SpectraSim Documentation
Wizard step

Run Settings

When the flow run stops and when it counts as converged, how many cores it uses and, for a transient run, how long it runs. With acoustics on, the step also holds the frequency sweep, the insertion loss and the radiated sound pressure level.

Last updated

What this step does

Convergence of a steady run. The run stops when the mean of the total-pressure drop has converged: over a window of at least Δp window iterations after the start-up and settle phases, both its linear drift and the spread of its three block means are within Δp mean-stability tolerance of the mean. Otherwise it runs to Maximum iterations.

After the run, quality gate 2 also judges:

A run whose pressure-drop mean converged while the residuals stayed above target is reported as "completed with warnings": the jets in a muffler often hold the residuals at 10−210^{-2} to 10−310^{-3}.

Transient run. The run simulates End time seconds with a time step limited by Maximum Courant number and reports the mean pressure drop of the last Averaging window; gate 2 compares it with the preceding window.

Cores. Parallel cores: 0 selects the count from the finished mesh.

Acoustics. The frequency sweep (Frequency spacing, Lowest frequency, Highest frequency, Frequency step, Number of frequencies (logarithmic), Band range), the port modes (Evanescent modes per port) and exports (Export the full scattering matrix), the mean-flow option (Mean-flow convection), the insertion loss with its reference pipe (Compute the insertion loss) and the radiated sound pressure level (Calculate radiated SPL). With flow and acoustics, a table "CFD → acoustics" shows which quantities the acoustic run takes from the flow (medium, port gas, perforate Mach numbers) and whether they are planned values or the values used. In an acoustics-only case only the acoustic panels are shown.

Source

The convergence rule and the automatic values of the residual target, the maximum iterations and the transient timing are the program's own rules; the field articles give the measurements behind them.

Valid range

Stop and continue

A steady run can be stopped or paused at any time after its start-up phase and continued later from its last saved iteration; raise the maximum iterations to continue a run that ended there.

Fields in this step 57

FieldSymbolUnitDefault
Acoustic modesoff
Averaging windowTWT_Wsauto: 1 flow-through time (0.1 s until it is known)
Band rangeHzthe bands nearest the current frequency range
Calculate radiated SPLoff
Compressor duct areaAcA_cmm²621 mm² (Haeckel et al. 2023)
Compressor duct lengthLcL_cm0.25 m (Haeckel et al. 2023)
Compute the insertion lossoff
Compute the volume and surge indicatoroff
Damped (complex) modesoff
End timetendt_{end}sauto: 5 flow-through times (0.5 s until the flow-through time is known)
Energy tolerancerer_{e}auto (= the residual target: 1e-3 steady)
Evanescent modes per port1
Export the full scattering matrixoff
Extra plenum volumeVxV_xL0
Frequency spacinglinear
Frequency stepΔf\Delta fHz5 Hz
Highest frequencyfmaxf_{max}Hzauto: first non-plane cut-on of the smallest port
Impeller tip diameterDDmmnone
Impeller tip speedUUm/sπ D n / 60 from the speed and the tip diameter
Initial time stepΔt0\Delta t_0s1e-4 s
Inlet branch lengthBBm1 m
Lowest frequencyfminf_{min}Hz20 Hz
Maximum Courant numberComaxCo_{max}2
Maximum iterationsNmaxN_{max}iterationsauto: 3000 with the other defaults
Maximum time stepΔtmax\Delta t_{max}s1e-2 s
Mean-flow convectionoff
Microphone distanceddm0.5 m (ISO 5130)
Microphone heighthrh_rmauto: the outlet height, at least 0.2 m
Modal participationoff
Number of frequenciescomputed (read-only)
Number of frequencies (logarithmic)nn200
Number of modes20
Outlet heighthsh_sm0.2 m
Parallel coresnncores0 (auto)
Per-field residual tolerancesoff
PIMPLE outer correctorsNouterN_{outer}2
Ports during the modal analysisrigid
Power dissipated per absorberoff
Pressure correctorsNcorrN_{corr}2
Pressure tolerancerpr_{p}auto (= the residual target: 1e-3 steady)
Receivers (microphones)off
Reference pipe diameterDrefD_{ref}mauto: circle of the area of the largest inlet
Reference pipe lengthLLm3 m
Reference sweep without the mean flowoff
Residual dropDDdecades3
Residual targetrtargetr_{target}auto: 1e-3 (steady), 1e-2 (transient)
Save intervalΔtw\Delta t_{w}sauto: averaging window / 20
Sound power through sectionsoff
Source measurement distancedsd_sm0.5 m
Source quantityswl
Specific dissipation rate tolerancerωr_{\omega}auto (= the residual target: 1e-3 steady)
Speednn1/minnone
Time schemebackward
Turbulent kinetic energy tolerancerkr_{k}auto (= the residual target: 1e-3 steady)
Velocity tolerancerUr_{U}auto (= the residual target: 1e-3 steady)
Δp mean-stability toleranceε\varepsilon%0.5 % (transient: at least 1 %)
Δp windowWWiterations500