The symmetry function is newly a newly supported feature of the User Interface and helps set up symmetrical optimisation model very fast and easy. For more information regarding the setup of an symmetric optimisation model have a look here.
Symmetric Optimisation Conditions
With the Symmetry function a symmetrical result can be realized. Therefore, the geometry and the boundary conditions have to satisfy some conditions:
The geometry needs to be symmetrical
The boundary conditions need to be symmetrical
The loads have to be applied only on a half/quarter/eighth of the part. They will be automatically mirrored and considered through the symmetry planes.
Attention: The loads are only allowed to be applied in the positive coordinate direction (positive coordinate half/quarter/octant)
The displacement constraints are allowed to be applied on a volume/cell that goes beyond the symmetry plane to the other coordinate half/quarter/octant unlike loads
The geometry needs to be located in the global coordinate origin or a local coordinate system has to be created on which the symmetry can relate to
The symmetry function is activated right at the beginning of the workflow when the user selects (Direct Method) or creates (Bounding Box Method) the Design Space. The details of the symmetry function are displayed and the details can be specified. The user has to define the active symmetry planes and can also input an origin. It is also possible to set an orientation for the symmetry plane if the part doesn’t align to the global coordinate system.
Tipp: Only a half, a quarter or an eighth of the model will be calculated. Thus, only a half, a quarter or an eighth of the calculating resources are needed.
Preview
The symmetry constraint might not show exactly symmetrical designs while choosing the calculation type “Preview”. This is because of the low resolution level but will not occur once the calculation type is set to “Balanced” or “Fine Tune” and the optimisation runs through.
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