HFSS 12.

0
Tips and Techniques
for HFSS project
setup and solve

© 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary

 Agenda

Ansoft HFSS v12

– Enhancements: GUI, Mesh, & Solver

– New Features: GUI, Mesh, & Solver

– Platform Support

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 Ansoft HFSS
Core Technologies

HFSS v12 released on September 10th, 2009

GUI
GUI

Mesh
Mesh Solver
Solver

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 Enhancements Summary

Graphical
GraphicalUser
UserInterface
Interface
Near
Nearand
andFar
FarField
FieldOverlay
Overlay
Adjoint Derivatives
Adjoint Derivatives
Imprint
Imprintand
andSelect
SelectbybyArea
Area
Clip
Clip Plane and Polyline crosssection
Plane and Polyline cross section

Mesh
Mesh Solver
Solver
64-bit
64-bitVolumetric
VolumetricMesh
Mesh Mixed
MixedElement
ElementOrder
Order
Curvilinear elements
Curvilinear elements Domain
Domain DecompositionMethod
Decomposition Method
Initial
InitialMesh
MeshSettings
Settings Dependent Solve
Dependent Solve
Increased
IncreasedSpeed
Speed Port
PortSolver
Solverwith
withDC
DCExtrapolation
Extrapolation

© 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary

 Enhancements

Graphical
GraphicalUser
UserInterface
Interface
Near
Nearand
andFar
FarField
FieldOverlay
Overlay
Adjoint
AdjointDerivatives
Derivatives
Imprint
Imprintand
andSelect
SelectbybyArea
Area
Clip
Clip Plane and Polyline crosssection
Plane and Polyline cross section

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 Overlay Near and Far Field Plots
on Geometry
• Visualize far-field and near-field radiation patterns
on model geometry
• Control transparency and/or size of pattern overlay

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 Edit Sources with Port Post-
Processing
• Option for port post-processing to affect sources for field
plots

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 Edit Sources with Port Post-
Processing
• Fields correspond with deembedding

Original geometry for

ring hybrid model
Modified geometry with
new port location disrupts
field behavior Operation restored
by de-embedding

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 Streamline Plot

• New plot type for field quantities

– Pick source face, choose Poynting Vector and Streamline option

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 Post-Processing Variables

• Can be modified without re-

simulating the model
• Can optimize complex weights
of antenna elements in phased
array
Optimization of Phased Array Excitations

Specify Desired Scan Angle and Synthesized Far-field Pattern

Maximum Sidelobe Level

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 Adjoint Derivatives

• Derivatives of S-Parameters with respect to Design Variables

– Identify which parameters influence output most
– Plot both S-parameters and its derivatives
– Focus on sensitive design parameters
– Enhanced optimization

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 Plotting with Derivative Offsets

• Tune reports and explore effects of small design changes

– Real-time tuning shows impact on performance
– Tune offsets for variables included in derivative setup

Dipole Model
Length
Radius

“Tune” the delta for a

given variable…

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 Expression Cache

• Evaluate and save any expression versus adaptive pass

– Includes scalar and radiated field data
– Enables multiple convergence criteria
– Use Quick Report to generate Convergence Plot

Ansoft LLC Expression Converge HFSSModel1

1000.00
Curve Info
ExprPctDelta(L1)
Setup1 : AdaptivePass
Freq='12GHz'
ExprPctDelta(Q1)
Setup1 : AdaptivePass
Freq='12GHz'
ExprPctGoal(L1)
Setup1 : AdaptivePass
Freq='12GHz'
ExprPctGoal(Q1)
100.00 Setup1 : AdaptivePass
Freq='12GHz'

Y1

10.00

1.00
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20.00
Pass

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 Imprint

• Imprint
– Imprint the geometry of one object upon another

Face created from

imprint

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 Imprint Projection

• Imprint Projection
– Patch Antenna Array Imprinted on a Nosecone
• Results in Faces of original object imprinted
• Make sure that the distance selected is greater than the
distance between the antenna and nosecone

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 Enhanced Usability

• Select By Area
– Click and drag to rubber-band select
• Right-to-left selects all objects passing through window
• Left-to-right selects all objects inside window

