TMG Correlation workflow

Step Description
1. Create the original solution in Simcenter 3D Before starting TMG Correlation in Simcenter 3D, create and solve the original solution in one of the following solver environments. You can also create named points to use as sensor locations for the thermal correlation.
2. Create a thermal correlation analysis You create the thermal correlation analysis in TMG Correlation, which you start in Simcenter 3D.

You can create multiple thermal correlation analyses from the same original solution. It is recommended that you start with exploratory analyses before you run your final optimization analysis.
3. Define reference data The reference data defines sensors that contain temperatures at specific locations and their time stamps if the problem is time dependent. Sensors are used as targets for the optimization of the original solution.
You can define sensors using:
  • Data stored in a comma-separated values (CSV) file, which contains coordinates of the sensors and transient temperature data from experiments, theory, or prior simulation results.
  • Existing named points of your model and transient temperature data stored in a CSV file.
  • Points and temperature defined from the user interface.
4. Pair the reference data with the correlated solution TMG Correlation lists all available sensors that you can interact with. Before launching a thermal correlation analysis, you must:
  • Activate or deactivate sensors to eliminate any reference data that does not make sense.
  • Pair each active sensor to the corresponding element or node in the correlated solution. The pairing method can be manual or automatic by proximity.

You can also plot the difference between the reference data and the original correlated solution results to see the difference between your analysis and the reference data.
5. Create design variables TMG Correlation lists all quantities present in the correlated solution that you can define as design variables. These quantities are boundary condition parameters, for example the heat transfer coefficient in the Thermal Coupling simulation object, NX Designcenter expressions, and material properties. From this list, you select the desired quantity and use one of the following methods to create a design variable:
  • The substitution method that replaces the existing quantity by the optimized design variable. The design variable inherits the units of the quantity.
  • The multiplier method that multiplies the existing quantity by the optimized design variable. The design variable is unitless.
6. Specify the optimization targets The TMG Correlation lets you:
  • Activate or deactivate sensors that become optimization targets.
  • Modify the individual weights of the optimization targets.
7. Define the optimization design variables for the thermal correlation analysis For each selected design variable, you can:
  • Activate or deactivate optimization design variables.
  • Modify the initial, minimum and maximum values to be used during the correlation analysis.
8. Set up the solver settings You can modify the following settings:
  • Correlation times for transient solutions.
  • Convergence criterion.
  • Maximum design cycles.
  • Optimization algorithm.
9. Launch a thermal correlation analysis When you submit the solve, TMG Correlation launches the active correlation analysis created from the original solution. You can also write the solver input files to launch TMG Correlation in batch mode on Windows or Linux.
10. Display and compare the optimization results To evaluate the optimization results, you can plot the optimized solution temperatures against the sensor data and the original solution temperatures. If the results do not fulfill your requirements, you can modify your thermal correlation analysis and re-solve it until you get the desired results.
11. Update the correlated solution When you update the correlated model, TMG Correlation updates the boundary conditions, expressions, and materials with the optimized design variable values and saves the updated model files at the location you specify. The original model is not modified.