Simulations (FEA, CFD)

TeamCraft manages the analyses that belong to a design next to the design itself: which part revision was analysed, with which file, what came out – and whether that is still valid after the design changed.

A simulation is an item

Create an item of type Simulation (numbers SIM-000001, …) with New item, or through the link in the Simulations card of a part. One simulation item is one analysis, e.g. Bracket – static, LC1–LC3 or Pump housing – modal. It has the usual lifecycle, revisions, check-out/check-in and change orders. Its files are the model, the solver deck, selected results, the report and pictures; TeamCraft recognises the common model and result formats (VTK, CalculiX, Nastran, ANSYS, Abaqus, OpenFOAM, Fluent, STAR-CCM+, CGNS, Exodus II, LS-DYNA, …) but does not parse them.

Fluent, STAR-CCM+ and Simcenter 3D files

• Simcenter 3D (NX CAE): .sim, .fem and .afm are recognised as NX simulation files by the SPLMSSTR container NX writes them in. The Nastran deck Simcenter 3D writes as .dat (SOL, CEND, BEGIN BULK, a $ comment naming Nastran or Simcenter) is a Nastran input deck; .f06, .f04, .pch and .op2 are Nastran results. A text .fem is an OptiStruct/HyperMesh deck, not an NX FE model.
• Fluent: case, data and mesh files – legacy (.cas, .dat, .msh), gzip-compressed (.cas.gz, …, checked by the gzip magic) and HDF5 (.cas.h5, .dat.h5, .msh.h5, checked by the HDF5 signature) – plus the project (.flprj), CFD-Post data (.cdat), journals (.jou), transcripts (.trn) and report files (report-file-*.out).
• STAR-CCM+: the .sim (when its beginning names STAR-CCM+), the solution history (.simh) and macros (.java files that name STAR-CCM+ or import its API – other Java sources stay unclassified).

None of the binary files (.sim, .simh, .op2, HDF5, legacy binary data) is parsed beyond its first bytes. The text files – transcripts, report files, journals, macros, .f06/.f04/.pch – are read as text for the search, the assistant and the extraction templates (below).

Based on – what was simulated

The Based on card of a simulation revision lists the revisions it was computed with, each with a role:

Add a basis by item number, revision code (empty = latest revision) and, optionally, a file name: TeamCraft then pins the current version of that file, so the simulation records exactly which file version it used. Like BOM lines the basis links belong to the simulation revision: they change only while it is checked out, Revise copies them, and they are frozen when the simulation is released.

New simulation from a part or assembly. On the page of a part or assembly revision, New simulation based on PRT-000002/A (card Simulations and the More menu) opens the new-item form prefilled from that revision: the basis line with a role select (geometry by default), the type fixed to Simulation, the name Simulation – <name of the basis>, a description with the basis revision and material, and the project group of the basis (or your first group when you may not create items there – the form says so). Unit, classification, material, mass and cost do not apply to a simulation and are hidden; the item number is generated from the group’s scheme (the hint shows the next one). Creating adds the basis link in the same transaction: the current version of the STEP file of the basis revision (else its first CAD file) is pinned, without a file the revision alone is linked. You land on the basis card of the new simulation, which is checked out to you. A basis you may not read behaves like a missing one: the plain form is shown and nothing of it is echoed. Further bases are added on the Basis card.

The part or assembly shows the other side in its Simulations card: every simulation whose latest revision is based on it, with state, failed results and whether it is up to date.

Out of date

A simulation is out of date when, for one of its bases,

• a newer revision of the basis item was released,
• the basis revision became obsolete, or
• the pinned file has a newer version (or the pinned version was deleted).

The reason is shown next to the basis (PRT-000012/C was released (simulated: B)). A basis in a restricted group that the reader may not see shows no reason (see Read permissions). Releasing or obsoleting a basis also flags the simulation for a check through the normal change propagation: the simulation shows Check needed, its author and watchers are notified, and the change’s impact analysis lists it. Acknowledge the check with a note when the result is still valid (fillet change outside the stressed region), or revise the simulation, re-run it, update the basis and the results and release it – that resolves the check.

