ANSYS, Inc. Release Notes

Release Notes
ANSYS, Inc. Release 16.0

Southpointe January 2015
2600 ANSYS Drive ANSYS, Inc. is
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9001:2008.
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Table of Contents
Global ......................................................................................................................................................... ix
1. Advisories ........................................................................................................................................... ix
2. Installation ......................................................................................................................................... ix
3. Licensing ............................................................................................................................................. x
4. Documentation ................................................................................................................................... x
5. ANSYS Customer Portal ....................................................................................................................... xi
I. ANSYS Structural Products ...................................................................................................................... 1
1. Mechanical Application Release Notes ............................................................................................. 3
1.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases .................................. 3
1.2. General Enhancements ............................................................................................................... 4
1.3. Performance Enhancements ....................................................................................................... 5
1.4. Graphics Enhancements ............................................................................................................. 6
1.5. Geometry Enhancements ........................................................................................................... 6
1.6. Model Assembly and External Model Enhancements ................................................................... 7
1.7. Contact and Connection Enhancements ...................................................................................... 8
1.8. Mesh Enhancements .................................................................................................................. 9
1.9. Composites Enhancements ......................................................................................................... 9
1.10. Analysis Enhancements ............................................................................................................. 9
1.11. Loads/Supports/Conditions Enhancements ............................................................................. 10
1.12. Mapping Enhancements ......................................................................................................... 10
1.13. Solution Enhancements .......................................................................................................... 11
1.14. Rigid Body Solver Enhancements ............................................................................................ 12
1.15. Explicit Dynamics Enhancements ............................................................................................ 12
1.16. Results Enhancements ............................................................................................................ 13
2. Mechanical APDL ............................................................................................................................ 15
2.1. Structural ................................................................................................................................. 15
2.1.1. Contact ............................................................................................................................ 15
2.1.1.1. Contact Robustness ................................................................................................. 15
2.1.1.1.1. New Adaptive Scheme and Default Values for Normal Contact Stiffness ........... 16
2.1.1.1.2. Contact Stabilization Damping Enhancements ................................................ 16
2.1.1.1.3. Improved Interference Fit Modeling ................................................................ 16
2.1.1.1.4. Enhanced Initial Interface Adjustment ............................................................. 16
2.1.1.1.5. Enhanced Contact Results Tracking ................................................................. 17
2.1.1.2. General Contact ...................................................................................................... 17
2.1.1.3. Contact Surface Wear Enhancements ....................................................................... 18
2.1.1.4. Debonding Enhancements ...................................................................................... 18
2.1.2. Elements and Nonlinear Technology ................................................................................. 19
2.1.2.1. Structural Infinite Solid ............................................................................................ 19
2.1.2.2. Steady State Analysis ............................................................................................... 19
2.1.2.3. Noncircular and Tapered Pipes ................................................................................. 19
2.1.2.4. Improved Convergence for Nonlinear Analysis ......................................................... 19
2.1.2.5. General Remeshing for Mesh Nonlinear Adaptivity ................................................... 20
2.1.2.6. Rezoning ................................................................................................................. 20
2.1.2.6.1. Projection-Based Contact Support ................................................................... 20
2.1.2.6.2. Fluid-Penetration Loading ............................................................................... 20
2.1.2.6.3. Single Results File for Multiple Rezonings ........................................................ 20
2.1.3. Material and Fracture Modeling ........................................................................................ 20
2.1.3.1. Static Recovery ........................................................................................................ 21
2.1.3.2. Separated Hill Potentials for Plasticity and Creep ...................................................... 21
2.1.3.3. Dissipation for Viscoelasticity ................................................................................... 21
Release 16.0 - SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. iii
Release Notes
2.1.3.4. Chaboche Nonlinear Kinematic Hardening ............................................................... 21

2.1.3.5. Rayleigh Material Damping ...................................................................................... 21
2.1.3.6. Improved Fracture Parameter Calculation ................................................................. 21
2.1.3.7. XFEM-Based Crack-Growth Simulation ..................................................................... 22
2.1.3.8. C*-integral Calculation ............................................................................................. 22
2.1.3.9. Material Force Calculation for Elastomers ................................................................. 22
2.1.4. Linear Dynamics .............................................................................................................. 22
2.1.4.1. DDAM Spectrum Analysis ........................................................................................ 22
2.1.4.2. Missing Mass for Acceleration .................................................................................. 22
2.1.4.3. Structural Damping in Modal Analysis ...................................................................... 23
2.1.4.4. User-Defined Forcing Frequencies in Harmonic Analysis ........................................... 23
2.1.4.5. Velocities and Accelerations in Mode-Superposition Transient Analyses .................... 23
2.1.4.6. Substructure Analysis and Component Mode Synthesis (CMS) Enhancements .......... 23
2.1.4.7. Linear Perturbation Campbell Analysis ..................................................................... 24
2.1.4.8. Unsymmetric Eigensolver Output and Modal Based Analyses ................................... 24
2.1.4.9. Mistuning Effects in Mode-Superposition Harmonic Analysis of Cyclic Structures ...... 24
2.1.4.10. Mode-Superposition Analysis for Piezoelectric Applications .................................... 24
2.1.4.11. Composite Elements in Cyclic Symmetry Analyses .................................................. 24
2.2. Coupled Physics ........................................................................................................................ 24
2.2.1. Acoustics ......................................................................................................................... 24
2.2.2. Thermal ........................................................................................................................... 25
2.2.3. Coupled-Field .................................................................................................................. 25
2.3. Solvers ..................................................................................................................................... 26
2.3.1. Sparse Solver Enhancements ............................................................................................ 26
2.3.2. Distributed ANSYS Enhancements .................................................................................... 26
2.3.3. GPU Acceleration Enhancements ...................................................................................... 26
2.3.4. Other Solver Changes and Enhancements ........................................................................ 26
2.4. Results File ................................................................................................................................ 27
2.5. Commands ............................................................................................................................... 27
2.5.1. New Commands ............................................................................................................... 27
2.5.2. Modified Commands ........................................................................................................ 28
2.5.3. Undocumented Commands ............................................................................................. 31
2.6. Elements .................................................................................................................................. 31
2.6.1. New Elements .................................................................................................................. 32
2.6.2. Modified Elements ........................................................................................................... 32
2.7. Other ........................................................................................................................................ 33
2.7.1. Enhanced Control for Restarts .......................................................................................... 33
2.7.2. Viewing File Structure and Content ................................................................................... 33
2.8. Documentation ........................................................................................................................ 33
2.8.1. Technology Demonstration Guide ....................................................................................... 33
2.8.1.1. Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) with Thermal Effect ....................................................... 33
2.8.1.2. Acoustic Analysis of a Viscothermal Resonator .......................................................... 33
2.8.1.3. Contact Surface Wear Simulation ............................................................................. 34
2.8.2. New Cyclic Symmetry Analysis Guide .................................................................................. 34
2.8.3. New Substructuring Analysis Guide .................................................................................... 34
2.8.4. New Fracture Analysis Guide .............................................................................................. 34
2.8.5. Feature Archive ................................................................................................................. 34
2.8.6. Documentation Updates for Programmers ........................................................................ 34
2.8.6.1. Routines and Functions Updated ............................................................................. 34
2.8.6.2. Subroutines Added .................................................................................................. 34
2.8.6.3. Substructure Displacement File Format Added ......................................................... 35
2.9. Known Incompatibilities ........................................................................................................... 35
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Release Notes
2.9.1. Modal Analysis Output from the Unsymmetric Eigensolver ............................................... 35

2.9.2. Complex Stiffness in QR Damped Analyses ....................................................................... 35
2.9.3. Results File ....................................................................................................................... 35
2.9.4. Changes in Contact Stiffness ............................................................................................ 35
2.9.5. Contact Element Real Constant FKOP with Debonding ...................................................... 36
2.9.6. Time/Load Increment Control in Contact Analysis ............................................................. 36
2.9.7. FiberSIM .......................................................................................................................... 36
2.9.8. Change in Convergence Criteria Behavior (CNVTOL Command) ......................................... 36
2.9.9. Solution Cutback Procedure for Creep Analysis ................................................................. 36
2.9.10. Full File Required for Mode-Superposition Analysis and Substructuring Expansion
Pass .......................................................................................................................................... 36
2.9.11. Change in Program Behavior When a Negative or Zero Equation Solver Pivot Value Is En-
countered ................................................................................................................................ 36
2.9.12. Output File Header ......................................................................................................... 37
2.9.13. Restarts and Continuations with Files from Previous Releases .......................................... 37
3. Autodyn .......................................................................................................................................... 39
3.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases ................................ 39
3.2. New Features ............................................................................................................................ 40
4. Aqwa ............................................................................................................................................... 41
4.1. Aqwa Solver Modules ............................................................................................................... 41
4.1.1. Extended Greens Function Database ................................................................................ 41
4.1.2. Aqwa Parallel ................................................................................................................... 41
4.1.3. External Server for User-Defined Force Calculation ............................................................ 41
4.1.4. Number of Angles in Gaussian Integration of Spread Spectra ............................................ 41
4.1.5. Maximum Number of Wave Frequencies ........................................................................... 41
4.2. Hydrodynamic Analysis Systems ................................................................................................ 41
4.2.1. Frequency Domain Analysis .............................................................................................. 42
4.2.2. Stability Equilibrium Analysis ............................................................................................ 42
4.2.3. Low and High Frequencies in the First Order Hydrodynamic Property Database ................. 42
4.2.4. New Edit Operations for Objects in Hydrodynamic Analyses .............................................. 42
4.2.5. Starting Position Object for Stability Analysis .................................................................... 42
4.3. Documentation ........................................................................................................................ 42
4.3.1. Displayed Positions and Features Documentation ............................................................. 42
5. Beamcheck ...................................................................................................................................... 43
6. Fatjack ............................................................................................................................................. 45
7. ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) .................................................................................................. 47
7.1. New Features in ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 16.0 ............................................................. 47
7.1.1. Solid Model Cut-off Feature .............................................................................................. 47
7.1.2. Shear, Temperature, and Degradation Factor Dependent Material Data .............................. 47
7.1.3. Contour Plots for Look-up Tables ...................................................................................... 47
7.1.4. Direct Selection of CAD Solids and Surfaces ...................................................................... 47
7.1.5. Progressive Damage Postprocessing in ACP-Post .............................................................. 48
7.1.6. Automatic Renumbering in Mechanical Composite Assemblies ......................................... 48
7.1.7. Enhanced Unit System Handling for Composite Workbench Projects ................................. 48
7.1.8. New Conversion of Legacy MAPDL Composite Models to Workbench Projects ................... 48
7.1.9. Enhanced Solution Selection ............................................................................................ 48
7.1.10. Improved 3-D Interactions .............................................................................................. 48
7.1.11. Shared Licensing Support ............................................................................................... 48
7.1.12. ACP Installation Through Standard ANSYS Installer .......................................................... 49
7.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 16.0 ................................................. 49
7.3. Known Incompatibilities ........................................................................................................... 49
7.3.1. Renamed Objects ............................................................................................................. 49
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Release Notes
7.3.2. Improved CAD Geometry Feature ..................................................................................... 49

II. ANSYS Fluids Products .......................................................................................................................... 51
1. Fluent .............................................................................................................................................. 53
1.1. New Features in ANSYS Fluent 16.0 ........................................................................................... 53
1.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Fluent 16.0 ............................................................................... 62
1.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 16.0 ....................................................................................... 62
1.4. Limitations That No Longer Apply in ANSYS Fluent 16.0 ............................................................. 64
1.5. Updates Affecting Code Behavior .............................................................................................. 65
2. CFX .................................................................................................................................................. 71
2.1. New Features and Enhancements .............................................................................................. 71
2.2. Incompatibilities ....................................................................................................................... 72
2.3. Updates Affecting Code Behavior .............................................................................................. 72
3. TurboGrid ........................................................................................................................................ 75
3.2. Incompatibilities ....................................................................................................................... 75
4. BladeModeler .................................................................................................................................. 77
4.1. BladeGen .................................................................................................................................. 77
4.1.1. BladeGen New Features and Enhancements ..................................................................... 77
4.2. BladeEditor ............................................................................................................................... 77
4.2.1. BladeEditor New Features and Enhancements ................................................................... 77
4.2.2. BladeEditor Incompatibilities ............................................................................................ 77
5. CFD-Post .......................................................................................................................................... 79
6. Polyflow .......................................................................................................................................... 81
6.1. New Features ............................................................................................................................ 81
6.2. Supported Platforms ................................................................................................................. 82
6.3. Defect Fixes .............................................................................................................................. 82
6.4. New Limitations in ANSYS Polyflow 16.0 .................................................................................... 82
6.5. Past Versions of ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes .......................................................................... 83
III. ANSYS Electronics Products ................................................................................................................. 85
1. Icepak .............................................................................................................................................. 87
1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 87
1.2. New and Modified Features in ANSYS Icepak 16.0 ...................................................................... 87
IV. ANSYS Geometry & Mesh Prep Products ............................................................................................. 91
1. DesignModeler ................................................................................................................................ 93
2. SpaceClaim ...................................................................................................................................... 95
3. CAD ................................................................................................................................................. 97
4. Meshing ........................................................................................................................................... 99
4.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases ................................ 99
4.2. Meshing Options Enhancements ............................................................................................... 99
4.3. Mesh Export Options Enhancements ....................................................................................... 100
4.4. MultiZone Mesh Method Enhancements ................................................................................. 101
4.5. Mesh Editing Enhancements ................................................................................................... 101
4.6. Virtual Topology Enhancements .............................................................................................. 102
4.7. Mesh Control Enhancements ................................................................................................... 102
5. IC Engine ....................................................................................................................................... 105
6. ICEM CFD ....................................................................................................................................... 109
6.1. Highlights of ANSYS ICEM CFD 16.0 ......................................................................................... 109
6.2. Key New Features/Improvements ............................................................................................ 109
6.2.1. Project to Topo ............................................................................................................... 109
6.2.2. From Edge Points bunching law ...................................................................................... 109
6.2.3. Named Selections only option ........................................................................................ 109
vi of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Release Notes
6.2.4. Fluent Meshing inflation ................................................................................................. 109

6.3. Documentation ...................................................................................................................... 110
6.3.1. Tutorials ......................................................................................................................... 110
7. Fluent Meshing .............................................................................................................................. 111
7.1. Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases ............................................................... 111
7.2. New Features .......................................................................................................................... 112
V. ANSYS Simulation Products ................................................................................................................ 115
1. Workbench .................................................................................................................................... 117
1.1. ANSYS Workbench .................................................................................................................. 117
1.1.1. ANSYS Workbench Design Point Enhancements .............................................................. 117
1.1.2. ANSYS Workbench-Remote Solve Manager Enhancements ............................................. 118
1.1.3. ANSYS Workbench and EKM Integration ......................................................................... 118
1.2. Microsoft Excel ........................................................................................................................ 119
1.3. External Connection ............................................................................................................... 119
1.4. Engineering Data Workspace ................................................................................................... 119
1.5. External Data .......................................................................................................................... 119
1.6. FE Modeler ............................................................................................................................. 119
1.7. System Coupling ..................................................................................................................... 119
1.8. TurboSystem Release Notes ..................................................................................................... 120
1.8.1. New Features and Enhancements ................................................................................... 120
2. Remote Solve Manager (RSM) ....................................................................................................... 121
2.1. Redesigned Compute Server Properties Dialog Box ................................................................. 121
2.2. File Transfer Optimization Enhancements ................................................................................ 121
2.3. Job Management Enhancements ............................................................................................ 122
2.4. Cluster Enhancements ............................................................................................................ 123
2.5. Workbench-RSM Enhancements .............................................................................................. 124
2.6. General Enhancements ........................................................................................................... 124
3. EKM ............................................................................................................................................... 125
3.1. New Features and Enhancements ............................................................................................ 125
3.2. Issues and Limitations ............................................................................................................. 130
4. DesignXplorer ............................................................................................................................... 131
4.1. Parameter Filtering in Parameters Correlation .......................................................................... 131
4.2. Retain Data for Preserved Design Points .................................................................................. 131
4.3. ACT Customization of DesignXplorer ....................................................................................... 131
4.4. New Property Controlling Finite Difference for NLPQL and MISQP ............................................ 132
4.5. DesignXplorer Licenses Released when Unused ....................................................................... 132
4.6. Advanced Goodness of Fit Report Documentation ................................................................... 132
VI. ANSYS AIM ......................................................................................................................................... 133
1. Advisories ...................................................................................................................................... 135
2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 137
3. Platform & Third Party Support .................................................................................................... 139
4. Installation .................................................................................................................................... 141
5. Licensing ....................................................................................................................................... 143
6. Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 145
7. Usage and User Interface .............................................................................................................. 147
8. Capabilities ................................................................................................................................... 149
9. Limitations .................................................................................................................................... 153
10. Documentation ........................................................................................................................... 155
11. Ancillary Product Enhancements ................................................................................................ 157
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. vii
viii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Global Release Notes
The release notes are specific to ANSYS, Inc. Release 16.0 and arranged by application/product, with
the exception of:
Advisories (p. ix)
Installation (p. ix)
Licensing (p. x)
ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xi)
Note that installation- and licensing-specific information is detailed in some application and product
sections. The release notes are available in printable format (PDF) via the product media, and accessible
in the ANSYS Help Viewer or online via the ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xi).
To view release notes specific to previous ANSYS, Inc. releases, go to ANSYS Customer Portal> Down-
loads> Previous Releases> Documentation. The release notes file is named Release_Notes_R15 in the
following zip file link:
ANSYS 15.0 Release Documentation
The release notes files are named ai_rn (followed by the inventory number) in the following zip file
links:
ANSYS 14.5.7 Release Documentation (applies to release 14.5)
ANSYS 14.0 Release Documentation
1. Advisories
In addition to the incompatibilities noted within the release notes, known non-operational behavior,
errors and/or limitations at the time of release are documented in the Known Issues and Limitations
document, although not accessible via the ANSYS Help Viewer. See the ANSYS Customer Portal for in-
formation about the ANSYS service packs and any additional items not included in the Known Issues
and Limitations document. First-time users of the customer portal must register to create a password.
2. Installation
The following features are new or changed at Release 16.0. Please review these items carefully.
The installation program detects and informs the user when a computer restart may be required because
prerequisite components necessary for the installation of the ANSYS products were installed.
ANSYS, Inc, products and the installation program will no longer support Windows XP.
ANSYS, Inc, products and the installation program will no longer support Windows 32-bit systems.
If the product installation is able to query your license server, the installation screen options are pre-selected
based upon the information from your license server. If the installation program was unable to query your
license server, this message is not displayed and the default installation options are selected as in previous
releases. Note: CAD selections must be done manually in either case.
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. ix
Global
A new installation progress bar has been added to display the time remaining during the installation process.
New options allow you to install the product documentation to any location or elect not to install the product
documentation.
ANSYS Composite PrepPost is now included in the product installation and can be selected on the product
selection menu for installation.
3. Licensing
The following enhancements have been made to ANSYS, Inc. Licensing for Release 16.0:
The ANSYS Meshing product now supports ICEM CFD and TGRID meshing.
The Product Order file was updated. If you typically change the default order in which products are checked
out, be certain to re-order the licenses using this latest version, via the ANSLIC_ADMIN utility.
Licenses containing TRL encryption are required to run the 16.0 License Manager.
HPC Parametric Pack licenses now apply to the ANSYS Aqwa Suite and the ANSYS Aqwa Suite with Coupled
Cable Dynamics products.
The ANSYS License Management Center is replacing ANSLIC_ADMIN as the tool for most license adminis-
tration functions.
The ANSYS, Inc. License Manager Start Menu has been modified to include the ANSYS License Manage-
ment Center option.
To support the ANSYS License Management Center, a Tomcat web server and a version of Java will be
installed within the license manager directory during the ANSYS License Manager installation .
The ANSYS License Manager now supports both ansyslmd and ansoftd licenses using FlexNet's Common
Vendor Daemon (CVD) technology. During the License Manager installation, if the FLEXlm for Ansoft (ansoftd)
is installed, it will be shut down.
The following changes have been made to the licensing file structure:
The default directory containing the license file has been changed from licensing to the new licens-
ing\license_files directory.
The new default license file name is ansyslmd.lic. Additionally, any file with a .lic file extension
in thelicense_files directory will be recognized as a license file.
Your existing license file will be automatically copied to the new location during the licensing installation
configuration process.
Electromagnetics (Ansoft) license files are also stored in this directory.
Windows XP and 32bit platforms are no longer supported.
4. Documentation
Documentation is now installed per-product; only the documentation associated with the products you
install will be included by default. You can choose to install all documentation by running a document-
ation-only install from the installation launcher.
x of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
ANSYS Customer Portal
Help Viewer Enhancements

The Help Viewer has been updated with enhanced capabilities.
Search enhancements:
The search results are now presented in a more standard format and include the context of the result.
Search has been streamlined for fewer clicks.
Search filters are now available directly from the search results page.
You can now navigate next/previous through search hits in a page.
The Table of Contents panel text size now zooms with the contents tab.
Annotations enhancements:
You can import annotations from a previous release into the current help.
You can now easily manage importing, exporting, and deleting annotations from a single locations.
Page level annotations are available.
Remote help:
You can now install the help on a corporate server and all users can access help from that server.
Videos:
The Help Viewer now includes video support.
Updated Product Documentation

Visit the ANSYS Customer Portal Online Documentation page to view or search the latest updates to
the Release 16.0 documentation.
5. ANSYS Customer Portal

If you have a password to the ANSYS Customer Portal (support.ansys.com), you can view additional
documentation information and late changes. The portal is also your source for ANSYS, Inc. software
downloads, service packs, product information (including example applications, current and archived
documentation, undocumented commands, input files, and product previews), and online support.
All the product documentation is available in printable format (PDF). Note that the content of the files
can be copied into word processing programs.
Customer Portal access points:
Tutorials and input files To access tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go
to http://support.ansys.com/training.
Documentation To access documentation files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to http://support.an-

sys.com/documentation.
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. xi
Global
General information For further information about tutorials and documentation on the ANSYS
Customer Portal, go to http://support.ansys.com/docinfo.
xii of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Part I: ANSYS Structural Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Structural products:
Mechanical Application
Mechanical APDL
Autodyn
Aqwa
Beamcheck
Fatjack
ACP
Chapter 1: Mechanical Application Release Notes
This release of the Mechanical application contains all of the capabilities from previous releases plus
many new features and enhancements. Areas where you will find changes and new capabilities include
the following:
1.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases
1.2. General Enhancements
1.3. Performance Enhancements
1.4. Graphics Enhancements
1.5. Geometry Enhancements
1.6. Model Assembly and External Model Enhancements
1.7. Contact and Connection Enhancements
1.8. Mesh Enhancements
1.9. Composites Enhancements
1.10. Analysis Enhancements
1.11. Loads/Supports/Conditions Enhancements
1.12. Mapping Enhancements
1.13. Solution Enhancements
1.14. Rigid Body Solver Enhancements
1.15. Explicit Dynamics Enhancements
1.16. Results Enhancements
1.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous

Releases
Release 16.0 includes several new features and enhancements that result in product behaviors that
differ from previous releases. These behavior changes are presented below.
The Pre-Load the Mechanical Editor and Pre-Load the Meshing Editor options (as previously set in
Workbench under Tools>Options>Mechanical or Meshing) are no longer available. This change will help
to ensure maximum robustness and stability between Workbench and the Mechanical and/or Meshing ap-
plications.
Model Assembly. The process for importing Named Selections as well as contact generation when assembling
models has changed from previous releases. Please see Using Legacy Databases for changes that may occur
when reassembling legacy databases.
Naming of Named Selections for the MAPDL Solver: Mechanical no longer transfers Named Selections
to the MAPDL Solver if the name contains a dash (-) or a period (.). This has been done to maintain consistency
with the restrictions that the MAPDL Solver defines for component names.
Contact Settings - Update Stiffness. The Program Controlled setting for the Update Stiffness property
no longer has requirements based on the setting of the Interface Treatment property. The Program Con-
trolled setting uses the Each Iteration setting unless the contact is between two rigid bodies. In prior releases,
the Program Controlled setting would not update the contact stiffness if the Interface Treatment property
was set to Add Offset, Ramped Effects.
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. 3
Mechanical Application Release Notes
Imported Plies. The Imported Layered Section object has been renamed to "Imported Plies."
Current Boundary Condition. In order to prevent conflicts with other boundary conditions, the Current
boundary condition now uses the CE command for Electric or Thermal-Electric analyses. In previous releases,
the Current boundary condition used the CP command.
Eigenvalue (formerly Linear) Buckling Analysis.
The "Linear Buckling" analysis has been renamed "Eigenvalue Buckling" in order to more clearly indicate
the solution technique that is used.
The new default setting for the Max Modes To Find property of the Analysis Settings object is 2.
The default eigenvalue extraction method has changed from being only positive eigenvalues (load mul-
tipliers) to both the negative and positive eigenvalues (load multipliers) through the use of the Include
Negative Load Multiplier property under the Solver Controls of the Analysis Settings object.
Random Vibration Analysis. For the Analysis Settings object, under the Output Controls category, the
default setting for the Calculate Velocity and Calculate Acceleration properties is now set to No. This
change facilitates faster solution processing. These default settings can be changed using the Options
preference feature.
Thermal Probe. For linked Transient Thermal analyses in previously releases, Thermal Probes would read
results from the results file of the upstream analysis system and display the data at the start time, just as
the transient system retrieves initial temperature conditions. Thermal Probes no longer behave in this
manner.
Result Scoping. The Shell property has been renamed "Position."
Contact Results Behavior Changes. If the contact status of all nodes of a contact element is FAR (or 0),
then Mechanical 16.0 reports all unaveraged contact results of this element as undefined. In previous versions,
Mechanical reported these results as zero (0).
Source Result File Handling (for Thermal-Stress, Submodeling, and One-way Acoustic Coupling analyses).
The application no longer copies the source result file when downstream connections are created or refreshed.
Instead, downstream systems now directly access the source result file on disk. In addition, for downstream
system Imported Loads: if the source data changes following a refresh, you need to refresh the data before
re-importing the load.

The following general enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Grouping Tree Objects. You can now group tree objects into folders to organize them in a specific fashion.
Grouping options include the ability to individually select objects and group them together or to have the
application automatically group objects based on type.
Selection Information Window. The Selection Information window now provides distance information
for selected bodies, faces, and edges. When two bodies, faces, or edges are selected, the Distance Entity
displays the distance between the centroids of each selection.
Specifying Named Selections using Worksheet Criteria.
The application now enables you to duplicate as well as copy and paste Worksheet criteria entries.
4 of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Performance Enhancements
The new Worksheet criteria option, Shared Across Parts, enables you to generate node-based Named
Selections for the nodes shared across the parts of your model. This option is useful for examining and
working with shared nodes that were generated by Node Merge or Mesh Connection operations.
Filtering the Tree Outline.
The option Graphics has been added to the tree filtering feature. This option filters the tree so that only
visible bodies and objects associated with any visible body display. In addition, the contextual menu
available in the Geometry Window has a new option: Filter Tree Based on Visible Bodies, which performs
the same action as the Graphics filter.
A new option, Ignored, has been added to the State Filter Type. This option filters the tree to only show
Mesh Connections, Mesh Controls, Fracture and other objects whose state is set to Ignored.
The Tree Filter Toolbar contains a new option, Hide Folders, that, when selected, hides all Group folders
in the tree.
Renaming Multiple Objects. A new object renaming option is available: Rename All. You can now select
multiple objects in the tree and rename all of them at the same time. The application enables you to rename
with automatically generated sequential numbers or you can choose to rename all selected objects the
same name.
Object and Message Highlighting. Important processing messages and the corresponding tree object are
now color highlighted to clearly alert you that the setup or solution requires your attention.
Opening Mechanical without Consuming a License. You can now open Mechanical without consuming
a license to perform tasks like monitoring an RSM run in progress or reviewing results.
Lustre Parallel File Systems on Linux. The Mechanical application now supports Lustre parallel file systems
on Linux. To learn how to update projects created prior to Release 16.0, see Lustre Parallel File Systems on
Linux.
1.3. Performance Enhancements

The following performance enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Improved Geometry Attachment Time. The time taken to attach geometry into the Mechanical editor has
been improved. Medium and large sized geometries now attach as much as two times faster.
Contact Detection Performance. All contact detection algorithms are now multi-threaded and their per-
formance scales linearly with the available number of CPU's.
Graphical Plotting. The initial graphical display of the mesh and for results has improved by 60% compared
to prior releases. In addition, you may experience an increase of as much as two times when redisplaying
results, that is, selecting a result to see its plot a second time.
Displaying Expanded Beams. Initial graphical display of the mesh and results, for some models, has improved
by as much as 60%.
Deleting Tree Objects. If you delete a large number of objects from the tree (such as contact regions), the
application performs this action as much as ten times faster than it has in prior releases.
Model Assembly Performance Improvements. Significant performance improvements have been made
to the Model Assembly feature. Assembling large models is now two to three times faster as compared to
prior releases.
Source Result File Access for Linked Analyses. For a Thermal-Stress, Submodeling, or One-way Acoustic
Coupling analysis, the application no longer copies the source result files to the downstream system. Instead,
the downstream system now directly accesses the source result file. This reduces disk space usage when
running linked analyses.
1.4. Graphics Enhancements

The following graphical enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Directional Vector Visibility. Mechanical now provides graphical display options on the Graphics Options
Toolbar that enable you to display layer direction vectors for modeling ply's as well as directional vectors
for the Nodal Coordinate Systems Results and Elemental Coordinate Systems Results and visibility of prin-
cipal vectors for stress and strain vector results.
Element Numbering. You can now display the mesh element numbers using the new option Element
Numbers option available through Annotation Preferences.
Mesh Display Enhancement. A new display property is now available for the Mesh object. This new property,
Display Style, enables you to change the graphical display of the mesh so that you can to view element
specific information.
Explode View Options Toolbar. The new Explode View Options toolbar enables you to draw apart and/or
bring together, explode and reassemble; the parts of your model from the model's coordinate origin in the
Graphical Window.
Node Numbering. The feature to display Node Numbers has been enhanced. You can now specify a nu-
merical range of desired nodes to display as well as increment the selected range. See the Node Numbers
topic of the Specifying Annotation Preferences Help page for more information.
Image to Clipboard (Windows platform). The new option Image to Clipboard enables you to copy and
paste the content of the Graphics window into a compatible application using Windows Clipboard. This
option is available using the Graphics window context menu, the figure or image drop-down menu on the
Standard Toolbar, or by using the key combination CTRL + C.
Advanced Options when Saving Images. The application now provides resolution and image capture
options when you select the Image to File option of the New Figure or Image menu on the Standard
Toolbar. This feature can be disabled and its default options can be modified using the Options preference
feature (see the Graphics category).
Specifying Color Options. The Options preference feature (see the Graphics category) now allows you to
change the default coloring for FE related annotations (FE-based Named Selections and/or Objects scoped
to Nodes or Elements).
Specifying Options - Model Rotation Center. A new Options preference category, Model Rotation Center,
is available under the Graphics settings, that enables you to change how the application behaves when
you are setting a rotation center. An option to make rotation effective immediately upon clicking a point
on your model is now available.
Windows Aero. Mechanical now supports the Aero Theme in Windows 7.
1.5. Geometry Enhancements