• Select By Variable
– Helps find objects tied to variables

• Select By Area
– By default, only items with external surfaces are
selected
• Material filters
– Enable the Include and Exclude radio buttons
• Object name filters
– Enable the Exclude and Include check boxes
• Object type filters
– Enable the check boxes for including Solids,
Sheets, and/or Lines
• Hide unfiltered objects
– Makes unfiltered objects transparent after selection

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 Enhanced Usability

• Multiple lumped port assignments

– Multi port selection
– Assign ports and reference
• Useful for SI problems with multiple lumped ports

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 Enhanced Usability

• Clip plane
– Interactively slice through arbitrary plane
– Can view model geometry, mesh plots, field plots, etc.

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 Definable Polyline Cross Section

• Create 2D or 3D objects from polylines

– Choose Cross Section Type and Size
– Section is automatically swept along the polyline
• Very useful for creating parameterized geometry
– Ports, traces, bends,…

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 2D Chamfers and Fillets

• Create Chamfers and Fillets on 2D Objects

– Select a vertex graphically and choose the menu item:
• Fillet or Chamfer
Fillet- Rounded edge

Chamfer - 45 degree cut

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 Additional GUI Enhancements

• Duplicate Mesh Operations with objects

• Wrap Sheet command
• Draw Region command
• Create parametric setup from file
• Enable/Disable History editing information
– Recreates the history for polylines, circles, or ellipses
• Save Sweep settings as defaults
• Model Validation settings
– Strict, Warning, Basic
• Warning message about object intersect
– RMC on message takes you to region of intersect
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 New Plot Types

• Rectangular Stacked Plot

– Plot all variations in stacked format
Curve Info Ansoft LLC XY Stacked Plot 1 HFSSDesign1
dB(St(coax_pin_T1,coax_pin_T1))
Setup1 : Sweep1 -5.00
feed_xpos='-0.5cm' feed_ypos='-0.5cm'

-15.00

-25.00
dB(St(coax_pin_T1,coax_pin_T1))
Setup1 : Sweep1 -2.00
feed_xpos='0cm' feed_ypos='-0.5cm'

-7.00

-12.00
dB(St(coax_pin_T1,coax_pin_T1)) -2.50
Setup1 : Sweep1
feed_xpos='0.5cm' feed_ypos='-0.5cm'

-12.50

-22.50
0.00
dB(St(coax_pin_T1,coax_pin_T1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
feed_xpos='-0.5cm' feed_ypos='0cm'
-10.00

-20.00

-30.00
dB(St(coax_pin_T1,coax_pin_T1)) -0.10
Setup1 : Sweep1
feed_xpos='0cm' feed_ypos='0cm'

-0.30

-0.50
dB(St(coax_pin_T1,coax_pin_T1))
Setup1 : Sweep1 -5.00
feed_xpos='0.5cm' feed_ypos='0cm'

-15.00

-25.00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50
Freq [GHz]

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 User Defined Shortcuts

• User Definable Keyboard Shortcuts

– Define, load or save shortcut keys to common commands

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 Enhancements

Mesh
Mesh
64bit
64bitVolumetric
VolumetricMesher
Mesher
Curvilinear elements
Curvilinear elements
Initial
InitialMesh
MeshSettings
Settings
Increased
IncreasedSpeed
Speed

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 Mesh Generation

– Updated Geometry Kernel (ACIS R19 SP2)

– New Meshing Technology:

• Curvilinear elements
– True surface representation
• New Ansoft TAU Mesher introduced
– Strict and Tolerant mode depending on model geometry

– Adaptive meshing improvements:

• Higher Quality Mesh
– Faster and more efficient simulations
• Reduced CPU time - Faster

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 Curvilinear Elements

• Right-click on Mesh Operations -> Initial Mesh Settings

– Curvilinear Elements Off by Default
• Apply curvilinear elements

HFSS 12 can use

either mesh element

Curvilinear mesh element

Coarse mesh Fine mesh

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 Initial Mesh Settings

• Right-click on Mesh Operations

– Auto is the default setting
– Ansoft TAU Mesh
• Strict and Tolerant
– Ansoft Classic Mesh

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 New default mesh generator

HFSS 11

HFSS 12 meshes it cleanly.

