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Solver Settings

A Solver Settings block allows configuring the solver.

The solver settings block requires setting either:

Note: If both resolution and cell size are set, cell size will be used and resolution will be ignored

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

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.

How do I change where my simulation saves?

First, place a file path object on the Grasshopper Canvas.
Right click, and click “Select a directory” and connect it to Solution Directory (SD)