The following geometry enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Model Assembly and External Model Enhancements
Distributed Mass. A new mass idealization feature is now available. During 3D analyses, the Distributed
Mass feature enables you to distribute additional mass across the faces of the flexible parts in your model.
Symmetry Region. The use of the Linear Periodic symmetry option, for the Symmetry Region feature,
now supports thermal and thermal-electric analysis types.
Element Orientation. Mechanical now allows you to define the orientation of the elemental coordinate
systems of specified bodies using the Element Orientation feature. The orientations are based on user-
defined surface and edge guides.
1.6. Model Assembly and External Model Enhancements

The following enhancements for Assembling Mechanical Models have been made at Release 16.0:
You can now assemble models that include:
Gaskets
Line Bodies
Rigid Bodies
Virtual Topology
Mesh Connections
The following objects defined in upstream Mechanical systems are now imported into the downstream
system:
Contact
Coordinate Systems
Contact Detection. In addition to importing Contacts from upstream Mechanical systems, new options are
available on the Connection Group objects that enable you to generate intra-assembly or inter-assembly
contacts.
Scoping Associativity. Geometry associativity is now maintained in the downstream (assembled) systems
on reassembly. Certain restrictions/limitations apply for geometries from External Model or ACP. See the
Limitations and Restrictions for Model Assembly topic of the Help for more details.
Preview Assembled Geometry. You can quickly preview the orientation of your parts in an assembly by
right-clicking on the downstream model cell and selecting Preview Assembled Geometry.
Update Upstream Components. The context menu option, Update Upstream Components, is now
available in the Workbench Project window. When selected from the downstream system, this option updates
all of the out-of-date cells in any upstream system that must be updated in order to bring the current system
Up-to-Date.
Object Renaming. Mechanical now automatically renames imported objects based upon the renaming
options specified in the Workbench Model cell properties.
Object Grouping. Mechanical now automatically groups and organizes imported objects into tree folders
based on the upstream system.
Filtering the Tree Outline. The option Model has been added to the tree filtering feature. This option enables
you to filter the tree based on source models.
Color Coding of Parts. The Display Style property of the Geometry object has a new option: Assembly
Color. This option enables you to assign a common color to the bodies of each source model (assembly).
State of Imported Objects. By default, imported objects are read-only when read into Mechanical. The
application, however, allows you to change this setting and modify the imported objects.
Mesh Modification Restrictions. A new property is available that prevents you from modifying the mesh
in the assembled system. It also allows you to resume the original assembled mesh.
Mesh-Based Geometry Import. The Workbench feature, External Model, now allows you to import solid
and shell finite element meshes into Mechanical for the following file formats:
Abaqus Input (.inp)
Nastran Bulk Data (.bdf, .dat, .nas)
Fluent Input (.msh, .cas)
ICEM CFD Input (.uns)
Body Grouping for Mesh-Based Geometry. Mechanical now allows you to group the elements of your
model into bodies based on their thickness when importing solid and shell finite element mesh files (.cdb).
Model Alignment through Rigid Transformation. Rigid Transforms can be applied in Mechanical using
the Alignment Worksheet.
Parameter Support for Rigid Transformations. The rigid transformation properties for Model Assembly
can now be parameterized.
1.7. Contact and Connection Enhancements

The following contact and connection enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Contact Smoothing. A new contact geometric correction feature, Smoothing, has been added to facilitate
the detection of contact for circular segments in 2D and for spherical and revolute surfaces in 3D.
Beam Contact Formulation. Beam is a new Formulation option now available for contacts when using
the MAPDL Solver. This formulation works by "stitching" the contact topologies together using massless
linear Beam Elements instead of using contact elements.
Joint Element Control. There is a new Joint object property, Solver Element Type, that enables you to
specify the element type for a Joint so that you can use contact targets instead of multipoint constraints as
your joint element selection.
Joints in Eigenvalue Buckling Analysis. Mechanical now supports linear joints for an Eigenvalue Buckling
analysis when the upstream Static Structural analysis is linear.
Rotational Velocity dependent Bearings. For Modal and Full Harmonic Response analyses, Bearing stiffness
coefficients and damping coefficients can now be entered as Tabular Data entries as a function of Rotational
Velocity.
Analysis Enhancements
Mesh Connection Group. The Mesh Connection Group object now contains two new properties: Face
Angle Tolerance and Edge Overlap Tolerance. These new properties provide proximity detection capab-
ilities. See the Mesh Connection Group object reference page.
Mesh Connection. The Mesh Connection object has a new context menu option, Generate Mesh. This
option enables you to create a mesh for the selected Mesh Connection object.
Connections Worksheet. When you choose to display the Worksheet window for the Connections or
Connections Group object, you can freely select objects within the Connections folder and the Worksheet
window remains displayed and active.
Deleting Group Folder Content. You can now quickly delete all objects within Connections object group
folders and the Mesh Connection Group folder using the Delete Children option. This includes the Con-
nections group folders for Contact and Joints.
Connection Statistics. The Connection Group, Mesh Connection Group, and Node Merge Group objects
now have a new informational category (Statistics) in their Details view that displays the number of connec-
tions that are associated with the object (as child objects) and how many of those connections are currently
active (not Suppressed).
1.8. Mesh Enhancements

The following mesh enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Mesh Editing. A number of new mesh editing features are now available in Mechanical including the ability
to move and merge nodes in addition to improvements to the Mesh Connections feature. Please see the
Mesh Editing Enhancements section of the Meshing release notes.
Inclined Cracks. The Crack feature has two new properties (Align with Face Normal and Project to Nearest
Surface) that enable you to control the alignment and projection of a crack's coordinate system.
1.9. Composites Enhancements

The following results enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Analysis Ply. You can now view analysis ply information from ACP through the Analysis Ply object.
Result Scoping. The result object property, Sub Scope By, has the new option Ply for viewing results on
Analysis Plies.
Creating Results for Multiple Analysis Plies. Mechanical enables you to easily created result objects for
multiple analysis plies by using the RMB insert option that is available on ply objects.
1.10. Analysis Enhancements

The following analysis enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Nonlinear Adaptive Analysis. A Nonlinear Adaptive Analysis is an analysis wherein the mesh is refined
and/or remeshed during the solution in order to allow nonlinear solutions that would otherwise not be
possible due to high element distortion. This ability is available through the use of the Nonlinear Adaptive
Region condition.
Thermal Fluid Flow (see Model Type). A thermal fluid flow analysis can now be performed to model heat
distribution between fluid and solid bodies during Steady-State and Transient Thermal analyses. You can
designate a line body for thermal-flow by setting its Model Type property to Thermal Fluid. This feature
works in combination with the Convection boundary condition and the new Mass Flow Rate boundary
condition.
1.11. Loads/Supports/Conditions Enhancements

The following loads/supports/conditions enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Thermal Fluid Flow (see Model Type). A new Mass Flow Rate boundary condition and additional options
on the Convection load are now available to model the heat distribution between fluid and solid bodies
during steady-state and transient thermal analyses.
Nonlinear Adaptive Region. Mechanical has a new Condition. The Nonlinear Adaptive Region condition
refines the mesh during the solution phase to improve precision.
Acceleration as Base Excitation. You can now define the Acceleration boundary condition as a base excit-
ation, as a relative or an absolute result, during a Mode-Superposition Transient analysis or a Mode Super-
position Harmonic Response analysis.
Complex Frequency Dependent Force & Pressure Loading. When used in a Harmonic Response Analysis
(Full, linked MSUP, or standalone), the Force and Pressure boundary conditions can now be defined using
tabular data to be fully frequency dependent. In addition to Magnitude, the Phase Angle can now be fre-
quency dependent.
Rotating Force. The new Rotating Force boundary condition is available for Harmonic Response analyses
using the Full Solution Method option. This boundary condition enables you to create forces that rotate
synchronously or asynchronously.
Remote Loads in Prestressed MSUP Analyses. Remote Force and Moment loads can now be inserted into
the Harmonic or Transient structural analysis of a pre-stressed MSUP analysis even after solving the linked
static analysis containing Remote Loads or Point Masses. In previous releases, this scenario did not work.
Nodal Force. Harmonic Response and Transient Structural analyses that use a linked Modal Analysis System
now support the Nodal Force boundary condition.
1.12. Mapping Enhancements

The following mapping enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Conservative mapping: A Conservative algorithm is now available when importing forces from the External
Data system.
Pinball option is now available when Weighting is Shape Function and Transfer Type is Surface.
Refresh Imported Load operation is now available in the context menu of the Imported Load folder for
Thermal-Stress, Submodeling, and One-way Acoustic Coupling analyses.
Maxwell - Structural Coupling. When importing Body Force Density and Surface Force Density loading
types from Maxwell, you can now choose to import the Max Force Density values or the DC Force Density
values, given that the source provides the data. In previous releases, only the DC Force Density values were
imported.
Solution Enhancements
1.13. Solution Enhancements

The following solution enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Solver Controls - Solver Pivot Checking. The Analysis Settings Solver Controls category has a new property:
Solver Pivot Checking. This property enables you to continue the solution process following an abort as
a result of an underconstrained model or contact related issues. The default setting for this property can be
changed under the Solver Controls category of the Options preference feature (see Analysis Settings and
Solution).
Contact Result Trackers. Mechanical has a new contact result tracker property (Enhanced Tracking) that
enables you to obtain contact pair data from the CND file (file.cnd) during the solution phase or following
a completed solution. Contact trackers that use the CND file can be also be inserted, modified, and evaluated
after the solution is completed.
Regenerated Mesh Display. The application now provides display features showing when during the
solution process your model's mesh regenerated. Mesh regeneration is a feature of the Nonlinear Adaptive
Region condition that refines the mesh during the solution phase to improve precision. Once complete,
selecting the Solution Information Object and changing the appropriate property, provides a graphical
display of the mesh regeneration points. In addition, the Tabular Data window for the Solution object, as
well as certain result objects, provides a column indicating that a remesh took place during a particular
result set.
Enforced Motion Method. If you apply Acceleration as a base excitation during a Mode-Superposition
Transient analysis or a Mode-Superposition Harmonic Response analysis, Mechanical uses the Mechanical
APDL-based enforced motion method. See the Enforced Motion Method for Mode-Superposition Transient
and Harmonic Analyses section of the Mechanical APDL Structural Analysis Guide.
Harmonic Response Analysis.
For any prestressed harmonic analysis using the Mode Superposition or Full Solution Method, displacement
loads become fixed in the harmonic solution to ensure that they are not re-applied.
You can now parameterize the Range Minimum, Range Maximum, and Solution Intervals properties
of the Analysis Settings category Options. This enables you to address cases that require different fre-
quency ranges and resolutions.
You can now define rigid bodies in your model (i.e., set the Stiffness Behavior property for a body set
to Rigid).
Frequency Spacing. The Analysis Settings category Options now has a new Frequency Spacing
property that enables you to define, like its name implies, frequency spacing, at equal intervals (linear)
or logarithmically (general logarithm and nth-octave band).
Expanding Results. The Expand Results From property in the Analysis Settings category, Output
Controls, is now available for standalone MSUP Harmonic Response analyses. It allows you to expand the
results from a modal or harmonic analysis of a standalone MSUP Harmonic Response system.
Eigenvalue (formerly Linear) Buckling Analysis:
Mechanical now enables you to link the Eigenvalue Buckling analysis to a nonlinear Static Structural
analysis that can include all types of nonlinearities.
The Frequency option of the Options preference feature has a new category labeled Buckling. This
category enables you to change the default setting of the Max Modes To Find property.
The Include Negative Load Multiplier property under the Solver Controls of the Analysis Settings
object enables you to extract both the negative and positive eigenvalues (load multipliers). The No setting
for this property extracts only positive eigenvalues (load multipliers).
Pre-stressed Campbell Diagram. The pre-stressed effect of a Static Structural Analysis is now supported
in a Modal Analysis to create a Campbell diagram.
Specifying Options. The Options feature that enables you to change a property's default setting has a new
category for the Analysis Settings and Solution option: Options (Random Vibration). This category enables
you to change the default settings for the Exclude Insignificant Modes and the Mode Significance Level
properties.
1.14. Rigid Body Solver Enhancements

The following Rigid Body Solver enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Point On Curve Free Rotation option. A new option has been added to Point On Curve joint objects
to allow free rotation.
Imperfect joints. Three new joint types dedicated to the simulation of imperfect revolute and spherical
joints (clearance in joints) have been introduced.
Implicit Time integration. The Implicit Generalized-Alpha Method is now available with the RBD
solver to address moderately stiff problems.
1.15. Explicit Dynamics Enhancements

The Explicit Dynamics Analysis System is a Workbench integrated provision of the Autodyn FE (Lagrange)
and multiple-material Euler solvers, and Euler-Lagrange Coupling (providing FSI). The ANSYS Autodyn
product includes all of the Explicit Dynamics system capabilities, but only those aspects relating to FE
(Lagrange) are exposed with ANSYS Explicit STR.
The following Explicit Dynamics Solver enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Initial conditions applied to remote points. If initial conditions are applied to remote points, scoped
nodes of a remote point will follow the initial condition of the rigid part. If the flexible scoped nodes
of the Remote Point contain their own initial condition, it will be ignored.
Nodal Force and Nodal Displacement. These boundary conditions are now available for Explicit Dynamics
analyses, and named selections are now supported via nodal picking from the Mesh view.
Remote Displacement. To account for the forces acting on the group of nodes scoped to a remote
point, the translation and rotation of the remote point and scoped nodes are determined simultaneously
and are enforced with the use of a single corrective force and moment.
Alpha Plastic Compaction Curve. Alpha Plastic is a new option available for the Compaction curve of
the P-alpha Equation of State model.
Body Grounded Springs. Body grounded springs are now supported.
Results Enhancements
Artificial Bulk Viscosity. Artificial Bulk Viscosity is available by default for shell elements. This enhances
the robustness of shell elements, especially in long duration, quasi-static type loading.
The initialization time for large models has been dramatically improved.
Changes in product behavior compared to previous releases are outlined in the Autodyn Release
Notes (p. 39). Typically, for ANSYS Explicit STR customers, you are advised to rerun models starting from
time = 0.0 in order to take advantage of new enhancements in the Explicit solver. For backward com-
patibility, you are allowed to restart analyses at non-zero times.
1.16. Results Enhancements

The following results enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Specifying Options - Results. The Options preference feature has a new category called Results. This
category enables you to change the default behavior of the Calculate Time History property as well as
control if you automatically rename results when changing the result Type.
Result Set Listing. When you select the Solution object following the solution process, the Tabular Data
window now displays a listing of multiple result sets. This is a default feature for Static Structural, Transient
Structural, and Thermal analyses. In the event your analysis has specified a Nonlinear Adaptive Region
condition, the Tabular Data window also labels the moments during the solution that mesh regeneration
took place. Additionally, the table enables you to select a result set and create Total Deformation and
Equivalent Stress results if applicable, for that set.
Thermal Flow Results. Mechanical now provides thermal flow results when you are performing a thermal
fluid flow analysis.
Participation Factor Summary. The Solution Output property of the Solution Information object has a
new option: Participation Factor Summary. The summary, calculated from a Modal analysis, provides in-
formation on the adequacy of requested modes and dominant modes for Mode Superposition in follow-on
analyses.
Bolt Tool. A new result tool, Bolt Tool is available for use with Bolt Pretension loading conditions.
Section Results for Beam-based Line Bodies. For structural analyses, the application can now display
section-based displacement, strain, and stress results for beam-based line bodies.
User Defined Results. Harmonic Response analyses now support User Defined Results. In addition, you can
also parameterize the result's requested frequency.
Directional Acceleration. The Directional Acceleration result is now supported for Response Spectrum
Analyses when the Missing Mass Effect property is set to Yes. The Directional Velocity result is also now
calculated, but it does not account for the Missing Mass Effect.
Campbell Diagram Chart Results. When adding a Campbell Diagram result object, the Y Axis Data
property now provides Modal Damping Ratio as an option.
Velocity and Acceleration Results in MSUP Transient Structural Analyses. Total Velocity, Directional
Velocity, Total Acceleration, and Directional Acceleration results are now available for Mode-Superposition
Transient Analyses.
Spring Probe Result. The structural probe for springs now supports Modal, Harmonic Response, Random
Vibration, and Response Spectrum analyses.
Frequency Response. A new property, Chart Viewing Style, is now available in the Options category for
the Frequency Response result type. This property enables you plot your result based on the scale of an
axis.
User Defined Result Expressions. You can now use result data as an exponent value when defining an
expression for a User Defined Result using the Power operation. For example, you can calculate Engineering
Strain from True Strain (a solved strain result) through the equation: EngineeringStrain =
e^TrueStrain - 1.
Chapter 2: Mechanical APDL Release Notes
Release 16.0 of the Mechanical APDL application offers most of the capabilities from prior releases plus
many new features and enhancements. Areas where you will find changes and new capabilities include
the following:
Structural (p. 15)
Coupled Physics (p. 24)
Solvers (p. 26)
Results File (p. 27)
Commands (p. 27)
Elements (p. 31)
Other (p. 33)
Documentation (p. 33)
Also see Known Incompatibilities (p. 35) and the ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xi) for important information
about this release.
2.1. Structural
Release 16.0 includes the new features and enhancements for the following structural analysis disciplines:
2.1.1. Contact
2.1.2. Elements and Nonlinear Technology
2.1.3. Material and Fracture Modeling
2.1.4. Linear Dynamics
2.1.1. Contact
Release 16.0 includes the following enhancements for structural analyses involving contact:
2.1.1.1. Contact Robustness
2.1.1.2. General Contact
2.1.1.3. Contact Surface Wear Enhancements
2.1.1.4. Debonding Enhancements
2.1.1.1. Contact Robustness

Significant improvements have been made for contact analysis:
2.1.1.1.1. New Adaptive Scheme and Default Values for Normal Contact Stiffness
2.1.1.1.2. Contact Stabilization Damping Enhancements
2.1.1.1.3. Improved Interference Fit Modeling
2.1.1.1.4. Enhanced Initial Interface Adjustment
Mechanical APDL
2.1.1.1.5. Enhanced Contact Results Tracking
2.1.1.1.1. New Adaptive Scheme and Default Values for Normal Contact Stiffness
The adaptive scheme for evaluating normal contact stiffness has been enhanced so that lower contact
stiffness values are used, resulting in better convergence behavior while keeping contact penetration
at acceptable levels. The reductions in the contact stiffness associated with the penalty and augmented
Lagrange methods result in improved convergence without degrading solution accuracy.
Contact analyses that most benefit from these enhancements include models with nearly or fully incom-
pressible materials, and models having shells, beams, or thinly-layered solid elements with bending-
dominated deformations. Now, many contact models solve with default settings or in fewer iterations
as compared to previous releases.
2.1.1.1.2. Contact Stabilization Damping Enhancements

Contact stabilization damping is used in contact analyses to prevent rigid body motion and improve
convergence. The following enhancements make this tool even more robust in this release.
Enhanced Contact Stabilization Scheme Prior to this release, automatic contact damping was activ-
ated based on the contact status of the entire contact pair in the previous substep. Now, automatic
damping is activated based on the contact status of the current iteration, and damping is deactivated
if any contact detection point has a closed status. In addition, the default damping coefficient has been
reduced, minimizing the risk of degraded accuracy while still providing effective stabilization.
Improved Stabilization for Sliding Contact A new option applies the tangential stabilization
damping for sliding contact unless the contact status is sticking. It is activated when KEYOPT(15) = 2
or 3 for the contact elements and the tangential stabilization damping factor (real constant FDMT) is
explicitly specified. This option can help to prevent rigid body motion due to larger sliding for no-sep-
aration contact definitions.
Additional Output Quantities The program now outputs contact stabilization energy, strain energy
due to contact constraint, and frictional dissipation energy via the NLHIST and NLDIAG commands.
This allows you to monitor the stabilization energy to determine whether or not it is excessive.
2.1.1.1.3. Improved Interference Fit Modeling

By default, the ramping option (KEYOPT(9) = 2 or 4 on contact elements) resolves initial penetrations
following the contact surface normal direction. This methods is suited for most applications. However,
when the contact and/or target surfaces are not smooth, the contact normal direction varies across the
interface which may lead to locking of the press fit.
A new method for interference fit modeling enables you to specify a user-defined shifting direction via
the SECTYPE and SECDATA commands. The program automatically ramps the initial penetration down
to zero over time along the user-defined shifting direction. In certain applications, such as contact
simulations of threaded connectors, shifting the surfaces in a specified direction is more effective than
simply following the original contact normal. For more information, see Modeling Interference Fit in
the Contact Technology Guide.
2.1.1.1.4. Enhanced Initial Interface Adjustment

Contact nodes can be physically moved towards the target surface by using the CNCHECK,ADJUST
command. An interference fit distance or initial gap distance (IOFF) can now be specified on this
command to control the stress-free adjustment. This enables you to adjust the contact nodes within a
Structural
specified range directly onto the target surface (default), or to a specified initial interference distance
or initial gap distance. This feature is useful when the initial interference or gap implied by the mesh
geometry differs from the desired distance. The interference fit is then resolved based on the user-
specified distance.
In previous releases, there was no way to visualize the adjustment made by CNCHECK,ADJUST. Now,
the initial adjustment is converted to structural displacements (UX, UY, UZ) and stored in the Job-
name.RCN file after the command is issued. This enables you to plot and list nodal adjustment vectors
or a contour plot of the adjustment magnitudes via the displacement values.
2.1.1.1.5. Enhanced Contact Results Tracking

When contact results are tracked (Key = PAIR or GCN on the NLHIST command), the user-specified
name (Name argument) is now automatically used to create a user-defined parameter. You can then
monitor and utilization the parameter during solution. For example, you can use a named parameter
to easily convert the contact stiffness units from FORCE/LENGTH3 to FORCE/LENGTH based on the initial
contact area.
You can now set parameters on the NLHIST command to automatically terminate the solution when
a desired value for a contact tracking variable has been reached (for example, when contact pressure
reaches a critical value).
2.1.1.2. General Contact

The new general contact feature offers automated contact definition and creation. General contact
greatly simplifies the contact specification process and requires minimal user input compared to the
existing pair-based contact definition.
The new GCGEN command automatically creates all required contact surfaces for the general contact
definition. The program overlays surface contact elements (CONTA172, CONTA174) on the exterior surfaces
of deformable bodies and 3-D line contact elements (CONTA177) on feature edges of 3-D deformable
bodies and perimeter edges of shell structures. Lower-order contact elements (CONTA171, CONTA173)
and target elements (TARGE169, TARGE170) overlaid on rigid bodies may also be part of the general
contact definition.
The GCGEN command automatically assigns section IDs and element type IDs for each general contact
surface. As a result, each general contact surface consists of contact or target elements that are easily
identified by a unique section ID number. The real constant ID and material ID are always set to zero
for contact and target elements in the general contact definition.
The program looks for contact interaction among all surfaces and within each surface. You can further
control contact interactions between specific surfaces that could potentially be in contact by using the
GCDEF command. The material ID and real constant ID input on GCDEF identify interface properties
(defined by MP or TB commands) and contact control parameters (defined by the R command) for a
specific contact interaction.
Most of the contact algorithms and options are still defined via contact element key options, with two
exceptions:
The interface behavior is defined via a TBOPT label on the TB,INTER command (instead of KEYOPT(12)).
The interface treatment of initial penetration or gap is replaced by C1 of the TBDATA command in
conjunction with TB,INTER (instead of KEYOPT(9)).
Mechanical APDL
The section ID plays an important role in the general contact framework. In general, the section numbers
and contact element type numbers are assigned by the GCGEN command and are not known ahead
of time. New function calls (CMTOSEC, ELMTOSEC, NDTOSEC, CMTOTYP, ELMTOTYP, NDTOTYP) enable
you to easily retrieve the section ID and element type ID of a surface based on a node component, an
underlying element number, or an exterior node of the surface.
General contact can be defined simultaneously with pair-based contact. The general contact definition
automatically excludes contact interactions that overlap pair-based contact regions.
For more information about the features and advantages of general contact, see Comparison of Pair-
Based Contact and General Contact in the Contact Technology Guide.
2.1.1.3. Contact Surface Wear Enhancements

Contact Surface Wear Based on Nodal Stresses The Archard contact surface wear model now has
an option to use the stress of the solid element underneath the contact element for calculating wear.
Instead of contact pressure, the traction calculated from the nodal stresses and the contact normal
direction is used in the wear calculation. This option is beneficial in cases where contact pressure changes
abruptly (for example, symmetric contact with very dissimilar meshes). See Including Wear in a Contact
Analysis in the Contact Technology Guide for more information.
Contact Area Averaged Wear The Archard contact surface wear model now has an option to average
the wear increment over the contact area for each contact pair undergoing wear. This enables you to
obtain a uniform wear increment for all elements undergoing wear in a contact pair. See Including Wear
in a Contact Analysis in the Contact Technology Guide for more information.
Wear-Based Criterion for Mesh Nonlinear Adaptivity Mesh nonlinear adaptivity now has an option
to trigger adaptivity based on surface wear. When the magnitude of wear at a contact element increases
more than an amount defined by the user-specified criterion, mesh nonlinear adaptivity is triggered
and the mesh is improved by mesh morphing. This enables you to simulate large amounts of wear
without introducing mesh distortions. See Improving Mesh Quality During Wear in the Contact Technology
Guide for more information.
2.1.1.4. Debonding Enhancements

Additional CZM Models for Contact Debonding Cohesive zone material (CZM) models with bilinear
and exponential traction separation laws (TB,CZM with TBOPT = BILI and EXPO) that were only available
for interface elements in previous releases can now be used with contact elements as well. The availab-
ility of these models, along with the previously implemented bilinear debonding model, gives you more
flexibility in modeling debonding in a contact analysis. For details, see Debonding in the Contact Tech-
nology Guide.
Normal Stiffness for Open Contact During Debonding When using contact elements to model
debonding (TB,CZM,,,CBDD or TB,CZM,,,CBDE), you can now specify the contact normal stiffness for
opening contact (gap condition) by inputting real constant FKOP for the contact elements. If FKOP is
not specified, the normal contact stiffness determined by real constant FKN is used for both opening
(gap) and closing (penetration) contact during debonding.
Healing of Cohesive Zone Materials after Debonding For the cohesive zone materials with bilinear
material behavior (TBOPT = CBDD, CBDE or BILI on the TB command), you can specify that the cohesive
zone interface be healed if the surfaces come into contact again after debonding, and you can specify
the material properties for multiple healing cycles. For more information, see Post-Debonding Behavior
of Cohesive Zone Material in the Contact Technology Guide.
Structural
2.1.2. Elements and Nonlinear Technology

Release 16.0 includes the following enhancements to elements and nonlinear technology used in
structural analyses:
2.1.2.1. Structural Infinite Solid
2.1.2.2. Steady State Analysis
2.1.2.3. Noncircular and Tapered Pipes
2.1.2.4. Improved Convergence for Nonlinear Analysis
2.1.2.5. General Remeshing for Mesh Nonlinear Adaptivity
2.1.2.6. Rezoning
2.1.2.1. Structural Infinite Solid

Use the new INFIN257 structural infinite solid element with standard 2-D or 3-D solid elements (the
base elements) to model infinite domain in a static analysis. A single layer of elements represents an
exterior subdomain of infinite domain; the layer models the effect of far-field decay in structural analyses.
Use base elements to model the near-field domain that interacts with the solid structures or applied
loads.
Create INFIN257 elements from the selected nodes on base elements via the EINFIN command; the
command determines the stress state and material properties according to the base element. Only linear
elastic material properties (except density) are transferred to INFIN257. The real constant of the thickness
input for a 2-D plane stress element (KEYOPT(3) = 3) is copied to the INFIN257 element.
Valid base elements are: PLANE182, PLANE183, SOLID185, SOLID186, SOLID187.
2.1.2.2. Steady State Analysis

It is now possible to define a steady state analysis. Data types supported include a steady-state spinning
motion, and a rigid-body motion (velocity) that the spinning component is undergoing. For more in-
formation, including supported element types, see the description for the SSTATE command. For in-
formation about steady-state rolling for rebar and solid elements, see Steady State Rolling in the
Mechanical APDL Theory Reference.
2.1.2.3. Noncircular and Tapered Pipes

Using a generalized-tube form of the ELBOW290 element, you can now define noncircular and tapered
pipes. The new element form can be used to model thin- to moderately thick-walled tubular structures
with arbitrary cross sections, and the pipe wall can be either homogenous or a layered composite. For
more information, see Defining a Tapered Beam or Pipe and Defining a Noncircular Pipe in the Structural
Analysis Guide.
2.1.2.4. Improved Convergence for Nonlinear Analysis

The following enhancements have been made to improve the convergence for nonlinear analyses:
The CNVTOL command behavior has been enhanced.
Displacement convergence checking is enabled by default when contact elements are present in the
model.
Mechanical APDL
2.1.2.5. General Remeshing for Mesh Nonlinear Adaptivity

General remeshing using a new mesh-quality-based criterion is now available for the mesh nonlinear
adaptivity process. Unlike other remeshing methods, general remeshing removes mesh-distortion
problems and can repair local highly distorted elements. This method for generating a new mesh is
defined for current-technology structural 3-D solid element SOLID285, a linear tetrahedral element.
Mesh quality is defined by skewness, a threshold value that the program uses for detecting elements
to remesh. For more information, see Mesh Nonlinear Adaptivity in the Advanced Analysis Guide.
2.1.2.6. Rezoning
The following enhancements have been added for analyses using rezoning:
2.1.2.6.1. Projection-Based Contact Support
2.1.2.6.2. Fluid-Penetration Loading
2.1.2.6.3. Single Results File for Multiple Rezonings
2.1.2.6.1. Projection-Based Contact Support

Rezoning now supports projection-based contact for smoother contact results and better convergence
for a large class of problems. The usual caveats for using projection-based contact apply to rezoning
as well; also, using projection-based contact when rezoning sharp edges/corners with existing penetration
can cause convergence difficulties during mapping to the new mesh. For more information, see Using
the Surface Projection Based Contact Method (KEYOPT(4) = 3) in the Contact Technology Guide and
Rezoning in the Advanced Analysis Guide.
2.1.2.6.2. Fluid-Penetration Loading