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 Enhancements

Solver
Solver
Mixed
MixedElement
ElementOrder
Order
Domain
Domain DecompositionMethod
Decomposition Method
Dependent Solve
Dependent Solve
Port
PortSolver
Solverwith
withDC
DCExtrapolation
Extrapolation
Remote Solve Manager
Remote Solve Manager

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 Solver Technology Overview

• Solution Options
– Direct
• Default technique
• Solves matrix equation Ax=b
– Multi-frontal Sparse Matrix Solver to find the inverse of A
– Solves for all excitations(b) simultaneously

– Iterative
• Added in V11
• Solves matrix equation MAx=Mb
– M is a preconditioner
– Major computation is the matrix-vector multiplication: (MA)x
– Iterates for each excitation – Simultaneously solve using SMP (MP/HPC License)
• Iterative Solver is more sensitive to mesh quality
– Benefits from TAU Meshing

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 Solver Technology Overview

• Order of Basis Functions

– Hierarchical basis functions
• Introduced in V11
• Zero or First or Second order basis functions
• Higher-order elements have increased accuracy
• One order per mesh allowed

– Mixed Order New

• hp-FEM Method
– Refines element order(p) and element size(h)
• Automatically distributes element order based on
element size
• Generates optimum combination of hierarchical basis
functions (Zero and First and Second)
– Efficient use of computing resources
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 Mixed Element Order Example #1

• Two waveguide horn antennas

• Compared element order of
basis functions
– Iterative matrix solver
– Mixed order reduces solver time by
100% and RAM usage by 40%
Probe-fed Pyramidal Horns

Iterative Solver
Element RAM Mesh
Real Time
Order Usage Elements
(Adaptive Pass)
First 7 min 4.5 GB 336k
Mixed 3 min 2.8 GB 58k

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 Mixed Element Order Example #2

• Finite array of helix elements

• Direct matrix solver
– Mixed order reduces solver time by
30%

Finite Phased Array

Direct Solver
Element
Real Time RAM Usage
Order
(Adaptive Pass)
First 1hr 20min 13.8 GB
Second 4hr 45min 16.6 GB
Mixed 56 min 13.7 GB

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 Ports Precision

• HFSS v12 Port Solver

• 50 ohm coax adapter with Teflon
support slug
• In v11 solve down to 50 kHz
– Fails if frequency is lower
• How much lower and more
accurate can v12 solve

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 Ports Precision Results

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 Port Precision Results, cont.

• Reliable results in v11 to 630 kHz

• In v12 ~ 2.5 kHz (4e-3 lower)
• Lower “noise floor”.
– V11 = -110 dB
– V12 = -120 dB
• Can expect a 2-3 order in magnitude lower
“solvable” frequency
– Improves DC Extrapolation
• Important for SI designs.

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 Domain Decomposition for HFSS

• New feature in HFSS v12

• Distributes mesh sub-
domains to network of
processors
• Distributed memory HPC distributes mesh subdomains
parallel technique to networked processors and memory

• Significantly increases
simulation capacity
– 64-bit meshing
• Highly scalable to large
numbers of processors
• Multi-processor nodes
can be utilized

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 Review DDM Technique

• DDM subdivides a mesh into smaller mesh “sub-

domains” that are solved in parallel.
– A “master” node iteratively solves for total solution
– Subdivision into domains is automated
• Easy to use!!!
• The user defines a set of N available compute nodes to
be used for a DDM solution
– n=1 is the “master” node, single core
– n=2 to N are the sub-domain nodes solved with direct
solver

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 DDM Setup Interface

• Tools -> Options -> General Options -> Analysis Option

• Tools -> Options -> HFSS Option -> Solver
• HFSS -> Analysis Setup -> Add Solution -> Setup Options

Master node
Domain nodes

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 Observing a DDM solution

1. Six sub-domains
solving
a. 7th master node
or core at top
2. Four sub-domains
finished, two
running
3. Sub-domains
finished; Master
core iteratively
reconstructing
solution
4. Post-processing
data
5. Transferring files

