Archive of Release Note

Updated: November 4 2023

Ver. 0.17 - April 2 2023

The overview of the new features are as follows.

New property values in the physical property library

Now you can select more physical properties in physical property library.

Physical property library
Physical property library

The physical properties available are as follows. All physical property values are at room temperature.

Non-Thermal fluid
(Non-Compressible)
Property nameDescription
AirAir
WaterWater
Water_vaporWater vapor
ArArgon
NH3Ammonia
COCarbon monoxide
C2H4Ethylene
ClChlorine
XeXenon
Krkrypton
O2Oxygen
H2Hydrogen
N2Nitrogen
SO2Sulfur dioxide
CO2Carbon dioxide
NeNeon
HeHelium
CH4Methane
C3H6OAcetone
C6H5NH2Aniline
C2H6OEthanol
HgMercury
Castor_oilCastor oil
C6H6Benzene
H2SO4Sulfuric acid
Thermal fluid
(Compressible)
Property nameDescription
AirAir
WaterWater
Water_vaporWater vapor
NH3Ammonia
C3H6OAcetone
C2H6OEthanol
HgMercury
C6H6Benzene

Support for OpenFOAM 10

It is now possible to export projects in OpenFOAM 10 format and exporting in OpenFOAM 8 format is deprecated.

Due to limitations of OpenFOAM 10, it is currently not possible to export analyses using non-Newtonian fluids in OpenFOAM 10 format. Please note that a warning message will appear when you try to export.

New "info" option in Allrun script

Now you can use "--info" (or the "-i" option) in the Allrun script to see what format the project was exported to.

Ver. 0.16 - August 22 2022

The overview of the new features are as follows.

Supporting porous regions settings

It is now possible to define porous regions (pressure drop bodies).

Calculation example (model geometry)
Calculation example (model geometry)
Calculation example (flow velocity)
Calculation example (flow velocity)

You can check "Porous regions" at Basic Settings to enable porous regions settings.

Selecting Porous regions at Basic Settings
Selecting "Porous regions" at Basic Settings

When the porous regions setting is enabled, you can define porous regions at the Porous Regions settings.

Condition setting in Porous Regions settings
Condition setting in Porous Regions settings

Support for OpenFOAM 7 has ended

As we had previously announced at exporting on XSim, exporting feature for OpenFOAM 7 format has been removed.

GUI improvements and bug fixes

Some improvements of the GUI and bug fixes have been made.

Ver. 0.15 - January 23 2022

The overview of the new features are as follows.

Supporting multiphase flow analysis settings

It is now possible to set up multiphase flow analysis.

Example of a multiphase flow analysis

You can check "Transient" and "Multiphase" at Basic Settings to enable multiphase flow settings.

Selecting Transient and Multiphase at Basic Settings
Selecting "Transient" and "Multiphase" at Basic Settings

When the multiphase flow setting is enabled, you can set additional physical properties at the Physical Property settings, the initial fluid distribution at Initial Condition, and the inflow fluid at Flow Boundary Condition.

Making additional physical property at Physical Property
Making additional physical properties at Physical Property
Setting initial fluid distribution at Initial Condition
Setting initial fluid distribution at Initial Condition

Support for OpenFOAM 9

It is now possible to export projects in OpenFOAM 9 format and exporting in OpenFOAM 7 format is deprecated.

improvements and bug fixes

The following improvements and bug fixes have been made.

  • Fixed a problem that prevented the use of k and epsilon in initial conditions and output when using turbulence models.
  • The "location" property is now always set in the FoamFile header when exporting in OpenFOAM format.
  • Unified the format of the function switch in the controlDict file when exporting in OpenFOAM format.

etc.

Ver. 0.14 - August 18 2021

The overview of the new features are as follows.

Rotating region condition with moving mesh

Rotating region condition with moving mesh has been added.

Calculation result using the moving mesh

When you enable "Transient" and "Rotating regions" in Basic settings, you can select "Moving mesh" as rotating type in Rotating Regions settings.

Enables 'Transient' and 'Rotating regions' in Basic settings
Enables "Transient" and "Rotating regions" in Basic settings
Rotating region condition with moving mesh
Rotating region condition with moving mesh

Tracer settings

It is now possible to set the inflow of a tracer (passive scalar) that does not affect the flow. This can be set in the "Tracer" tab in the Output settings.

