HyperWorks Solver Run Manager

A separate Run Manager is not required to run different solvers (OptiStruct, Radioss, and so on). It is recommended that only a single instance of the Run Manager is started on any machine. Jobs for different solvers can be added in to the same queue.

Main Window

When a HyperWorks Solver is started using the methods specified in the previous section, the HyperWorks Solver Run Manager is displayed first (Figure 1). To begin, select the Input file(s) for the run using the File Browser button. The Run Manager automatically selects the appropriate solver based on the file extension of the selected input file.

Figure 1. HyperWorks Solver Run Manager

The required options for the run can be entered into the Options field or selected from the Available Options window accessed by clicking .

Each selection is only effective if appropriate, the options are not used if they are not germane to the selected solver. The selections can also be overridden when such options are entered manually into the Options field (presumably with different values); however when any SPMD related option is used in the Options field, then selected options via Use MPI options from the Edit > Preferences path will be skipped entirely. The effect of these selectable options is not shown in the Options field, nor is it stored in the history or queue manager, but they are appended to the command line at the moment when the solver is actually started.

Clicking Run starts the solver and opens a separate progress window called HyperWorks Solver View.

Solver View Form

Solver runs performed through the HyperWorks Solver Run Manager will not use any xterm or a DOS window (the only exception is a DOS window appearing during certain MPI commands). All output from solver runs is captured by the Run Manager and presented appropriately using its own windows. By default, each solver run is performed in the HyperWorks Solver View utility, shown in Figure 2 during an Radioss run.

Figure 2. HyperWorks Solver View After Completed Run

The top section of the form shows several fields containing the actual name of the Solver binary, name of the Input file, the Run command line with all options used to start the solver, and the estimated Progress of the solution. There are two text fields in the center of the form; the Message log field shows messages from the solver (usually warnings and errors), while the Optimization summary field shows a table representing the convergence of solutions for different subcases in each optimization step. The Graph button inside the Optimization summary window allows you to open a simple X-Y plot and browse the dynamic convergence of various variables displayed in the Optimization summary window.

The Run summary field represents the standard screen output from the solver. For OptiStruct, it is recommended to use the option -out to increase the amount of information printed to the screen.

The browser recognizes typical HyperWorks file extensions, and uses HyperView or HyperGraph to open files with extensions .h3d or .mvw. For other files, it opens a simple text viewer with search capability. The output file name(s) can be changed by the user, for example, using the -outfile command or by the controls in the input deck. In such cases, if the new names do not match the input file name, the Solver View utility will not be able to locate them automatically. The View > Browse option can be used to view such output files.

Figure 3. Simple Text Viewer with Example of an .out File

The Solver View form controls are solver dependent. See Control File (C-File). Some fields and options are available only during runs using certain solvers. For example, the Message log, Optimization summary fields and the Graph button are displayed only during OptiStruct runs. Stop, Abort, and other similar options appear only during OptiStruct and Radioss runs.

Interactive Options Selector

To open the options selector, select View > Select Options on the main form or click to the right of the Options field.

Figure 4. Interactive Available Options Selector

This form contains options applicable and selective to a particular solver, so the input file has to be selected for the Run Manager to choose an appropriate set of options. After selecting any option, an additional form appears if a value for the option is required. You can type a value in the field, or select from the list of available options. In cases where a value is optional, the None button on the form may be used. Note that the selection of any option automatically disables incompatible options in the list. After options are transferred to the main form, it is possible to manually edit the contents of this field on the main form if required.

Apply Options

Copies all options to the main form.

Append Options

Appends options to the content of this field.

Warning: Care must be taken to avoid duplicate options in the field which will cause an error when starting the solver.

Edit Preferences Form

There are a number of options stored externally by the Run Manager, which can be edited using the Edit Preferences form. These options are stored in the hwsolv_gui.cfg file, which is located with other HyperWorks configuration files.

Figure 5. Edit Preferences Form

The options in the Solver Preferences section controls solver runs: allowing you to specify the number of simultaneous runs, number of processors for the SMP run, the list of predefined options for the MPI run, and the use of Solver View. These options are also solver-specific and inapplicable options are greyed out for certain solvers. The Form Preferences section controls the behavior of Log windows (discussed below), the maximum length of stored history, and user preference for the editor used to edit input files (available through the Edit menu on the main form). The default editor is wordpad.exe on Windows, and gedit on Linux, but any window editor can be used, although 'vi' and its variants are not accepted, because they do not use a standalone window.

History and Queue Manager

Submit Multiple Solver Runs

The Run Manager allows for the start of multiple jobs, and maintains the queue of jobs in order to avoid machine overload. Submit multiple jobs by selecting multiple files in file browser (hold Ctrl button and click), or submit (add to queue) after starting the first run.

