optiSLang - ANSYS Workbench

Interface (optiPlug)
A brief introduction

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Andreas Veiz

 Benefits of optiPlug

• Export your Project directly from ANSYS Workbench

• Easy selection of the input and output parameters –
just „click and go“
• Pre-defined problem files and start script
• Possibility to import selected designs to verify the results
 Selecting your cad parameters
• Load your CAD geometry (e.g. in ANSYS Design Modeler)

• Highlight the desired parameters with a „D“ to add them to the

parameter manager.
• You can change the parameter values now easily
 Verifying the parameters

Values

Allocation

• Verify the values of the selected parameters

• Verify the correct allocation of the parameter names to the values
• You have selected your geometry parameters of the
CAD model.

• Now start a new Workbench simulation

• Define the analysis

 Selecting your parameters in Workbench

• Highlight the desired

output parameters
with a „P“ to add
them to the
parameter manager
 Overview input and output parameters
• Open the ANSYS Workbench Parameter Manager
• You have now an overview of your inputs and outputs
• Make sure that every desired parameter is selected properly
• Save the simulation and the project before using the interface
 Using the optiPlug interface

• Click on the optiPlug – write button to start the plug in

 Settings of the interface
• Define the working directory for optiSLang
• Define the project name
• Set your default parameter range
• Select whether the project should be stochastic oder optimization
• Click on Start to export your project now

Directory

Project name

Problem type

Parameter range
 Importing your project in optiSLang
• Close the Workbench simulation and project
• Open optiSLang
• Import the pre-defined project

• Start the
project
manager

• Select
„Import“

• Browse for
the project

• Select the
project file
(*.fgpr)
 Parametrize the problem
• Start the modification of the pre-defined parameters
 Modifying the parametrization
• Fill in the correct bounds for the analysis (ovierview on sheet 13)
 Overview: upper and lower bounds

Parameter name value range

Flanschbreite_E6_1_DS 50 45-150
Rohrstaerke_E6_2_DS 20 1-50
Einflusstiefe_E6_3_DS 150 140-250
Einflusstiefe2_E6_4_DS 150 140-250
Flanschstaerke_E6_5_DS 20 10-30
Flanschstaerke2_E6_6_DS 20 10-30
Verrundungsbreite_E6_7_DS 10 5-20
Verrundungsbreite2_E6_8_DS 10 5-20
Schraubendurchmesser_E13_9_DS 12 6-24
Schraubenspalt_E13_10_DS 2 0.1-3
Schraubenkopfueberstand_E13_11_DS 10 2-10
Schraubenlage_E13_12_DS 100 65-250
Schraubenkopfstaerke_EX29_13_DS 12 4-24
Schraubenkopfstaerke_EX32_14_DS 12 4-24
 Defining the dependent parameters
• Remove Verrundungsradius_E6_15_DS and
Verrundungsradius2_E6_16_DS from the parameter tree
• Mark the value and define a new dependent parameter.
• Insert „Verrundungsbreite_E6_7_DS*sqrt(2)“ for Verrundungsradius
and „Verrundungsbreite2_E6_8_DS*sqrt(2)“ for Verrundungsradius2
 Creating input constraints
• Due to the geometry it is necessary to define four input
constraints that limit the variation space of the parameters
corresponding to the different geometries
• Define the four constraints in the constraint section
 Creating input constraints
The input constraints:
1. Flanschbreite_min (minimum of the flange width)
0 <= Flanschbreite_E6_1_DS-Schraubendurchmesser_E13_9_DS-
2*Schraubenkopfueberstand_E13_11_DS-
fmax(Verrundungsbreite_E6_7_DS,Verrundungsbreite2_E6_8_DS)-
1-1
2. Schraubenlage_min (minimum of the bearing of the screw)
0 <= Schraubenlage_E13_12_DS-
Schraubendurchmesser_E13_9_DS/2-
Schraubenkopfueberstand_E13_11_DS-
fmax(Verrundungsbreite_E6_7_DS,Verrundungsbreite2_E6_8_DS)-
Rohrstaerke_E6_2_DS-50-1
3. Schraubenlage_max (maximum of the bearing of the screw)
0 <= Rohrstaerke_E6_2_DS+Flanschbreite_E6_1_DS-
Schraubenlage_E13_12_DS-Schraubendurchmesser_E13_9_DS/2-
Schraubenkopfueberstand_E13_11_DS+50-1
4. Schraubenspalt_max (maximum of the gap of the screw)
0 <= Schraubenkopfueberstand_E13_11_DS-
Schraubenspalt_E13_10_DS-0.2
 Starting the Design of Experiments
• Save and exit the parametrization
• Start the Design of Experiments flow. You see that the starting
script and the problem file is already selected it is pre defined by
the plug in
• Choose Latin Hypercube Sampling and insert a Sample Size of 450.
Because of the input constraints will be about 110 samples be valid.
• Chose the valid sample
points by deleting the
invalid (click on Delete)
• Click OK and start
the DoE to solve the
designs
 Result and Postprocessing I
• See that we have bad results in two areas
• 1st: the displacement of Flansch 1 cannot be negative
• We have to remove these bad designs
 Deactivating unsuitable designs I
• Draw a window around the
designs you want to deactivate
• Deactivate them by mark them
as deactivate (context menu by
clicking the right mouse button)