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 Hardware Suggestions

• Suggested: 4GB minimum per core

• Master node:
– Should have a “decent” amount of shared
memory.
– 4-16 for large problems
– >16 for the largest (100+ cores)
– For very large simulations with many domain
nodes the iterative process on the master node
will be the most computationally expensive
• It is more important to use memory
efficiently than to use all the processors.
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 Example #1: F-35 - JSF

•F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: UHF blade antenna @ 350 MHz

•Problem size = 1400λ3

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 Results and Accuracy

• Consistent results between domain

decomposition and direct solver

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 Faster Solutions
• Solution time 25000
Time (secs)

Number of Speed- 20000

Domains Time (secs) up
1 23252 1.00 15000

Time (secs)
2 8928 2.60
10000
3 6056 3.84
4 4479 5.19 5000

5 3476 6.69
0
6 2784 8.35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

7 2649 8.78
8 2180 10.67
Speed-up
9 2032 11.44
18
10 1760 13.21 17
16
15
11 1859 12.51 14
13
12 1804 12.89 12
11
13 1527 15.23 10
Speed-up
9
14 1649 14.10 8
7
6
15 1313 17.71 5
4
Iterative 1 4815 4.83 3
2
1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

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 Memory Savings

Number of total average

Domains memory memory
total memory
1 33.30 33.30
2 28.43 14.22 35.00

3 27.46 9.15
30.00
4 24.89 6.22
5 24.88 4.98 25.00

6 23.94 3.99
20.00
7 23.53 3.36 total memory
8 23.25 2.91 15.00

9 22.15 2.46
10.00
10 21.06 2.11
11 21.97 2.00 5.00

12 20.64 1.72
0.00
13 20.96 1.61 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
14 20.49 1.46
15 20.18 1.35

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 Example #2: Asymmetric Dish Antenna

Total cores Elapsed Time (S) Memory (GB) Speed-up Linear

8 22049 153.7 1.00 1.00
12 12948 133.5 1.70 1.50
16 9540 123.6 2.31 2.00
20 7345 114.6 3.00 2.50
24 5649 110 3.90 3.00
28 4829 107.7 4.57 3.50
32 4560 103.7 4.84 4.00
36 4102 101.2 5.38 4.50
40 3912 96.4 5.64 5.00

9-16 saves 12509 s =(22049-9540)

17-24 saves 3891 s Diminishing absolute returns

~17,500 λ3

Not an image of
actually model
simulated

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 Example #2: Summary

• Exhibits better than linear speed-up wrt number

of cores
– 8 to 32 = 4.8X speed-up.
• 67% memory savings from 8 to 40 cores
• How does it compare to a single processor
direct solve?
– Answer: Could not be accomplished on a single
machine. “Solving the previously unsolvable.”

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 Remote Simulation Manager

• New for Distributed Analysis and Remote

Simulations
– Easy to setup and use
• Enables DDM, DSO and remote solve capabilities
– Supports mixed operating system environments
– Supports LSF and Windows HPC

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 Platform Support

• Windows (32/64)
– XP Professional
– Vista
– HPC Server 2008
– Server 2003
• Linux
– Red Hat Enterprise 4/5
– Suse v10 and v11

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 Summary

Graphical
GraphicalUser
UserInterface
Interface
Near
Nearand
andFar
FarField
FieldOverlay
Overlay
Adjoint Derivatives
Adjoint Derivatives
Imprint
Imprintand
andSelect
SelectbybyArea
Area
Clip
Clip Plane and Polyline crosssection
Plane and Polyline cross section

Mesh
Mesh Solver
Solver
64-bit
64-bitVolumetric
VolumetricMesh
Mesh Mixed
MixedElement
ElementOrder
Order
Curvilinear elements
Curvilinear elements Domain
Domain DecompositionMethod
Decomposition Method
Initial
InitialMesh
MeshSettings
Settings Dependent Solve
Dependent Solve
Increased
IncreasedSpeed
Speed Port
PortSolver
Solverwith
withDC
DCExtrapolation
Extrapolation
Remote
RemoteSolver
SolverManager
Manager

© 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. 50 ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary