Script Tip Friday- Automate Imported Loads Set up with WB Scripting

This week's Script Tip is one you'll want to hold on to! Rohith Patchigolla, a Senior Application Engineer at Ansys, walks us through automating imported loads set up with Workbench scripting. Thanks for this incredibly helpful tip, Rohith!

Here's an example case you may see a lot in your work:

Example Case:

Perform CFX stand alone and export > 600 files having pressures (x, y, z and Pressure) for different time points.

‐ Then map these Fluent pressures into Mechanical using External Data and set up Imported Pressure loads. ‐ Eg: 600 files --> each file solved as a load step --> 600 load steps

Manual process is very slow and painful

‐ Setting up External Data ‐ Setting up Imported Loads in Mechanical ‐ This can make using WB difficult

Setting up External Data in WB

All these steps can be Automated! :)

Setting up Imported Pressure in Mechanical

Part 1-Inputs:

####----------------------------------------------------------------
#Inputs: Setting up External Data 
DataPath = r"D:\AutomateExternalLoadImport_Generic\lotsofdata"
DataExtension = "txt"
DelimiterIs = "Tab"             #Tab --> "Tab", Space --> "Space"
DelimiterStringIs = r"\t"       #Tab --> r"\t", Space --> r" "
StartImportAtLine = 2
LengthUnit = "mm"
PressureUnit = "MPa"

#Inputs: Sys ID of the Mechanical System - When you click on Blue bar with name 
# "Static Structural" of a static structural system, you should see the System 
# ID property on the right in the Properties Window
system_id = "SYS 2"

#Inputs: Setting up the Imported Pressures
namedSelectionUsed = "Pressure_Face"

Part 2- Automation Script:

import glob
import os
import re

template1 = GetTemplate(TemplateName="External Data")
system1 = template1.CreateSystem()
setup1 = system1.GetContainer(ComponentName="Setup")

allfiles = glob.glob1(DataPath,"*." + DataExtension)
allfiles.sort(key=lambda f: int(''.join(filter(str.isdigit, f))))
numfilestoload = len(allfiles)

for i in range(numfilestoload):
    filenum = i+1
    completefilepath = os.path.join(DataPath,allfiles[i])
    externalLoadFileData = setup1.AddDataFile(FilePath=completefilepath)

    if i == 0:
        externalLoadFileData.SetAsMaster(Master=True)
        externalLoadFileDataProperty1 = externalLoadFileData.GetDataProperty()

        externalLoadFileData.SetStartImportAtLine(
            FileDataProperty=externalLoadFileDataProperty1,
            LineNumber=StartImportAtLine)

        externalLoadFileData.SetDelimiterType(
            FileDataProperty=externalLoadFileDataProperty1,
            Delimiter=DelimiterIs,
            DelimiterString=DelimiterStringIs)

        externalLoadFileDataProperty1.SetLengthUnit(Unit=LengthUnit)

        externalLoadColumnData1 = externalLoadFileDataProperty1.GetColumnData(Name="ExternalLoadColumnData")
        externalLoadFileDataProperty1.SetColumnDataType(
            ColumnData=externalLoadColumnData1,
            DataType="X Coordinate")
        externalLoadColumnData2 = externalLoadFileDataProperty1.GetColumnData(Name="ExternalLoadColumnData 1")
        externalLoadFileDataProperty1.SetColumnDataType(
            ColumnData=externalLoadColumnData2,
            DataType="Y Coordinate")
        externalLoadColumnData3 = externalLoadFileDataProperty1.GetColumnData(Name="ExternalLoadColumnData 2")
        externalLoadFileDataProperty1.SetColumnDataType(
            ColumnData=externalLoadColumnData3,
            DataType="Z Coordinate")
        externalLoadColumnData4 = externalLoadFileDataProperty1.GetColumnData(Name="ExternalLoadColumnData 3")
        externalLoadFileDataProperty1.SetColumnDataType(
            ColumnData=externalLoadColumnData4,
            DataType="Pressure")
        externalLoadColumnData4.Unit = PressureUnit
        externalLoadColumnData4.Identifier = allfiles[i]

#Setting up rest of the files
timecounter = 1
columncounter = 3
numfiles = len(setup1.GetExternalLoadData().FilesData)
for filecounter in range(numfiles-1):
    DataFile = setup1.GetExternalLoadData().FilesData[filecounter+1]
    DataProp = DataFile.GetDataProperty()

    DataFile.SetStartImportAtLine(
        FileDataProperty=DataProp,
        LineNumber=StartImportAtLine)

    DataFile.SetDelimiterType(
        FileDataProperty=DataProp,
        Delimiter=DelimiterIs,
        DelimiterString=DelimiterStringIs)
    if filecounter == 0: 
        columncounter = numfiles+5
    else:
        columncounter += 3
    DataColumn = DataProp.GetColumnData(Name="ExternalLoadColumnData " + str(columncounter))
    DataProp.SetColumnDataType(
        ColumnData=DataColumn,
        DataType="Pressure")
    DataColumn.Unit = PressureUnit
    timecounter += 1
    DataColumn.Identifier = allfiles[filecounter+1]

#Mechanical System
system2 = GetSystem(Name=system_id)

#Connect External Data to Set up of Mechanical
setupComponent2 = system2.GetComponent(Name="Setup")
setup2 = system2.GetContainer(ComponentName="Setup")

setupComponent1 = system1.GetComponent(Name="Setup")
setupComponent1.TransferData(TargetComponent=setupComponent2)

setupComponent1.Update(AllDependencies=True)
setupComponent2.Refresh()
setup2.Edit()
systemName = system2.DisplayText

mechScriptCmds="""
wbAnalysisName = '{3}'
for item in ExtAPI.DataModel.AnalysisList:
    if item.SystemCaption == wbAnalysisName:
        analysis = item
mycaption = analysis.SystemCaption
ExtAPI.Log.WriteMessage(mycaption)
with Transaction():
    import glob
    import os
    DataPath = r'{0}'
    DataExtension = '{1}'
    allfiles = glob.glob1(DataPath,"*." + DataExtension)
    allfiles.sort(key=lambda f: int(''.join(filter(str.isdigit, f))))
    numfilestoload = len(allfiles)
    importedloadobjects = [child for child in analysis.Children if child.DataModelObjectCategory.ToString() == "ImportedLoadGroup"]
    usedimportedloadobj = importedloadobjects[-1]
    importedPres = usedimportedloadobj.AddImportedPressure()
    namedsel_importedload = ExtAPI.DataModel.GetObjectsByName('{2}')[0]
    importedPres.Location = namedsel_importedload
    table = importedPres.GetTableByName("")
    for i in range(numfilestoload-1):
        table.Add(None)
    for i in range(numfilestoload):
        table[i][0] = "File"+str(i+1)+":"+str(allfiles[i])
        table[i][1] = (i+1)*100
    importedPres.ImportLoad()
""".format(DataPath,DataExtension,namedSelectionUsed,systemName)
model2 = system2.GetContainer(ComponentName="Model") 
model2.SendCommand(Language="Python", Command=mechScriptCmds)

Watch video below for full explanation of this set up:

Example Case:

Setting up External Data in WB

All these steps can be Automated! :)

Part 1-Inputs:

Part 2- Automation Script:

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