Updated 2023-03-31

Ansys

Run Ansys Batch Mode

Overview

  • Ansys consists of many different products as well as many ways to run those products using batch mode. This guide will focus on:
    • Running the Ansys Mechanical APDL
    • Using the Mechanical APDL Launcher to run batch script

SBATCH Script

  • The beginning of the SBATCH script can be used as a template.
  • The computation part of the script (non #SBATCH lines) will differ.
  • SBATCH Script can be found here.
#!/bin/bash
#SBATCH -JanyName
#SBATCH -A [Account]
#SBATCH -N1 --ntasks-per-node=8
#SBATCH --mem-per-cpu=4G
#SBATCH -t60
#SBATCH -qinferno
#SBATCH -oReport-%j.out

cd <dir that holds input files>

module load ansys/2021R2 #or any other version

<where the ansys run lines go, differing based on what you want to run>
  • The #SBATCH directives are standard, requesting just 1 minute of walltime and 1 node with 4 cores. More on #SBATCH directives can be found in the Using Slurm on Phoenix Guide
  • After, the computation portion begins. You must enter the directory where you store your input files, so that ansys knows what to run
  • module load ansys/2021R2 loads ansys 2021 R2. You can find different versions to load with module avail ansys
  • module load ansys/2021R2 loads ansys 2021R2. You can find different versions to load with module avail ansys
  • The last line is the line to run the ansys product, and will differ with what product you are running.

Ansys Mechanicak APDL

  • launcher212 -runbatch - np x -dis will run.dat files in the directory specified
  • nohup ansys212 -b -p -np x -dis productvar < inputname > outputname 2>&1 &: another option to run the solver, nohup stands for no hangups and will make the job less prone to interuptions
  • For both, you must include -np x where x is the num of processors you requested in your SBATCH script

Using the Ansys Mechanical APDL Launcher

  • The launcher is a gui tool that allows you to put all your inputs in, and then it will run the job or generate a command for you.
  • RECOMMENDED WORKFLOW: Open launcher interactively, input all preferences including simulation environment and number of processors, then copy the command it generates and paste that in your SBATCH script.
  • To make it create the command, after your parameters, click tools > Display Command line

Screenshot

Further Resources

  • Ansys has many different option flags when running in Batch Mode
  • A good resource to get an idea of all these options can be found here
  • Also, Ansys documentation on batch runs can be found here

Run Ansys Interactively on Cluster

Overview

  • Ansys has many different options for running interactively:
    • Ansys Workbench
    • polyflow
    • cfx
    • and more
  • This guide will focus on Ansys Workbench, but will also detail how to launch some of the other products.

Screenshot

Set up Interactive Desktop on Phoenix OnDemand

  • In order to access Phoenix OnDemand you must be connected to the GT VPN. If you do not already have the VPN set up, visit Configure the GT VPN
  • Once connected to the VPN you can access the application at Phoenix OnDemand.
  • Choose the Slurm Interactive Apps tab and select Interactive Desktop to setup and launch.
  • Setting up Interactive Desktop:
    • Charge Account: gts-<PI username> ("phx-pace-staff" works for trial. Required.)
    • Quality of Service: inferno
    • Node Type: GPU Tesla V100-16B or GPU Tesla V100-32B
    • Nodes: 1
    • Cores Per Node: 8 (Number of cores (CPUs) per node. Max: 24 cores per node.)
    • GPUs Per Node: 1
    • Memery Per Crore (GB): Leave blank if unsure. Total memory for job is: nodes × cores × memory per core
    • Number of hours: 1
  • After the preceding details are entered, clik the Launch button
  • Once the Launch Interactive Desktop is an available option, click the button to open a Phoenix OnDemand Interactive Desktop to use for Ansys

Load Ansys

  • Open terminal in the Interactive Desktop by clicking top left Activities > search for terminal
  • All commands here on will be typed in the terminal
  • To see available versions of Ansys run
module spider ansys # lists available ansys versions

module load ansys/2021R2 # loads anays 2021 R2

Screenshot

Launch Ansys Products

  • To launch any Ansys product, you must have anysis loaded
  • Ansys Workbench
    • runwb2 : launches Ansys Workbench
    • Can use -B to run in batch mode, useful for non-interactive job
  • Mechanical APDL Solver
    • ansys212: launches Ansyss Solver in the terminal
  • Mechanical APDL Launcher
    • launcher212: loads the Mechanical Apdl Launcher. The launcher allows you to set parameters and run the script using a GUI. Parameters set include number of processors, which you must set to the number you requested in the qsubtubovncserver line when you submitted the interactive job.
  • Launch additional Ansys Products
    • cfdpost: lanches cfdpost gui
    • cfx5: launches cfx5 gui
    • fluent: Launches fluent. Fluent guide here