Releasing the basis revision itself (the simulation was based on an in-work revision that is now released) only flags the simulation when a pinned file has changed since; without a pinned file TeamCraft cannot tell.

Results

The Results card holds the key numbers of the run: name, value, unit, optional lower and upper limit, load case, solver and solver version. A value passes when lower limit ≤ value ≤ upper limit (limits inclusive, either may be empty) and fails otherwise; values without limits are informative. The card summarises failed and passed values; the part’s Simulations card shows the number of failed values.

Values are edited in the table while the simulation revision is checked out, or imported from a CSV or Excel table:

name,value,unit,limit_low,limit_high,load_case
Max. von Mises stress,182.5,MPa,,250,LC1
Safety factor,1.37,,1.5,,LC1
First eigenfrequency,2.35e2,Hz,200,,modal

Optional columns: solver, solver_version, note. Semicolons, tabs, decimal commas and German column names (Kennwert, Wert, Einheit, Untergrenze, Obergrenze, Lastfall) work too; min/max are accepted as limits. A value with the same name and load case is updated, new ones are appended; Replace all values removes the values that are not in the file. CSV on the card exports the table in the same layout.

Solver scripts write their results through the REST API (PUT …/simulation/results replaces the set in one transaction; see the REST API).

Solver summary of a file

For solver output a one-line summary appears next to the file on the revision page (and in the vault explorer): solver and version, how the run ended (converged, END OF JOB, fatal), the last iteration or time step, and the number of FATAL and WARNING lines. It is made at check-in from the first and the last 64 KiB of the file only, so the counts cover those two windows, not the whole file – the line says so. Supported: Fluent transcripts (.trn) and report files, Nastran .f06 and decks (SOL), STAR-CCM+ macros (.java) and batch logs (.log/.txt that name STAR-CCM+). The summary is a hint read from a user-written file, never a verified result; the MCP tools mark it as untrusted data. The rules follow public documentation and typical output and are not yet checked against real files of these programs; a file that does not match shows no summary. Files stored before the feature have none until they get a new version.

Values from files at check-in

Two bounded ways fill the table without typing – neither reads big result files:

The exchange file. A file named teamcraft-results.json or teamcraft-results.csv (at most 1 MB) checked in with the simulation revision sets the values in the same transaction as the check-in, with an audit entry:

{ "results": [
  { "name": "Pressure drop", "value": 388.25, "unit": "Pa", "limit_max": 500, "load_case": "nominal" },
  { "name": "Max. von Mises stress", "value": 182.5, "unit": "MPa", "limit_min": null, "limit_max": 250,
    "solver": "CalculiX", "solver_version": "2.21", "note": "" }
] }

A bare array works too. name and value (a number) are required; unit, limit_min, limit_max, load_case, solver, solver_version and note are optional; other keys are refused. The CSV has the columns name,value,unit,limit_min,limit_max,load_case (see above). A value with the same name and load case is updated. A malformed file refuses the whole check-in with the place of the problem (results[1].value must be a number, Row 3: …, JSON line and column) – nothing is half-written, the revision stays checked out.

Extraction templates. Managers of a project group (and administrators) define templates on the group’s page, or through the REST API. A template finds one number in a small text file (.txt, .csv, .log, .out, .dat, .rpt, .html, Fluent .trn and .jou, Nastran .f06, .f04 and .pch, STAR-CCM+ .java, … – the first 2 MB are read, and with pick = last the last 2 MB of a larger file as well). An HTML report is not read as markup: the template sees the text TeamCraft extracted from it (see below), one line per table row with the cells separated by |, so Maximum stress \| ([-+0-9.eE]+) \| MPa finds the row Maximum stress | 152.4 | MPa, and a csv template reads such a table with | as the separator (always for an HTML file, whatever the title and paragraphs above the table contain; an empty header cell keeps its column).

