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Documentation

SimScale DocumentationSimulation SetupBoundary Conditions | SimScaleTables

Tables

Tables are one possibility, besides formulas, that allow to specify a variable (velocity, temperature, etc) along with another independent variable ( e.g time or distance).

Not every variable is allowed to be defined as a function of another variable. If tables are allowed, you can find the icon of a graph next to the variable you want to define.

using tables feature simscale
Figure 1: Some boundary conditions can be defined using tables. Make sure to look for the icon of a graph as highlighted.

Once you click on the table icon simscale icon, a dialogue box appears to define the table. The example below shows a table input for a time dependent temperature boundary condition. The data can be uploaded in CSV format or dynamically manipulated at the interface.

general table interface
Figure 2: Table for time dependent temperature boundary condition. Here t is time in seconds and Value represents temperature in kelvins.

The CSV file should just contain the input values (no title, index numbers…). Every line in the text file will define a row and values separated by a comma ‘,’ will define the columns. As an easy example, the CSV file for the table seen above should be like the following:

0,300
1,320

Once the CSV file is uploaded, the variable for each column should be properly set. Values can be manually modified and rows/columns can be added/deleted by right-clicking on any cell. The data from the table can always be downloaded pressing the icon next to ‘Browse files’.

Advanced Settings

Under Advanced settings, two different options appear.

  • Units: It is possible to define different units for some variables such as temperature or distance.
  • Out of bounds: By default, it is set as ‘Use nearest‘. It means that the regions out of the defined range in the table are defined by the nearest value. Hence, the last value in a given coordinate will be kept constant till the end of the domain.

Important

For Code Aster based solvers you can as well specify the interpolation and the extrapolation type between the given value pairs:

advanced settings tables code aster
Figure 3: Advanced settings for Code Aster based solvers in SimScale allow specifying units, and the type and interpolation and extrapolation.

Examples of Tables: Vector Variable

For ‘Vector’ variables (e.g velocity) the table upload requires a CSV file with the independent variable and all 3 velocity components in the order X, Y, and Z for each point. Depending on the independent variable we can find two different types of table:

  • Time distribution: Velocity is assigned for every time instant defined in the table. Along time, a uniform velocity on the assigned faces is defined. A 4-column CSV file can be uploaded with time and velocity values (t,ux,uy,uz).
table for velocity components along time
Figure 4: Time dependent velocity table. Three velocity components are defined for every desired instant of time.
  • Spatial distribution: Velocity is defined for every spatial coordinate of the assigned boundary condition face. For a yz-plane, a velocity profile in the x-direction has been defined as in Figure 5. A 6-column CSV file can be uploaded with time and velocity values (x,y,z,ux,uy,uz).
Velocity components tables simscale
Figure 5: Space dependent velocity table. Three velocity components are defined for every component of space on the desired location.

Try it Yourself

The following are some of our tutorials where you can try using the tables feature:

Last updated: December 30th, 2020

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