Submodeling Studies

You can use submodeling studies to improve the results at local regions of large models without having to rerun the analysis for the whole model. Refining the mesh for selected bodies only and rerunning the analysis for the submodel saves computation time.

This functionality is available in SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional and above.

After you set up and run a static or nonlinear static study for multibody parts or large assemblies with a relatively coarse mesh, you define a group of bodies as a submodel. Refine the mesh of the bodies inside the submodel and rerun the study to improve results for the submodel only, without recalculating results for the rest of the model.

A submodeling study is derived from an eligible parent study. These conditions are required to create a submodeling study:

  • The study type must be static or nonlinear static with more than one body and not be a submodeling study itself. The parent study cannot be a 2D Simplification study.
  • The selected bodies of the submodel cannot have No penetration contact with unselected bodies that creates contact pressure across the cut boundary.
  • The selected bodies of the submodel cannot share connectors with unselected bodies. For example, the piping assembly below is not a suitable parent model. A submodel of two parts is connected to the excluded third part with bolts.
    submodeling_invalid_model.png
  • The cut boundary of the submodel cannot cut through bodies.
  • The cut boundary of the submodel cannot cut through a bonded contact defined by either beam-to-beam joints or shell edge-to-shell edge joints.
  • The bonded contact at the cut boundary of the submodel is formulated with an incompatible mesh.