Rezoning now supports fluid-penetration loads applied (SF or SFE) to contact elements (CONTA171,
CONTA172, CONTA173, and CONTA174). The new capability enables realistic sealing problems to be
solved via rezoning. When applying fluid-penetration loads in an analysis using rezoning, ensure that
very large refinements do not occur near the penetration points. For more information, see Applying
Fluid Pressure-Penetration Loads in the Contact Technology Guide and Rezoning in the Advanced Analysis
Guide.
2.1.2.6.3. Single Results File for Multiple Rezonings

When multiple rezoning operations occur in the same domain during the same analysis, each creates
a different finite element model. To make restarting and rezoning from any substep possible, the program
saves the .rdb database files for the initial model and for each rezoned model. In prior releases, the
program likewise created multiple results files. Now, however, only one .rst result file is created for
postprocessing. Single result file support also applies to mesh nonlinear adaptivity.
2.1.3. Material and Fracture Modeling

Release 16.0 includes the following enhancements to material modeling and fracture analysis technology
used in structural analyses:
2.1.3.1. Static Recovery
2.1.3.2. Separated Hill Potentials for Plasticity and Creep
2.1.3.3. Dissipation for Viscoelasticity
2.1.3.4. Chaboche Nonlinear Kinematic Hardening
2.1.3.5. Rayleigh Material Damping
2.1.3.6. Improved Fracture Parameter Calculation
2.1.3.7. XFEM-Based Crack-Growth Simulation
Structural
2.1.3.8. C*-integral Calculation

2.1.3.9. Material Force Calculation for Elastomers
Some material properties are not available via the material property menus of the GUI. For a list of such
material properties, see GUI-Inaccessible Material Properties in the Material Reference.
2.1.3.1. Static Recovery

For the plasticity material model (TB,PLASTIC), static recovery (also known as thermal recovery) is now
available for isotropic yield stress and kinematic hardening. For isotropic yield stress, static recovery is
dependent on time, temperature and the current yield stress. For kinematic hardening, static recovery
is included in the Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening model by modifying the evolution of the
back stress tensor components. Static recovery can be used with the combined creep and Chaboche
nonlinear hardening material. For more information, see Rate-Independent Plasticity in the Material
Reference.
2.1.3.2. Separated Hill Potentials for Plasticity and Creep

For the material combination of Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening with implicit creep, it is now
possible to define separated Hill potentials for the plastic yielding and the creep flow. For more inform-
ation, see Hill Yield Criterion in the Material Reference.
2.1.3.3. Dissipation for Viscoelasticity

Output of the material dissipation for hyperviscoelastic materials has been added. For a physical inter-
pretation of the Prony series formulation, the dissipated energy in a viscoelastic material is the energy
used to deform the dashpots in the Maxwell elements. For more information, see Viscoelastic Formulation
in the Material Reference.
2.1.3.4. Chaboche Nonlinear Kinematic Hardening

The Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening with implicit creep material model, which can include
combinations with isotropic hardening and the Hill yield surface, now includes orthotropic or anisotropic
elastic behavior. Materials can now be modeled that exhibit anisotropic elastic behavior in addition to
isotropic or anisotropic plasticity and creep. For more information, see Nonlinear Kinematic Hardening
in the Material Reference.
2.1.3.5. Rayleigh Material Damping

Mass-proportional (TB,SDAMP,,,,ALPD) and stiffness-proportional (TB,SDAMP,,,,BETD) Rayleigh damping
can now be defined for section materials in multi-material elements. Both forms of damping also support
field-variable dependence. For more information, see TB,SDAMP in the Command Reference.
2.1.3.6. Improved Fracture Parameter Calculation

The unstructured mesh method (UMM) is now available to improve the accuracy of certain fracture
parameter calculations in three-dimensional cases where unstructured hexahedral meshes and tetrahedral
meshes are used. The accuracy of the resulting parameters is generally comparable to that of parameters
evaluated using structured hexahedral meshes. For more information, see Unstructured Mesh Method
(UMM) in the Fracture Analysis Guide.
Mechanical APDL
2.1.3.7. XFEM-Based Crack-Growth Simulation

Crack-growth simulation based on the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) is now available. The
XFEM-based technique simulates crack growth along an arbitrary path in linear elastic homogeneous
materials. The new capability provides a good engineering approach to crack-growth simulation and
eliminates the necessity of remeshing crack-tip regions. For more information, see XFEM-Based Crack-
Growth Simulation in the Fracture Analysis Guide.
2.1.3.8. C*-integral Calculation

In fracture analysis, C*-integral characterizes the crack-tip stress and deformation fields in a homogenous
material undergoing a secondary (steady-state) creeping deformation, just as J-integral does for isotropic
materials. C*-integral is used as a material parameter to study crack-growth rates in creep materials.
For more information, see Numerical Evaluation of Fracture Mechanics Parameters in the Fracture Ana-
lysis Guide.
2.1.3.9. Material Force Calculation for Elastomers

The material force method for fracture parameter calculation determines the vectorial force-like
quantities conjugated to the configurational change; that is, the method evaluates the material node
point forces corresponding to the Eshelby stress and the material body forces. Support for hyperelastic
materials has been added at this release. For more information, see Material Force Calculation in the
Fracture Analysis Guide.
2.1.4. Linear Dynamics

Release 16.0 includes the following enhancements for structural analyses involving linear dynamics:
2.1.4.1. DDAM Spectrum Analysis
2.1.4.2. Missing Mass for Acceleration
2.1.4.3. Structural Damping in Modal Analysis
2.1.4.4. User-Defined Forcing Frequencies in Harmonic Analysis
2.1.4.5. Velocities and Accelerations in Mode-Superposition Transient Analyses
2.1.4.6. Substructure Analysis and Component Mode Synthesis (CMS) Enhancements
2.1.4.7. Linear Perturbation Campbell Analysis
2.1.4.8. Unsymmetric Eigensolver Output and Modal Based Analyses
2.1.4.9. Mistuning Effects in Mode-Superposition Harmonic Analysis of Cyclic Structures
2.1.4.10. Mode-Superposition Analysis for Piezoelectric Applications
2.1.4.11. Composite Elements in Cyclic Symmetry Analyses
2.1.4.1. DDAM Spectrum Analysis

The new DDASPEC command is available for defining the shock spectrum calculation constants for
DDAM analysis, and a new solution entity for *GET (Entity = DDAM) is available for retrieving the
shock design value in a DDAM analysis during postprocessing. For more information, see Performing a
DDAM Spectrum Analysis in the Structural Analysis Guide.
2.1.4.2. Missing Mass for Acceleration

In single-point response spectrum analyses (SPRS) or multi-point response spectrum analyses (MPRS),
missing mass is now supported for obtaining the absolute acceleration solution. For more information,
see Performing a Single-Point Response Spectrum (SPRS) Analysis and Performing a Multi-Point Response
Spectrum (MPRS) Analysis in the Structural Analysis Guide.
Structural
2.1.4.3. Structural Damping in Modal Analysis

In damped modal analyses (MODOPT,QRDAMP or MODOPT,DAMP) and unsymmetric modal analyses
(MODOPT,UNSYM), structural damping is now taken into account. Structural damping can be constant
(DMPSTR), material-based (MP,DMPR), or defined using a spring-damper element (COMBIN14) with
complex stiffness. In damped modal analyses, mixed viscous and structural damping is also supported.
2.1.4.4. User-Defined Forcing Frequencies in Harmonic Analysis

In mode-superposition and full harmonic analyses, forcing frequencies can now be input directly via
an array parameter (HARFRQ), useful when more points are needed in a frequency sub-range. For full
harmonic analyses, forcing frequencies clustered around the natural frequencies can be generated
(*VFILL) and used.
2.1.4.5. Velocities and Accelerations in Mode-Superposition Transient Analyses

Velocities and accelerations in mode-superposition transient analyses can now be output in the Job-
name.RDSP file (VAout = YES on the TRNOPT command). The new capability enables postprocessing
of those values and derived results (damping, inertia, or total element nodal forces, reaction forces,
etc.). For more information, see Review the Results of the Expanded Solution in the Structural Analysis
Guide.
2.1.4.6. Substructure Analysis and Component Mode Synthesis (CMS) Enhancements

Velocities and Accelerations in CMS and Substructure Analyses The real and imaginary parts of
the reduced solution in a harmonic analysis, and the reduced velocities and accelerations in a transient
analysis, can now be output in the Jobname.DSUB file during the CMS use pass (DSUBres = ALL on
the OUTRES command). The new capability enables quantities requiring nodal velocities and accelerations
(damping force, inertial force, kinetic energy, etc.) to be calculated in the CMS expansion pass. For more
information, see Step 3: Expansion Pass in the Substructuring Analysis Guide.
Restart of a Substructure or CMS Generation Pass Multiple superelement load vectors can now be
calculated when restarting a CMS generation pass (ANTYPE,SUBSTR,RESTART). Performance has been
improved for substructure generation pass. For more information, see Applying Loads and Creating the
Superelement Matrices and The CMS Generation Pass: Creating the Superelement in the Substructuring
Analysis Guide.
Residual Vector in a CMS Generation Pass The CMS generation pass now supports residual vector
calculation (RESVEC) to enrich the modal basis used in the transformation matrix. The new capability
is supported for the three available CMS methods. For more information, see Residual Vector Method
in the Mechanical APDL Theory Reference.
Linear Perturbation Substructure and CMS Analyses The linear perturbation procedure now supports
substructure and CMS analyses involving the generation pass (PERTURB,SUBSTR). See General Procedure
for Linear Perturbation Analysis for more information.
AVL EXCITE Interface You can now directly generate a body property input file (file.EXB) for use
in the AVL EXCITE product. The .EXB file is generated in the CMS generation pass. For more information,
see Appendix B in the Substructuring Analysis Guide. The .EXB file can also be generated via an APDL
macro method, accessible via the AVL EXCITE product.
Mechanical APDL
2.1.4.7. Linear Perturbation Campbell Analysis

Campbell analyses involving linear perturbation can now be performed. For more information, see
Solving for a Subsequent Campbell Analysis of a Prestressed Structure Using the Linear Perturbation
Procedure and Example: Campbell Diagram Analysis of a Prestressed Structure Using the Linear Perturb-
ation Procedure in the Rotordynamic Analysis Guide.
2.1.4.8. Unsymmetric Eigensolver Output and Modal Based Analyses

By default, the complex eigenmode output is set to AUTO (Cpxmod on the MODOPT command) for
the unsymmetric eigensolver (MODOPT,UNSYM). Tthe type of eigensolutions (real or complex) printed
and stored is therefore determined automatically. This behavior is useful for fluid structure interaction
(FSI) problems where eigensolutions are real.
If eigensolutions are real, mode-superposition harmonic (HROPT,MSUP), single point response spectrum
(SPOPT,SPRS), and power spectral density (SPOPT,PSD) analyses are supported. For more information,
see Spectrum Analysis in the Acoustic Analysis Guide.
2.1.4.9. Mistuning Effects in Mode-Superposition Harmonic Analysis of Cyclic Structures

Mode-superposition harmonic analysis of cyclic structures has been enhanced to include mistuning effects.
Also, postprocessing has been extended to extract the maximum displacements, stresses, and strains
for the mistuned system. For more information, see Including Mistuning Effects in the Cyclic Symmetry
Analysis Guide.
2.1.4.10. Mode-Superposition Analysis for Piezoelectric Applications

Mode-superposition transient and harmonic analyses are now supported for piezoelectric applications.
For volt excitation, the enforced-motion procedure is used. For more information, see Example: Mode-
Superposition Piezoelectric Analysis in the Coupled-Field Analysis Guide.
2.1.4.11. Composite Elements in Cyclic Symmetry Analyses

Cyclic symmetry analysis now supports layered composite elements, including postprocessing by layer.
2.2. Coupled Physics

Release 16.0 includes the following enhancements for structural analyses involving coupled physics:
2.2.1. Acoustics
2.2.2.Thermal
2.2.3. Coupled-Field
2.2.1. Acoustics
Random Acoustics A new capability is available for using diffuse sound field excitation with plane
wave physical samplings. For more information, see Random Excitation with Diffuse Sound Field in the
Acoustic Analysis Guide, and Random Acoustics in the Mechanical APDL Theory Reference.
Loads and Boundary Conditions A new label (MASS) is available for nodal body force loading (BF)
for mass source (or mass source rate) with frequency- or time-dependency. (The JS label for defining
mass source has been removed.)
Coupled Physics
Analysis Efficient one-way Fluent-to-Mechanical APDL pressure mapping with multiple-frequency

solutions has been added for harmonic analysis of cabin noise (FLUREAD). Also added is efficient one-
way vibroacoustic coupling with multiple frequencies or time steps for nonconforming FSI interface
mesh (ASIFILE). The morphing process has been improved and made more efficient for acoustic linear
perturbation solutions (via KEYOPT(5) = 1 in supported acoustic elements).
Postprocessing Transmission loss can be calculated for diffuse sound field excitation. Acoustic
quantities on selected surfaces can now be calculated; the quantities include acoustic specific impedance,
acoustic impedance, mechanical impedance, pressure, force and sound power. The sound pressure
levels (SPL) of a specified octave band can now be obtained (PRAS,PRES). The acoustic near- and far-
field parameters can be calculated (PRNEAR, PLNEAR, PRFAR, or PLFAR) for the full 3-D model or the
2-D rotated extrusion model; the axisymmetric model is simulated via a slice of the 3-D model with
rotation. Deformation on the free surface is viewable when pressure is displayed.
Structural-Acoustic Perfectly matched layers (PML) can now be used to absorb harmonic elastic
waves in 3-D structural solid elements (SOLID185, SOLID186, and SOLID187 with KEYOPT(15) = 1). For
more information, see Perfectly Matched Layers (PML) in Elastic Media in the Mechanical APDL Theory
Reference.
2.2.2. Thermal
User-Defined Thermal Materials User-defined thermal material models are now available. The new
capability uses the UserMatTh subroutine and SOLID278/SOLID279 elements. For more information,
see User-Defined Thermal Material Model (UserMatTh) in the Material Reference.
Enhanced Solution Accuracy for Layered Thermal Solid Elements The layered forms of the SOLID278
and SOLID279 thermal solid elements have a new through-the-thickness option for degrees of freedom
(KEYOPT(3) = 2). The option works by creating a specified number of material layers (defined via the
SECDATA command) per interpolation layer (KEYOPT(6) = n). Each interpolation layer has four internal
nodes, one on each face. Actual midside nodes (SOLID279 only) on the material layers are ignored.
KEYOPT(3) = 2 offers greater solution accuracy than KEYOPT(3) = 1 (standard layered thermal solid) but
is more computationally intensive; the more material layers specified per interpolation layer, the
greater the accuracy and computational cost.
Radiosity Solver A relative tolerance is now available for the radiosity solver, allowing a solution that
is less sensitive to the units used. For more information, see the description of the RADOPT command.
2.2.3. Coupled-Field
The following enhancements have been added to coupled-field solid elements PLANE223, SOLID226
and SOLID227:
Hyperelastic material support
Element birth and death
Mixed u-P formulation (via KEYOPT(11))
Stress-stiffening always included with large deflection (NLGEOM,ON) for coupled-field analyses with struc-
tural degrees of freedom.
Optimized nonlinear solution defaults (based on the former SOLCONTROL command defaults) always applied
for coupled-field analyses with structural degrees of freedom.
Mechanical APDL
For more information, see the documentation for the coupled-field solid elements.
2.3. Solvers
Release 16.0 includes the following new enhancements that improve solution procedures and features:
2.3.1. Sparse Solver Enhancements
2.3.2. Distributed ANSYS Enhancements
2.3.3. GPU Acceleration Enhancements
2.3.4. Other Solver Changes and Enhancements
2.3.1. Sparse Solver Enhancements

The memory allocation options for the sparse solver have been simplified. The minimum out-of-core
memory mode has been removed. The optimal out-of-core memory mode is now the only available
out-of-core memory mode and is labeled as such. For more information, see the BCSOPTION command.
2.3.2. Distributed ANSYS Enhancements

The following enhancements are available for Distributed ANSYS:
The domain decomposition step has been improved to achieve better performance and scaling, partic-
ularly at higher core counts.
Mode-superposition harmonic analysis (HROPT,MSUP) and mode-superposition transient analysis

(TRNOPT,MSUP) are now fully supported and use distributed-memory parallelism throughout the
solution.
Support is now available for the QR Damp eigenvalue extraction method in modal analyses (MOD-
OPT,QRDAMP).
Support is now available for inertia relief calculations (IRLF,1).
File name reassignment (/ASSIGN) can now be controlled separately for local and global files in a Dis-
tributed ANSYS run.
2.3.3. GPU Acceleration Enhancements

The following enhancements are available for the GPU Accelerator capability:
The NVIDIA GPU driver requirements have been updated. Refer to your ANSYS, Inc. Installation Guide for
platform-specific driver versions.
GPU acceleration using Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors is now supported for Windows platforms.
GPU acceleration using Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors is now supported in Distributed ANSYS.
2.3.4. Other Solver Changes and Enhancements

Default Workspace For 64-bit platforms, the default workspace (-m on the command line) has been
increased to 2048 MB, and the portion of the workspace allocated for the database (-db on the command
line) has been increased to 1024 MB.
Intel 14.0 Compiler On Windows systems, the Intel 14.0 compiler is now used for compiling C/C++
code instead of the Microsoft Visual C compiler.
Commands
2.4. Results File

The following enhancements to the results file (Jobname.RST, Jobname.RTH, and so on) appear in
Release 16.0:
RAPPND and RESWRITE can now write spectrum results obtained via /INPUT,,MCOM and SUMTYPE,PRIN
to the modal results file.
2.5. Commands
This section describes changes to commands at Release 16.0.
Some commands are not accessible from menus and are available via the command input area or batch
file input only. The documentation for each command indicates whether or not a menu path is available
for that command operation.
2.5.1. New Commands
2.5.2. Modified Commands
2.5.3. Undocumented Commands
2.5.1. New Commands

The following new commands are available:
ANPRES -- Produces an animated sequence of the time-harmonic pressure variation of an engine-order

excitation in a cyclic harmonic analysis.
CYCCALC -- Calculates results from a cyclic harmonic mode-superposition analysis using the specifications
defined by CYCSPEC.
CYCSPEC -- Defines the set of result items for a subsequent CYCCALC command in postprocessing a cyclic
harmonic mode-superposition analysis.
DDASPEC -- Specifies the shock spectrum constants for DDAM analysis.
DFSWAVE -- Specifies the incident planar waves with random phases for a diffuse sound field.
EINFIN -- Generates structural infinite elements (INFIN257) from selected nodes.
FLUREAD -- Reads one-way Fluent-to-Mechanical APDL coupling data via a .cgns file with one-side fast
Fourier transformation complex pressure peak value.
GCDEF -- Defines interface interactions between general contact surfaces.
GCGEN -- Creates contact elements for general contact.
MSOLVE -- Starts multiple solutions for random acoustics analysis with diffuse sound field.
NLMESH -- Controls mesh-quality adjustments for the general remeshing method in mesh nonlinear ad-
aptivity.
PLCFREQ -- Plots the frequency response for the given CYCSPEC specification.
PLCHIST -- Plots a histogram of the frequency response of each sector for the given CYCSPEC specification.
PLMC -- Plots the modal coordinates from a mode-superposition solution.
Mechanical APDL
PLZZ -- Plots the interference diagram from a cyclic modal analysis.
PRAS -- Calculates a specified acoustic quantity on the selected exterior surface or the frequency-band
sound pressure level (SPL).
PRSCONTROL -- Specifies whether to include pressure load stiffness in the element stiffness formation.
SSTATE -- Defines a steady-state analysis.
XFDATA -- Defines a crack in the model by specifying nodal level set values. Used in an XFEM-based crack-
growth analysis.
XFENRICH -- Defines parameters associated with crack propagation in an XFEM-based crack-growth analysis.
XFLIST -- Lists enrichment details and associated crack information. Used in an XFEM-based crack-growth
analysis.
2.5.2. Modified Commands

The following commands have been enhanced or otherwise modified:
ASIFILE -- Writes or reads one-way acoustic-structural coupling data. The command can now map structural
results to the acoustic model.
/ASSIGN -- Reassigns a file name to an ANSYS file identifier. The new LGkey argument controls file name
reassignment for local and global files in a Distributed ANSYS run.
BCSOPTION -- Sets memory option for the sparse solver. The MINIMUM memory option has been undocu-
mented, and the OPTIMAL memory option has been renamed OUTOFCORE.
BF Defines a nodal body force load. Body load label JS has been changed to MASS. Table names are now
valid inputs when specifying mass sources or mass source rates (MASS body load label) for acoustics.
CINT -- Defines parameters associated with fracture parameter calculations. An option has been added to
support C*-integral calculation. An option has been added to support the unstructured mesh method (UMM)
to improve the accuracy of certain types of fracture parameter calculation. Options have been added to
support XFEM-based crack-growth analysis.
CGROW -- Defines crack-growth information. The command now supports XFEM-based crack-growth ana-
lysis.
CMSOPT -- Specifies component mode synthesis (CMS) analysis options. The command now has an option
to write a body property input file (file.EXB) for use with the AVL EXCITE program.
CNCHECK -- Provides and/or adjusts the initial status of contact pairs. This command has new options to
support general contact definitions. In addition, three new arguments (CGAP, CPEN, IOFF) offer more
precise control of contact node locations when an initial adjustment (Option = ADJUST) is made.
CNVTOL -- Sets convergence values for nonlinear analyses. Two new convergence labels are available: Lab
= JOINT to specify a tolerance for joint element constraint checking, and Lab = COMP to specify a tolerance
for volumetric compatibility checking. The command behavior has been enhanced so that each convergence
criterion can be set independently; defining a criterion no longer affects the other criteria. A new option
enables you to remove a convergence criterion.
Commands
CUTCONTROL -- Controls time step cutback during a nonlinear solution. The default number of points in a
cycle for a second order dynamic equation (Lab = NPOINT) has changed to 13 for linear analysis and 5 for
nonlinear analysis. The program behavior for the creep ratio limit has also changed; now the solution issues
a warning and continues if the creep ratio limit is exceeded.
CYCFREQ -- Specifies solution options for a cyclic symmetry mode-superposition harmonic analysis. New
options for mistuning analyses include: AERO, BLADE, MIST, and RESTART.
DFSWAVE -- Specifies the incident planar waves with random phases for the diffuse sound field.
*DMAT -- Creates a dense matrix. The command supports the following new functions: importing records
from a .TCMS file; importing the real and imaginary parts of the stiffness matrix separately from a .FULL
file; copying a submatrix from an existing matrix.
DSPOPTION -- Sets memory option for the distributed sparse solver. The OPTIMAL memory option has been
renamed OUTOFCORE.
EMODIF -- Modifies a previously defined element. A new label (I1 = GCN) is available for converting pair-
based contact elements to general contact elements.
ESEL -- Selects a subset of elements. A new label (Item = GCN) identifies general contact elements for the
selection operation.
FLUREAD -- Reads one-way Fluent-to-Mechanical APDL coupling data via a .cgns file with one-side fast
Fourier transformation complex pressure peak value.
*GET -- Retrieves a value and stores it as a scalar parameter or part of an array parameter. A new preprocessing
entity (Entity = GCN) is available to retrieve information related to general contact definitions. New pre-
processing items are available for Entity = ELEM to retrieve maximum attribute numbers associated with
elements. A new solution entity (Entity = DDAM) is available to retrieve the shock design value in a DDAM
analysis during postprocessing.
HARFRQ -- Defines the frequency range in a harmonic analysis. The new FREQARR and Toler arguments
allow you to define a user-input frequency array for use in the harmonic analysis.
KEYOPT -- The label GCN can now be input for ITYPE to set key options for elements used in a general
contact definition.
MODOPT -- The complex eigenmode key (Cpxmod) now applies to the unsymmetric eigensolver. A new
AUTO option has been added as the default for this eigensolver.
NLADAPTIVE -- Defines the criteria under which a mesh is refined or modified during a nonlinear solution.
The command now supports specification of contact-surface-wear and mesh-quality-based criteria for use
in mesh nonlinear adaptivity.
NLDIAG -- Sets nonlinear diagnostics functionality. When contact information is requested, additional items
are written to the Jobname.CND file, including contact stabilization energy, strain energy due to contact
constraint, and frictional dissipation energy.
NLHIST -- Specifies result items to track during solution. The following enhancements are available for
tracking contact items: new command arguments enable you to stop the analysis when a tracked contact
variable reaches a specified critical value; new options support tracking results for general contact elements;
additional quantities from a contact analysis can be tracked; contact items are now saved to a user-defined
parameter that can be monitored during solution.
Mechanical APDL
NROPT -- Specifies the Newton-Raphson options in a static or full transient analysis. You can now use this
command to switch between the symmetric (Option1 = FULL) and unsymmetric (Option1 = UNSYM)
Newton-Raphson options between load steps.
OUTRES -- Controls solution data written to the database. The new DSUBres argument specifies the output
of nodal velocities and accelerations to the Jobname.DSUB file during a substructure or CMS use pass in
transient or harmonic analysis.
PERTURB -- Sets linear perturbation analysis options. The new Type = SUBSTR option specifies a linear
perturbation substructure generation pass. The new LoadControl = DZEROKEEP option zeroes out all
nonzero displacement loads upon the onset of linear perturbation.
PIVCHECK -- Controls the behavior of an analysis when a negative or zero equation solver pivot value is
encountered. The KEY = ON option is replaced by KEY = AUTO, ERROR, and WARN, providing more specific
control of the program behavior when a negative or zero pivot value is encountered.
PLCAMP -- Plots Campbell diagram data for applications involving rotating structure dynamics. All frequencies
can now be plotted (KeyAllFreq).
PLFAR, PRFAR -- Plots or prints (respectively) pressure far fields and far field parameters. A new output
specification enables acoustic parameters with the y-axis rotated extrusion to be plotted or printed.
PLLS -- Displays element table items as contoured areas along elements. A new argument named ViewUP
has been added to specify that the command should use the global Cartesian coordinate system reference
orientation (/VUP or view-up) vector to calculate trapezoid orientation.
PLST -- Plots sound power parameters vs. frequency. The command can now postprocess the results of a
random acoustics analysis with diffuse sound field.
PMLOPT -- The command now defines perfectly matched layers (PMLs) for acoustic and structural analyses.
QRDOPT -- Specifies additional QRDAMP modal analysis options. The new SymMeth argument enables you
to select the mode-extraction method for the symmetric eigenvalue problem.
R -- Defines element real constants. A new label (NSET = GCN) indicates that the real constants are to be
used in a general contact interaction.
RESCONTROL -- Controls file writing for multiframe restarts. The Ldstep argument now accepts negative
numbers (-N, where N represents the load step frequency) to specify how often the Jobname.Xnnn file is
written and how often load history information is written to the Jobname.LDHI file. By default, the program
writes load history information to the Jobname.LDHI file only for the last load step. The new Action =
DELETE option deletes previously defined restart controls.
RMODIF -- Modifies real constant sets. A new label (NSET = GCN) indicates that the real constants are to
be used in a general contact interaction.
SECDATA -- Describes the geometry of a section. The command now supports noncircular and tapered pipe
sections. It also supports a user-defined contact normal.
SECTYPE -- Associates section type information with a section ID number. The command now supports
tapered pipe sections. It also supports a user-defined contact normal.
/SHOW -- Specifies the device and other parameters for graphics displays. A new option reverses back-
ground/image (black/white) colors. The option is ignored if a previously specified color map table (/CMAP
or /RGB) is in effect.
Elements
*SMAT -- Creates a sparse matrix. The command now supports importing the real and imaginary parts of
the stiffness matrix separately from a .FULL file.
TB -- Activates a data table for material properties or special element input. Options (TBOPT) have been
added to enhance the following types of material modeling: nonlinear plasticity (Lab = PLASTIC), Hill plas-
ticity (Lab = HILL), cohesive zone material behavior (Lab = CZM), and user-defined material models via the
UserMat subroutine (Lab = USER). For contact interaction (Lab = INTER), new options are available to
support contact behavior for general contact definitions.
TBFIELD -- Defines values of field variables for material data tables. The new CYCLE field variable defines a
healing cycle number for healing after contact debonding.
TRNOPT -- Specifies transient analysis options. A new VAout argument specifies the output of velocities
and accelerations to the Jobname.RDSP file in a mode-superposition transient analysis.
*VFILL -- Fills an array parameter. A new fill function (Func = CLUSTER) allows you to generate frequencies
clustered around user-input frequencies (HARFRQ)
*VGET -- Retrieves values and stores them into an array parameter. Nodal velocities and accelerations can
now be retrieved following a transient structural analysis (Item1 = V or A).
2.5.3. Undocumented Commands

The following commands have been undocumented:
Command Reason
FIPLOT The FiberSIM-ANSYS Interface capability has been
removed.
SOLCONTROL In most cases, the program now automatically applies
optimized solution control defaults equivalent to the
now undocumented SOLCONTROL,ON command.
In the rare case where you may wish to modify the

default behavior, issue the individual solution-control
(xxxCONTROL) command for that setting.
PILECALC The PILE macros have been replaced by ACT extensions
PILEDISPSET (available on the Customer Portal) for performing soil-pile
PILEGEN analysis.
PILELOAD
PILEMASS For more information, see Soil-Pile-Structure Analysis in
PILERUN the Advanced Analysis Guide.
PILESEL
PILESTIF
For information about other commands that have been undocumented in prior releases, see the archived
release notes on the ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xi).
2.6. Elements
This section describes changes to elements at Release 16.0.
Mechanical APDL
Some elements are not available from within the GUI. For a list of those elements, see GUI-Inaccessible
Elements in the Element Reference.
2.6.1. New Elements
2.6.2. Modified Elements
2.6.1. New Elements

The following new element has been added:
INFIN257 -- This structural infinite solid element is used with standard 2-D or 3-D solid elements (the base
elements) to model infinite domain in a static analysis. A single layer of elements represents an exterior
subdomain of infinite domain; the layer models the effect of far-field decay in structural analyses.
2.6.2. Modified Elements

