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How Bramble works

Bramble is an online platform for organising and automating CFD simulations. You upload the geometry and describe the simulation using reusable configuration. Bramble then does the rest:

  • sets up the case in the CFD solver
  • meshes and solves it on HPC
  • post-processes the results: forces and moments, custom calculations, images, movies, and delta plots against a baseline

The pages in this section explain the ideas behind Bramble. They don't give step-by-step instructions. For those, start with the first simulation tutorial or browse the guides.

From geometry to results

flowchart TB
    subgraph inputs [You provide]
        direction LR
        G[Parts & Assemblies]
        M[Map]
        K[Kinematic Setup]
        T[Template Case]
    end
    G --> R
    M --> R
    K --> R
    R[Run] --> A[Attitudes<br>one per Map entry]
    T --> A
    A --> lifecycle
    subgraph lifecycle [Lifecycle, per Attitude]
        direction LR
        L[Launch &<br>pre-checks] --> S[Mesh & Solve<br>on HPC] --> P[Post-processing] --> SO[Sign-off]
    end
    lifecycle --> O[Results]
  1. Organise. Your work lives in Programmes and Projects. Resources such as geometry and Template Cases are shared across a Programme. See project organisation.
  2. Provide geometry. Each uploaded CAD file is a Part. Named zones inside it let you apply boundary conditions and measure forces on specific surfaces. Parts are grouped into Assemblies, and a simulation uses one or more Assemblies. See geometry.
  3. Describe the simulation. The configuration is reusable and split into three pieces. See simulation configuration.
    • A Template Case is a recipe for the CFD setup: mesh, domain, boundary conditions, solver stages and measurements.
    • A Map lists the test conditions, such as velocity, yaw or ride height.
    • A Kinematic Setup says how parts move for each condition.
  4. Create a Run. A Run combines Assemblies with an optional Map and Kinematic Setup. Each entry in the Map becomes an Attitude, which is one CFD simulation with its own methodology, workflow and Template Case.
  5. Launch. Bramble creates the case and runs automated pre-checks, then waits for you to review them. When you start Mesh & Solve, it meshes and solves on an HPC queue, checks the solution and post-processes it. Finally, you sign off each Attitude. You can follow the progress of every stage. See statuses and lifecycle.
  6. Analyse. Forces, coefficients, images and movies appear on the Results page. There you can build table views, compare Runs against baselines and open the post-processing viewer. See results and post-processing.

Access to all of this is controlled at the Account level. See users and accounts.

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