Inflow setting for tracer
Inflow setting for tracer

User Preferences

You can now set the initial state of the 3D view in the User Preferences dialog, which can be opened by clicking the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

Preferences dialog
Preferences dialog

Support for OpenFOAM 4 has ended

As we had previously announced at exporting on XSim, exporting feature for OpenFOAM 4 format has been removed.

GUI improvements and bug fixes

Some improvements of the GUI and bug fixes have been made.

Ver. 0.13 - April 12 2021

The overview of the new features are as follows.

Rotating region condition

Rotating region condition with MRF (Multiple Reference Frame) has been added.

Rotating region condition with MRF method
Rotating region condition with MRF method
Calculation results for MRF method (cutting at rotating region)
Calculation results for MRF method (cutting at rotating region)

Rotating region settings is enabled by selecting "Rotating regions" at Basic Settings.

Selects Rotating regions at Basic Settings
Selects "Rotating regions" at Basic Settings
Rotating region settings
Rotating region settings

Support for OpenFOAM 8

It is now possible to export projects in OpenFOAM 8 format and exporting in OpenFOAM 4 format is deprecated.

GUI improvements

When setting a shape with the "Fit" button, you can now fit to the selected regions. If there is no selected regions, the entire shape will be fit to as before. And other improvements have been made to the GUI.

Ver. 0.12 - November 29 2020

The overview of the new features are as follows.

Rotating wall boundary condition

Rotating wall condition has been added as a boundary condition. Rotating walls can be simulated by specifying axis origin, axis dirction and rotational velocity.

Sets the rotating wall condition on the cylinder's side
Sets the rotating wall condition on the sides of the cylinder
Calculation results for the flow around the rotating cylinder (flow vectors on the cutting plane)
Calculation results for the flow around the rotating cylinder (flow vectors on the cutting plane)

Mesh refinement setting to a region

In addition to the mesh refinement settings to a assembly, you can now set the mesh refinement setting to a region.

Mesh refinement setting to a region
Mesh refinement setting to a region

Ver. 0.11 - October 31 2019

The overview of the new features are as follows.

New boundary conditions

Following two boundary conditions have been added:

  • Symmetry plane
  • Boundary face mapping

By using the boundary face mapping, you can set periodic boundary conditions to the model.

Setting Boundary face mapping between upper and lower faces
Setting Boundary face mapping between upper and lower faces
Calculation result on the Boundary face mapping (flow velocity)
Calculation result on the Boundary face mapping (flow velocity)

Improvements of GUI

Various GUI improvements have been made, including the ability to adjust the width of each column on the main screen.

You can change the width of each panel by dragging the border.
You can change the width of each panel by dragging the border.

In addition, the problem that an wrong value can be input with GUI was corrected.

Ver. 0.10 - Jun 5 2019

The overview of the new features are as follows.

LES settings

You can use LES (Large eddy simulation) setting as turbulent model. Smagorinsky model and Wale model can be used as SGS model (Subgrid scale model).

LES settings
LES settings

Aerodynamic coefficients output settings and feature for measuring projection area

You can set aerodynamic coefficients (forece coefficients: Cd value, Cl value, Cm value)as output values. And feature for measuring projection area has been added to set the values.

Aerodynamic coefficients output settings
Aerodynamic coefficients output settings

Orthographic projection

Orthographic projection mode has been added. You can switch orthographic/perspective mode with Switch projection mode icon at lower-right side of 3D view.

Perspective projection mode
Perspective projection mode
Orthographic projection mode
Orthographic projection mode

Feature for setting viewpoint to an axis direction

The viewpoint on 3D view can be set to an axis direction with keyboard key. At first, click 3D view to focus it, then push one of following keys to set viewpoint.

Keysetting
XSets view direction to X-axis direction
YSets view direction to Y-axis direction
ZSets view direction to Z-axis direction
ASets view direction to nearest axis direction of current view direction
Sets viewpoint to Y-axis
Sets viewpoint to Y-axis

Ver. 0.9 - March 12 2019

The overview of the new features are as follows.