The following elements have been enhanced:
CONTA171, CONTA172, CONTA173, CONTA174, CONTA177, TARGE169, TARGE170-- These contact and target
elements support the new general contact capability.
COMBIN14 -- This spring-damper element has a new real constant for defining the imaginary part of the
stiffness constant.
COMBIN37, COMBIN39, COMBIN40 -- These combination elements have a new KEYOPT(7) for activating
time/load increment control in order to capture nonlinear element status changes during solution iterations.
CIRCU125 -- This diode element has a new KEYOPT(7) for activating time/load increment control in order to
capture nonlinear element status changes during solution iterations.
FLUID30, FLUID220, FLUID221 -- These acoustic fluid elements have a new KEYOPT(3) for defining non-
morphed acoustic elements for improved morphing.
SURF151, SURF152 -- These thermal surface effect elements have a new KEYOPT(12) for specifying whether
the current area or the original area should be used for heat-flow calculation.
PLANE223, SOLID226, SOLID227 -- These coupled-field solid elements now support hyperelastic materials,
birth and death, and mixed u-P formulation (via KEYOPT(11)). In coupled-field analyses with structural degrees
of freedom using these elements, optimized nonlinear solution defaults (based on the former SOLCONTROL
command defaults) are applied, and stress-stiffening is always included with large deflection (NLGEOM,ON).
PIPE288 -- Usage recommendations for this 3-D two-node pipe element have changed. The applicable
range for the thick-walled option (KEYOPT(4) = 2) has increased, and decreased for the thin-walled
option (KEYOPT(4) = 1). The thick pipe option should generally be avoided for thin-walled pipes where
Do/Tw > 200.0, and the thin pipe option should generally be avoided for pipes where Do/Tw < 100.0.
SOLID278, SOLID279 -- These thermal solid elements now support user-defined thermal materials (via the
UserMatTh subroutine). A new KEYOPT(9) has been added to specify the element-level matrix form (sym-
metric or nonsymmetric).
ELBOW290 -- This 3-D 3-node elbow element is now available in two forms: ELBOW290 Structural Elbow
and ELBOW290 Generalized Tube. The generalized-tube of the element supports noncircular and
tapered cross sections. An ovalization measurement (OVAL) has also been added.
Documentation
2.7. Other
This section contains information about Release 16.0 enhancements not listed elsewhere in this document.
2.7.1. Enhanced Control for Restarts

The RESCONTROL command now enables you to control the frequency at which load history information
is written to the Jobname.LDHI file. Writing the load step information less frequently can save disk
space, as the Jobname.LDHI file is smaller and fewer Jobname.Xnnn files are written. The new default
behavior is to write load history information to Jobname.LDHI only for the last load step.
Another new option on RESCONTROL enables you to delete previously specified restart controls.
See the RESCONTROL command documentation for details.
2.7.2. Viewing File Structure and Content

New APDL functionality enables you to explore the contents of a Mechanical APDL file. Files that can
be scanned include those with extensions .RST, .MODE, .FULL, .CMS, and .SUB. You can traverse the
tree structure of a given file and examine what is in the file. For more information, see Appendix C in
the ANSYS Parametric Design Language Guide.
2.8. Documentation
ANSYS, Inc. continues to refine the Mechanical APDL documentation set. To that end, the following
changes and enhancements to the documentation have occurred:
2.8.1. Technology Demonstration Guide

The following example problems have been added to the Technology Demonstration Guide:
2.8.1.1. Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) with Thermal Effect
2.8.1.2. Acoustic Analysis of a Viscothermal Resonator
2.8.1.3. Contact Surface Wear Simulation
2.8.1.1. Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) with Thermal Effect

Presents two shape memory alloy (SMA) simulations: a spinal spacer implant and a spring actuator. A
shape memory alloy (SMA) is a material that, after being subjected to mechanical loading/unloading
cycles, is able to undergo large deformations without showing residual strains (pseudoelasticity) or that
can recover from large deformations via temperature change (shape memory effect). The simulations
demonstrate the utility of the SMA material model (using martensite and austenite [nitinol]), and the
behavior of the SMA with thermal loading.
2.8.1.2. Acoustic Analysis of a Viscothermal Resonator

Demonstrates the use of acoustic elements and viscothermal losses comparing the boundary layer im-
pedance (BLI) model and the low reduced frequency (LRF) model to analyze the noise reduction of
sound-absorbing trim panels with quarter-wave resonators.
Mechanical APDL
2.8.1.3. Contact Surface Wear Simulation

Demonstrates how to model contact surface wear using the Archard wear model or a user-defined wear
model (userwear subroutine). In this example the wear occurs at the interface of a hemispherical ring
rotating over a flat ring. The wear model calculates how much and in what direction a contact node is
to be moved to simulate wear based on the contact results.
2.8.2. New Cyclic Symmetry Analysis Guide

Documentation for cyclic symmetry analysis has been consolidated and updated. A new Cyclic Symmetry
Analysis Guide has been added to the documentation set.
2.8.3. New Substructuring Analysis Guide

Documentation for substructuring analysis and component mode synthesis (CMS) has been consolidated
and updated. A new Substructuring Analysis Guide has been added to the documentation set.
2.8.4. New Fracture Analysis Guide

Documentation for fracture analysis has been consolidated and updated. A new Fracture Analysis Guide
has been added to the documentation set.
2.8.5. Feature Archive

Legacy features, commands, elements, and theory information continue to move to the Feature Archive.
While ANSYS, Inc. intends to support legacy capabilities for the immediate future, some may be undoc-
umented in future releases. Consider moving to their recommended replacements.
2.8.6. Documentation Updates for Programmers

The following documentation updates are available for programmers:
2.8.6.1. Routines and Functions Updated

Routines and functions documented in the Programmer's Reference have been updated to reflect the
current source code. To see specific changes in a file, ANSYS, Inc. recommends opening both the old
and current files (using a text editor that displays line numbers), then comparing the two to determine
which lines have changed. You can copy the updated files to your system by performing a custom in-
stallation of the product.
2.8.6.2. Subroutines Added

The following subroutine has been added to the Programmer's Reference:
UserMatTh -- A tool for advanced users to develop custom thermal material models. This
subroutine requires expertise in thermal material modeling and software programming, as well
as validation and testing. ANSYS, Inc. strongly recommends testing both single elements and
multiple elements with various loading conditions to ensure correct results. UserMatTh supports
shared memory and distributed parallel processing; however, you are responsible for ensuring
that your code can use parallel processing.
Known Incompatibilities
2.8.6.3. Substructure Displacement File Format Added

A description of the substructure displacement file format (Jobname.DSUB) has been added to the
Programmer's Reference.
2.9. Known Incompatibilities

The following incompatibilities with prior releases are known to exist at Release 16.0:
2.9.1. Modal Analysis Output from the Unsymmetric Eigensolver
2.9.2. Complex Stiffness in QR Damped Analyses
2.9.3. Results File
2.9.4. Changes in Contact Stiffness
2.9.5. Contact Element Real Constant FKOP with Debonding
2.9.6.Time/Load Increment Control in Contact Analysis
2.9.7. FiberSIM
2.9.8. Change in Convergence Criteria Behavior (CNVTOL Command)
2.9.9. Solution Cutback Procedure for Creep Analysis
2.9.10. Full File Required for Mode-Superposition Analysis and Substructuring Expansion Pass
2.9.11. Change in Program Behavior When a Negative or Zero Equation Solver Pivot Value Is Encountered
2.9.12. Output File Header
2.9.13. Restarts and Continuations with Files from Previous Releases
2.9.1. Modal Analysis Output from the Unsymmetric Eigensolver

If the eigenvalues are real, the unsymmetric eigensolver now outputs real eigensolutions by default. If
the eigensolutions are complex, the complex frequencies are now printed and stored using the following
convention: the real part is the stability value and the imaginary part is the frequency. It is now consistent
with QR Damped and DAMP analysis output.
2.9.2. Complex Stiffness in QR Damped Analyses

If both structural and viscous damping are present in a QR Damped modal analysis (MODOPT,QRDAMP),
both effects are now taken into account. For more information, see Damped Modal Analysis in the
Mechanical APDL Theory Reference.
2.9.3. Results File

A new value in the Solution Data Header (PrinKey) indicates whether the result set contains principle
stresses (previously, this information was indicated by the rstprs value in the Results File Header).
For more information, see Description of the Results File in the Programmer's Reference.
2.9.4. Changes in Contact Stiffness

The internally calculated contact stiffness has been revised based on a new adaptive scheme. The change
may result in slight differences in the final solution as compared to the prior release. In most cases, the
differences are negligible. To minimize the differences (for example, differences in frequency values
from a prestressed modal analysis), consider readjusting the contact stiffness.
Mechanical APDL
2.9.5. Contact Element Real Constant FKOP with Debonding

Previously, contact element real constant FKOP was always ignored if the contact element was used to
model debonding (TB,CZM,,,CBDD or TB,CZM,,,CBDE). Now, if you input a value for FKOP, it is used to
determine the contact normal stiffness for opening contact (gap condition) during debonding.
2.9.6. Time/Load Increment Control in Contact Analysis

Time/load increment control in a contact analysis (KEYOPT(7) of contact elements) is no longer dependent
on the former SOLCONTROL command settings. This is true for both current technology contact elements
(CONTA17x) and legacy elements that have been archived (CONTAC12 and CONTAC52). Additionally,
the KEYOPT(7) input values have been revised for the archived legacy elements. For more information,
see the KEYOPT(7) description in the element documentation for a specific contact element.
2.9.7. FiberSIM
Layer data from a FiberSIM .xml file can no longer be used when modeling composites.
2.9.8. Change in Convergence Criteria Behavior (CNVTOL Command)

The CNVTOL command behavior has changed. The convergence criterion can now be set independently
for each criterion label; defining a specific criterion no longer affects other criteria. Also, default conver-
gence criteria can now be removed. These changes result in consistent convergence criteria settings.
Issue the CNVTOL,STAT command to check currently specified criteria.
2.9.9. Solution Cutback Procedure for Creep Analysis

The program behavior for time step cutback (CUTCONTROL command) during a nonlinear solution
that includes creep has changed. If the creep ratio limit is exceeded, the program now issues a warning
and the solution proceeds to convergence using the minimum time increment (step size) specified. In
prior releases, the solution would stop with an error message when the creep ratio limit was exceeded.
2.9.10. Full File Required for Mode-Superposition Analysis and Substructuring

Expansion Pass
When performing a mode-superposition transient analysis, a mode-superposition harmonic analysis, or
a substructuring expansion pass, the full file (Jobname.FULL) must now be available if the model
contains coupling and/or constraint equations, including constraint equations created by certain element
types during the solution. Previously, the full file was not required under these circumstances.
2.9.11. Change in Program Behavior When a Negative or Zero Equation Solver

Pivot Value Is Encountered
The default behavior of the PIVCHECK command has changed. Previously, the command default
(PIVCHECK,ON) would cause the analysis to stop with an error message if a negative or zero equation
solver pivot value was encountered. The new default (PIVCHECK,AUTO) causes the analysis to stop with
an error or continue with a warning, depending on various criteria pertaining to the type of analysis
being solved.
2.9.12. Output File Header

In the output file, the standard header (printed before a listing) no longer prints the character "1" as
its first line.
2.9.13. Restarts and Continuations with Files from Previous Releases

Restarting using files generated by prior releases is no longer allowed. This restriction also applies to
continuations of multistep solutions such as a new PSD analysis based on files generated by a previous
release.
Chapter 3: Autodyn Release Notes
The ANSYS Autodyn product comprises all of the following explicit solvers: FE (Lagrange), Euler, FCT,
ALE, and SPH, and various means to couple them together. All are integrated together in the Autodyn
Component system, while the FE (Lagrange) and Eulerincluding Euler-Lagrange couplingare also
integrated in the Explicit Dynamics Analysis system (see Explicit Dynamics Enhancements (p. 12)). Both
systems are part of the Autodyn product.
The following enhancements are available in release 16.0. Please refer to the product specific document-
ation for full details of the new features.
3.2. New Features

Releases
Release 16.0 includes new features and enhancements that result in product behaviors that differ from
previous releases. These behavior changes are presented below.
Fixed gauges are not supported for structured Lagrange parts in a parallel solution. Moving gauges cannot
be defined in Euler subgrids in 3D analyses.
The initialization time for large models has been dramatically improved.
The model read time for large models is now displayed in terms of Mb.
To safeguard backward compatibility a number of improvements are only active for R16.0 initialized models
as follows.
These improvements are active if:
The (time =0.0) model file is saved under the same or new name in the Autodyn component system.
The model is run from time = 0.0 in Explicit STR.
Note that these improvements are not active in the following situations:
For older (pre R16.0) cycle 0 models, unless the file is saved under the same or new name in the Autodyn
component system. This allows older models to be run in a backward compatible mode.
For older (pre R16.0) restart models (i.e. start cycle not equal to 0) in Explicit STR and Autodyn.
These improvements are:
Remote Points: To account for the forces acting on the group of nodes scoped to the remote
point, the translation and rotation of the remote point and scoped nodes are determined simultan-
eously and are enforced with the use of a single corrective force and moment.
Autodyn
The damper elements have been enhanced with an improved damper algorithm. Small differences
in velocity between both nodes of a damper could previously lead to instability.
Pressure boundary condition on solid elements is using a better area averaging, consistent with
the structured Lagrange solver.
Shell elements will only fail if the Effective Plastic Strain has exceeded the failure criteria for all
layers.
All tabular time dependent loads and constraints (boundary conditions) are passed to the solver,
even if outside the (initially) defined endtime. This makes it possible to restart an analysis with
extended end time, thus without loosing the loads or constraints.
3.2. New Features

The following new features are exposed in ANSYS Autodyn for Release 16.0:
The Autodyn solver now supports multiple varieties of MPI software on Windows: Platform MPI, Intel MPI,
and Microsoft MPI (MSCluster).
Artificial viscosity is now available for both structured and unstructured shell elements in compression. This
enhances the robustness of shell elements, especially in long duration, quasi-static type, of loading.
Chapter 4: Aqwa Release Notes
This release of the Aqwa related products contains all capabilities from previous releases plus many
new features and enhancements. The following enhancements are available in release 16.0. Please refer
to the product specific documentation for full details of the new features.
4.1. Aqwa Solver Modules
4.2. Hydrodynamic Analysis Systems
4.3. Documentation
4.1. Aqwa Solver Modules

The following new features provide extended capabilities in the Aqwa solver modules:
4.1.1. Extended Greens Function Database

The lowest wave frequency permitted in an analysis has been extended. For more information, see
Wave Frequencies in the Aqwa User's Manual and Source Distribution Method in the Aqwa Theory
Manual.
4.1.2. Aqwa Parallel

Aqwa now supports parallel processing for reduced solution time. For more information, see Setting
Aqwa Parallel Processing Options in the Aqwa User's Manual and The NUM_CORES Data Record in the
Aqwa Reference Manual.
4.1.3. External Server for User-Defined Force Calculation

Aqwa now supports providing user-defined forces via an external server. This method allows for user-
defined force calculations to be performed in any programming language or on a remote machine. For
more information, see External Server for User-Defined Force Calculation in the Aqwa Reference Manual.
4.1.4. Number of Angles in Gaussian Integration of Spread Spectra

The number of angles used for Gaussian integration of spread spectra can now be user-defined, up to
a maximum of 28. This function is for the core Aqwa solver only, and has not been implemented in
Workbench.
4.1.5. Maximum Number of Wave Frequencies

The maximum number of wave frequencies has been increased to 100.
4.2. Hydrodynamic Analysis Systems

The following new features provide extended capabilities in the Hydrodynamic Analysis Workbench
systems:
Aqwa
4.2.1. Frequency Domain Analysis

Frequency domain analysis (Aqwa-Fer) can now be performed in the Workbench environment. For more
information, see Frequency Statistical Analysis, Frequency Domain, and Frequency Domain Tabular
Results in the Aqwa User's Manual.
4.2.2. Stability Equilibrium Analysis

Stability equilibrium analysis (Aqwa-Librium) can now be performed in the Workbench environment.
For more information, see Stability Analysis and Stability Response in the Aqwa User's Manual.
4.2.3. Low and High Frequencies in the First Order Hydrodynamic Property
Database
The low and high wave frequencies of the first order hydrodynamic property database can now be
calculated (optional). These frequencies are used in
The 5th term of the difference frequency QTF coefficients
The impulse function of convolution for the time domain radiation force calculation
4.2.4. New Edit Operations for Objects in Hydrodynamic Analyses

A number of new operations have been defined to allow you to move or link objects within a set of
connected analysis systems. For a detailed overview of these new options, see Editing Objects in the
Aqwa User's Manual.
4.2.5. Starting Position Object for Stability Analysis

A new Starting Position object has been added which allows you to define translational or rotational
offsets about a selected reference point in a structure. This can be useful in Stability Analyses where
more than 1 equilibrium state could be achieved. For more information, see Starting Position in the
Aqwa User's Manual.
4.3. Documentation
The following documentation changes have been made for Aqwa for release 16.0:
4.3.1. Displayed Positions and Features Documentation

The Aqwa documentation has been clarified regarding which features and objects are displayed in the
graphics window when an object is selected in the tree view. For more information, see Displayed Pos-
itions and Features in the Aqwa User's Manual.
Chapter 5: Beamcheck Release Notes
There are no new features or enhancements in ANSYS Beamcheck in Release 16.0.
Chapter 6: Fatjack Release Notes
There are no new features or enhancements in ANSYS Fatjack in Release 16.0.
Chapter 7: ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP)
The following enhancements are available in release 16.0. Please refer to the product specific document-
ation for full details of the new features.
7.1. New Features in ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 16.0
7.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 16.0
7.1. New Features in ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 16.0

The following features were added to ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) for the 16.0 release:
7.1.1. Solid Model Cut-off Feature
7.1.2. Shear, Temperature, and Degradation Factor Dependent Material Data
7.1.3. Contour Plots for Look-up Tables
7.1.4. Direct Selection of CAD Solids and Surfaces
7.1.5. Progressive Damage Postprocessing in ACP-Post
7.1.6. Automatic Renumbering in Mechanical Composite Assemblies
7.1.7. Enhanced Unit System Handling for Composite Workbench Projects
7.1.8. New Conversion of Legacy MAPDL Composite Models to Workbench Projects
7.1.9. Enhanced Solution Selection
7.1.10. Improved 3-D Interactions
7.1.11. Shared Licensing Support
7.1.12. ACP Installation Through Standard ANSYS Installer
7.1.1. Solid Model Cut-off Feature

Solid models can be shaped by a cutting operation on the model using CAD geometries. For more in-
formation, see Cut-off Geometry.
7.1.2. Shear, Temperature, and Degradation Factor Dependent Material Data

Elasticity and strength properties of materials are now based on local shear, temperature, and degrad-
ation factor for composite materials. These field-dependent properties are used in the solver as well as
during postprocessing. For more information, see Temperature-, Shear-, and Degradation-Dependent
Material Properties.
7.1.3. Contour Plots for Look-up Tables

Look-up table plots, along with the plotting of supporting points, allow for the review of scalar fields
such as thickness, angle, or degradation. For more information, see Lay-up Plots.
7.1.4. Direct Selection of CAD Solids and Surfaces

Solids and surfaces of loaded CAD geometries are now selectable objects in ACP. You can select geo-
metric objects from the 3-D scene window, or the tree view. You can also define new virtual geometries
as associative references to arbitrary sub-shapes in the important CAD geometry. Virtual geometries
ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP)
are required in CAD-based laminate definitions (for example, modeling ply thickness defined by CAD
geometry). For more information, see Geometry.
7.1.5. Progressive Damage Postprocessing in ACP-Post

New progressive damaged results can be plotted in ACP-Post. It is now possible to plot Max Damage
Per Element and Max Damage Per Composite Stack. Ply wise damage can also be visualized. For
more information, see Solution Plots.
7.1.6. Automatic Renumbering in Mechanical Composite Assemblies

Mechanical now handles the renumbering of entities automatically when assembling multiple composite
and non-composite parts in a solid model workflow. Manual renumbering is not necessary but can be
enabled per solid model if desired. For more information, see Numbering Offset.
7.1.7. Enhanced Unit System Handling for Composite Workbench Projects

You can now select the unit system for analysis within ACP. For more information, see Units.
7.1.8. New Conversion of Legacy MAPDL Composite Models to Workbench

Projects
Shell model analyses set up in MAPDL can now be imported to ACP lay-ups and can subsequently be
used in Workbench projects. For more information, see Conversion of Legacy Mechanical APDL Com-
posite Models.
7.1.9. Enhanced Solution Selection

For solutions with multiple result sets, the set can be specified for each solution plot individually, similar
to Mechanical. The plotting of different substeps no longer requires the re-import of an existing solution.
This also applies to Envelope Solutions which can be easily defined with different substeps of one or
multiple solutions. Equally, a Sampling Point can directly access all available solution sets. For more in-
formation, see Solutions.
7.1.10. Improved 3-D Interactions

Camera rotation now behaves in a similar way to Mechanical. You can now set the center of rotation
with the middle mouse button or with Shift-Click, depending on the interaction style. The center of
rotation is visualized with a red dot (Interaction). Additionally, the box zoom has been redesigned for
both parallel and projected view modes. The deformed shape visualization is now defined globally for
the scene. Furthermore, the probe function is now included as a toolbar button to improve GUI perform-
ance.
7.1.11. Shared Licensing Support

Licensing is now handled through the ANSYS Licensing Manager. For more information, see the ANSYS,
Inc. Licensing Guide.
7.1.12. ACP Installation Through Standard ANSYS Installer

ACP is now installed and configured through the unified ANSYS installer. For more information, see the
ANSYS, Inc. Windows Installation Guide or the ANSYS, Inc. Linux Installation Guide depending on your
system type.
7.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP) 16.0

Platform/OS levels that are supported in the current release are posted on the ANSYS website.

The following incompatibilities with prior releases are known to exist at Release 16.0:
7.3.1. Renamed Objects
7.3.2. Improved CAD Geometry Feature
7.3.1. Renamed Objects

Several objects have been renamed in Release 16.0. Workbench and stand-alone ACP projects made in
previous releases are updated automatically when loaded by 16.0, but ACP Python scripts must be ad-
apted manually. The following table shows the renamed objects:
Type Previous Release Name Release 16.0 Name

Object Sampling Element Sampling Point
Path sampling_elements sampling_points
Function create_sampling_element create_sampling_point
Object Rule Selection Rule

Path rules selection_rules
Function create_<XY>_rule create_<XY>_selection_rule
Object Modeling Ply Group Modeling Group

Path modeling_ply_groups modeling_groups
Function create_modeling_ply_group create_modeling_group
Object Oriented Element Set Oriented Selection Set

Path oriented_element_sets oriented_selection_sets
Function create_oriented_element_set create_oriented_selection_set
7.3.2. Improved CAD Geometry Feature

The import and use of CAD geometry has changed in Release 16.0. The new functionality is described
in Geometry.
Workbench and stand-alone ACP projects from previous releases are automatically updated with the
new CAD geometry logic when loaded by 16.0. One virtual geometry is created for every CAD geometry
and the references in any geometry-based operations are updated accordingly.
ACP Python scripts must be adapted manually. The following changes are necessary:
ANSYS Composite PrepPost (ACP)
Change CAD geometry code according to the table below.
Create a new virtual geometry for every CAD geometry (use .geometry.create_virtual_geometry or access
command via the GUI).
Replace links to CAD geometries with the corresponding virtual geometries.
Type Previous Release Release 16.0 Name

Name
Object CAD Geometry CAD Geometry
Path .cad_geometries .geometry.cad_geometies
Function .create_cad_geometry .geometry.create_cad_geometries
Part II: ANSYS Fluids Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Fluids products:
Fluent
CFX
TurboGrid
ANSYS BladeModeler
CFD-Post
Polyflow
Chapter 1: Fluent Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS Fluent 16.0.
1.1. New Features in ANSYS Fluent 16.0
1.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Fluent 16.0
1.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 16.0
1.4. Limitations That No Longer Apply in ANSYS Fluent 16.0
1.5. Updates Affecting Code Behavior
1.1. New Features in ANSYS Fluent 16.0

New features available in ANSYS Fluent 16.0 are listed below. Where appropriate, references to the rel-
evant section in the User's Guide are provided.
User Interface
The ANSYS Fluent navigation pane has been changed to a tree view with new capabilities designed for ease
of use. Many of the most commonly accessed commands and features are now available by right-click in
the tree. There is also the ability to expand and collapse branches, allowing you to more quickly navigate
through boundary zones for example. For additional information on the new ANSYS Fluent user interface,
see GUI Components in the Fluent User's Guide.
The Phases task page is now the Phases dialog box, which is located under the Setup/Models/Multiphase
branch in the tree. It is only visible once you have enabled a multiphase model.
An additional Statistic Monitor has been implemented for the number of iterations per time step. In addition,
you can now write statistic monitor output to a file. (Monitoring Statistics)
Three new report types are now available when defining surface monitors: Custom Vector Based Flow Rate,
Custom Vector Flow Rate, and Custom Vector Weighted Average.
CPU, memory usage, and solver timing reports are now available from the GUI under the Report System
menu. (System Resource Usage)
Documentation
Two new symbols have been added to the mini-flow charts used to indicate navigating through the tree.
Descriptions of these symbols and examples using them are located in the Typographical Conventions in
the Fluent User's Guide.
The following ANSYS Fluent Manuals have been consolidated into ANSYS Fluent Advanced Add-On Modules:
Adjoint Solver Module Manual
Battery Module Manual
Continuous Fiber Module Manual
Fuel Cell Modules Manual
Fluent
Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Module Manual
Population Balance Manual
The following ANSYS Fluent Manuals have been consolidated into Running ANSYS Fluent Using a Load
Manager:
Running Under LSF
Running Under PBS Professional
Running Under SGE
The User-Defined Function Manual is now part of the Fluent Customization Manual which also incorporates
a new set of documentation for the creation of custom graphical user interface elements in Fluent.
Solver-Numerics
The algorithm for quality-based identification of cells for poor mesh numerics has been enhanced to better
capture cells with high skewness. In addition, you can now tune the threshold value that is used for including
cells based on quality. (Robustness on Meshes of Poor Quality)
The solution stabilization algorithm that was previously available for System Coupling dynamic mesh zones
is now made available also for zones using the Six DOF solver. (Using the Six DOF Solver)
Solver-Meshing
A new text command /mesh/polyhedra/options/migrate-and-reorder? has been introduced

to disable migration and reordering after conversion to polyhedra. ( mesh/ in the Fluent Text Command
List)
A new text command display/set/mesh-display-configuration allows you to switch between

the default mesh displays: meshing, solution, post-processing, and classic modes (for more information, see
display/). A new button is also available in the Objects toolbar. (The Objects Toolbar)
Fluent meshing now uses the same face-node connectivity as the Fluent solver (for additional information,
see Face-Node Connectivity in ANSYS Fluent in the Fluent User's Guide).
ANSYS Fluent now uses parallel zone remeshing for tetrahedral and prism meshes when running Fluent in
parallel. This reduces peak memory usage during the simulation as well as removing the limitation on the
size of the cell zone that can be remeshed.
The Mapped option is an alternative approach for modeling coupled walls between zones (fluid-solid or
fluid-fluid). It is a robust method for handling interfaces with penetration or gaps. For additional information
see The Mapped Option in the Fluent User's Guide.
There is a new method for creating robust interfaces that uses interface boundary metrics. These metrics
are particularly useful for complex non-conformal interfaces and they are enabled by the text command:
define/mesh-interfaces/use-interface-boundary-metrics?.
Now ANSYS Fluent automatically checks boundary layer aspect ratios when converting the domain to
polyhedra. In instances with high aspect ratios, ANSYS Fluent asks if you want to preserve boundary layer
cells, which could be useful for keeping cell counts low when retaining boundary features. For additional
information, see Converting the Domain to a Polyhedra in the Fluent User's Guide and mesh/ in the Fluent
Text Command List.
New Features in ANSYS Fluent 16.0
A new text command define/mesh-interfaces/enforce-coupled-wall-between-solids?

