A Solver Settings block allows configuring the solver.

The solver settings block requires setting either:

• the grid cell size of the simulation or the grid resolution of the simulation

The solver settings block accepts the following optional inputs:

• whether to use a direct solver (the default) or an iterative solver
• the finite element type where 1 selects linear elements (the default) and 2 selects quadratic elements
• path to custom location to store solutions
• number of threads for the solver to use

FAQ: When should I use linear elements and when should I use quadratic elements?

• Regardless of the scenario, either will work. Generally, quadratic elements converge to a good answer quicker and with few elements, but it depends on the simulation scenario.
• For geometries that undergo bending, quadratic elements perform better.
• It is important to note that with quadratic elements, many fewer elements are needed to compute an accurate solution. Having more elements increases computation time, so start with a low resolution or high cell size and increase the resolution/decrease cell size to improve accuracy.

How do I know what resolution/cell size to set?

• To accurately capture small features with linear elements, set the cell size to 1/3 the thickness of that feature.
• For quadratic elements, a cell size equal to the thickness of the small feature is sufficient.
• Low resolutions (<1000) will generally solve problems quickly. Intact can handle a resolution of 10 million elements (or more!), so start small, and gradually increase the resolution until consistent results are obtained.