Outputs List

Control what data is generated during and after simulation runs, including which flow variables are saved, where they are saved, and how frequently they are written to files.

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Available Output Types

Output Type	Description	Use Case
Volume Output	Flow field data throughout the computational volume	Visualizing 3D flow structures, vortex development
Time-averaging Volume Output	Time-averaged flow field data throughout the volume	Statistical analysis of unsteady flows
Surface Output	Flow field data on geometry or volume mesh boundaries	Analyzing surface forces, pressure distributions
Time-averaging Surface Output	Time-averaged flow field data on surfaces	Statistical analysis of surface phenomena
Slice Output	Flow field data on user-defined slice planes	Examining flow cross-sections
Time-averaging Slice Output	Time-averaged flow field data on slice planes	Statistical analysis on planes
Probe Outputs	Flow field data monitoring during simulation	Tracking convergence and flow properties
Time-averaging Probe Outputs	Time-averaged monitoring data	Statistical monitoring data
Surface Probe Output	Flow field data at specific points projected onto surfaces	Point-specific surface data
Isosurface Output	Flow field data on surfaces of constant variable value	Visualization of vortices, shock waves
Time-averaging Isosurface Output	Time-averaged flow field data on surfaces of constant variable value	Statistical analysis of vortices, shock waves
Aeroacoustic Output	Data for aeroacoustic analysis at observer positions	Noise prediction and analysis
Streamline Output	Streamline visualization data	Visualization of 3D flow structures
Time-averaging Streamline Output	Time-averaged streamline visualization data	Statistical analysis of flow structures
Force Output	Force and moment coefficient outputs with optional statistics	Tracking aerodynamic performance, monitoring convergence
Force Distribution Output	Custom force and moment distribution along a specified direction	Spanwise/chordwise loading analysis, directional force analysis
Time-averaging Force Distribution Output	Time-averaged custom force and moment distribution	Statistical analysis of unsteady force distributions

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Additional Outputs Available Through Python API

Output Type	Description	Use Case
Surface Slice Output	Flow field data on slices of surfaces	Cross-sectional analysis of surface phenomena

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Common Settings

Output Fields

The flow variables to include in the output.

• Default: Varies by output type

• Example: ["Cp", "Cf", "Mach"]

Note: See Output Fields and Nondimensional Values for details on available fields.

Frequency

How often to write output files (in number of time steps).

• Default: -1 (output only at the end of simulation)

• Example: 100 (output every 100 time steps)

Note: Increase for animations, decrease for storage efficiency.

Frequency Offset

The time step at which to start writing output.

• Default: 0 (start at beginning of simulation)

• Example: 1000 (start after 1000 time steps)

Note: Controls when output generation begins.

Output Format

The file format for output data.

• Default: paraview

• Options:

  • paraview

  • tecplot

  • both

Note: Choose the format that best suits your post-processing workflow.

📁 Output File Formats

Flow360 supports multiple output file formats:

• Paraview (.vtu, .vtp) - For visualization in ParaView

• Tecplot (.szplt) - For visualization in Tecplot

• CSV - For tabular data

For more information about output file formats, see the Output Formats page.

Detailed Settings

Each output type has specific configuration options. For detailed documentation on configuring each type of output, refer to the links in the table above.

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Available Output Fields

Universal Variables (non-dimensional)

• Cp - Coefficient of pressure

• Cpt - Coefficient of total pressure

• gradW - Gradient of primitive solution

• kOmega - k and omega

• Mach - Mach number

• mut - Turbulent viscosity

• mutRatio - Turbulent viscosity and freestream dynamic viscosity ratio

• nuHat - Spalart-Almaras variable

• primitiveVars - Density, velocities (u,v,w), and pressure

• qcriterion - Q criterion for vortex identification

• residualNavierStokes - N-S residual

• residualTransition - Transition residual

• residualTurbulence - Turbulence residual

• s - Entropy

• solutionNavierStokes - N-S solution

• solutionTransition - Transition solution

• solutionTurbulence - Turbulence solution

• T - Temperature

• velocity - Velocity vector

• velocity_magnitude - Magnitude of velocity vector

• pressure - Pressure

• vorticity - Vorticity

• vorticityMagnitude - Vorticity Magnitude

• wallDistance - Wall distance

• numericalDissipationFactor - NumericalDissipationFactor sensor

• residualHeatSolver - Heat equation residual

• VelocityRelative - Velocity with respect to non-inertial frame

• lowMachPreconditionerSensor - Low-Mach preconditioner factor

Custom Variables

User defined expressions with dimensions. By default, the following expressions are available:

Variable Name	Expression
velocity_with_units	solution.velocity
velocity_magnitude_with_units	math.magnitude(solution.velocity)
pressure_with_units	solution.pressure
wall_shear_stress_magnitude_with_units	solution.wall_shear_stress_magnitude

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💡 Tips

• Be selective with Output Fields to manage file sizes

• Use Time-Averaged outputs for statistical analysis of unsteady flows

• For large meshes, consider using Slice or Surface outputs instead of Volume outputs

• For better performance, limit output frequency to necessary intervals

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

• How can I visualize vortices in my flow?

  Use Volume Output with Q-criterion field or create dedicated Isosurface Output of Q-criterion.

• What’s the difference between Surface Output and Surface Probe Output?

  Surface Output captures data across entire surfaces, while Surface Probe Output captures data at specific points on surfaces.

• Can I save outputs in different formats?

  Yes, you can choose between Paraview (.vtu, .vtp), Tecplot (.szplt), or both formats.

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