has been introduced to allow you to automatically create Coupled Wall boundaries at solid-solid interfaces
of the same material.
Now ANSYS Fluent automatically creates zone names for mesh interfaces that incorporate the user-provided
mesh interface name as a prefix. This makes it easier to identify which zones make up a specific interface as
well as making it easier to write journal files for setting up large cases with hundreds of mesh interfaces.
The old naming convention was simply the boundary type and a number, for example wall-35. For addi-
tional information about the automatic naming strategy, see Interface Zones Automatic Naming Conventions
in the Fluent User's Guide. Note that this feature does not modify zone names defined in legacy cases. To
revert to the naming strategy of previous releases, set the rpvar nonconformal/use-pre-16-release-
naming-conventions? to true.
The definition of orthogonal quality has been improved for R16.0, enabling better handling of poor quality
elements by the poor mesh numerics. This definition change also affects the reporting of orthogonal quality.
To revert to R15.0 behavior, use the following rpvar setting:
(rpsetvar 'mesh/bad/quality/method 1)
Models
Turbulence
The Menter-Lechner near-wall treatment (which was previously only available as a beta feature) is available
for the k- model. It provides a method of modeling flow near a wall that is not based on the two-layer
approach and that uses a low-Re formulation that is designed to avoid the deficiencies of existing k-
low-Re formulations. (Menter-Lechner -Equation (ML-))
The default subgrid-scale model for the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model and the Embedded Large
Eddy Simulation (ELES) model has been changed from the Smagorinsky-Lilly model to the Wall-Adapting
Local Eddy-Viscosity (WALE) model. The advantages of the WALE model compared to the Smagorinsky-
Lilly model are described in Wall-Adapting Local Eddy-Viscosity (WALE) Model in the Fluent Theory Guide
and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) in the Fluent User's Guide.
The ability to use a UDF to customize the turbulent Prandtl and Schmidt numbers has been added for a
variety of turbulence models. Previously, UDFs could only be used for the standard or realizable k-
model and the standard k- model. (Customizing the Turbulent Prandtl and Schmidt Numbers in the
Fluent User's Guide)
All Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) models and the algebraic Wall-Modeled Large Eddy Simulation
(WMLES) model have been upgraded to more accurately calculate solutions for polyhedral meshes. (De-
tached Eddy Simulation (DES), IDDES Model Formulation, and Algebraic WMLES Model Formulation)
The Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) model has been upgraded to reflect the formu-
lation described by Gritskevich et al., 2012. (Overview of IDDES and IDDES Model Formulation)
A new k-omega model called the baseline (BSL) model is now available. It overcomes the freestream
sensitivity of the standard k-omega model, but does not properly predict the onset and amount of flow
separation from smooth surfaces compared to the shear-stress transport (SST) k-omega model. (Baseline
(BSL) k- Model)
Heat Transfer and Radiation
Fluent
When using the S2S model, you can now write view factors as binary files (and this option is enabled by
default), in order to reduce the time needed to write and read the files. (Computing View Factors Inside
ANSYS Fluent)
In the parallel version of Fluent, an enhanced routine (which was previously only available as a beta feature)
is used by default for the encapsulation of coupled walls that is a consequence of enabling shell conduction
and/or the surface to surface (S2S) radiation model. This enhanced encapsulation produces partitions
that yield better load balance and smoother interfaces, which improves solver convergence.
(Troubleshooting)
As part of the S2S model, it is now possible to use the ray tracing method when calculating the view
factors on a cluster to cluster basis. Previously the ray tracing method was only available for calculating
the view factors on a face to face basis, which requires longer calculation times for polyhedral meshes
when compared to calculating the view factors on a cluster to cluster basis. The ray tracing method also
makes it possible to use symmetric and periodic boundaries when calculating the view factors on a cluster
to cluster basis. (Selecting the Method for Computing View Factors)
A new algorithm is used with the S2S model for non-conformal meshes, in order to avoid encapsulating
coupled wall faces at the partition interface. This yields better load balances and thus improves the
overall solver performance (that is, the time needed by the solver for each iteration), with significant gains
especially for cases with a large number of processors.
For walls with shell conduction enabled, it is now possible to define the heat generation rate of the layers
using a user-defined function (UDF). (Managing Shell Conduction Walls)
The new Mapped option for non-conformal interfaces supports conjugate heat transfer modeling and it
is a robust method for creating interfaces with penetration or gaps. For additional information see The
Mapped Option in the Fluent User's Guide.
Combustion and Species Transport
In the chemistry agglomeration method, you can now directly specify the size of the temperature intervals
used in the binning algorithm. (Using Chemistry Agglomeration)
Ability to use user-defined functions for soot nucleation and coagulation rates. (DEFINE_SOOT_NUCLE-
ATION_RATES)
Ability to define soot nucleation, surface growth and oxidation rates for soot mass fraction equation using
user-defined functions. (DEFINE_SOOT_MASS_RATES)
Fluent now includes the Chemkin reaction library. No separate license is required.
You can now import and use encrypted CHEMKIN gas kinetics mechanisms and thermodynamic databases
from Reaction Design in Fluent.
Pollution Formation
A new soot model called method of moments has been added. In this model, the soot moment transport
equations are solved for the soot particle size distribution. This approach uses fewer empirical constant
for modeling various soot formation sub-processes, such as coagulation, nucleation and surface growth,
than the two equation soot models. User-specified kinetics can be provided for modeling nucleation and
soot surface growth. (Setting Up the Method of Moments Soot Model)
Discrete Phase Model
New UDF macros and hooks have been added to support user-defined functions for impingement beha-
vior (DEFINE_IMPINGEMENT), impingement regimes (DEFINE_FILM_REGIME), and splashing distri-
butions (DEFINE_SPLASHING_DISTRIBUTION).
A new Film Boiling Model is now available for the Lagrangian film for droplet and multicomponent
particles. (Mass Transfer from the Film)
Energy transfer from Lagrangian film to the wall has been implemented. Previously, the Lagrangian film
particles exchanged energy only with the gas. (Energy Transfer from the Film)
For inert, droplet, wet-combusting and multicomponent particles, you can now account for particle-to-
wall heat transfer for walls with the DPM reflect, wall-film, and wall-jet boundary conditions. (Particle-Wall
Impingement Heat Transfer)
Volume of Fluid
You can now simulate random waves at open channel wave boundaries by specifying a wave spectrum.
This was a beta feature in R15.0 and is now fully supported. (Modeling Open Channel Wave Boundary
Conditions)
When using the coupled level set model, you can optionally apply a weighting function to the surface
tension force to reduce spurious currents that can arise in some cases. (Including Coupled Level Set with
the VOF Model)
Variable time stepping is now supported for both implicit and explicit volume fraction formulations.
(Variable Time Stepping)
The Compressive volume fraction discretization scheme has been enhanced to work for both sharp and
diffused interfaces. (Choosing Volume Fraction Formulation)
Options for interface reconstruction and volumetric smoothing when patching the volume fraction field
have been added. (Options for Patching Volume Fraction in the VOF Model)
An anti-diffusion treatment is available when modeling sharp interfaces to reduce the effects of numerical
diffusion on coarse meshes. (Interface Modeling Type)
An option has been added to enable an enhanced numerical treatment for compressible flows when using
one of the multiphase models. (Modeling Compressible Flows)
Eulerian Multiphase Model
The Virtual Mass model has been enhanced with the ability to specify the virtual mass coefficient on a
per-phase-pair basis and with the addition of an implicit formulation that can improve convergence in
some cases. (Including the Virtual Mass Force)
Ability to use the Non-Iterative Time Advancement (NITA) with Eulerian multiphase flows. (Setting Solution
Controls for the Non-Iterative Solver)
An option has been added to solve all primary and secondary phase volume fractions directly rather than
solving only the secondary phases directly. If this option is used the volume fractions are scaled to satisfy
the requirement that the volume fractions sum to 1. (Solving N-Phase Volume Fraction Equations)
A new heat-transfer model, fixed-to-sat-temp, had been added for cases in which all of the heat transfer
to a phase-to-phase interface goes into mass-transfer. (Including Heat Transfer Effects)
Fluent
When using the cavitation model, you can now model the temperature-dependence of the vaporization
pressure as a first-order Taylor approximation about the free-stream value. This can help with numerical
stability in cases with small temperature deviations. (Mass Transfer Mechanisms)
When using the cavitation model, you can now include the effect of turbulence on the threshold cavitation
pressure. (Mass Transfer Mechanisms)
An option has been added to enable an enhanced numerical treatment for compressible flows when using
one of the multiphase models. (Modeling Compressible Flows)
Eulerian Wall Film Model
You can now enable the solution of the passive scalar equation for the Eulerian Wall Film model. To specify
the initial conditions on the wall, you can include various source terms. (Modeling Eulerian Wall Films)
The periodic boundary conditions are now available with the Eulerian Wall Film model.
Population Balance
Material Properties
You can now define anisotropic thermal conductivity for a solid material using the components of the
principal axes and the associated principal values. This is useful when the principal axes of your material are
not orthogonal and/or not aligned with the global coordinate system of your simulation. (Principal Axes
and Principal Values)
The compressible liquid model now limits the density ratio to within a user-specified range. (Compressible
Liquid Density Method)
The REFPROP v9.1 database containing 125 fluids is now available for the NIST real gas models. (The NIST
Real Gas Models)
An option to create a lookup table for single-species NIST real-gas properties has been added. (The NIST
Real Gas Models)
You can now define the binary diffusivity for droplet particle materials as pressure-dependent by specifying
a reference pressure. (Description of the Properties)
Cell Zone and Boundary Conditions
The Impedance Boundary Condition has been promoted to a full feature. This was a beta feature in R15.0.
(Impedance Boundary Conditions)
A Transparent Flow Forcing Boundary Condition has been introduced that allows you to specify incoming
acoustic wave profiles at the domain boundaries while allowing outgoing waves to pass through without
reflection (Transparent Flow Forcing Boundary Conditions)
At the porous jump boundary, thermal contact resistance can now be specified if the energy equation is
turned on. (Porous Jump Boundary Conditions)
The Average Pressure Specification option for pressure outlet boundaries has been enhanced to be less
reflective and to make it compatible with the Radial Equilibrium Pressure Distribution option and pressure
values specified as profiles. (Average Pressure Specification)
You can now designate fluid cell zones as 3D fan zones, in order to simulate the effect of a fan by applying
a distributed momentum source in a toroid-shaped fluid continuum (that is, a blade-swept volume). 3D fan
zones produce results that can be comparable to moving reference frame (MRF) simulations (without requiring
3D rotating fan blade geometries), and unlike fan boundary conditions, they have a thickness in the flow
direction and can calculate swirl and radial velocities. (3D Fan Zones)
Relative viscosity can now be modeled in porous cell zones. (Relative Viscosity in Porous Media)
Mesh Morpher/Optimizer
A new unstructured control point distribution method has been added, which allows you to locate control
points by using the mouse or entering coordinates, and bases the mesh deformation on radial based functions.
With this method, you can easily locate control points on boundary zones and precisely move surface mesh
nodes with the specified displacements. Note that as part of this method, the motion of groups of control
points can be defined not only as a translation, but also as a rotation or radially about a point / axis. (Setting
Up the Mesh Morpher/Optimizer)
You can now define constraints on multiple boundary zones at the same time. (Setting Up the Mesh
Morpher/Optimizer)
Parallel Processing
A Laplace smoothing option has been introduced for use with the METIS partitioning method. This option
can be used to prevent partition boundaries from passing through extended regions of highly-stretched
cells which avoids convergence difficulties that can arise in such cases. This new option replaces the func-
tionality of the /parallel/partition/set/stretched-mesh-enhancement command in previous
versions. Also, unlike the command it replaces, the Laplace smoothing option can be used in both serial
and parallel. This was available as a beta feature in Fluent R15.0. (Partitioning in the Fluent User's Guide)
You can now enable/disable and customize GPGPU acceleration settings for individual coupled and scalar
equation systems. (Using and Managing GPGPUs)
A parallel check feature is available to check and report information about various factors that affect parallel
performance. (Parallel Check)
Information about installed GPUs can now be printed to the console from the Report System menu.
(System Resource Usage)
User-Defined Functions (UDFs) and User-Defined Scalars (UDSs)
Fluent now automatically creates the extended neighborhood so it is no longer necessary to explicitly enable
extended neighborhood. Additional macros have been introduced to loop over regular or extended exterior
cells and for data exchange between compute nodes. (Parallel Considerations)
A function has been added allowing UDF access to saturation properties from the NIST real-gas model. (NIST
Real Gas Saturation Properties)
Data Import and Export
Exporting to Fieldview format now makes use of parallel optimizations that improve write speed. This
functionality was available as a beta feature through separate text commands in Fluent R15.0. Those beta-
feature commands have been removed.
You can now export results and mesh data for surfaces in Fieldview format.
Fluent
You now have the ability to import surfaces for postprocessing (*.stl or *.msh format). For additional
information, see Imprint Surfaces in the Fluent User's Guide.
You can now export polyhedral mesh and data in CGNS file format.
You can now convert surface mesh created in non-SI units into SI units before importing into ANSYS Fluent
by specifying the units in the Mesh was created in field of the Select File dialog box.
When running Fluent in parallel, you can now read or write case and data files using Hierarchical Data Format
(HDF). (Reading and Writing Files Using Hierarchical Data Format (HDF))
Calculation Activities
You can now autosave case and data files based on crank angle for in-cylinder simulations. You can also
append file names with the crank angle.
Graphics, Postprocessing, and Reporting
Three new options are now available for surface integral reports: Custom Vector Based Flux, Custom Vector
Flux, and Custom Vector Weighted Average. For additional information on custom vector options, see Surface
Integrals Dialog Box in the Fluent User's Guide and Computing Surface Integrals in the Fluent Theory Guide.
The text command /solve/monitors/force/unscaled? has been added to specify that Fluent
should report force and moment monitors as unscaled force and moment values, rather than as dimensionless
coefficients.
It is now possible to create multiple zone surfaces at once using the Zone Surface dialog box. You can also
use the text command surface/multiple-zone-surfaces.
The ability to create and save for later use contour and plot vector definitions has been added for the Con-
tours and Vectors tree items. (Creating and Using Contour Plot Definitions and Creating and Using Vector
Plot Definitions)
Workbench
Miscellaneous enhancements to the user interface of solution monitoring have been implemented in ANSYS
Workbench. (Monitoring Fluent Solutions in Workbench)
Coupling between transient Maxwell and steady Fluent systems is promoted from beta to full-feature.
For coupled Ansoft-Fluent systems, you can now perform automatic system updates for each coupling iter-
ation using the Ansoft Feedback Iterator.
You can now load multiple meshes created in the ANSYS Meshing application to a Fluent-based system.
(Connecting Multiple Upstream Meshes to a Setup Cell of a Fluent-Based System)
You can now recover the latest case and data files for cases when the latest matching/compatible case and
data files are missing from the list of the solution files in Fluent. (Managing Solution Files)
The user interface for the recorded mesh operations and matching zones feature has been enhanced and
become more straightforward. The changes include the following:
The Incoming Zones dialog box has been removed, and the Recorded Mesh Operations dialog box has
been renamed to Recorded Mesh Operations and Incoming Zones
Information about incoming zones and the Match Zone Names dialog box are accessible directly from
the Recorded Mesh Operations and Incoming Zones dialog box
(Recording Mesh Manipulation Operations and Resolving Mesh Incompatibility in Fluent)
For Fluent (with TGrid meshing) component systems, you can:
Transfer geometry data to a Mesh cell through a connection from an upstream Geometry component
system. (Fluent-Based Component Systems)
Use a journal file to automatically generate a computational mesh for your geometry. (Using a Journal
File for the Mesh Cell)
Use a journal file to set and expose Workbench parameters for controlling the mesh generation process
(Using a Journal File for the Mesh Cell).
Specify the number of parallel processes for update operations for a Mesh cell. (Using Parallel Fluent
Meshing)
Add-Ons
Adjoint Module
The Control Volume Morphing tool in the Adjoint module has been replaced by the Design Tool which
offers greatly enhanced functionality including optimal deformation for multiple objectives and the ap-
plication of design conditions such as prescribed-motion, bounding planes, and locally fixed walls. Control
volume morphing settings in existing case files are respected. (Modifying the Geometry Using the Design
Tool)
Various volume integrals are now available as observables for the adjoint solver. (General Observables)
The effects of user-defined momentum sources on computed sensitivities can now be considered in the
application of the adjoint solver by using the new UDF macro, DEFINE_SOURCE_AE. (User-Defined Sources)
Porous media are now supported in the adjoint solver.
An auto-adjust option has been introduced for the adjoint solver numerics. When enabled, the convergence
of the AMG solver and the adjoint residuals are monitored during solution advancement and adjustments
are made to the numerics automatically to encourage convergence. (Using the Adjoint Solution Controls
Dialog Box)
A new Dissipation Scheme is available for stabilizing the adjoint solver advancement. (Dissipation Scheme)
Battery Module
For the MSMD Battery model, you can now use the time-scheduled or event-scheduled profiles to define
an electric load boundary condition. (Specifying Battery Model Options)
The NTGK and ECM battery models now offer a parameter estimation tool for computing the polynomial
coefficients of the model parameters from the battery testing data. The tool is available through the text
user interface. (Using the Dual-Potential MSMD Battery Model Text User Interface)
For battery pack simulations, the new virtual connection capability enables you to connect batteries in a
pack without the need for explicit meshing of such connections. (Battery Pack Simulation)
Fluent
The external and internal short-circuit treatment has been added for the MSMD battery model. (Specifying
External and Internal Short-Circuit Resistances)
For the Fuel Cell and Electrolysis model, the enhancements include:
The ability to enable the Laplace Smoothing for parallel partition directly from the Fuel Cell Electrolysis
Models dialog box. (Specifying Model Options)
The ability to use four exchange coefficients for the cathode and anode transfer currents. (Specifying
Model Options)
The ability to account for liquid blockage to gas diffusion and to reaction surface separately. (Specifying
Model Parameters)
The ability to change relative permeability calculation for multiphase simulations. (Specifying Model
Parameters)
A new user-accessible function is available for modifying the thermal contact resistance for porous zones.
(User-Accessible Functions)
Beta Features
There are also some exciting new enhancements available as beta features that you may be interested in
trying out. Detailed documentation is in the Fluent 16.0 Beta Features Manual which is available on the ANSYS
Customer Portal.
1.2. Supported Platforms for ANSYS Fluent 16.0

1.3. New Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 16.0

The following is a list of new or recently discovered limitations known to exist in ANSYS Fluent 16.0.
Where possible, suggested work-arounds are provided.
Models
The Transition SST model (also known as the -Re model) is not Galilean invariant and should therefore
not be applied to surfaces that move relative to the coordinate system for which the velocity field is
computed; for such cases, the Intermittency Transition model (also known as the model) should be used
instead.
Platform support and drivers
Remote display
Solver-Meshing
In certain cases with tetrahedral or hybrid meshes, the use of the Least-Squares Cell Based gradient
method in combination with the cell-to-cell limiter may cause divergence. If this is observed, it is recom-
mended to either change the gradient method to Green-Gauss Node Based or to change the limiter type
to the cell-to-face limiter.
When you load a case and data file containing mapped interfaces and continue the calculation, you may
see a jump in the residuals. This jump in residuals will not affect the final solution convergence. In some
New Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 16.0
cases, where the two interface zones of the mapped interface match reasonably well, you can enable the
Matching option on the mapped interface, which will remove the possibility of a residual jump.
Parallel processing
The version of Platform MPI that is distributed with Fluent is now limited to a maximum of 4096
processes for a single simulation. For higher core counts, an additional license is required. Refer to
IBM Platform MPI with High (>4096) Process Count in the Configuring High Performance Computing
Guide for more information.
The PARALLEL INDEPENDENT mode for Hierarchical Data Format file I/O is known to exhibit slow
write performance. On parallel file systems, consider using the PARALLEL COLLECTIVE mode when
writing HDF files. On other network file systems, consider using the HOST or NODE0 mode.
Note that on systems using large pages for memory allocation (such as Cray, etc.), the virtual
memory usage reported by Fluent may be much higher than actual memory used. In this case
resident memory (also reported by Fluent) is a more reliable guide.
Fluent uses several TCP/IP ports for parallel communications and error handling. Port conflicts with
other programs trying to use the same ports are handled by Fluent and generate warnings similar
to the following:
428: mpt_accept: warning: incorrect exercise message "GET /" from 10.1.0.188 on port 56564
Long running large parallel sessions are more prone to generating such warnings, but these
are generally safe for the user to ignore.
Degenerate contact points are known to cause topological mesh connectivity issues in parallel.
Degenerate contact points are nodes that are shared by 2 or more cell zones that do not share
faces. Fluent can detect degenerate contact points in serial via a mesh check with the mesh check
verbosity set greater than 0. If a case has generate contact points then you must use the following
command before reading the case for proper parallel handling of such contact points.
(rpsetvar 'parallel/add-dgcp-to-int-or-corner?)
When using the default MPI (PCMPI) on some newer hardware the following message may appear
when exiting the Fluent session.
hwloc has encountered what looks like an error from the operating system.
object (Socket cpuset 0xff00ffff) intersection without inclusion!

Error occurred in topology.c line 758
Please report this error message to the hwloc user's mailing list,
along with any relevant topology information from your platform.
This message is from the hardware locality library used by Platform MPI. You can set the fol-
lowing environment variable to hide this message, or switch to Intel MPI.
HWLOC_HIDE_ERRORS=1
The DPM Domain option of the hybrid parallel DPM tracking method is not available with non-
conformal interfaces.
The Eulerian Wall-film model is not compatible with the DPM Domain option of the hybrid parallel
DPM tracking. For such model combination, the Use DPM Domain option must be disabled in the
Parallel tab of the Discrete Phase Model dialog box.
Fluent
Graphics, Reporting and Postprocessing
If you experience any hanging/freezing issues or incomplete annotations with the Mouse-Annotate
function on a Windows machine, you can define the environment variable FLUENT_NAT-
IVE_HOOPS_EVENTS=1. (The environment variable must be specified prior to beginning a new Fluent
session for it to take effect.)
Mean and root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) quantities of custom field functions are only available for
mixtures. In previous releases it was possible to specify these quantities for phases, which was an incorrect
behavior. This behavior is not longer allowed in R16.0. If you are running a pre-R16.0 case set to output
such quantities in R16.0, you may get a segmentation error. To avoid the error, redefine the previously
defined monitors reporting mean or RMSE quantities of phases.
Other
Heat exchanger networks are not supported in HDF-formatted case and data files.
For a complete list of known limitations, including those which exist from previous releases, refer to Known
Limitations in ANSYS Fluent 16.0 in the Fluent Getting Started Guide.
1.4. Limitations That No Longer Apply in ANSYS Fluent 16.0

This section lists limitations which have existed in previous releases, but which have been removed in
ANSYS Fluent 16.0.
Models
The Wall Roughness group box in the Wall dialog box is no longer uneditable when Scale-Adaptive
Simulation (SAS) is selected from the Model list in the Viscous Model dialog box.
The non-equilibrium thermal model can be used with meshes that involve non-conformal interfaces, and
in such cases Fluent can automatically create a solid cell zone that is a duplicate of the porous zone (rather
than requiring you to create it manually).
Materials
Mesh
Periodic repeats for non-conformal periodic interfaces are now available with the transient solver.
Solver
The AMG cycle for scalar models using the pseudo-transient method is no longer dependent upon the
order in which the models and pseudo-transient formulation are set up.
Parallel
Parallel simulations involving non-conformal interfaces and node-based gradients no longer show a jump
in residuals when restarted on a different number of processors.
Workbench
For Fluent (with TGrid meshing) component systems, the following options for a Mesh cell context
menu are now available:
Updates Affecting Code Behavior
Clear Generated Data
Transfer Data to New
Refresh
Reset
For copied Fluent (with TGrid meshing) component systems, you can now start Fluent Meshing from
an up-to-date Mesh cell and modify the computational mesh for your problem.

The sections in this chapter contain a comprehensive list of the code changes implemented in ANSYS
Fluent 16.0 that may affect the ANSYS Fluent 15.0 solutions.
Please note that text that is in bold font represents key words that may facilitate your search for the
changes in code behavior.
Solver-Numerics
Improvements have been made to the computation of viscous heating in cases that use moving cell zones
with the relative velocity formulation. You may observe changes in the solutions of such cases as a result,
particularly in shear-dominated flows. This will also result in changes in the total temperature in cases with
flows that cross two frames of reference and that use the relative velocity formulation.
A fix has been made to eliminate spurious contributions to the normal viscous stress at symmetry boundaries
adjacent to unstructured meshes. This may affect results in such cases. It is possible to revert to the R15.0
treatment using the following command.
(rpsetvar 'mom/symmetry-secondary-gradient? #t)
Specified mass flow rate, mass flux, or average mass flux is relative to the adjacent cell zone, regardless of
the Reference Frame option you selected in the Mass-Flow Inlet boundary condition dialog box. This will
lead to differences in results (flow quantities like velocities, pressures, temperatures, and so on) between
R15.0 and R16.0.
Dynamic mesh cases using 2nd order in time may see a difference in solutions between R15.0 and R16.0
due to a correction in the grid flux calculation at the second time step.
Axisymmetric swirl cases with Low-Pressure Boundary Slip (LPBS) and Viscous Heating options enabled may
see a difference in results between R15.0 and R16.0 due to a correction in the viscous heating contribution
at the LPBS walls.
Convergence Optimization
The default explicit relaxation factors for the momentum, pressure, and volume fraction equations have
been changed from 0.75 to 0.5 for steady-state cases using the pressure-based coupled solver. This change
applies to single-phase cases and multiphase cases using the mixture or VOF formulations. Eulerian multiphase
cases are unaffected. Users can expect improved robustness with the default settings, but may experience
slower convergence of some cases using the new defaults.
Previous case file settings are respected.
Fluent
Solver-Meshing
ANSYS Fluent now uses parallel zone remeshing for tetrahedral and prism meshes when running Fluent in
parallel. This leads to differences in meshes created in serial versus parallel as well as those run on Windows
versus Linux. This may also lead to small differences in mesh created in serial in R15.0 and R16.0. To revert
to the behavior of previous releases of ANSYS Fluent, use the text command: define/dynamic-
mesh/controls/remeshing-parameters/parallel-remeshing?.
The graphical user interface of previous releases of ANSYS Fluent allowed you setup a steady-state case with
mesh motion, which renders the solution unphysical. This possibility has now been removed. Case files from
previous releases of ANSYS Fluent that have mesh motion enabled in steady-state will be converted to use
frame motion instead of mesh motion.
Improvements to the definition of orthogonal quality affect the reporting of orthogonal quality. This could
result in differences in the reported quality for the same mesh between R15.0 and R16.0. To revert to R15.0
behavior, use the following rpvar setting:
(rpsetvar 'mesh/bad/quality/method 1)
The non-conformal interface intersection algorithm has been changed to improve the quality of the inter-
sections, which may lead to differences in results obtained between R15.0 and R16.0. This will only affect
the results if the intersections are re-created from a mesh file. To revert to the pre-R16.0 intersection algorithm,
use the following rpvar setting:
(rpsetvar 'nonconformal/normal-check-relaxation-factor 0)
Improvements have been made to polyhedra conversion that could lead to differences in the polyhedra
mesh and in the results between R15.0 and R16.0. For additional information about polyhedra conversion,
see Converting the Domain to a Polyhedra in the Fluent User's Guide.
Now ANSYS Fluent automatically creates zone names for mesh interfaces that incorporate the user-provided
mesh interface name as a prefix. The old naming convention was simply the boundary type and a number,
for example wall-35. This could cause issues, for example, with old journal files expecting the old naming
strategy. For additional information about the automatic naming strategy, see Interface Zones Automatic
Naming Conventions in the Fluent User's Guide. Note that this feature does not modify zone names defined
in legacy cases. To revert to the naming strategy of previous releases, set the rpvar nonconformal/use-
pre-16-release-naming-conventions? to true.
Turbulence
The definition of the turbulence length scale for inlets has been revised, in order to make it more consistent
with that used inside the domain for various physical models in Fluent. As a result, the solution results may
change for any simulation that uses the Intensity and Length Scale specification method, as well as one-
equation turbulence model simulations that use the Intensity and Hydraulic Diameter specification
method.
The default subgrid-scale model for the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model and the Embedded Large Eddy
Simulation (ELES) model has been changed from the Smagorinsky-Lilly model to the Wall-Adapting Local
Eddy-Viscosity (WALE) model. Existing case file settings will be respected, whereas the new default will be
used for cases in which the LES or ELES model has not been previously selected or enabled.
For all inlet and exit boundaries in simulations that use the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model, the default
value of the Modified Turbulent Viscosity (which is available in the Turbulence group box when Modified
Turbulent Viscosity is selected from the Specification Method drop-down list) has been changed to 0.0001.
This new value is consistent with a turbulent viscosity ratio of approximately 10 for air. This change will only
affect newly set up cases, as existing case file settings are respected.
All Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) models and the algebraic Wall-Modeled Large Eddy Simulation (WMLES)
model have been upgraded in order to more accurately calculate solutions for polyhedral meshes. As a
result, the solution results may change for any simulation that uses these models, except when the mesh
consists entirely of rectilinear hexahedral cells.
Also, the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) model has been upgraded to reflect
the formulation described by Gritskevich et al., 2012, rather than that described by Shur et al., 2008.
This may affect the solution results.
To revert to the previous behavior, enter the following command in the console:
(rpsetvar 'des-iddes-r13-r15? #t)
The model constants that appear in the high wave number damping of the SAS term no longer include
compressibility corrections. Any changes to the solutions as a result of this should be minor, and only for
flows that have a high Mach number.
The calculation of the subgrid eddy viscosity as part of the Wall-Adapting Local Eddy-Viscosity (WALE)
model has been corrected to properly account for coordinate frame rotation. This may affect the solution
results for cases that have rotating zones and use the relative velocity formulation.
Heat Transfer
In the parallel version of Fluent, an enhanced routine (which was previously only available as a beta feature)
is now used by default for the encapsulation of coupled walls that is a consequence of enabling shell con-
duction and/or the surface to surface (S2S) radiation model. This enhanced encapsulation may change how
the mesh is partitioned and should improve convergence. You can disable this option using the
define/models/shell-conduction/enhanced-encapsulation? text command.
A new algorithm is used with the S2S model for non-conformal meshes, in order to avoid encapsulating
coupled wall faces at the partition interface. This yields better load balances and therefore improves the
overall solver performance (that is, the time needed by the solver for each iteration), with significant gains
especially for cases with a large number of processors.
As part of the S2S model, the default method when calculating the view factors on a cluster to cluster basis
is now the ray tracing method. This change will only affect newly set up cases, as existing case file settings
are respected.
Numerics changes to the node-based gradient algorithm for temperature with non-conformal interfaces
may result in solution differences between R15.0 and R16.0.
The calculation for the mean beam length for the weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model (WSGGM) has been
corrected, which may result in solution changes for cases that have solid zones, mass flow inlets, and/or
pressure far-field boundaries.
A correction has been made for the calculation of shell conduction when multiple layers are defined on a
two-sided wall, especially for T-junctions. This may result in solution changes.
Reacting Flow
A more robust solution algorithm, CEQ, previously used only for Relaxation to Chemical Equilibrium and
Dimension Reduction calculations, is now used for most chemical equilibrium calculations. CEQ is able to
Fluent
converge simulations that the previous solution algorithm, CPROPEP, could not. In some cases, CEQ may
yield slightly different results for flamelet, pdf, or spark ignition simulations.
CPROPEP is still used for:
equilibrium calculations involving empirical fuel
PDF table generation
To revert to CPROPEP for other equilibrium calculations enter the following text user interface com-
mand in the console:
(rpsetvar 'pdf/equil-solver/ceq? #f)
Corrections made to the Coal Calculator may lead to different values for certain Species model and
Non/Partial Premixed model parameters if rerun for pre-R16.0 cases. The potentially affected parameters
are standard state enthalpy for volatile species in the Species model and lower calorific values for the fuel
stream in the Non/Partial Premixed model.
Discrete Phase Model
For unsteady particle tracking, the application of the temporal staggering factor has been adjusted such
that the default value of 1 gives maximum sensible spreading in all cases. As a result, you may some differ-
ences in initial particle locations compared with previous releases.
A correction has been made to the Lagrangian Wall Film momentum equation to fix a defect in which the
film particles were not affected by the wall and gas-phase shear stresses. As a result, you may observe signi-
ficant changes in wall film location, mass, and velocity.
Multiple improvements have been made to the Lagrangian Wall Film model. Energy can now be transferred
between the Lagrangian film and the wall and there is now a Film Boiling model for when droplets and
multi-component particles reach their boiling point. These improvements can lead to differences in results
between R15.0 and R16.0. To revert to pre-R16.0 behavior, set the rpvar dpm/film-formulation-
r15? to #t, then you must open the Discrete Phase Model dialog box and click OK for the change to take
effect.
Stochastic particle tracking has been changed to resolve a bug such that eddy crossing time is now multiplied
by 1 (old default was 2), which may lead to changes in results. To revert to R15.0 behavior, set the rpvar
'dpm/eddy-cross-time-factor to 2, then you must open the Discrete Phase Model dialog box and
click OK for the change to take effect.
A correction has been made to the Taylor Analogy Breakup model (TAB), which increases the breakup length
of sprays when it is used in combination with dynamic drag. To revert to pre-R16.0 behavior, set the rpvar
'dpm/spray-suite-tab-evaluate-double-ddrag? to #t, then you must open the Discreate
Phase Model dialog box and click OK for the change to take effect.
Eulerian Multiphase Models
As a result of a correction made to the initialization of granular temperature, cases in which granular tem-
perature is initialized from a boundary value may yield slightly different results.
Parallel Processing
ssh is now used as the default remote login protocol for distributed parallel processing. If you do not have
an ssh implementation installed and configured for password-less login, you can continue to use rsh by
using the -rsh command line option, or by selecting RSH in the Parallel tab of Fluent Launcher.
GPGPU acceleration in Fluent now uses CUDA 6. As a result you may need to update your CUDA installation
and/or graphics driver to use the GPGPU acceleration feature.
Add-Ons
The mesh morpher in the Adjoint module has been enhanced with the addition of a smoothness parameter
and numerical changes to improve performance. As a consequence, the expected changes reported in R16
will differ slightly from those in R15. The difference will be more noticeable where smaller numbers of control
points are used. For high values of the smoothness parameter, the R16 result will approach the R15 result.
Chapter 2: CFX Release Notes
This section summarizes major changes to ANSYS CFX introduced in Release 16.0. The following types
of changes are discussed:
2.1. New Features and Enhancements
2.2. Incompatibilities

