This tutorial shows how to perform a Restart of a stopped optimization. Therefore, the Advanced User Settings are needed. More information regarding the background of a Restart here.
With this option a terminated optimization can be continued. To realize a Restart instead of the Design space another geometry can be chosen as the Start space. In this case the optimization starts with the specified geometry although the whole Design space is still the geometry limitation for the optimization.
Start Space STL-file
The Start space for a Restart must be a STL-file. Therefore, a already optimized geometry can be exported in the Post Processing. In this case iteration 22 from the Bookshelf Tutorial will be used.
Attention: The STL-file for the Restart must be exported in SI-Units (Meters).
Optimization Setup
In the next step a new scenario should be created for the Restart optimization. With the Advanced User Settings - availble through a right click on the Scenario - the Start space STL-file can be selected. In this case the exported iteration 22 is selected.
The most important part of a Restart is to add and adjust the Advanced User Settings especially the number of iterations, the resolution level and the stress goal percentage. More background information regarding the Advanced User Settings here.
In this example the Bookshelf should be restarted as if the optimization never stopped, so with the same optimization parameters as the first optimization excluding the already done iterations. Therefore, the settings for the parameters Strut Density: Medium and Shape Quality: Balanced are added to the Advanced User Settings and adjusted according to the numer of iterations already calculated. Which number of iterations and which stress percent goal should be input for each resolution level can be found here.
42 iterations must be added to reach the total number of 64 iterations (Shape Quality: Balanced).
The information are added in the Advanced User Settings in the following style:
UpSampleConfig
fOptimizer_switchAddRemove=36
iteration
.level_2=18”
.level_1=20”
.level_0=4”
fOptimizer_stressPercentGoal
.level_2=40
.level_2=90
.level_2=100
The command fOptimizer_switchAddRemove needs to be active for the last 4-10 iterations for the quality of the surface smoothness, so in this case 42-6=36.
After adding these commands to the Advanced User Settings the optimization can be started. The first iteration of the restarted optimization will be the imported Start space.