Generalities#

Introduction#

Starting with version 8.3, a graphics user interface (GUI) is available as a Zmaster plugin to drive the Simulation (Zsim) and Optimization (Zopt) modules.

The interactive capabilities offered by such an interface should be a great help for material coefficients identification.

As the Sim-Opt Plugin has been included in the distribution, a new command button is available in the toolbar to the right of the Zmaster window. As shown in the figure below, a click on the Sim-Opt button has the effect to fill the sub-command area with new commands associated with the seven main parts of the application :

  • Variables management sub-commands

  • Experimental results management sub-commands

  • Simulation items management sub-commands

  • External simulation items management sub-commands

  • Optimization items management sub-commands

  • Anisothermal variables management sub-commands

  • Multiplots management sub-commands

../_images/main_l.svg

The graphics window is mainly used by the application to plot the curves attached to the experiment, simulation, external simulation or optimization items selected in the corresponding dialogs. The curves are tiled in the X-Y plane, and the ctrl-LB and ctrl-MB mouse buttons can be used to move or zoom the image to get a better visualization of a particular curve.

../_images/curves1.svg

Template files#

The Sim-Opt GUI makes an extensive use of the template files mechanism introduced with the optimization module (Zopt). Templates (file extension .tmpl) are ASCII files where numerical values are replaced by a character string of the form \(?var\), where \(var\) is the name of an optimization variable.

The optimization module makes use of those template files to update the simulation programs input files with the current value of the design variables before re-launching the simulations : from a given template file named input.tmpl, a file named input (obtained by removing the .tmpl extension from the template name) is generated where numerical values are substituted to \(?var\) definitions.

Typically, template files will correspond to Zmat material files where material coefficients values are replaced by variables definitions.

Example#

Included hereafter is a template file named chaboche.tmpl with design variables definition for all material coefficients associated to the viscoplastic part of the model.

***behavior gen_evp
 **elasticity
   young 200000.
   poisson 0.3
 **potential gen_evp ev
  *criterion mises
  *flow norton
   n  ?n
   K  ?K
  *kinematic nonlinear
   C  ?C
   D  ?D
  *isotropic constant
   R0 ?R0
***return

Selection trees#

Selection trees allow to list items, and offer additional functionalities. Selection trees present information as a hierarchy, with items that may be expanded to show further items. Selection trees are made of two types of structure : directories and files. Directories are considered as nodes that may in turn contain sub-directories or files, while files are considered as leaves. Sub-directories may be opened out or closed (hidden).
On the one hand, in a selection tree, the user may select an item or a set of items or a directory to apply appropriate commands on. If a directory is selected, the appropriate commands will be applied on all the files contained by itself and by its sub-directories and their own sub-directories …
On the other hand, when the main dialog contains a Name textfield, the user can create or suppress directories and move files. The next figure shows an example of such a dialog.
../_images/tree.svg

For instance, from a Name textfield filled with directory_A/file_A, if the user write directory_B/file_B, hitting the Go command will move the file named file_A and located in the directory_A directory to the file named file_B and located in the directory_B directory. The Name textfield allows then to create directories in the files system.

When moving a file lets an empty directory, the empty directory is automatically removed from the files system. Note that when a file is moved, all the execution files defined with the same name but different extensions will be moved too.
Finally, the main way the user should use selection trees may be to organize the different directories containing the numerous files created by the SimOpt GUI.

Function items#

Function items are new Simulation items that allow to launch simulations based on functions implying the defined variables (material coefficients for instance) and/or new parameters then automatically included in the database as variables (as described in Variables/Function ).