This section describes new features and enhancements to ANSYS CFX introduced in Release 16.0. Topics
include:
Parallel Processing
Partitions are smoothed by default before solver runs. Partition smoothing can improve HPC performance
and scaling for large numbers of partitions. You can configure partition smoothing settings in either the
Execution Control object in CFX-Pre or the Define Run dialog box in CFX-Solver. For details, see Optim-
izing Mesh Partitioning in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide, Partition Smoothing in the CFX-Pre User's Guide,
and Partition Smoothing in the CFX-Solver Manager User's Guide.
Since Release 15, the large problem partitioner supported the MeTiS partitioning method as an expert
parameter enabled option, allowing larger cases to be partitioned with MeTiS. In Release 16.0, MeTiS is
the default partitioning method for the large problem partitioner.
The default remote access protocol on UNIX/Linux has been changed from rsh to ssh. For details, see
ANSYS CFX Linux Parallel Setup in the Configuring High Performance Computing Guide.
Solution Monitoring and Convergence Control
In CFX-Pre, you can specify statistics (such as the arithmetic average or standard deviation) to evaluate
for monitored expressions over moving intervals. You can then use these statistics as part of an interrupt
control for solver runs. For details on configuring monitor statistics, see [Monitor Name]: Monitor Stat-
istics in the CFX-Pre User's Guide. For details on implementing monitor statistics in an interrupt control,
see Using Monitors in CEL in the CFX-Pre User's Guide.
In CFX-Solver, you can apply derived variables, such as graphical offsets or statistics over moving intervals,
to existing monitors. For details, see Workspace Properties Command, CFX-Solver Manager Monitor
Properties Dialog Box and New Derived Variable Command.
The CFX-Solver output file can now include a brief job summary. For details, see the description for
-output-summary-option in Command-Line Options and Keywords for cfx5solve in the CFX-Solver
Manager User's Guide. Also see Job Information at Start of Run in the CFX-Solver Manager User's Guide.
Transient Blade Row
The Fourier Transformation method can now be used to solve transient rotor-stator cases. For technical
details, see Fourier Transformation in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide and Case 1: Transient Rotor Stator
CFX
Single Stage in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide. For a related tutorial, see Fourier Transformation Method
for a Transient Rotor-Stator Case in the CFX Tutorials.
The Frequency Filtering option was added to the Fourier Transformation model to avoid instabilities.
The setting for enabling frequency filtering is described in Frequency Filtering in the CFX-Pre User's Guide.
Boundary Conditions
When using Mass Flow Rate or Exit Corrected Mass Flow Rate boundary conditions in
a single-phase, rotational periodic model, you can now specify whether the mass flow rate value
boundary conditions apply to the modeled sector or the full geometry (360). For details on inlets, see
Mass Flow Rate in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide. For details on outlets, see Mass Flow Rate (Bulk Mass
Flow Rate for Multiphase) in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide and Exit Corrected Mass Flow Rate in the
CFX-Solver Modeling Guide.
The Mass Flow Update outlet boundary condition has been renamed to Mass Flow Outlet Constraint
for clarity. All associated settings have also been renamed. For details, see Mass Flow Outlet Constraint
in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide.
Export
You can export complex pressure from a blade flutter case for use in the ANSYS Mechanical solver. For
details, see Case 4: Harmonic Forced Response in the CFX-Solver Modeling Guide, [Export Surface Name]:
Excitation Frequency in the CFX-Pre User's Guide, and [Export Surface Name]: Accumulation Period in the
CFX-Pre User's Guide.
Turbulence
A new reattachment modification option is available for the SST model, to address potentially exaggerated
zones of flow separation that can occur, even though the onset of separation is typically well predicted
by the SST model. For technical details and model limitations, see The Reattachment Modification (RM)
Model in the CFX-Solver Theory Guide.
This section describes the operational changes, the procedural changes (actions that have to be done
differently in this release to get an outcome available in previous releases), and the support changes
(functionality that is no longer supported) in the current release of ANSYS CFX.
The Last Period Fourier coefficient accumulation method has been deprecated in favor of the Moving
Averages method, which continuously updates Fourier coefficients as CFX-Solver runs progress. Last
Period no longer appears in the Monitor object for new CFX-Pre cases. Last Period is still available,
but it is recommended that you instead use Moving Averages.

Parallel collection is switched on by default for runs with at least 64 partitions.
The viscous work term is now enabled by default for cases involving multiple frames of reference and the
Total Energy heat transfer model. For details, see The Total Energy Equation in the CFX-Solver Theory Guide.
In run continuation mode, the interpolator will now copy zone-global data for different meshes in the same
domain (geometry). This corrects a transient rotor stator problem in which the gravity vector is perpendicular
to the axis of rotation.
Accuracy has been improved for cases containing radiometers specified within a material with a refractive
index greater than one.
Incompressible flows with the Thermal Energy model now return the correct total temperature.
Parallel radiation cases with the Monte Carlo model or Discrete Transfer model, and transmissive domain
interfaces, now produce the correct intensity when a parallel partition boundary touches that interface.
Previous mass source results from Initial Values files are now properly ignored when used with a Solver Input
File without mass source definitions.
FSI calculations in parallel involving heat transfer now produce the correct heat flux at the interface when
a boundary crosses that interface.
The High Speed Numerics option now sets the nodal pressure gradients to zero at all pressure boundaries
and openings. For details, see Advanced Options Tab in the CFX-Pre User's Guide.
Chapter 3: TurboGrid Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS TurboGrid 16.0:

The new features and enhancements in ANSYS TurboGrid 16.0 are as follows:
There are new options for specifying the Inlet and Outlet objects. For details, see Inlet Tab or Outlet Tab in
the TurboGrid User's Guide.
You can accommodate a meridional splitter in the outlet domain when using ATM Topology. For details,
see Inlet Tab or Outlet Tab in the TurboGrid User's Guide.
The ATM method now supports splitter blades that have rounded trailing edges. For details, see Using
Splitter Blades with ATM in the TurboGrid User's Guide.
The ATM method now supports tandem vanes for some cases. For details, see Using Tandem Vanes with
ATM in the TurboGrid User's Guide. For a related tutorial, see Tandem Vane in the TurboGrid Tutorials.
For new single-blade cases, ATM topology is centered about the blade rather than the passage. Existing
cases are unaffected. To revert to the old behavior (that is, to disable blade centering) change the value of
CCL parameter ATM Periodic Start Vertex Use 150 Default Behavior to true in the
BLADE SET object. To activate blade centering for existing cases, change the value of that same parameter
to false.
Mesh statistics are displayed with widened default mesh limits. The default limit for Element Volume Ratio
has been increased from 2 to 20. The default limit for Edge Length Ratio has been increased from 100 to
1000.
The first element height around the blade is constant to create a more consistent match between the blade,
the hub, and the shroud.
(functionality that is no longer supported) in ANSYS TurboGrid 16.0.
Support for traditional topology (the Traditional with Control Points topology placement
method) may be dropped in a future release. You are encouraged to use ATM Optimized topology for new
cases. For details, see Traditional Topologies in the TurboGrid User's Guide.
Chapter 4: ANSYS BladeModeler Release Notes
This section summarizes the new features in BladeModeler Release 16.0. Topics include:
4.1. BladeGen
4.2. BladeEditor
4.1. BladeGen
BladeGen is a geometry-creation tool for turbomachinery blade rows.
4.1.1. BladeGen New Features and Enhancements

In Workbench, you can connect a BladeGen system to a Vista TF system. To do this, right-click the Blade
Design cell of the BladeGen system and select Transfer Data to New > Vista TF.
There is a Create New > Geometry command from the Blade Design cell of a BladeGen system. This command
launches ANSYS DesignModeler (with BladeEditor) and generates the new model. You will receive a warning
or error message for any feature of the BladeGen case that cannot be reflected in the BladeEditor model.
4.2. BladeEditor
ANSYS BladeEditor is a plugin for ANSYS DesignModeler for creating, importing, and editing blade
geometry.
4.2.1. BladeEditor New Features and Enhancements

You can create radial blade geometries within BladeEditor. For details, see Blades made using Camber-
line/Thickness Sub-features in the TurboSystem User's Guide.
You can import blades from CAD models. For details, see Importing Blades from CAD Models in the
TurboSystem User's Guide.
4.2.2. BladeEditor Incompatibilities

(functionality that is no longer supported) in the current release of BladeEditor.
The behavior for existing cases that use Theta with LE/TE Beta Angle definitions and Beta Mode set to
Tangential is different. In the previous release, the Beta Mode was treated as being Axial even when
it was set to Tangential. In the current release, when loading a case with Beta Mode set to Tangential,
the Beta Mode is treated as Tangential, causing the blade to have a different shape.
Chapter 5: CFD-Post Release Notes
This chapter summarizes the new features and incompatibilities in CFD-Post Release 16.0. Topics include:

This section describes new features and enhancements to CFD-Post introduced in Release 16.0:
Format control of numbers in text objects
You can control the format of numbers in text objects that use auto annotation. For details, see De-
termine the number formatting automatically Check Box in the CFD-Post User's Guide.
Improvements in accuracy for quantitative evaluations (for example, area averages) on iso clips.
Ability to generate contour plots of Fluent results using cell or face values (or mesh vertex values). For details,
see Variable Location: Vertex and Face Options in the CFD-Post User's Guide.
The Variables tree view has been reorganized. For details, see Variables Tree View in the CFD-Post User's
Guide.
Turbo plots are no longer automatically displayed when you double-click them in the Turbo tree view.
Chapter 6: Polyflow Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS Polyflow 16.0.
6.1. New Features
6.2. Supported Platforms
6.3. Defect Fixes
6.4. New Limitations in ANSYS Polyflow 16.0
6.5. Past Versions of ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes
6.1. New Features

The new features in ANSYS Polyflow 16.0 are as follows:
It is now possible to directly read the following file types into Polydata (through the Read a
mesh file menu item), Polyman (through the File/Import/Polyflow mesh menu), and the Polyflow
solver:
.poly files created for Polyflow by ANSYS Meshing or ANSYS ICEM CFD
.msh files created for Fluent by ANSYS Meshing, ANSYS Fluent, Fluent Meshing, or GAMBIT
All material properties defined using the PMAT function can now concurrently be defined as user-
defined templates (UDTs).
The integration of EKM with Polyflow has been greatly enhanced, allowing you to extract much
more data than in previous releases.
It is now possible to compute trajectories on a velocity field (automatically created by Polydata)

that extends through all sub-tasks, including porous media. This means, for example, that you
can define a mixing task for the calculation of trajectories for simulations that apply both Navier-
Stokes and Darcy equations, in the same way you would for a classical flow problem.
Solver data structures have been improved to increase Polyflows ability to handle larger problems.
Polydata now loads large mesh files much faster than in previous versions.
It is now possible to enable volume conservation when the volume of fluid varies with time. In such
cases you must apply the correct evolution function on the prescribed volume to ensure proper volume
conservation.
A check has been introduced in Polydata to verify that the subdomains and boundaries in a
CutCell / Assembly Meshing mesh and corresponding data file are ordered in such a way as to
be compatible, and to provide instructions for correcting any problems.
Polyflow has a new simpler material model based on a strain-dependent viscosity. For additional inform-
ation, see Strain-Dependent Viscosity in the Polyflow User's Guide.
Polyflow
Probe files are now automatically generated for the following: process variables on each domain;
parameters defined with an evolution scheme; and extracted values (those generated by internal op-
timization). For additional information, see Saving Data at a Specified Point in the Polyflow User's Guide.
It is now possible to model orthotropic materials, such as a rubber matrix with reinforcing fibers in a
particular orientation. See Orthotropic Materials in the Polyflow User's Guide.
Polydata supports the timing out of shared licenses for idle applications. See the licensing documentation
for more details.
ANSYS Polyflow supports offloading key solver computations onto graphics cards to accelerate those
computations. A graphical processing unit (GPU) does not replace the CPU core(s), but is used in support
of the CPU to process certain calculations. See GPU Accelerator Capability in the Polyflow User's Guide.
The handling of CutCell / Assembly Meshing meshes has been improved, so that more non-conformal
elements (which can introduce inaccuracies) are eliminated in the solver.
The instructions and input files of the ANSYS Polyflow Examples Manual are now available on the ANSYS
Customer Portal by searching for Polyflow Examples Manual. They are no longer saved in the
installation folder.
6.2. Supported Platforms

6.3. Defect Fixes

The defect fixes in ANSYS Polyflow 16.0 are as follows:
In order to increase the likelihood of convergence and realistic results for flow problems with
non-moving parts that involve the slip condition, the default interpolation scheme for the force
density field has been changed to be constant per element.
A fix was introduced to correct the results of postprocessor sub-tasks for non-isothermal cases that in-
volve the mesh superposition technique (MST) and a boundary defined with the slip condition.
Workbench now allows you to use UDFs while running using RSM.
Polyflow now allows decoupling of moving surfaces in combination with decoupling of velocities/species
or velocities/temperature
Polydata is now able to handle larger ANSYS Meshing files.
It is now possible to define a Thompson remeshing with more than 30 faces.
A fix was introduced to ensure the proper functioning of evolutions defined on the tensorial permeab-
ility calculated using the Darcy model.
Adaptive meshing no longer deforms the interface between subdomains.
6.4. New Limitations in ANSYS Polyflow 16.0

The following is a list of new or recently discovered limitations known for ANSYS Polyflow 16.0.
Past Versions of ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes
For a Workbench session in which the Mesh cell is Up-to-Date, if you open ANSYS Meshing and change
the Export Unit for Polyflow (available in the Options dialog box when Export is selected under
Meshing in the left pane), the state of the Mesh cell will remain Up-to-Date, even though the revised
data has not been passed to the Polyflow Setup cell. You must force the update by right-clicking the
Mesh cell, selecting Clear Generated Data from the menu that opens, and then updating the cell.
The units exported by ANSYS Meshing for Polyflow are not saved in the Workbench project file; it is
therefore recommended that you always check the units before regenerating a new mesh.
For further limitations that are present in ANSYS Polyflow 16.0 but that were discovered during previous
releases, see Known Limitations in ANSYS Polyflow 16.0 in the Polyflow User's Guide.
6.5. Past Versions of ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes

Previous versions of the ANSYS Polyflow Release Notes are installed as PDFs with the product.
To access these PDFs, point your web browser to
For Windows:
path\ANSYS Inc\v160\polyflow\polyflow16.0.x\help\index.htm
For Linux:
path\ansys_inc\v160\polyflow\polyflow16.0.x\help\index.htm
where path is the directory where you installed ANSYS Polyflow and x represents the appropriate
number for the release (for example, 0 for polyflow16.0.0).
Part III: ANSYS Electronics Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Electronics products:
Icepak
Chapter 1: Icepak Release Notes
Release 16.0 of the ANSYS Icepak application offers most of the capabilities from previous releases plus
many new features and enhancements.
Introduction (p. 87)
New and Modified Features in ANSYS Icepak 16.0 (p. 87)
1.1. Introduction
ANSYS Icepak 16.0 is a release of ANSYS Icepak that has new features and defect fixes. New features
are listed in the following section of this document.
1.2. New and Modified Features in ANSYS Icepak 16.0

Graphical User Interface
Implemented Expand/Collapse All with mouse buttons to show or hide relevant tree items. See Section
Using the Mouse in the Model manager Window of the Users Guide.
Improved the joule heating and board dialog boxes. See Section Trace Heating of the Users Guide.
Added ability to configure vias for either a compact or detailed PCB object. See Section Adding a PCB to
Your ANSYS Icepak Model of the Users Guide.
ECAD Import/Export
Added capability to filter power maps being imported from SIwave. See Section Gradient, Cadence, SIwave
and Apache Sentinel Powermap Files of the Users Guide.
Implemented import of temperature-dependent powermaps from Sentinel TI. See Gradient, Cadence,
SIwave and Apache Sentinel Powermap Files of the Users Guide.
Implemented import of trace files using Ansys EDB. See Import Trace Files of the Users Guide.
Model Import/Export
Implemented two-way coupling between HFSS/Maxwell/Q3D Extractor and Icepak in ANSYS Workbench.
See Ansoft - Icepak Coupling in Workbench of the Users Guide.
Implemented Feedback Iterator to automate two-way coupling between Icepak and HFSS/Maxwell applic-
ations. See Ansoft - Icepak Coupling in Workbench of the Users Guide.
Implemented export of monitor data to a csv file. See Plotting Residuals of the Users Guide.
Implemented CSV import capabilities for monitor points and materials. See CSV/Excel Files of the Users
Guide.
Icepak
Enhanced filtering of components during an IDF import. See Reading an IDF File Into ANSYS Icepak of
the Users Guide.
Modeling and meshing
Implemented concurrency feature to control the number of assemblies that are meshed at the same time.
See Sections Global Refinement for a Hex-Dominant Mesh and Global Refinement for a Hexahedral Mesh
of the Users Guide.
Enabled no O-grids on a per assembly basis in the Global tab of the Assembly panel. See Section Editing
Properties of an Assembly of the Users Guide.
Implemented option to fix velocities to a fluid block. See Section User Inputs for the Block Thermal Spe-
cification of the Users Guide.
Implemented option to offset a type 2 blower inlet from the center face. See Section Adding a Blower to
Your ANSYS Icepak Model of the Users Guide.
Implemented option to model mass and specific heat of network blocks. This option enables accurate
transient simulations for models consisting of network blocks. See User Inputs for Network Blocks of the
Users Guide.
Added ability to specify temperature variation in each direction for orthotropic thermal conductivities.
See Editing an Existing Material of the Users Guide.
Implemented ability to model 2D, 3D sources for species modelling. See Adding a Block to Your ANSYS
Icepak Model of the Users Guide.
Implemented improved visualization of mesh cut planes based on type of region. See Displaying the Mesh
on a Cross-Section of the Model of the Users Guide.
Added ability to provide time dependent boundary conditions to accurately model recirculating openings.
See User Inputs for a Recirculation Opening of the Users Guide.
Solving
Implemented feature to control individual object merging while writing solver input files. See Section
The Model Node Context Menus of the Users Guide.
Improved parallel solver behavior to optimize run times. See Section Parallel Processing of the Users
Guide.
Implemented new solver option F type to optimize overall solver run times. See Section Multigrid
Method of the Users Guide.
Added capability to monitor a surface. See Section Defining Solution Monitors of the Users Guide.
Implemented LSF, a computing resource management tool, that can be used with either the serial or the
parallel version of ANSYS Icepak. See Section Advanced Solution Control Options of the Users Guide.
Postprocessing and reporting
Implemented reporting of iso values in isolines for post-objects. See Contour Attributes of the Users
Guide.
New and Modified Features in ANSYS Icepak 16.0
Implemented point monitors for mass concentration of species. See Section The Points Node Context
Menus of the Users Guide.
Implemented option to customize the output of the summary report. See Section Summary Reports of
the Users Guide.
Added color schemes in the postprocessing analysis for clearer visualization of results. See Section Post-
processing Options of the Users Guide.
Implemented an additional option to coarsen number of trail particles for faster visualization. See Section
Particle Trace Attributes of the Users Guide.
Implemented a plane cut option to render a 3D surface contour. See Section Displaying the Mesh on In-
dividual Objects of the Users Guide.
Added capability to generate report of EM surface and volume losses assigned to individual objects. See
Section Overview: The Report Menu of the Users Guide.
Added capability to render several isosurfaces together for efficient postprocessing. See Section Displaying
Results on Isosurfaces of the Users Guide.
Implemented capability to render plane cut post object surface in 3D. See Contour Attributes of the Users
Guide.
Part IV: ANSYS Geometry & Mesh Prep Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Geometry & Mesh Prep products:
DesignModeler
SpaceClaim
CAD Integration
Meshing
IC Engine
ICEM CFD
Fluent Meshing
Chapter 1: Geometry Release Notes
This section summarizes the new features in DesignModeler Release 16.0. Topics include:
Alphabetical Body Sort
Models that contain more than two parts or bodies can now be sorted alphabetically (based on the
name) in the Tree Outline of DesignModeler. If a model is transferred to a downstream application, then
the bodies and part (in the downstream application) are ordered by creation irrespective of the order
in DesignModeler.
For more information, see Menus> Context Menus> Sort Bodies and Parts in the DesignModeler Users
Guide.
CAD Grille Shape Options
DesignModeler Electronics now includes a Grille feature to create rectangular, circular, polygonal, inclined
rectangle, and CAD shapes of Grilles for export to ANSYS Icepak. The bodies specified using the Opening
feature are the input used to create the shapes. The Free Area Ratio computed using the inputs after
the generation of the feature is exported to ANSYS Icepak.
For more information, see Electronics> Grille in the DesignModeler Users Guide.
Detach Feature Availability
Now available is the Detach feature to separate a model (solid and sheet bodies) into small parts, with
each part being a single face. Accessible via the path shown below the Detach features properties are
Preserve Bodies and Share Topology. The Detach feature is beneficial when performing parallel meshing
in ANSYS Mechanical.
For more information, see Menus> Concept Menu> Detach in the DesignModeler Users Guide.
Design Point Optimization Enhancements
Control of the geometry editor in ANSYS Workbench has been improved performing Design Point up-
dates. Accessible via the path below, the geometry editor can be:
Stay open and use the same session during a design point update, or
Automatically restart after a specified number of design points.
For more information, see Overview> Project Schematic Presence Related to CAD Integration> Geometry
Preferences in the CAD Integration section of the ANSYS Help.
Face Split by Plane and Surface
Usability has been improved for the Face Split feature with the newly added ability to split a face by a
plane or by a surface. Previously, Face Splitting was limited to By Points and Edges or By Location.
DesignModeler
For more information, see 3D Modeling> Advanced Features and Tools> Face Split in the DesignModeler
Users Guide.
File and Feature Upgrade Utility
A File Upgrade Utility has been created in order to upgrade individual feature(s) and/or an entire
model. Upgrading permits new DesignModeler algorithms and behaviors, such as instancing or consistent
face orientation, to be applied to a model created with a previous DesignModeler release.
For more information, see Menu> Tools Menu> Upgrade Feature Version in the DesignModeler Users
Guide.
Merge Features Named Selection Preservation
When the Merge features Preserve Named Selection Boundary property is set to yes, it ensures that
named selection boundaries are not altered. For example, mergeable faces that belong to the same
named selection will merge together, but mergeable faces belonging to different named selections will
not merge.
For more information, see 3D Modeling> Advanced Features and Tools> Merge> Merge Properties in
the DesignModeler Users Guide.
Share Topology Progress
The Share Topology feature now displays its progress in the status bar.
Variable Blend Feature
Additional control over the shape of blends is now available via the ability to parameterize the start
and end radii of the blend edges.
For more information, see 3D Modeling> 3D Features> Blend> Variable Radius in the DesignModeler
Users Guide.
Weld Feature
You can now create a new body to represent the welds between two bodies (surface or solid) using
the Weld feature. Options accessible via the Details View include the Extent type: automatic, natural or
projection; selection of edges and faces; and the thickness propagation: inherited or user-defined.
For more information, see 3D Modeling> Advanced Features and Tools> Weld in the DesignModeler
Users Guide.
Chapter 2: SpaceClaim
For detailed information specific to SpaceClaim 2015, see the SpaceClaim 2015 Release Notes on the
ANSYS Customer Portal (support.ansys.com). Select either Knowledge Resources> Online Documentation
or Downloads>Documentation to view the document.
This section summarizes the new features in SpaceClaim Direct Modeler Release 16.0.
SpaceClaim Installation
SpaceClaim Direct Modeler is now included in the ANSYS 16.0 installation along with the CATIA V5 in-
terface for SpaceClaim. Please see the SpaceClaim Installation Guidelines for details on SpaceClaim in-
stallation and configuration.
Chapter 3: CAD
This section summarizes the new features in CAD Integration Release 16.0.
CATIA Support on Linux Platform
The CATIA V5 Reader is now supported on the 64-bit Linux platform. For the supported versions at the
time of release, see Overview> Geometry Interface Support in the CAD Integration section of the ANSYS
Help.
Information about past, present and future CAD, operating system and platform support is viewable
via the ANSYS, Inc. Web site (Support> Platform Support).
Instanced Data Support
IGES (Reader) file import into the Mechanical and Meshing products has been improved with the ability
to detect geometric instances, also called multiple referenced bodies. The Autodesk Inventor Plug-in
now supports Instancing.
For more information, see File Format Support> Autodesk Inventor and IGES in the CAD Integration
section of the ANSYS Help.
Material Processing Support
Material Processing is now supported for ACIS (Reader), CATIA V5 (Reader), and NX (Reader).
For more information, see File Format Support> ACIS, CATIA, and NX in the CAD Integration section of
the ANSYS Help.
Geometry Interfaces Update for New CAD Releases
Geometry interfaces are updated to support new CAD releases including:
ACIS 25 (Reader)
CATIA V56R2014 (Reader)
CATIA V6 R013x (Reader)
CATIA V5-CADNexus CAPRI CAE Gateway v3.20.0: V5-6R2014 (Reader)
Creo Elements 19.0 (Plug-In)
Creo Parametric 3.0 (Plug-In)
Autodesk Inventor 2015 (Reader and Plug-In)
NX 9.0 (Reader)
Parasolid 26.0 (Reader)
CAD
Solid Edge ST7 (Plug-In)
SolidWorks 2014 (Reader)
SolidWorks 2015 (Plug-In)
SpaceClaim 2015 (Plug-In)
Teamcenter Unified 10.1 with NX 9.0 or higher (Plug-In)
For detailed version support information, see CAD Integration> Geometry Interface Support in the CAD
Integration section of the ANSYS Help.
Information about past, present and future CAD, operating system and platform support is viewable
via the ANSYS, Inc. Web site (Support> Platform Support).
Chapter 4: Meshing Application Release Notes
This release of the Meshing application contains many new features and enhancements. Areas where
you will find changes and new capabilities include the following:
4.2. Meshing Options Enhancements
4.3. Mesh Export Options Enhancements
4.4. MultiZone Mesh Method Enhancements
4.5. Mesh Editing Enhancements
4.6. Virtual Topology Enhancements
4.7. Mesh Control Enhancements
Many of the enhancements detailed in the Mechanical Application Release Notes (p. 3) are relevant
to the Meshing application. In particular, the following sections describe enhancements that can also
affect Meshing:
General Enhancements
Performance Enhancements
Geometry Enhancements
Contact and Connection Enhancements
Graphics Enhancements

Releases
Fracture meshing is no longer available with the ANSYS Meshing application. To perform fracture meshing,
you must use the ANSYS Mechanical application. See Performing a Fracture Analysis for more information.
To replace an existing Mesh system with a Mechanical Model system, see Mechanical Model.
The Meshing application now supports the Lustre parallel file systems on Linux. To learn how to update
projects created prior to Release 16.0, see Using Lustre Parallel File Systems on Linux.
The Topology Checking option in the Patch Independent Options group now defaults to No instead of
Yes. When set to No, the mesher skips topology checks except where it is necessary to imprint all protected
topologies. You will need to independently validate the topology and that boundary conditions are properly
applied to the mesh.
4.2. Meshing Options Enhancements

The following Options enhancements have been made in Release 16.0:
A new option, Use MultiZone Sweep Sizing Behavior, enables you to use or ignore size functions.
Meshing
If set to Use Size Function, then any applied sizing controls (curvature and proximity refinement, and/or
local sizing) are evaluated in all directions of the selected bodies.
If set to Ignore Size Function, curvature and proximity refinement and/or local sizing along the sweep
path are ignored and the spacing along the sweep path is determined either by the global sizes or hard
sizes that are explicitly set on edges along the sweep direction.
A new option, Patch Independent Topology Checking, enables you to override the settings of the local
Topology Checking option in the Meshing application. See Topology Checking for more information.
A new Export option, Polyflow>Export Unit, defines the unit measurement for the mesh when exported
to ANSYS Polyflow. The default is Use Project Unit, which means the mesh is not scaled. If you change this
to another value (centimeter, millimeter, micrometer, inch, or foot), the mesh is scaled according to the export
unit you select.
See Meshing Options for more information.
4.3. Mesh Export Options Enhancements

The following enhancements have been made in Mesh Export options at Release 16.0:
You now export periodic boundary conditions to Fluent Meshing as PERIODIC boundary zone types by de-
fining the periodicities as Symmetries or Match Controls and defining Named Selections for each periodic
boundary condition. See Fluent Mesh Export for more details.
ICEM CFD now supports Named Selections.
You can now define the unit of measurement for the mesh when exported to CGNS or ANSYS Polyflow. The
default is Use Project Unit, which means the mesh is not scaled. If you change this to another value (centi-
meter, millimeter, micrometer, inch, or foot), the mesh is scaled according to the export unit you select.
The ICEM CFD Behavior settings for writing ANSYS ICEM CFD files in Interactive or Batch mode have
changed:
For Patch Independent Tetra, the available options under Advanced are now:
Generate Mesh - After the meshing operation completes, transfers both the geometry and mesh to
ANSYS ICEM CFD for editing.
Skip Meshing - Bypasses the meshing operation and transfers only the geometry to ANSYS ICEM CFD
for meshing and editing.
For MultiZone and MultiZone 2D, the available options under Advanced are:
Generate Blocking and Mesh - After the meshing operation completes, transfers the geometry,
blocking, and mesh to ANSYS ICEM CFD for editing.
Generate Blocking - Bypasses the meshing operation and transfers only the geometry and blocking
to ANSYS ICEM CFD for meshing and editing.
Update pre-existing Blocking - Bypasses the blocking operation, updates pre-existing blocking and
meshes, and transfers the geometry and mesh to ANSYS ICEM CFD for meshing and editing.
Mesh Editing Enhancements
4.4. MultiZone Mesh Method Enhancements