The features for log-in

In addition to Twitter account, now you can log-in with Google account or Facebook account.

Log-in page
Log-in page

Bug fix

Fix a problem that a OpenFOAM case cannot be calculated if it uses specific name STL files.

Ver. 0.8 - November 25 2018

The overview of the new features are as follows.

The features for log-in and saving projects

When you log-in XSim, you can save a project that you edit.

  • Log in

    Log-in page will be diplayed by clicking "Log in" in right upper corner of page.

    "Log in" in right upper corner of page "Log in" in right upper corner of page

    You need Twitter account to log-in XSim. If you click "Register/Log-in with Twitter", you will be moved to Twitter. You should give permission to XSim in the Twitter page and then you can make user account and log-in XSim.

    Log-in page Log-in page

    If you log-in to XSim, your user name will be displayed in right upper corner of page (for example "My_Name" as a follow image).

    Display on log-in Display on log-in
  • Saving a project

    If you log-in to XSim, a "Save" setting panel will be displayed on editing your project.

    "Save" setttings "Save" setttings

    After editing project name, thumbnail and summary, click Save button to save the project. You can save projects up to 5 projects.

  • Editing and deleteing a project that you saved

    If you click the user name in right upper corner of page and select "User Page", a project managing page will be displayed.

    Displaying User Page Displaying User Page

    On "Projects" page, you can open and re-edit a project by clicking Edit button each of projects. And you can delete a project by clicking Delete button.

    Projects page Projects page
  • Log out

    If you click the user name in right upper corner of page and select "Log out", you can log-out from XSim.

    The projects you saved will be kept on XSim and you can edit/delete them by log-in again.

    Log out Log out

Ver. 0.7 - July 29 2018

The overview of the new features are as follows.

Features for editing shapes

Now, imported shapes can be scaled, translated and rotated in "Import Shape".

  • Scaling

    If "Scale" is selected as editing type, shape size can be changed from mm, cm, inch, feet etc... to m. And also any scaling factor can be set if you want.

    Scaling Scaling
  • Translating

    If "Translate" is selected as editing type, shape's absolute coordination can be changed.

    Translating Translating
  • Rotating

    If "Rotate" is selected as editing type, shapes can be rotated with specified axis and angle.

    Rotating Rotating

Show/Hide a bounding box

You can toggle display/non-display of bounding box with bounding box icon at lower-right side of 3D view.

Displayed bounding box Displayed bounding box

Viewpoint fitting in 3D view

You can set viewpoint to show all shape in the 3D view rectagle with fit all icon at lower-right side of 3D view. This feature is useful when you scale the size of shapes and lose sight of the shapes.

Ver. 0.6 - May 16 2018

The overview of the new features are as follows.

New features in Calculation Settings

Following settings can be set in the Calculation Settings panel.

  • Numerical schemes
  • Matrix solvers
  • Relaxation Factors

You can set "Normal", "Stability" or "Accuracy" as numerical schemes settings and "Stability" or "High speed" as matris solvers settings.

Calculation Settings Calculation Settings

And you can set convergence criteria in a steady state analysis.

Calculation Settings - Steady state convergence criteria Calculation Settings - Steady state convergence criteria

Ver. 0.5 - April 9 2018

The overview of the new features are as follows.

New features to output setting function

Some output-items are added to output settings panel.

Output settings - General tab

Following variables can be set as output on "General" tab.

  • Residuals
  • Courant number
  • y+
  • Vorticity
  • Second invariant of velocity gradient tensol
  • Minimum/Maximum values of variables for the calculation
Output settings - General tab Output settings - General tab

Output settings - Region tab

Following variables can be set to a region as output on "Region" tab.

  • Flow rate (volumetric)
  • Average/Integral values of variables for the calculation
Output settings - Region tab Output settings - "Region" tab

Output settings - Sampling tab

Variable value at a specified coordinate can be set to output on "Sampling tab". The specified coordinate can be previeweded on 3D view.

Output settings - Sampling tab Output settings - Sampling tab
Previewing specified coordinate on 3D view Previewing a specified coordinate on 3D view

Show a monitoring window

If the OpenFOAM calculation is executed on a enviroment that has desktop system and gnuplot, an Allrun script starts a monitoring window when the OpenFOAM solver is started (this feature can be disabled).

