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Workflow overview

Getting started covers accounts, logging in and submitting a first job. This chapter is about what happens between a drawing and a plot: every ACE3P simulation follows the same five steps regardless of which solver you use.

flowchart LR
    A["1. Model<br/>Cubit journal"] --> B["2. Mesh<br/>Cubit, export .gen"]
    B --> C["3. Convert<br/>acdtool meshconvert<br/>.gen to .ncdf"]
    C --> D["4. Solve<br/>omega3p, s3p, t3p, ..."]
    D --> E["5. Post-process<br/>ParaView, acdtool postprocess"]
Step Tool Where Input Output
1. Build the model Cubit HPC desktop (ThinLinc) or laptop .jou journal .sat ACIS geometry
2. Mesh the model Cubit HPC desktop or laptop .sat, .jou .gen Genesis mesh
3. Convert the mesh acdtool meshconvert HPC batch .gen .ncdf NetCDF mesh
4. Run the solver omega3p, s3p, ... HPC batch .ncdf plus <name>.<module> input results directory with .mod fields and .out log
5. Post-process ParaView, acdtool postprocess rf HPC desktop or laptop .ncdf, .mod, .rfpost plots, R/Q, surface fields

Cubit and ParaView are installed on Perlmutter and S3DF, so steps 1, 2 and 5 can be done in a ThinLinc desktop without copying files. If you run them on your own computer instead, transfer .gen files up and .mod files down with scp.

Conventions

File naming. The solver input file is named <project>.<module>, for example pillbox.omega3p or coupler.s3p. Post-processing input for acdtool is <project>.rfpost.

Boundary and material IDs. In Cubit, surfaces are grouped into sidesets and volumes into blocks. The sideset number becomes the boundary ReferenceNumber in the ACE3P input, and the block number becomes the material Attribute. Pick a consistent scheme and stick to it. The tutorials use:

Sideset Meaning
1, 2 Symmetry planes
3, 4 Beam pipe ends or additional symmetry planes
6 Exterior cavity wall
7 and up Waveguide or coax ports

Units. ACE3P expects meters. Build in millimeters if that is convenient, then volume all scale 0.001 before export.

Symmetry. Cut the model along symmetry planes to reduce the problem size. A quarter model with two magnetic symmetry planes gives the monopole modes of a cylindrically symmetric cavity. Switching one plane to electric selects dipole modes.

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