The following MultiZone mesh method enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
The new Sweep Size Behavior option enables you to set an element size to define the mesh spacing (default),
or to remove edges and prevent them from constraining the source faces. Choosing Sweep Element Size
enables the Sweep Element Size option. Choosing Sweep Edges enables you to select edges that will be
ignored from the size function calculation that is used to mesh the source faces. The source faces are meshed
with a size function that includes the whole geometry. Selecting the swept edges removes these edges
from constraining the source faces. When calculating the sizes in the swept direction, these edges are taken
into account.
The Free Mesh Type methods for Mapped Meshing have been modified:
The type Tetra now instructs MultiZone to fill regions of the model with a tetrahedron-only mesh if they
cannot be meshed with a mapped mesh.
The new type Tetra/Pyramid replaces the old Tetra type as the method to instruct MultiZone to fill regions
of the model with a mesh that uses tetrahedrons and pyramids at the faces if the regions cannot be
meshed with a mapped mesh.
The new Source Scoping Method control defines the method you use to choose a source or target face:
Geometry Selection enables you to select sources/targets manually using the Source option.
Named Selection enables you to choose one Named Selection as a source/target using the Source
Named Selection option.
MultiZone and MultiZone Quad/Tri can now work with advanced vertex options.
You can now select source faces across multiple parts.
The new Sweep Element Size property enables you to set an element size to define the mesh spacing along
the sweep path from source to target faces. If this control is set to a non-zero value, sizing controls applied
to the selected bodies as curvature and proximity refinement and/or local sizing are ignored. This property
can be added to the Workbench parameters, enabling you to use element size settings as a variable design
point when creating multiple solutions.
Inflation support is now more robust; error handling for inflation has also been improved.
Performance and robustness has been improved for large multibody parts.
Inflation support is now more robust, and the mesh is smoothed out better. The software will look for inter-
sections and compress the inflation to improve the success rate. Error handling for inflation has also improved.
For 2D models the user now has the option to use Pre or Post inflation. Pre inflation will use an O-Grid ap-
proach similar to 3D models. In the past post inflation was the only option.
Selective meshing now works when inflation boundaries are on a shared interface.
4.5. Mesh Editing Enhancements

Mesh Connection, Node Merge, and Node Move features are now all organized within a Mesh Editing
folder. The following Mesh Editing enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
Meshing
A new Mesh Edit folder and Node Merge Group, Node Merge, and Node Move objects have been added
to the Tree menu.
The Mesh Connection Group object now contains two new properties: Face Angle Tolerance and Edge
Overlap Tolerance. These new properties provide proximity detection capabilities.
The Mesh Connection object has a new context menu option, Generate Mesh. This option enables you to
create a mesh for the selected Mesh Connection object.
Post pinch behaviors have been migrated into Mesh Connections.
The new Node Merge feature enables you to merge coincident mesh nodes from instanced parts, Assembly
models, or other models where nodes are duplicated at the same location, to improve mesh quality. You
can also use this feature with Node Move to remove gaps in a mesh. Node merges can be performed on
solid, sheet, and line bodies.
The new Node Move feature enables you to select and then manually move specific nodes on the mesh to
improve the local mesh quality.
4.6. Virtual Topology Enhancements

The following Virtual Topology mesh method enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
The new Custom setting for Behavior enables you to set parameters that control the creation of automatic
Virtual Topologies. The Custom setting exposes Custom properties (Gauss Curvature and Feature Angles)
and Advanced Custom properties (Aspect Ratio, Contact Angle, Edge Angle, and Shared Boundary Ratio).
You can now use the Repair Method setting to focus more closely on problematic geometries. When you
set the Method to Repair, Behavior settings change to enable you to choose between Repair All, Repair
Small Edges, Repair Slivers, and Repair Small Faces.
You can now remove hard edges and hard vertices from a selected body using the Simplify Faces property.
See Creating and Managing Virtual Cells for more information on these enhancements.
4.7. Mesh Control Enhancements

The following global mesh control enhancements have been made at Release 16.0:
You can now set the Mesh Display Style to display the mesh using one of a number of metrics (for example,
Element Quality).
The Advanced option Straight Sided Elements is now available when solids are not present in the model.
The Proximity Size Function Sources option is now available for part/body-based meshing methods.
The Use Fixed Size Function for Sheets option enables you to use the Fixed Size function while you are
using Proximity Size functions to refine the mesh for the rest of the model.
Use Fixed Size Function for Sheets enables you to refine the mesh for sheet geometries using the Fixed
Size function while you are using Proximity Size functions to refine the mesh for the rest of the model.
The Mapped Face Meshing control has been renamed to Face Meshing. The Right-Mouse Button command
for this control is now Insert>Face Meshing. A new option, Definition>Mapped Mesh, is set to Yes by
default.
Mesh Control Enhancements
The Topology Checking option in the Patch Independent Options group now defaults to No instead of
Yes. When set to No, the mesher skips topology checks except where it is necessary to imprint all protected
topologies. You will need to independently validate the topology and that boundary conditions are properly
applied to the mesh.
Chapter 5: IC Engine Release Notes
The IC Engine Analysis System is a customized tool that automates many of the required steps for setting
up and simulating the flow inside internal combustion engines with moving geometry. It is used to
examine the flow rate, swirl and tumble, and other flow parameters during the engine cycle. The IC
Engine system uses ANSYS DesignModeler and ANSYS Meshing for geometry decomposition and
meshing steps of the simulation. The ANSYS Fluent solver for fluid flow analysis and ANSYS CFD-Post
is used for postprocessing. IC Engine System supports cold flow, port flow simulation and combustion
simulation. In this release the new features are:
IC Engine System Properties

Engine Speed entity moved from Properties of Schematic box to the Basic Settings tab of Solver Settings.
Geometry
For Combustion Simulation:
Added No. of Injection Rows entry in the Input Manager dialog box.
Reference Plane selection for injection is available. Injection location can be given with reference to Offset
Angle from the Reference Plane.
InValve ExValve selection removed for Sector Combustion.
Injection Groups can be added.
Ability to define spray location and direction with beam projection terminology. You can select beam origin
and foot print points.
Spray cone can be visualized in the graphics with the help of a Show Spray Cone toggle button.
Input Manager Improvements
Decomposition Position option is added, which can be used to select different valve positions like IVC,
EVO etc.
Decomposition Angle is moved to the top.
Decompose Chamber is moved to Advanced Group.
Symmetry Faces option is automatically enabled for symmetry engines based on Cylinder Faces.
Piston Profile Option is moved to Advanced Group.
Injection Reference Plane is moved to the Injection Group
IC Engine
Meshing
Coarse Mesh Type option now available in addition to Fine and Medium.
Mesh can be updated without opening ANSYS Meshing.
Few mesh settings can be viewed and changed from the Properties View.
Right-click and select Update from context menu to update the mesh cell without opening ANSYS
Meshing.
Inflation in Chamber option is added, using which you can create inflation in Dome and Liner.
Support for local refinement around the spark.
Solver
Pollutant tab added under Physics Settings tab.
Option of Soot and Nox models available
Multiple profiles can be read of different file extensions: .prof, .csv, .trs, etc.
Profiles can be viewed on a chart in different styles like spline, step, and line.
The chart view can be manipulated by zoom and pan operations.
Changes can be made to the values in the profile file in the Profile Editor dialog box and can be viewed
on the chart.
An option to read a profile is available in the Create Boundary Conditions dialog box.
For Monitors additional Quantities and Subtypes are available in the Add Quantity/Variable dialog box.
Probe Monitor type added to create a point or Surface for monitoring a variable.
DPM Monitor added.
Solution Control tab is added to the Solver Settings dialog box.
You can set additional crank angles at which the case and data files should be saved.
The Equations which will be solved for the selected simulation are listed.
You can modify the starting and ending crank angles of the equation events.
Adaptive Time Step options are provided. By using these options you can control how the solver changes
the time step size within the specified limits based on convergence criteria. This will help in achieving a
better and faster convergence of the solution.
A Solution Summary chart displays the selected profiles overlapping each other, with respect to crank
angles. This will help if you want to manipulate the default settings, or any other events.
In the Postprocessing an option of overlapping the contours with vectors is available.
Additional Quantities and Subtypes are available for plotting in the Add Quantity/Variable dialog box.
Point monitors with radius added (e.g. iso-surface for spark monitors).
Residual plot for last iteration of time step added.
Fluent Autosave Improvements: Autosave panel now has options to specify crank angle save frequency in
addition to the time step save frequency.
KeyGrids
For KeyGrid now Browse Angle option available to read a mesh for a specific angle.
Three different types of mesh topologies other than ICE topology are now supported. Mesh with these
supported topologies can be read into KeyGrid.
Decompose Chamber option available for KeyGrid.
Mesh Type option of Coarse, Fine, and Medium also available to choose from for KeyGrid.
For KeyGrid mesh Reference Size can be edited.
You can choose to perform local refinement around spark for KeyGrid.
Ability to generate keygrid in duplicate slave system and run solver in parallel in master system saving mesh
generation time.
Enabling slave system check box will create duplicate KeyGrid system for mesh generation.
Usability Improvements
Spray cone can be visualized in the graphics with the help of a Show Spray Cone toggle button.
For KeyGrid now Browse Angle option available to read a mesh. Three different types of mesh topologies
other than ICE topology supported.
Multiple profiles can be read of different file extensions.
Profiles can be viewed on a chart.
Changes can be made to the values in the profile file in the Profile Editor dialog box and can be viewed
on the chart.
You can set additional crank angles at which the case and data files should be saved.
You can modify the starting and ending crank angles of the equation events.
A Solution Summary chart displays the selected profiles overlapping each other, with respect to crank angles.
This will help if you want to manipulate the default settings, or any other events.
In the Postprocessing an option of overlapping the contours with vectors is available.
fuel-air equivalence ratio monitor added in WB-ICE Report for combustion.
Injection location is checked and warning displayed if it is outside geometry.
Parameter support for:
IC Engine
Injection, spark parameters
Boundary Conditions
Engine parameters
Ability to generate keygrid in duplicate slave system and run solver in parallel in master system saving mesh
generation time.
Enabling slave system check box will create duplicate KeyGrid system for mesh generation.
Chapter 6: ICEM CFD Release Notes
This section summarizes the new features in ICEM CFD Release 16.0. Topics include:
6.1. Highlights of ANSYS ICEM CFD 16.0
6.2. Key New Features/Improvements
6.3. Documentation
6.1. Highlights of ANSYS ICEM CFD 16.0

Release 16.0 development efforts included enhancement of ANSYS ICEM CFD as a standalone application
as well as continued development of its underlying technology exposed within the ANSYS Workbench-
based Meshing application. Specific enhancements are outlined in the following sections.
6.2. Key New Features/Improvements

ANSYS ICEM CFD 16.0 includes the following new features and improvements:
6.2.1. Project to Topo
6.2.2. From Edge Points bunching law
6.2.3. Named Selections only option
6.2.4. Fluent Meshing inflation
6.2.1. Project to Topo

A new option to project hexa faces to the underlying surface is now available in Hexa meshing. This
will prevent nodes from jumping across surfaces in situations where two surfaces are very close to each
other and highly curved.
6.2.2. From Edge Points bunching law

A new bunching law, FromEdgePoints is now available to get good quality blocking when converting
an unstructured mesh.
6.2.3. Named Selections only option

An option to import only those entities with named selections as been added to the Geometry Prefer-
ences section of the Import Model DEZ.
6.2.4. Fluent Meshing inflation

A new Tetra/Mixed volume meshing process using Fluent Meshing technology has been added. This
also includes the option for pre inflation or post inflation prism generation and for hexahedral elements
in the core.
ICEM CFD
6.3. Documentation
All documentation for ANSYS ICEM CFD Release 16.0 including several tutorials is accessible using
the Help menu. Please visit the ANSYS ICEM CFD website for more information.
6.3.1. Tutorials
To access tutorials and their input files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to http://support.ansys.com/
training. The Customer Portal also contains links for training, for hard copies of the Tutorial manual, or
for PDF format copies of the tutorials.
Chapter 7: Fluent Meshing Release Notes
The following sections contain release information for ANSYS Fluent Meshing Release 16.0:
7.1. Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases
7.2. New Features
7.1. Changes in Product Behavior from Previous Releases

The meshing-to-solution mode-change process has been improved resulting in a 20 to 30% speedup.
The wrap object type has been unified with mesh object type.
When a mesh file is read, any wrap objects will be converted to mesh objects.
Operations that were supported for wrap objects (for example, Sew and CutCell) will be supported for
mesh objects.
Object type may be changed from geom to mesh directly from the Model tree.
Quality metrics changes:
Improvements to the skewness computation may affect the reporting of skewness. There could be differ-
ences in the skewness reported for the same mesh between R15.0 and R16.0.
The volume mesh quality check report is identical to that reported using the Report Quality option in
solution mode.
Some default values and commands are changed:
CAD Import default changes
Import Curvature Data from CAD is enabled by default.
Tessellation Refinement is renamed to CAD Faceting, and Conformal Tessellation is renamed to CAD
Surface Mesh.
Size functions changes
The default behavior of meshed size functions is now changed to soft. The previous hard behavior can
be set using the Hard Meshed Size Functions option in the Size Functions category in the Controls
dialog box.
Note
Reading a mesh file from previous releases will have the Hard Meshed Size Functions
option enabled.
Fluent Meshing
Prisms default changes
The default value for Max Adjacent Zone Angle has been changed to 75.
The default value for Allowed Tangency has been changed to 1.
The command /mesh/prism/controls/improve/cell-quality-improve? has been renamed

to /mesh/prism/controls/improve/layer-by-layer-smoothing? and is now enabled
by default.
The order of parameter prompts for the command /mesh/prism/create has been changed for
consistency with /mesh/prism/controls/zone-specific-growth/apply-growth. The
number of layers prompt now comes before first aspect ratio and rate.
7.2. New Features

The most visible new features available in the meshing mode in Fluent include switching to an object-
based workflow and adding onscreen tool buttons for many of the hot-key functions. There are also
enhancements to many existing features, and improved robustness through defect fixes.
User Experience
The following enhancements have been made:
Mesh Generation task page:
The Model tree is available for the object-based meshing workflow.
Options for surface and volume meshing are available from context menus by right-clicking on objects
in the Model tree.
The Selection Helper has been added and may be used in conjunction with any dialog box having
object or zone selection lists.
Many hot-key functions have been made repeatable using the Ctrl+RMB combination.
Selection or de-selection of options in the Objects toolbar will be immediately reflected in the graphics
window without the need to redraw.
A tool to Mark faces based on one of several criteria has been added. The marked faces can be easily
moved to another zone, used to create a new zone, or locally remeshed.
The Display Grid dialog box now has a tab for selecting and displaying only edge zones.
Zone and object properties can be changed by selecting the zone/object in the graphics window and
using a hot-key. In addition to the zone/object name, you can also change the boundary zone type and
the geometry recovery attribute.
CAD Import
Curvature data is imported from the CAD data by default.
Object creation has improved options for granularity. In addition to choosing creation of objects per
body, part, CAD file, or selection (*.tin files), you can choose to create a face zone per body, face, or object
imported.
New Features
You can choose to add the component (assembly or part) name to the object/zone name. By default,
the component name will be added to the object/zone name, except when the object creation granu-
larity is set to one object per file.
When importing Named Selections, you can choose to use the Named Selection for the object/zone
name. By default, the Named Selection will be used as the object/zone name, except when the object
creation granularity is set to one object per file.
You can add labels to edges connected to a single face, edges connected to multiple faces, faces shared
by bodies (double connected faces).
Object Based Meshing Workflow

The previous High and Low options are combined to obtain a hybrid wrap. Individual zones or objects
can be assigned high or low geometry recovery and can be visualized prior to wrapping.
The cap creation tool has been improved. You may now fill a complex hole after selecting just one edge
on the holes perimeter. You can also choose to use the feature path to connect the nodes selected for
the capping operation.
The repair tool can be used to fill multiple punched holes in a zone with finite thickness.
You can set a target object when the hot-key is used for the cap creation operation. The cap surface will
be connected to the object face zones and included in object.
The Fix Holes dialog box contains options to pan through all objects to determine the region of the
hole/leak.
Transferring zones into new or existing objects has been simplified using the Transfer Zones tool.
Face zone labels are available in the tree for mesh objects. These are original CAD zones or bodies, or
face zones comprising the mesh object. The face zone labels also represent the original objects that
were wrapped or merged.
A new name can be directly assigned to zones or objects being merged.
Access to the Diagnostics dialog box via the Model tree includes a submenu to choose the type of tools
desired.
Periodic boundary information contained in a mesh file can be extracted for simpler recovery of period-
icity.
Scoped sizing controls have been added which allow you to set sizes on a per face zone or per object
basis. The controls can be written or read from a previously saved file (*.szcontrol).
The robustness of the ioin/intersect operations has been improved.
Additional options enable you to undo or skip joining the regions where self intersections or small
angles are created
All join locations are automatically remeshed to improve mesh quality.
Volumetric regions can be computed from the tree prior to volume meshing.
Fluent Meshing
In addition to selecting, displaying, and deleting regions, you can also merge or rename them using
options from the tree.
If regions are modified after the initial computation, they can be validated prior to volume meshing.
Scoped prism settings are available for creating the volume mesh for mesh objects.
You can scope prism parameters to fluid regions, solid regions, or specified (named) regions for a
given mesh object. You can also specify the scope for growing the prism layers on only wall zones,
all boundary zones, solid-fluid interface, specified boundary face zones, or specified face zone labels.
Scoped prism growth options include a threshold value for creating stair stepping prism layers.
The scoped prism controls can be written or read from a previously saved file (*.pzmcontrol).
Cell zones can be managed from the tree. They can be deleted and recreated without saving intermediate
files.
Miscellaneous
The following options are available:
A constant size can be specified for remeshing selected/marked faces or face zones.
A mesh object can be created for the heat exchanger mesh zones.
Tools are available to locally preview sizes and visualize the size field on selected zones.
Parallel Meshing
Parallel 3D volume remeshing in Fluent-MDM is supported.
Part V: ANSYS Simulation Products
Release notes are available for the following ANSYS Simulation products:
Workbench
RSM
EKM
DesignXplorer
Chapter 1: Workbench
The ANSYS Workbench platform offers many new features and enhancements. Areas where you will
find changes and new capabilities include the following:
1.1. ANSYS Workbench
1.2. Microsoft Excel
1.3. External Connection
1.4. Engineering Data Workspace
1.5. External Data
1.6. FE Modeler
1.7. System Coupling
1.8.TurboSystem Release Notes
1.1. ANSYS Workbench

Enhancements have been made to the following areas:
1.1.1. ANSYS Workbench Design Point Enhancements
1.1.2. ANSYS Workbench-Remote Solve Manager Enhancements
1.1.3. ANSYS Workbench and EKM Integration
1.1.1. ANSYS Workbench Design Point Enhancements

Retain Design Point Data within a Project
You can select one or more design points and retain their calculated data within the project. Once data
is retained, you can set the design points as the Current design point and view the associated design.
This gives you the ability to switch back and forth between multiple designs within the same project.
If you opt to export a design point with valid retained data, the retained data will be used to create
the new project. Note that design points exported in prior releases are not automatically marked as
retained.
Retained data is kept within the project. If you opt to export a design point with valid retained data,
the retained data will be used to create the new project.
For more information, see Retaining and Exporting Design Points in the Workbench User's Guide.
Perform and Retain Data for Geometry-only Design Point Updates

You can now perform and retain the data for a partial (geometry-only) design point update. This can
be useful if you want to check your geometry for parametric failures or to update the geometry on one
machine before moving the project to another machine without the capability to do so. Partial design
point updates are controlled by two new Parameter Set properties:
Partial Update: Determines whether or not only geometry will be updated with a design point update. To
perform a partial update, set to Geometry.
Workbench
Retain Partial Update: Determines whether partial update data will be retained to the project. To save partial
update data, set to Geometry.
For more information, see Performing and Retaining Partial (Geometry-Only) Updates in the Workbench
User's Guide.
1.1.2. ANSYS Workbench-Remote Solve Manager Enhancements

Suspend and Resume the Collection of RSM Design Point Results
When you have submitted an Update All Design Points operation to RSM, a new Suspend Collection of
Results option on the Tools menu allows you to temporarily suspend RSMs collection of design point
results. You can then exit the session promptly, without needing to wait until the collection of results
is finished.
To resume the collection of design point results, whether during the same Workbench session or upon
exiting and reopening the project, select the Resume Collecting RSM Results option.
For more information, see Suspending and Resuming Collection of RSM Design Point Results in the
Workbench User's Guide.
Enter RSM Credentials in Workbench

You can now enter your RSM credentials from Workbench by selecting the Enter Credentials for Remote
Solve Manager option from the Tools menu. This option launches the RSM Accounts dialog, which allows
you to:
Enter credentials for your primary RSM account
Create, view, and modify your alternate RSM accounts
For more information, see Entering Remote Solve Manager Credentials in Workbench in the Workbench
User's Guide.
1.1.3. ANSYS Workbench and EKM Integration

Use a Cache Server for Workbench-EKM File Transfers
For file transfers, you can improve file transfer times by using a cache server as an intermediary between
Workbench and an EKM repository. A cache server is a local EKM server that allows files to be accessed
on a Local Area Network (LAN) when the repository itself is on a Wide Area Network (WAN). You can
also check the status of a file transfer via the cache server via the Transfer to Repository Status dialog.
For more information, see Using a Cache Server for EKM File Transfers in the Workbench User's Guide.
Check Project into EKM Repository without Sending Changes

In ANSYS Workbench, a new Check In option on the File > Manage Repository Project menu enables
you to check in a project independently from the Send Changes to Repository operation. Use this option
if you have sent changes to the repository without checking the project back in.
For more information, see Managing EKM Repository Project Changes in the Workbench User's Guide.
System Coupling
1.2. Microsoft Excel

You can now use Microsoft Excel 2013 as a calculator in ANSYS Workbench. Excel ranges can be exposed
as input and output parameters to create design points and design exploration studies.
For more information, see Microsoft Office Excel in the Workbench User's Guide.
1.3. External Connection

For the 16.0 release, no enhancements have been made to the External Connection add-in.
1.4. Engineering Data Workspace

The following enhancements have been made to Engineering Data:
For Tool-Narayanaswamy with Fictive Temperature Shift function, you can now specify a reference temper-
ature that is specific to the fictive thermal strain calculation.
You can now add field variable dependent material data to specific material properties and models. Field
variables include shear angle, temperature, and degradation factor; specifically useful when modelling
composites using ACP.
You can now create a GUI front end for you own user-defined material models in Engineering Data using
customizable files included with your installation. See Appendix B: Custom Material Models.
1.5. External Data

For the 16.0 release, no enhancements have been made to the External Data add-in.
1.6. FE Modeler
The following new features apply to Nastran Import Specifications
Elements:
CELAS1/CELAS2- If only one grid point is specified a grounded terminal is now defined.
1.7. System Coupling

New features and enhancements to System Coupling introduced in Release 16.0 are highlighted in this
section.
In a coupled analysis involving Fluent and System Coupling, data can now be transferred between Fluent's
porous jump boundary and the System Coupling system. A porous jump boundary of zero thickness next
to the porous zone can also be used to transfer data between the porous zone and the System Coupling
system. This feature allows two-way force-displacement coupling for thin porous structures, such as thin
filters and porous membranes.
To continue a system coupling solution that was interrupted, now select Continue Calculation from the
solution cells context menu.
Fluent monitor data can now be plotted in the system coupling chart.
Workbench
1.8. TurboSystem Release Notes

TurboSystem is a set of software applications and software features that help you to perform turboma-
chinery analyses in ANSYS Workbench. For details, see TurboSystem Introduction in the TurboSystem
User's Guide.
These release notes cover:
Turbo Setup
Vista AFD, Vista CCD, Vista CPD and Vista RTD
Vista TF
These release notes do not cover:
ANSYS BladeModeler (see ANSYS BladeModeler Release Notes)
CFX-Pre (see CFX Release Notes)
CFD-Post (see CFD-Post Release Notes)
Note
After reviewing the TurboSystem release notes, you are encouraged to see Usage Notes,
which describes some known TurboSystem workflow issues and recommended practices for
overcoming these issues.
1.8.1. New Features and Enhancements

You can use a Turbo Setup component system to hold basic information about a turbomachinery case. This
system can be used to rapidly create other related systems without having to specify the basic information
for each created system. For details, see TurboSystem: Turbo Setup in the TurboSystem User's Guide.
The Vista CCD Blade Design cell has new right-click context menu commands. For details, see Context Menu
Commands of the Blade Design Cell in the TurboSystem User's Guide.
You can transfer a radial blade geometry from Vista RTD to BladeGen or BladeEditor by right-clicking the
Blade Design cell of the Vista RTD system, and selecting Create New > BladeGen or Create New > Geometry,
or the throughflow versions of these.
New Vista TF cases, by default, compute the reference diameter automatically based on the geometry. Ex-
isting cases, by default, use the specified reference diameter.
Chapter 2: Remote Solve Manager (RSM)
In this release of Remote Solve Manager, areas where you will find changes and new capabilities include:
2.1. Redesigned Compute Server Properties Dialog Box
2.2. File Transfer Optimization Enhancements
2.3. Job Management Enhancements
2.4. Cluster Enhancements
2.5. Workbench-RSM Enhancements
2.1. Redesigned Compute Server Properties Dialog Box

Changes to the Compute Server Properties dialog make it much easier to configure your Compute
Server properly. Below are some of the main changes and benefits for users.
To improve flow and organization, the dialog now has four tabs: General, Remote, Cluster, and File Man-
agement.
The dialog is context-sensitive and changes according to the file transfer and cluster options you choose.
This makes setup more intuitive, and reduces errors. It ensures that properties are correctly defined for the
protocol being used (SSH, OS file copy, or native TCP/IP), and makes it easier to integrate the Compute
Server with a third-party commercial or in-house cluster if desired. Custom integration is also supported.
The Working Directory, Shared Directory, and Scratch Directory are separate properties. File transfers for
cluster jobs are minimized by always using the Compute Server Working Directory as a cluster staging dir-
ectory, while also having the option of using a separate local scratch directory if needed. For any kind of
job, if the Manager and Compute Server are on the same machine (localhost), file transfers can be further
minimized by setting the Working Directory Location property to "Reuse Manager Storage."
To facilitate setup with an existing Samba network share for OS file transfers using the SSH protocol (both
cluster and non-cluster scenarios), you now have the option of specifying the defined network share path
on the File Management tab.
For more information, see Compute Server dialog box Properties in the Remote Solve Manager User's
Guide.
2.2. File Transfer Optimization Enhancements

Environment Variables for File Transfer Optimization
Modifications to RSM environment variables support file transfer optimization by removing the need
to set them locally on each Client machine.
For custom cluster integration, RSM sets the RSM_HPC_PLATFORM, RSM_HPC_SCRATCH, and
RSM_HPC_STAGING environment variables automatically at run-time. For more information, see Envir-
onment Variables Set by RSM in the Remote Solve Manager User's Guide.
Remote Solve Manager (RSM)
When defining a Manager or Compute Server, you can now enter environment variables in the format
%VAR% in the fields for Project Directory, Working Directory, and the staging or local scratch directories
required by your configuration. For more information, see Modifying RSM Manager Properties or Prop-
erties on the General Tab in the Remote Solve Manager User's Guide.
More Direct File Transfers from Manager to Cluster

For cluster jobs, file transfers from the Manager to a cluster have been optimized by removing the
Compute Server Working Directory (local scratch directory on the cluster head node) as an intermediary
step. Files are now transferred directly from the Manager to the shared cluster staging directory, and
then to a local scratch directory on the execution node, if needed.
SSH File Transfers use OS Copy Method via SAMBA

When files are transferred via SSH, RSM will use the OS Copy method via SAMBA when possible, instead
of using SSH/SCP (Secure Shell/Secure Copy). OS Copy is the preferred method because it uses standard
OS commands and NFS shares.
New Test Compute Server Dialog Checks Basic Configuration or File Transfers
The new Test Compute Server dialog allows you to first specify the Client directory in which the test
will be run, and then choose whether a basic configuration test or a file transfer check will be performed.
A check box allows you to specify whether the temporary Working Directory on the Client machine
should be removed after the test has completed. To access the dialog, right-click a Compute Server in
the RSM tree view and select Advanced Test.
For more information, see Testing a Compute Server in the Remote Solve Manager User's Guide.
Alternate Accounts can be Applied to Manager (localhost)

If a primary account cannot be used to log into the Manager (localhost), a manager-accessing alternate
account can be applied to it. This is required, for example, when the Manager is a Linux machine and
the Client is a Windows machine.
2.3. Job Management Enhancements

Job Types and Job Templates Updated in RSM Job Submission
Several job types exposed through the RSM_HPC_JOBTYPE environment variable have been updated
as follows:
For jobs executed from ANSYS Mechanical, a Mechanical prefix has been added to each job type: Mech-
anical_ANSYS, Mechanical_AUTODYN, Mechanical_RBD, and Mechanical_Contact.
For jobs executed from within ANSYS Workbench as part of a component update, the Addin prefix has
been replaced with a Workbench prefix: Workbench_ANSYS, Workbench_CFX, Workbench_FLUENT,
and Workbench_POLYFLOW.
The job type associated with Workbenchs Update Design Points operation has been changed from
FrameworkUpdateDPs to Workbench_DESIGNPOINT.
Similar changes have been made to job template names. For example, the job template Addin_ANSYS-
Job.xml has been renamed Workbench_ANSYSJob.xml.
Cluster Enhancements
For more information about job types and the RSM_HPC_JOBTYPE variable, see Environment Variables
Set by RSM in the Remote Solve Manager Users Guide.
Live Job Logs for Wizard Test Server and Test Queue Operations
The Test Compute Servers step of the RSM Setup Wizard now includes a "View Test Status" option that
allows you to view live job logs while running a Test Compute Server or Test Queue operation. You can
save the job log as a .txt or .html file.
Job Cleanup Period Based on Final Job Status

The single Job Cleanup Period in the Solve Manager Properties dialog box has been replaced with
three individual job cleanup periods for Finished, Failed and Cancelled jobs. This enables you to
control how long a job with a particular status remains in the list view before being cleared. For more
information, see Modifying RSM Manager Properties in the Remote Solve Manager User's Guide.
Local Optimized Mode

When the RSM Manager and Compute Server are on the same machine, RSM will now automatically
run a job in local optimized mode. This means that the RSM Manager will start and monitor the job
directly, without having to use a separate compute server service. This greatly reduces the system re-
sources to be used as communication between the Manager and Compute Server layers remains on
the local machine, resulting in optimal job performance.
User Proxy
The concept of a user proxy has been introduced to handle several known issues and add functionality
to RSM job management. The use of the user proxy is handled by RSM and requires no action from
users. Some of its benefits are listed below.
Reduces the Compute Server resources used and the number of account logons required from the same
user when running multiple jobs at the same time
Handles job directory security issues where a user's job working directory is no longer readable and writable
by the other users
Supports environment expansion on all tiers
2.4. Cluster Enhancements

TORQUE with Moab Supported as Cluster Type
The Compute Server can now be integrated with a cluster that is managed by TORQUE Resource Manager
when TORQUE is coupled with Moab Workload Manager.
Windows LSF Cluster Type No Longer Supported

RSM no longer supports integration with LSF clusters that are running on Windows.
Remote Solve Manager (RSM)
2.5. Workbench-RSM Enhancements

Suspend and Resume the Collection of RSM Design Point Results
When you have submitted an Update All Design Points operation to RSM, a new Suspend Collection of
Results option on the Tools menu allows you to temporarily suspend RSM's collection of design point
results. You can then exit the session promptly, without needing to wait until the collection of results
is finished.
To resume the collection of design point results, whether during the same Workbench session or upon
exiting and reopening the project, select the Resume Collecting RSM Results option.
For more information, see Suspending and Resuming Collection of RSM Design Point Results in the
Workbench User's Guide.
Enter RSM Credentials in Workbench

You can now enter your RSM credentials from Workbench by selecting the Enter Credentials for Remote
Solve Manager option from the Tools menu. This option launches the RSM Accounts dialog, which allows
you to:
Enter credentials for your primary RSM account
Create, view, and modify your alternate RSM accounts
For more information, see Using Remote Solve Manager in ANSYS Workbench in the Workbench User's
Guide.

