Importing Pressure from SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation

Fluid pressure results from a SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation study can be included in the active static, buckling, frequency, or nonlinear study. This option is not available for 2D simplification studies.

  1. In the Simulation study tree, right-click the icon of a static, buckling, or nonlinear study and select Properties.
  2. Click the Flow/Thermal Effects tab.
  3. Check Include fluid pressure effects from Flow Simulation under Fluid pressure option and browse to select the desired FloWorks Result File (*.fld).
    SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulations must be performed on solid or sheet metal bodies. If the active study contains shell surfaces created from solid faces, pressure values from the original solid faces are mapped onto the surface shell mesh. The shell thickness and offset must correspond with the original solid geometry in the Flow Simulation mesh.
  4. Specify the reference pressure:
    • Select Use reference pressure (offset) in .fld file to use the reference pressure defined in the Flow Simulation.
    • Select Define reference pressure (offset) to directly specify a reference pressure. This pressure value is subtracted from the imported pressure values.
  5. The imported pressure load includes both normal and shear forces. Check Run as legacy study (exclude shear stress) to import only the normal component of the pressure load.
  6. Click OK.
  7. To view a plot of the imported pressure load on the model, right-click Fluid Pressure in the Simulation study tree and select Show Plot. The model must be meshed before the plot option is available.