Visualize a Billion Cell CFD Solution on a Workstation

Tecplot Inc. has released Tecplot 360 EX software for CFD (computational fluid dynamics) post-processing with SZL (subzone load-on-demand) technology. SZL technology, reports the company, combines data management algorithms, advanced data requirement predictors, parallelization and other code optimizations to increase memory efficiency and enable users to leverage their existing workstation for interrogations of large complex solutions. With Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology, the company adds, users can arrive at their results of interest faster.

Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology is an average of 9.6 times faster than previous releases of the Tecplot CFD processor, says its developer. Image courtesy of Tecplot Inc.

Tecplot 360 EX provides an integrated CFD post-processing environment for visualizing, analyzing and communicating CFD results. Features include XY, 2D and 3D plotting; scripting capabilities for automation; and the ability to handle large amounts of data. Tecplot 360 EX also provides 28 functions for assessing grid quality, including aspect ratios, Y+, skewness, orthogonality and stretch factors. Users can animate and step through transient solutions as well as compare multiple models simultaneously. Tecplot 360 EX supports 32 CFD, FEA (finite element analysis), structural analysis and industry-standard data formats.

Tecplot Inc. says that its new Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology uses 92% less memory for large CFD results than previous releases of the software. Image courtesy of Tecplot Inc.

Compared to its predecessors, Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology uses 92% less memory for large CFD results, the company reports. Examples of memory utilization improvements in Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology reported by the company include the capability to post-process a 2 billion cell dataset on a typical 8GB laptop as well as the ability to load a 408M cell model with less than 5GB of RAM on an engineering laptop. Using Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology, engineers can also process five 100M cell solutions at one time on a commodity laptop with 8GB of RAM, says the developer.

A layout plot showing a vortex magnitude. Image courtesy of Tecplot Inc.

Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology was also rebuilt from the ground up with the Qt framework and the Tecplot SDK engineering visualization framework library, according to the company. With this version of Tecplot 360 EX, users can now create plots in multiple frames on multiple pages and extract cutting planes, iso-surfaces or geometries with mouse-clicks. Miscellaneous improvements include single-click context-sensitive menus, an updated quick macro panel, and the ability to load more than 30 common CFD data types from a single loading interface.

“Two years ago we set a goal to quickly visualize a one billion cell CFD solution on a typical engineering workstation,” said Don Roberts, CEO and co-founder of Tecplot Inc., in a press statement. “With the release of Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology, that goal has been achieved.”

This image depicts a mesh plot of a propeller. Image courtesy of Tecplot Inc.

Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows 8, 7 and Vista platforms as well as 64-bit Macintosh OS X and Linux systems. Pricing starts at $4,400 in North America for a single-user perpetual license. Tecplot 360 users with current software maintenance service agreements can upgrade to Tecplot 360 EX at no cost. Contact the company for details on pricing for qualified academic users.

For more information about Tecplot 360 EX with SZL technology, visit Tecplot.

Watch videos on Tecplot 360 EX.

Download the Tecplot 360 EX data sheet.

Download the white paper “Compression of Finite-Element Node-Maps with Subzone Load-On-Demand.”

Watch the on-demand webinar “High-Performance Post-Processing in Tecplot 360 EX.”

Go here for on-demand and upcoming webinars from Tecplot.

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See why DE’s Editors selected Tecplot 360 EX with SZL Technology as their Pick of the Week.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.