• See the reduced design space

 Deactivating unsuitable designs II
• Watch for other areas of bad results
• Repeat deactivating Designs in
these cases. You find the other
area of bad designs when you look
at the equivalent stress.
• Save your modified result file
to start a new postprocessing.
 Postprocessing the reduced bin file
• Take the reduced model to search for dominating parameters of
the desired target values.
• The target values for the optimization are:
- Equivalent stress in the screw
- Displacement of Flansch 1 and 2
 Coefficients of determination
• Look at the Coefficients of
determination of the target
values.
• Check for double Parameters
to reduce the model.
• Dominating Parameter:
Rohrstaerke_E6_2_DS
 Reducing the model

• You can reduce the parameters to 6 parameters by

ignoring the parameters with a weak influence.
• The remaining parameters are:
• Rohrstaerke_E6_2_DS
• Schraubenlage_E13_12_DS
• Schraubenkopfstaerke_EX_32_14
• Einflusstiefe_E6_3
• Einflusstiefe2_E6_4
• Schraubendurchmesser_E13_9_DS
• Now you can reduce the parameter set in a new parametrization!
• Be aware, that you have to modifiy the geometry constraints in
an accurate way!
 Modifying the problem file
• Set the unnecessary parameters as „inactive“

• Check the constraints, modify them as shown below:

• Constraint 1: 18-Schraubendurchmesser_E13_9_DS
• Constraint 2: 0 <= Schraubenlage_E13_12_DS-
Schraubendurchmesser_E13_9_DS/2-Rohrstaerke_E6_2_DS-
71
• Constraint 3: 0 <= Rohrstaerke_E6_2_DS-
Schraubenlage_E13_12_DS-
Schraubendurchmesser_E13_9_DS/2+89
• Constraint 4: remove
 Adding the objective function
• Start the parametrization again and add the objective function
• Our aim is to minimize the displacement of the two flanges and
minimize the equivalent stress in the screw
• Insert the objective as shown below
• fabs(value) provides the absolute value
 Starting an optimization
• Because of the input constraints you can only use the GA or EA
algorithm for the optimization.
• Define the optimization run. This is not pre-defined, so that you
have to fill in the correct problem definition and starting script.
• Set 0% to avoid the violation of input constraints.
• Modify the settings for the population size (25) and the mutation
rate (0.2) as shown below and start the solver.
 Result monitoring and postprocessing
• Best Design in this run is design Nr. 177
• Reducing of the maximum equivalent stress by about 66%
• The Gap could not be reduced yet
 Comparing of the designs

• Basic Design:
Displacement: 0.054867 mm
Max. Stress in Screw: 55.239 MPa

• Optimized Design:
Displacement: 0.072812
Max. Stress in Screw: 18.5926 MPa
 Import a design in Workbench
• Re-open the Workbench Simulation
• Browse for the design you want to import
• Highlight „Calculate this design“ if you want to check the results
 Calculated, imported design
• See the changed parameters and results