Example: Pressure drop:\s*([-+0-9.eE]+)\s*Pa on *.log. Regular expressions run in linear time (no backtracking) and are limited in size, so a hostile pattern or file cannot hang the server. The value is shown with its source (solver.log:412) in the Solver column. For an HTML report the line number refers to the extracted text – the text read_file_text shows –, not to the line in the HTML file. A template that does not match does nothing; templates belong to one group and apply to simulations of that group only. Values typed in by hand are overwritten by a template or the exchange file with the same name and load case on the next check-in.

A value found in the end of a large file shows its place counted from the end (run.trn: line 3 from the end), because the lines before it were not read.

Fluent report files. A report file (report-file-0.out, written by the report definitions of a run) looks like this:

"report-def-0-rfile"
"Iteration" "pressure-drop" "flow-time"
("Iteration" "pressure-drop" "flow-time")
1 2.53e+02 0.001
2 2.49e+02 0.002

A table template with csv_column = pressure-drop and pick = last reads the value of the last row (2.49e+02); with csv_key_column = Iteration and csv_key_value = 500 it reads the row of iteration 500 instead. STAR-CCM+ exports its monitors and reports as CSV (csv method). For Simcenter 3D / Nastran a regex template on the .f06 works for numbers that stand on one line; the tables in the middle of a large .f06 are better written to an exchange file by a post-script.

Values from a report (assistant)

A CFD or FEA report is usually a PDF or an HTML page. TeamCraft reads the text of both when they are uploaded, so the assistant can read it with read_file_text:

• PDF: the text layer, in an isolated process with a time, size and memory limit: at most 32 MB, 100 pages and 200 000 characters. Scanned PDFs have no text; there is no OCR.
• HTML (.html, .htm – the report generators of many FEA/CFD tools write them): the readable text, in the same isolated process and with the same limits (the first 16 MB of the file, 200 000 characters). A table row becomes one line with the cells separated by | (Equivalent (von Mises) stress | 0.0213 | 152.4 | MPa); numbers, signs, exponents and units stay as written, character references (°,  , °) are decoded. Scripts, styles, comments, embedded (base64) images and hidden elements (hidden, aria-hidden="true", inline display:none / visibility:hidden) are skipped – hidden text is not part of the report and could carry instructions for the assistant. The charset comes from a byte order mark or <meta charset>, else UTF-8, else Windows-1252. Only the HTML file itself is read: images, style sheets and linked pages (a report with a report_files/ folder) are never fetched or followed – attach a sub-page as its own file if its numbers are needed. MHTML (.mht) and ZIP-packed reports are not read.
• Text (.txt, .csv, .tsv, .log, .md, the solver logs, report files and scripts .out, .trn, .jou, .f06, .f04, .pch, .java, …): the text itself, line by line with its decimal numbers (the first 4 MB, 200 000 characters). A larger file keeps its end as well – the last 64 KiB (at most 50 000 characters) after the marker [… middle of the file left out …] – where a solver writes its status and final values.

The Fill with AI… button on the Results card (shown to editors of the group when the server has an assistant and the group has not switched the assistant off) opens a box: What to extract (the values you want, optional – empty means every key number of the report), Limits to use (optional, for example “upper limit 250 MPa for stress”, applied only where it fits a value you named) and the report files to read (PDF, HTML or text, all ticked). Propose values is the request for drafts. Values you asked for that the report does not contain are reported as Not found and are not proposed; numbers are taken as written, never converted. Proposing works without a check-out, accepting needs it.