Run Manager will normally queue all submitted jobs, meaning it will start the next run after the previous one completes. Specify the maximum number of simultaneous jobs allowed using the Preferences form. Run Manager does not monitor the total load of the computer, only the jobs submitted to the queue. It is highly recommended not to start multiple instances of Run Manager, as each would maintain an independent queue (and could overload the host with multiple runs). On Linux, the Run Manager will check and warn if another instance for the host is already running, however this test will not detect instances running remotely (by different users or on different displays).

Schedule Jobs with Delay

The Schedule delay option on the main Run Manager form opens a small window where it is possible to schedule when all submitted jobs will start. Setting this delay will not affect jobs which are already running, but it will delay all jobs waiting in the queue and all jobs which are added while the delay is in effect.

Figure 9.	Figure 10.

Figure 11. Schedule Delay Option

The Set start time field can be used to set the time delay in various input formats.

Example formats - 5 minutes, 3600 seconds, 10 hours, 2 days, 6 pm, Tuesday 3 pm, tomorrow 15:00, Dec 15 8pm are examples of valid inputs. The maximum available delay is 7 days.

Maintain Log and Help Windows

Each solver run starts a log window, which is normally hidden. If a job is started without the -screen option (the Use solver control option is not checked), then output from the solver goes to the log window, which is then automatically visible. The log window is automatically posted to the screen if the solver fails. Log windows are most useful when a solver fails to run and there is not enough information in the output file.

Main menu logs enable you to control all log windows. They can all be posted or hidden using this menu. Although each log window has an X button in the top right corner, this button hides the window; it does not delete it. The window can be posted again using Logs > Show All. Selecting Logs > Delete Log Windows for Completed Jobs will permanently delete all log windows for jobs which have already completed solver execution.

Figure 12. Access Log Files from the Run Manager

All Help windows are automatically removed from the screen after 30 seconds. This timeout can be disabled or enabled for both Help and Log windows in the Preferences form, the time to trigger removal can also be adjusted.

Submit Solver Jobs to Remote Hosts

Run Manager does not allow for the submission of jobs to remote hosts. However, on Linux, it is possible to start Run Manager on a remote host and display to a local screen. If the local screen is a Windows machine, then the X server application has to be used. In this configuration, Run Manager will control job submission for the remote host. Run Managers from multiple hosts can be displayed on the same screen, and each will run independently. The title bar for the main form, shows the hostname of the computer where Run Manager is used. All operations will be performed on a remote host – in particular, editor or HyperWorks visualization will be performed remotely and display will be redirected to your screen. Note that such remote usage may affect possible license stacking for the HyperWorks licensing system.

When running jobs on a remote machine, connection to the host must remain open until the last solver run is complete. The Run Manager will not work if a log out occurs, or if a laptop is disconnected from the network. Such usage is only possible through PBS or a similar queuing system.

Quick Solver Start via Desktop Icon

<install_dir>/scripts/hw_wish <install_dir>hwsolvers/scripts/hwsolver.tcl -icon

Where, <install_dir> is the top directory path to the HyperWorks installation.

Graph - Optimization/Convergence Summary

The Graph button inside the Summary window allows you to open a simple X-Y plot and browse the dynamic convergence of various variables displayed in the Summary window.

Figure 13. Optimization Summary Graph Button

The Graph function is available only when convergence data are available and it provides a graphical way to visualize the convergence process.

Hovering over any point on the graph displays the iteration number and the tracked variable value and possibly grid/element identification number if applicable.

AcuSolve Run

In HyperWorks 2020.1, Run Manager also allows you to start AcuSolve. For this, the AcuSolve input file (name.inp) must match the problem name (defined in the Acusim.cnf file) and the Use solver control option should be selected. It is acceptable to select either the .inp file (name.inp) or the Acusim.cnf file (which defines problem name parameter (problem = <name>) as the input file.

When AcuSolve is executed multiple times in the same location, result file IDs are incremented. A new option on the View menu (Disk Inspector) is designed specifically for the AcuSolve runs - it allows you to inspect the content of the run folder, and optionally inspect or delete content of specific runs by their ID.

Multiphysics Co-simulation

To activate co-simulation, from the Co-simulation menu, select FSI-AcuSolve.

Figure 14.

The upper two fields represent the structural solver (OptiStruct or MotionSolve) while the next two lines allow to select the input file for AcuSolve. The toggles in the next line (Use SMP ... Use MPI ... ) apply to the structural solver only.

Selecting Run submits a job to the internal queue as if it was a single solver run. It is possible to mix co-simulation runs with standard runs in the queue. When the Run Manager initiates a run, the job automatically starts two solver runs, as well as the required middleware (for a MotionSolve co-simulation run). When such a job runs, two SolverView forms and two independent log files are created. Both SolverView forms will show the options Abort, Kill, etc., and each of them will control the corresponding single solver only.