RSM Administration and Monitoring Windows Open and Display on Relaunch
If you close or minimize the RSM administration or monitoring window and then relaunch it from the
Start menu or from Workbench, the window is opened and displayed in the foreground. Previously the
RSM window remained minimized to the system tray, and a dialog box notified you that it was necessary
to launch RSM from the system tray.
Quick Help in Compute Server Properties Dialog

A help icon appears in the Compute Server Properties dialog box when the Compute Server is integ-
rating with an HPC cluster. The user-friendly Quick Help replaces the tooltips used previously.
New Setting for RSM Icon and Tooltip Behavior

A new TrayIcon.IndicateJobsStatus setting in the Ans.Rsm.AppSettings.config file
enables you to control whether or not the notification icon and optionally its tooltip provide feedback
on the current status of jobs. By default, the icon and tooltip will remain static unless you edit this setting.
Chapter 3: ANSYS EKM Release Notes
ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager (EKM) 16.0 consists of EKM, the EKM server product, and its
companion web application. The following sections provide an overview of new features and enhance-
ments in ANSYS EKM 16.0.

If you have used previous versions of EKM, Release 16.0 offers many significant changes and improve-
ments:
User Interface
The EKM web client interface has been totally redesigned to improve ease-of-use and overall user experience.
Major changes to note:
Features are divided into five main sections: Home, Data, Jobs, Processes, and Administration. This re-
places the previous single-page tree structure in R15.
Each page has a navigation bar and breadcrumb trail to facilitate navigation and organization.
The default dashboard provides status updates for all of your jobs, processes, tasks, and data extractions.
An Applications menu containing job templates, process templates, custom applications and built-in
applications can be displayed from any page by clicking an icon on the applications title bar.
A workspace drop box on the title bar enables you to switch to a different workspace without having to
log out of the current one.
All settings (Preferences, Alerts, and RSM Accounts) are now available in a centralized dialog box for easy
access.
A new theme gives the interface a more clean, modern look. You can choose between two predefined
themes to customize your experience.
The heading on the application title bar can be customized to suit your business needs. Each user can
personalize their interface by displaying a custom profile image on the title bar.
A new Welcome dialog box provides a quick overview of the new interface, as well as links to helpful re-
sources.
The background image on the login page can now be customized.
EKM
User and Workspace Management

EKM logins are now externally authenticated to the operating system, an LDAP server, or Active Directory,
and are no longer authenticated to the user accounts stored in EKM workspaces. This simplifies user man-
agement for administrators and reduces the number of passwords that a user has to remember.
EKM will automatically create a user account for any user who successfully logs into a workspace if a user
account does not already exist for that user. This reduces the amount of work an administrator must do to
define users in a workspace.
There is no longer a root user account. Rather, the server administrator can designate one existing user as
the default Root User for all workspaces during installation, or by editing the defaultRootUser setting
in the ekm.xml file. That user will log into EKM using the credentials specified for their OS or LDAP account
rather than logging in as root.
Upon login, users will be connected to the workspace that is set as the default workspace in the ekm.xml
file. A new workspace drop box in the application title bar enables you to easily switch to another workspace
on the current EKM server without having to check out a new license.
You can now be connected to multiple workspaces simultaneously, without checking out additional licenses.
For example, if you are connected to a workspace in a web browser, and then open a new browser tab and
connect to a different workspace on that tab, the connection to the first workspace on the first tab remains
open.
An rsmWindowsDomain setting has been added to the ekm.xml file which enables you to globally specify
a Windows domain name that will be prepended to the username of all EKM users when batch jobs submitted
to RSM from EKM.
If a users password changes outside of RSM, the user can update the password stored in RSM by entering
the new password in the RSM Account settings in EKM. If an account does not exist for the user in RSM, one
will be created for them automatically.
Administrators can now access each users personal data, applications, data extractions, saved queries, jobs,
and processes. These folders can also be selected when performing an advanced search.
When creating a new workspace you have the option of specifying whether or not you want user accounts
to be created automatically via user logins. A new createUsersAutomatically setting has been added
to the WorkspaceConfig.xml file to control this functionality after the workspace has been created.
You can now delete a workspace interactively using the EKM Server Administration interface.
A new ekmExportConverter.py script in the EKM_BASE\utils folder enables you to convert the
machine-readable data in an exported workspace to a human-readable format. This provides you with a
snapshot of the data in the repository before the workspace is imported into another server.
EKM Server Administration, Settings, and Behavior

The EKM Server Administration interface is no longer accessed from the EKM web client login window.
To access the admin-only interface, simply append /su to the end of the EKM server address in the browser
address bar.
The following items have been removed from the <memoryLimits> setting: maxNewObjects,
maxReadObjects, and maxDirtyObjects. Previously these settings were used to limit the number of
New Features and Enhancements
objects that could be processed by an operation in order to avoid overloading the server. These limits are
no longer needed.
The EKM server will not shut down immediately if it loses its connection to the license server. Rather, EKM
will send an e-mail to administrators notifying them of the issue, and will provide a 60-minute grace period
for restoring the connection before going into read-only mode.
3D Viewer for Fluent, CFX and MAPDL Files

A new built-in extractor extracts 3D images from the following types of files when they are uploaded to
EKM:
Fluent .cas
CFX .def, .res
MAPDL .db, .cdb, .rst, .rmg, .rfl, .rth
Extracted 3D images are displayed in an interactive viewer on the Image tab when viewing the source object,
enabling you to manipulate the image display.
CAX files will no longer be extracted from supported file types by inferring integration with VCollab through
the environment variable VMOVE_EXEC_PATH.
You can configure an object type to extract images in a 3D format of your choice, such as .cax, to override
the built-in extraction of 3D images.
Metadata Extraction
The status of metadata extraction automatically updates at regular intervals, eliminating the need to
manually refresh it.
Much more data is extracted from ANSYS Polyflow files than in previous versions, resulting in the availability
of a more robust set of simulation details in EKM.
Searching
When expanding a search to other repositories, you can now search multiple workspaces on the same EKM
server simultaneously. Previously, the Server URL had to be different in each row in the Expand Search
dialog box, and you could not enter a Server URL that was the same as the Server name that was being ac-
cessed.
When searching for report content, it is now possible to search reports that are part of simulation files.
Administrators can now search a users personal folders (such as My Data).
Discussions
Message boards have been replaced with redesigned discussion boards that include a new set of rich text
editing features.
Any user can now start a discussion about a selected object on the new Discussions tab when viewing the
object.
EKM
A new Invite feature enables you to invite selected users and groups to join a discussion. Users will receive
an email with a link to the discussion.
A new Subscribe feature enables you to subscribe to email notifications that let you know when someone
has added comments to a discussion.
Folder Permissions
When editing the permissions on a folder, you have more control over how the permissions are applied
to the contents of the folder. If the Apply permissions to folder contents option is selected, the fol-
lowing options are available:
Overwrite all permissions. Overwrites the full set of permissions for each object in the folder so that all
permissions match those of the folder.
Apply only modified permissions. Overwrites only those permissions that you have changed, leaving
other permissions intact.
Job Management
Four new job launch templates are included with every EKM installation which are specifically designed to
work with ANSYS standalone simulation products (Fluent, CFX, MAPDL, Electronics). These templates enable
you to start and control batch jobs, get solver feedback, and monitor the solution from EKM.
When a job involves Fluent or Mechanical APDL running in server mode, an application-specific toolbar is
displayed in the job status window which allows you to interact with Fluent or MAPDL. You can use this
toolbar to pause or interrupt the solution, specify command inputs, save changes to files in the job working
directory, and so on.
When defining a job submission queue, you no longer have to specify a domain name for user accounts, or
map each user to an RSM account. Rather, each user has a single OS account for running RSM jobs (the same
OS account used for logging into EKM). If you want to use a different account for a specific queue, then you
must add an alternate account to the primary account in RSM.
When defining a job template, you can specify that you want to use a custom dialog box for job execution.
When defining a batch node in a process template (workflow), you can choose to use a job template for
specifying job submission settings instead of specifying the settings explicitly.
When running an interactive job you can now access the jobs working directory and perform various data
management tasks, such as copying and renaming files.
When an interactive session is cancelled, the job is no longer deleted from the job monitor.
A new version of Enginframe allows certificates for multiple EKM clients.
You can start batch and interactive jobs directly from files in the repository.
The status of a job updates automatically at regular intervals, eliminating the need to manually refresh it.
When running jobs in a clustered setup, Torque is now an available scheduler option. Also, SGE is an available
option for interactive jobs.
The ability to retain data from multiple design points has been added to design point runs and Workbench
server jobs, providing consistency with current Workbench features.
New Features and Enhancements
EKM Studio, Scripting, and Process Templates (Workflows)

Workflow processes are simply referred to as processes in Release 16.0, and workflows are referred to as
process templates for consistency.
When defining a process template (workflow) in EKM Studio, you can now nest another process inside the
current one by inserting a Process Template Node. Nested processes are also represented in the process
report when one is generated for the main process.
The Process Player has been eliminated. When you open a process or a task that is assigned to you, the
process or task is displayed on an interactive Process Monitor page. A users individual tasks are also displayed
on a My Tasks page.
In EKM Studio, nodes and variables are now listed in alphabetical order in the Elements pane.
When a transition has a trigger expression, this is indicated visually through the display of a diamond symbol
on the transition line.
When defining a variable, enabling the new Public option in a variables properties will make the variable
available when mapping process template variables to nested process template variables.
When viewing the properties of a variable in the Elements pane, you can now see the nodes in which the
variable is used. Similarly, when viewing the properties of a node, you can see a list of variables used. Node
and variable names are displayed as links to provide quick access to these items from the properties view.
A Completion macro field has been added to the Edit Node dialog box in EKM Studio, enabling you to
display a custom interface from a simple node.
When adding an image to a custom dialog box in EKM Studio, you can now bind the image widget to a
variable that references an image in the repository. With this method, if the image changes in the repository,
then an updated image will be displayed in the custom dialog box.
A new Synchronize action on the toolbar in EKM Studio synchronizes the users, types, units, applications,
job templates and so on in the current process with those currently defined on the EKM server.
In EKM Studios script editor, a new Set external editor option enables you to select a default external ed-
itor when opening scripts with the Open with external editor option. When you edit a script in an external
editor, EKM Studio detects the changes and asks if you want to update the script currently displayed in the
script editor.
Customization
An EKM Connector End User API library is installed along with the EKM server product. The library can be
used to develop client applications that interact with an EKM repository. The programs can be developed
in Java, C#, or Python.
You can develop applications to:
Search the repository for data.
Create, update, and delete objects in the repository.
Transfer files and folders to and from the repository.
Perform version control and locking operations on objects in the repository.
EKM
Trigger execution of scripts in the repository.
Manage users and groups in the repository.
General Usability Enhancements

The EKM application is now embedded in the browser window, and each view has its own URL. This enables
you to use the browsers features while EKM is running, and makes it possible to bookmark individual views
for later retrieval.
When signed in to a workspace on one browser tab, you can open additional browser tabs or windows and
access the same workspace or another workspace simultaneously.
For simplicity, the Back and Forward buttons have been removed from the navigation bar. You can now use
the browser to navigate back and forth.
By default you are taken to your last accessed view each time you log in to EKM. Alternatively you can specify
that you want to open a specific view when logging in.
Diagrams are rendered using D3.js instead of Graphviz, and the dot.app.xml application has been removed
from the list of predefined external applications in /Administration/Servers/Master/EKM
Server. Diagram components are now presented in SVG format and display tooltips when you mouse over
them.
The testMode setting has been removed from the ekm.xml file.
3.2. Issues and Limitations

All issues and limitations known at the time of release are listed in Appendix B in the EKM Users Guide.
Chapter 4: DesignXplorer
Enhancements have been made to the following DesignXplorer areas:
4.1. Parameter Filtering in Parameters Correlation
4.2. Retain Data for Preserved Design Points
4.3. ACT Customization of DesignXplorer
4.4. New Property Controlling Finite Difference for NLPQL and MISQP
4.5. DesignXplorer Licenses Released when Unused
4.6. Advanced Goodness of Fit Report Documentation
4.1. Parameter Filtering in Parameters Correlation

The Parameters Correlation component now provides an automated filtering capability to sort and
identify the major input parameters based on correlation data. This analysis is performed only for your
choice of output parameters. It enables you disable minor input parameters in order to increase accuracy
and reduce the time required for further parametric studies. For more information, see Parameters
Correlation Component Reference in the Design Exploration User's Guide.
4.2. Retain Data for Preserved Design Points

When you opt to preserve a design point generated by DesignXplorer, you also have the option retaining
its calculated data within the project. This functionality is available at both the project and component
level.
Once calculated data is retained for a design point, you can set the design point as Current in the projects
Table of Design Points; this enables you to easily explore the associated design and investigate any
update problems that may have occurred.
For more information, see Retaining Data for Generated Design Points in the Design Exploration User's
Guide.
4.3. ACT Customization of DesignXplorer

External Sampling Methods with ACT Design of Experiments Extensions
The Design of Experiments component now supports extensions created with the ANSYS Application
Customization Toolkit (ACT), enabling the integration of external sampling methods into DesignXplorer's
environment and workflow. An ACT Design of Experiments extension defines the capabilities and
properties for one or more external sampling methods.
Once the extension is installed in ANSYS Workbench and loaded to your project, the sampling methods
defined in it are available for selection in DesignXplorer. The selected sampling method is used to
generate the DOE, from which DesignXplorer extracts results for the generation of postprocessing tables
and charts.
DesignXplorer
For information on creating DOE extensions, see the Application Customization Toolkit Developer's
Guide and the Application Customization Toolkit Reference Guide. These documents are part of the
ANSYS Customization Suite on the ANSYS Customer Portal.
For more information on using DOE extensions in DesignXplorer, see External Design of Experiments
in the Design Exploration User's Guide.
MATLAB Optimization Extension

With the new MATLAB optimization extension, you can expose MATLAB optimization algorithms in the
DesignXplorer environment. The extension contains multiple ready-to-use optimizers that you can use
to expose additional MATLAB properties, expand your optimzation capabilities, and customize optimiz-
ation charts. If the optimizers provided do not meet your needs, however, source code has been provided
so you can use ANSYS Customization Toolkit (ACT) to modify and extend the capabilities of the extension.
4.4. New Property Controlling Finite Difference for NLPQL and MISQP
The MISQP and NLPQL optimization algorithms have a new Initial Finite Difference Delta (%) property.
The property, when used in conjunction with the Allowable Convergence (%) property, allows you to
ensure that the Delta in the calculation of finite differences is large enough to be seen above simulation
noise.
For more information, see Using the Convergence Criteria Chart the Design Exploration User's Guide.
4.5. DesignXplorer Licenses Released when Unused

The ANSYS DesignXplorer license will now be released as soon as all DesignXplorer tabs are closed.
4.6. Advanced Goodness of Fit Report Documentation

Response Surface documentation has been expanded to provide additional information on the properties
and interpretation of the Advanced Goodness of Fit report.
For more information, see Advanced Goodness of Fit Report in the Design Exploration User's Guide.
Part VI: ANSYS AIM
The release notes are specific to ANSYS, Inc. Release 16.0 (ANSYS AIM). Accessible via the Help Viewer
in the product and online via the ANSYS Customer Portal, the release notes are intended to provide an
overview of the product.
Chapter 1: Advisories
In addition to any incompatibilities noted within the release notes, known non-operational behavior,
errors and/or limitations at the time of release are documented in the ANSYS, Inc Known Issues and
Limitations document, accessible via the AIM download page of the ANSYS Customer Portal (account
required). The AIM download page is not publicly-accessible. First-time users of the customer portal
must register to create a password. See the ANSYS Customer Portal for information about ANSYS service
packs, Customization, and any additional items not included in the Known Issues and Limitations docu-
ment.
Chapter 2: Prerequisites
For basic usage and simple models, a workstation-class 3D-capable graphics card with at least 256 MB
of memory that supports OpenGL version 3.3 or higher, as noted below, is needed to successfully run
AIM.
Note
OpenGL version 2.1 or higher card may also be sufficient if the following extensions are
present:
GL_EXT_framebuffer_object
GL_EXT_framebuffer_blit
GL_EXT_framebuffer_multisample
GL_EXT_packed_depth_stencil
To view OpenGL extensions supported by your card, the OpenGL Extension Viewer tool is
accessible via softpedia.com.
To analyze larger models, use a recent NVidia Quadro or ATI FirePro card, including:
NVidia
NVidia ATI ATI Mobile
Mobile
Quadro FX Quadro FirePro FirePro
x700 x600M Vx800 Mx9xx
Quadro FX Quadro FirePro FirePro
x800 x700M Vx900 Mx000
Quadro
Quadro x000 FirePro Wx
x800M
Quadro
Quadro Kxxx FirePro Sx
x000M
Quadro
kx000M
Quadro
kx100M
Note on Intel graphic cards

Use of integrated Intel graphics cards in not recommended. These cards are typically found in lightweight
laptops or notebooks, and are known to have OpenGL incompatibilities resulting in display issues in
AIM. Examples are Intel HD 3000 and 4000 series cards.
Prerequisites
Note on hybrid graphics

If your graphics system supports two graphics chips, one integrated and one dedicated (example is
NVidia Optimus), please ensure that the dedicated graphics chip is used when launching AIM. Instructions
on how to do this can typically be found on graphics card vendor's web site.
Troubleshooting graphics issues

If you experience issues with display or graphics performance in AIM, please make sure that:
1. Your graphics card supports OpenGL 3.3 or higher, and
2. Your graphics card driver is up-to-date
If updating the driver does not resolve the issue, you may need to look for an ANSYS certified driver
from NVidia or ATI, or update your hardware. One way to test whether a graphics issue is due to a
software problem or a graphics card limitation is to run AIM in software rendering mode.
If this resolves the graphics issue, the problem is in the card or the driver.
To enable software rendering, add -UseRenderer=Software flag to the command line when
running AIM:
cd "C:\Program Files\ANSYS Inc\v151\Framework\bin\Win64"

RunWB2.exe -Q -wASimHTML -cASimUI -UseRenderer=Software
Leaving this flag on during regular usage is not recommended, as it may cause significant slowdown
of software performance.
For more information, see the System Requirements section available from the product installation
menu.
Chapter 3: Platform & Third Party Support
ANSYS AIM, and the bundled ancillary ANSYS products run on the Windows x64 (64-bit) platform using
the Windows 7 operating system.
The following ANSYS Geometry Interfaces can be installed during installation:
ACIS
AutoCAD
Catia (versions 4, 5, and 6)
Creo Elements/Direct Modeling
Creo Parametric (formerly Pro/ENGINEER)
GAMBIT
IGES
Inventor
JTOpen
NX
Parasolid
Solid Edge
SolidWorks
STEP
For detailed version-supported CAD information, see CAD Integration in the Help Viewer.
AIM includes support for the following ANSYS products:
ANSYS Multiphysics Platform
ANSYS Workbench Platform (DesignModeler, DesignXplorer)
ANSYS SCDM
ANSYS HPC
Chapter 4: Installation
To run Release 16.0, the 16.0 version of the License Manager must be installed.
To run multiple releases of ANSYS, Inc. software, you must install them chronologically (i.e. Release 15.1
followed by Release 16.0). Installing an earlier release after installing Release 16.0 will result in a licensing
conflict that may prevent of any ANSYS product/release.
For more information, see the Getting Started Installation section available from the product install-
ation menu or Installation and Licensing Documentation in the Help Viewer.
Chapter 5: Licensing
For more information, see the Getting Started Licensing section available from the product installation
menu or Installation and Licensing Documentation in the Help Viewer.
See also Licensing (p. x) in the Global Release Notes (p. ix) section of the release notes.
Chapter 6: Overview
ANSYS AIM is an integrated solution for 3D engineering simulation encompassing the breadth of ANSYS
physics in a single, modern user environment. The AIM user environment builds on the current Workbench
platform to create an integrated simulation environment for both single physics and multiphysics sim-
ulation.
The flagship Workbench platform provides a project schematic that enables application-to-application
interoperability, whereas AIM features a new user interface and an integrated simulation environment.
AIM is a comprehensive single physics and multiphysics simulation platform in ANSYS Workbench. In
part, AIM offers:
An integrated single window display for end-to-end simulation; including geometry, meshing, solution,
post-processing and design point evaluation.
A guided simulation process through the use of templates and task based workflows.
A common look-and-feel for fluid, structural, thermal and electric physics simulation technologies.
Bi-directional CAD geometry access and integrated geometry preparation including reference frames,
model configuration and suppression.
Engineering topology creation for flow volume extraction.
Automatic meshing based on engineering intent for fluid, structural, thermal and electric physics.
Consistent scripting and journaling throughout the simulation process.
Full use of expressions for all model inputs.
Ease of use actuated by pervasive reuse of data, parameterization.
Advanced automation, accuracy and robustness in solvers, meshing, post-processing and additional
technology.
Results exploration combined with quantitative post-processing.
Context-sensitive help and supporting documentation.
Access to documentation for most recent release of ANSYS applications: DesignModeler, DesignXplorer,
and Workbench.
ANSYS SCDM is data-integrated with AIM and accessible with an AIM license.
ANSYS DesignXplorer is data-integrated with AIM and accessible with an AIM license.
DesignModeler is data-integrated with AIM and requires an additional license.
Chapter 7: Usage and User Interface
AIM is an integrated single window multiple and multiphysics simulation environment. Upon start-up,
the application opens with a view of the Study tab in Workbench.
The Study tab includes a list of templates, or simulation processes, which can be used to define your
simulation. The templates are:
Structural
Fluid Flow
Thermal
Electric Conduction
Fluid-Structure Interaction
User Defined
You are also free to create a custom simulation process. To start, select one of the following options:
Import geometry
Connect to CAD
Import database
Add task
The template-based workflows included in AIM show how the tasks are used to prepare geometry and
simulate physical effects.
The following workflows are available:
Structural Simulation
Flow Simulation
Fluid-Structure Interaction Simulation
Thermal Simulation
Electric Conduction Simulation
Instructions for creating a simulation process and related videos for each workflow are accessible via
the Help panel on the right side of the AIM project window.
The user interface features a data panel on the left side of the Project window. All AIM settings can be
accessed, entered and applied via the data panel. In addition, you can define key input properties in
Usage and User Interface
the graphics window using the in-scene right mouse button context menu and associated data entry
panel. The primary components of AIM include:
Data Panel: The data panel communicates the data needed to perform a Study. A Study can have
multiple simulation processes.
Simulation Process: The simulation process is a collection of connected tasks with a single endpoint.
Tasks: The tasks are objects that use output data from an upstream task, the current tasks settings and
referenced objects. Upon execution, a task generates data that can be consumed by downstream tasks.
Objects: Objects of various types are added to a task, and used by the task when it executes to produce
output. In some cases, they may generate intermediary data.
Getting Started
Videos demonstrating the product, or a feature of the product, are accessible via the product document-
ation. Additional videos are available on the ANSYS Customer Portal (account required) at support.an-
sys.com/aim-videos. First-time users of the customer portal must register to create a password.
Chapter 8: Capabilities
AIM includes the following capabilities.
Journaling and Scripting

All actions that modify data are journaled via the Workbench journal file.
Scripts can be journals, modified journals, or created from scratch.
Commands are organized into Data Containers.
Namespaces are documented for the Workbench Study.
Journaling and scripting is based on Iron Python, an open-source implementation of the Python programming
language.
Geometry
ANSYS SCDM is available with AIM for geometry creation, editing and clean-up.
CAD and file import.
Multiple geometry imports.
Construction Geometry (Box, Point, Reference Frame, Capping Surface).
Fluid volume creation for both internal and external flows.
Meshing
Part-based Meshing meshes CAD topology as it exists in the model.
Volume Creation can be used to extract a flow volume or group one or more bodies into a single flow
volume.
Flow Volume Meshing can be used to generate a volume mesh based on the flow volume generated in the
Volume Creation task.
Engineering Data
Materials are selected, created and edited inside the Study.
Ability to search the library while typing.
Ability to create new or add existing material libraries.
Capabilities
Fluid Physics
Steady state, Incompressible flow.
Laminar and Basic Turbulence models.
Single Phase, Single Species.
Convective heat transfer.
Radiation heat transfer.
Single region.
Structural Physics
Structural.
Static and Modal.
Tightly coupled thermal-structural and/or thermal-electric-structural.
Contacts.
Thermal Physics
Steady state thermal conduction.
Tightly coupled thermal-structural, thermal-electric and/or thermal-electric-structural.
Convective heat transfer.
Radiation heat transfer.
Contacts.
Electric Physics
Electric conduction.
Steady state.
Tightly coupled thermal-electric and/or thermal-electric-structural.
Contacts.
Physics Coupling
One-way fluid force transfer from fluid to structural physics.
Result Processing
Contours.
Streamlines.
Vectors.
Isosurfaces.
Force reactions.
Calculated Values.
Customization / Automation
Applicable to Expressions:
All input quantities can be expressions.
All selections can be expressions.
Includes auto-complete and auto-suggest.
Named Expressions / Values

Assign names to expressions and properties.
Reuse named expressions and values elsewhere in the project.
Use named expressions and values to construct other expressions.
Review lists of all named expressions and values
Navigate to a named expression, property, or value.
Add, Edit, Duplicate, and Delete named expressions.
Add, Duplicate, and Delete named values.
Workbench Interoperability
Every quantity can be a parameter.
Data for each design point can be retained and reviewed in the Study.
Legacy Data Handling

Journal export.
Imported Geometry in the Study.
Chapter 9: Limitations
For a complete list, see the Known Issues and Limitations document on the AIM download page of the
ANSYS Customer Portal (account required). First-time users of the customer portal must register to
create a password.
Chapter 10: Documentation
The AIM user-help is context-sensitive with links to topic-based documentation via the Help Viewer.
The content is minimal by design to complement the intuitive intent of ANSYS AIM. The AIM help focuses
on tasks rather than concepts to help aid in quick usage of AIM.
The context-sensitive Help panel is accessible via the circled question mark on the top right side of the
Data panel.
The Help Viewer is accessible via the circled question mark on the top right side of the AIM project
window and via the Help Library icon at the bottom of each context-sensitive help panel. The Viewer
contains detailed information and reference information. User guides included in the Viewer contain
general information.
The user guides are included for reference only. Specific information in the guides that is applicable to
AIM is referenced in the AIM product help. Not all information in the guides is relevant to AIM.
Also included in the AIM help are concise videos, accessible from the Help Viewer, applicable context-
sensitive help panels, and customer portal. The videos demonstrate how to use AIM with emphasis on
feature functionality. Additional videos are available in the video library on the customer portal at
support.ansys.com/aim-videos.
Chapter 11: Ancillary Product Enhancements
The following ancillary products include enhancements for AIM.
ANSYS SCDM

ANSYS, Inc. Release Notes

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Release Notes

ANSYS, Inc. Release 16.0

ANSYS, Inc. is certified to ISO 9001:2008.

U.S. Government Rights

Published in the U.S.A.

2.1.3.4. Chaboche Nonlinear Kinematic Hardening ............................................................... 21

2.9.1. Modal Analysis Output from the Unsymmetric Eigensolver ............................................... 35

7.3.2. Improved CAD Geometry Feature ..................................................................................... 49

6.2.4. Fluent Meshing inflation ................................................................................................. 109

Advisories (p. ix)

Installation (p. ix)

ANSYS Customer Portal (p. xi)

ANSYS 15.0 Release Documentation

ANSYS 14.5.7 Release Documentation (applies to release 14.5)

ANSYS 14.0 Release Documentation

Electromagnetics (Ansoft) license files are also stored in this directory.

Windows XP and 32bit platforms are no longer supported.

Help Viewer Enhancements

Search has been streamlined for fewer clicks.

You can now navigate next/previous through search hits in a page.

Page level annotations are available.

The Help Viewer now includes video support.

Updated Product Documentation

5. ANSYS Customer Portal

Customer Portal access points:

Documentation To access documentation files on the ANSYS Customer Portal, go to http://support.an-

1.1. Incompatibilities and Changes in Product Behavior from Previous

Eigenvalue (formerly Linear) Buckling Analysis.

Result Scoping. The Shell property has been renamed "Position."

1.2. General Enhancements

Specifying Named Selections using Worksheet Criteria.

Filtering the Tree Outline.

1.3. Performance Enhancements

1.4. Graphics Enhancements

Windows Aero. Mechanical now supports the Aero Theme in Windows 7.

1.5. Geometry Enhancements

1.6. Model Assembly and External Model Enhancements

You can now assemble models that include:

Abaqus Input (.inp)

Nastran Bulk Data (.bdf, .dat, .nas)

Fluent Input (.msh, .cas)

ICEM CFD Input (.uns)

1.7. Contact and Connection Enhancements

1.8. Mesh Enhancements

1.9. Composites Enhancements

1.10. Analysis Enhancements

1.11. Loads/Supports/Conditions Enhancements

1.12. Mapping Enhancements

1.13. Solution Enhancements

Harmonic Response Analysis.

Eigenvalue (formerly Linear) Buckling Analysis:

1.14. Rigid Body Solver Enhancements

1.15. Explicit Dynamics Enhancements

Body Grounded Springs. Body grounded springs are now supported.

1.16. Results Enhancements

Structural (p. 15)

Coupled Physics (p. 24)

Solvers (p. 26)

Results File (p. 27)

Commands (p. 27)

Elements (p. 31)

Other (p. 33)

Documentation (p. 33)

2.1.1.1. Contact Robustness