The quick action Fill result values from the report on the simulation page (drafts must be allowed) – or the MCP tool propose_result_values – proposes the key numbers the report states. A proposal is a draft: it names the file version and quotes the text it was read from (the quote must stand in the report, so numbers cannot be invented from nothing) and appears under Proposed from reports on the Results card. A CAD editor of the group accepts it (the revision must be checked out to them, as for any value; the value then shows the file as its source) or rejects it. The assistant never writes a final value and never releases anything; every proposal, acceptance and rejection is audited. Compare every number with the quote before accepting – the model can misread a table.

Results in 3D

Result files in open formats open in the browser’s 3D viewer like CAD previews – no ParaView needed. View result in 3D on the Results card (or 3D next to the file) shows the outer surface of the mesh coloured by a result field, with the field’s minimum and maximum above the canvas.

How the preview is made:

• Surface. Volume elements (tetrahedra, hexahedra, wedges, pyramids, quadratic ones by their corner nodes) contribute only the faces no other element shares; shells and polygons are drawn as they are, beams and lines are not. Interior nodes are dropped.
• Fields. Point data is shown as it is: one-component values directly, vectors as magnitude, six- or nine-component tensors as von Mises equivalent. Cell data is averaged to the nodes (shown as name (cells)). Up to eight fields are carried; the viewer offers them in a selector, the active scalars of a VTK file (or STRESS for .frd) first. A CalculiX block that occurs for several increments shows the last increment. Nodes without a value are grey. Units are shown when the file names them – VTK and FRD files usually do not.
• Limits. Up to 20 million nodes and cells; surfaces with more than two million triangles are thinned out evenly (gaps are visible), surfaces with more than eight million are refused. Collapsed elements (a hexahedron written as a wedge, …) are matched by their distinct corner nodes. Structured grids (.vts, .vtr, image data), time-step collections (.pvd, .vtm), binary .frd, Exodus II and CGNS are not previewed – export the step you want to show as .vtu (ParaView: Save Data, OpenFOAM: foamToVTK, CalculiX: *NODE FILE, OUTPUT=ASCII or ccx2paraview).

Like all previews, the conversion runs once per file version in a separate process with a time limit and is cached; damaged files show an error message instead of a model.

Large results

Result files can be huge, and TeamCraft does not read them fully. A file above TEAMCRAFT_PREVIEW_MAX_RESULT_MB (default 64 MB) is stored and downloadable but gets no 3D preview (the page says so); smaller ones are converted in an isolated process with a time and memory limit. Numbers are never extracted from solver output on their own. To get the key figures into the Results table, type them in, import a CSV/Excel table, or let a script or an agent fill them in from a report. For pictures, attach rendered images (PNG, JPEG or WebP, at most 8 MB each): they appear as a small gallery on the Results card of the revision.

Comparing results

Compare with another revision on the Results card puts the values of two revisions of the simulation side by side – matched by name and load case, with the difference, the relative change and the pass/fail status of both.

Finding simulations by their results

The item list (Result values and Result name in the filter bar, result= and result_name= in the URL and in GET /api/v1/items) looks at the result values of the latest revision of simulations:

result_name is a case-insensitive “contains” on the value name and can be combined with result (the same value must match both), the type, project, state and text filters. An unknown result is refused by the REST API. Only items the user may read are found and counted: restricted groups stay out of the list and its total.

The dashboard shows a card Simulations to check: simulations the user may read whose latest revision (not obsolete) has a failed value or is out of date (see above), ten at a time, with a link to the search. Bases the user may not see never make a simulation appear out of date.

Limits of version 1

• Result values are not extracted from solver result files (by design: large results are never parsed fully) – use the exchange file, templates on small text files, a CSV/Excel table or the REST API; VTK, VTU/VTP and .frd files are previewed in 3D (see above), the other result formats are stored and recognised, not parsed.
• Large result files go through the normal upload (TEAMCRAFT_MAX_UPLOAD_MB); chunked, resumable uploads and a retention rule for intermediate results are open work.
• The desktop app shows simulation items and their files; creating a simulation from a part revision (web: done) and checking out the basis files are planned.