Project Tree

The project tree is a hierarchical visualization interface that displays the complete workflow of your CFD simulation, from geometry to final results. It provides an intuitive way to track simulation progress and navigate between different stages of your analysis.

Note

The project tree is generated automatically based on your settings and intelligently identifies existing nodes that match your specifications.

For example, if a surface mesh with identical settings already exists in the project, Flow360 will reuse it rather than generating a duplicate. Similarly, when a case with matching simulation parameters exists, the system will utilize the existing case instead of running a redundant simulation.

Tip

Click the keyboard shortcut icon at the bottom-left corner of the Project tree panel to preview available keyboard shortcuts. For the full list, see Keyboard Shortcuts.

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Icon Explanation

Icon	Name	Description
	Geometry	Represents the CAD geometry input for the simulation
	Surface Mesh	Represents the discretized surface of the geometry
	Volume Mesh	Represents the 3D computational mesh used for simulation
	Case	Represents a simulation case with defined parameters
	Fork	Indicates a continuation / branched variant of an existing parent
	Draft	Represents a simulation setup that hasn’t been run yet

See also

For the workflow and interface overview, see the User Guide: Workflows & Interfaces.

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Case Status

Each case node in the project tree carries a status icon that reflects where the case is in its lifecycle, from running through post-processing to a final result. The same status is shown on the case in the run status header and the case list. The icons below are the case statuses you may encounter.

Icon	Status	Description
	Running	The case is solving.
	Post process	The case has solved and its results are being post-processed for visualization.
	Completed	The case has solved and post-processing is complete; the results are ready to visualize.
	Diverged	The case run diverged due to numerical instability.
	Error	The case run failed.
	Post-processing failed	The case solved, but post-processing did not finish successfully; the visualization may be unavailable or incomplete.

Note

While a case is running, its progress (including the post-processing step) is also shown step by step in the Run Status panel of the Status Bar. The statuses above are what appear on the case node itself.

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Project Structure

The Flow360 project structure follows a flexible hierarchical organization that accommodates different starting points and multiple analysis paths. Each node in the tree represents a distinct stage in the simulation process, with the ability to branch and create parallel analysis streams.

Entry Points

The project can be initiated from two different entry points:

1. Geometry-First Approach:

   • Starts with CAD geometry

   • Requires the workflow to include surface and volume mesh generation

2. Mesh-First Approach:

   • Starts directly with a surface or volume mesh

   • Meshing settings are available only when starting from a surface mesh

Workflow Hierarchy

The workflow structure depends on the chosen entry point. Below are the two possible progression paths:

1. Starting from geometry

Geometry
└── Surface Mesh
    └── Volume Mesh
        └── Case
            └── Fork (optional)

2. Starting from surface mesh

Surface Mesh
└── Volume Mesh
    └── Case
        └── Fork (optional)

3. Starting from volume mesh

Volume Mesh
└── Case
    └── Fork (optional)

Note

Each node in these hierarchies can branch into multiple parallel paths. For example:

Geometry
├── Surface Mesh A
│   ├── Volume Mesh A1
│   │   ├── Case A1.1
│   │   │   └── Fork A1.1.1
│   │   └── Case A1.2
│   └── Volume Mesh A2
│       └── Case A2.1
└── Surface Mesh B
    └── Volume Mesh B1
        └── Case B1.1
            └── Fork B1.1.1

Branching Capabilities

The project tree supports multiple branches at each level:

• A geometry can have multiple surface meshes.

• A surface mesh can have multiple volume meshes.

• A volume mesh can have multiple cases; a case can also be an interpolated case (interpolation onto that volume mesh).

• For cases, you can also create forks and interpolations.

Forking

• Forks are direct extensions of their parent cases

• All results and settings are preserved in forks

• Simulation continues from the last state of the parent case

• Multiple forks can branch from the same parent case

Interpolation

• Interpolation transfers solution from a case onto a new mesh

• New mesh can exist either within the same project, or in a different one

• Useful when running a refined mesh or slightly altered geometry

• Arrow on the volume mesh asset icon in project tree indicates that the volume mesh exists in a different project

Watch: Interpolation walkthrough

Component Actions

When clicking on a component in the project tree, a menu of available actions appears. Below are the available actions:

Action	Description
Open in workbench	Opens the component workbench
New run	Creates a new simulation run draft using settings from this component
Interpolation	Transfers solution data between different meshes
Rename	Changes the display name of the component
Details	Shows components details such as ID, name, cost, parent asset ID, etc.
Expand all sub-items	Shows all sub-components derived from this component
Collapse all sub-items	Hides all sub-components derived from this component
Delete	Removes the component and all its dependent sub-components

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Tip

Use the keyboard shortcut palette (click the icon at the bottom-left of the Project tree panel) to view available shortcuts at a glance. See Keyboard Shortcuts for the full reference.

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🐍 Python Example Usage

See also

The project hierarchy and forking are available through the Python API:

• Project

• Case

• Fork a case

Below is a Python code example showing how to create forks:

import flow360 as fl

project = fl.Project.from_cloud(project_id="prj-XXXXX") # Should be a valid project id

# Specify a case you want to fork from
case = fl.Case(id="case-XXXXX") # Should be a valid case id

# Change desired parameters, e.g. time stepping
case.params.time_stepping.step_size = 0.0001
case.params.time_stepping.steps = 1500

# Fork the case
case_fork_1 = project.run_case(case.params, "case-fork-1", fork_from=case)

# Change forked case's parameters
case_fork_1.params.time_stepping.step_size = 0.00005
case_fork_1.params.time_stepping.steps = 2500

# Fork from a fork
case_fork_1 = project.run_case(case_fork_1.params, "case-fork-1", fork_from=case_fork_1)