Calculation Settings Calculation Settings
Monitoring residuals Monitoring residuals

Ver. 0.4 - February 26 2018

The overview of the new features are as follows.

Some features for base mesh settings

Now it is possible to easily set base mesh fineness with buttons. And the base mesh can be preview in 3D view.

Base mesh preview Base mesh preview

Some features for mesh refinement

Now it is possible to set mesh refinement levels to a space that is specified with a cuboid or a cylinder. Mesh numbers between different refinement levels and refinement level for feature lines also can be set to.

Refinement settings Refinement settings
Mesh creation result Mesh creation result (visualization with ParaView)

Changing a solver for Boussinesq approximation analysis.

A solver for Boussinesq approximation analysis is changed from "buoyantBoussinesqPimpleFoam/buoyantBoussinesqSimpleFoam" to "buoyantPimpleFoam/buoyantSimpleFoam" because of the following reasons.

  • Some heat boundary conditions cannot be used with buoyantBoussinesqPimpleFoam/buoyantBoussinesqSimpleFoam.
  • buoyantBoussinesqPimpleFoam/buoyantBoussinesqSimpleFoam may be deprecated in the future (Ref. OpenFOAM Isuue tracker ID 2048).

By this change, it is now possible to use some thermal boundary conditions other than adiabatic condition and fixed temperature condition in the Boussinesq approximation.

Note: The model in screenshot is "Whale" CC-BY Miguelangelo Rosario

Ver. 0.3 - January 8 2018

New features are added. The overview of the features are as follows.

Supporting Boussinesq approximation settings

Now it is possible to set Boussinesq approximation setting in thermofluid analysis. Select "Heat" and "Boussinesq approximation" on "Basic Settings".

Enable Boussinesq approximation Enable Boussinesq approximation

A feature to create cuboid and polygonal column as shape

Now it is possible to create cuboids and polygonal columns for defining calculation areas of external flow analysis. And, if the shapes to be analyzed are very simple, you can also use these functions to create the shapes without importing CAD data.

Creating a cuboid Creating a cuboid
Creating a polygonal column Creating a polygonal column

Note: The model is "Whale" CC-BY Miguelangelo Rosario

Outputing an Allclean script

An Allclean script to reset created mesh and calculated result will be outputed in exporting.

Ver. 0.2 - November 30 2017

New features are added. The overview of the features are as follows.

Adding shape file formats that can be imported

Version 0.2. Adding shape file formats that can be imported. Screenshot Example of importing Wavefront obj format file (The model is "Whale" CC-BY Miguelangelo Rosario)

In addition to the STL format, now it is possible to import Wavefront obj format (extension .obj) and Autodesk 3DS Max format (extension .3ds) files. This allows you to import shape data that is downloaded from Google Poly etc.

Supporting thermofluid analysis

Version 0.2. Supporting thermofluid analysis. Screenshot Enable thermofluid analysis

It is possible to make data for thermofluid analysis. Thermofluid analysis feature will be enabled by check "Heat" in "Basic Settings" page.

Adding a physical property library feature

Version 0.2. Adding a physical property library feature. Screenshot Physical Property Library dialog

Physical property library feature is added to "Physical Property" page. Physical property can be changed by clicking an icon next to "Property name" and selecting a property from the list.

Adding an initial condition setting feature

Version 0.2. Adding an initial condition setting feature. Screenshot Initial Condition setting page

It is possible to set initial condition explicitly in "Initial Condition" page. If no condition is set to, a default value will be used.

Adding a parallel setting feature

Version 0.2. Adding a parallel setting feature. Screenshot Parallelism setting page

It is possible to set paralle number in "Calculation Settings" page. This value will be used in meshing and fluid calculation.

Ver. 0.1 - October 30 2017

We release a web-application for making analysis setting data for OpenFOAM. You can make settings with GUI and export the data as zipped directory.

Version 0.1 Screenshot Screenshot

Feature overview

  • Importing shapes from STL format file
  • Meshing settings
  • Setting stationary/transient type and RANS model
  • Setting physical property
  • Setting boundary condition
  • Setinng output