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"name": "stdout"
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"[12:26:32] INFO: using: SI unit system for unit inference. \n",
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"[12:26:34] INFO: Successfully submitted: \n",
" type = Case \n",
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"The case ID is: case-3cc6f5d3-d7fe-4b9e-a639-0560111ca309 with alpha_angle=unyt_quantity(0, 'degree') \n"
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"[12:26:37] INFO: Successfully submitted: \n",
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"The case ID is: case-aac5be66-37ae-452d-ac30-0f7f69d301f5 with alpha_angle=unyt_quantity(5, 'degree') \n"
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"[12:26:40] INFO: Successfully submitted: \n",
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"[12:26:43] INFO: Successfully submitted: \n",
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"The case ID is: case-e55b6e47-3a45-42f8-854c-0b0d629c250a with alpha_angle=unyt_quantity(12, 'degree') \n"
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"[12:26:46] INFO: Successfully submitted: \n",
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"The case ID is: case-fa4f47df-9363-4e34-ac66-178c41a0c30b with alpha_angle=unyt_quantity(14, 'degree') \n",
"Waiting for cases to complete...\n"
],
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},
{
"output_type": "stream",
"text": [
"All cases completed.\n"
],
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}
],
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}
],
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