Testing multiple design options is every designers dream. Running “what if analysis”, where in certain parameters (boundary conditions, mesh, dimensions) are varied, is often the standard course followed. This helps in achieving optimization and an ergonomic design.

Design Scenarios in COSMOS come in handy to test multiple ideas. To start with one needs to define the parameters they intend to vary.

A designer can specify up to 100 what if scenarios. Now, that’s a lot. It is always advisable to change a few at a time to keep track of changes being made to the model. You define a parameter by a name, type, unit, and value or expression. A parameter can relate to geometry or analysis. Once you define a parameter of a certain type, you can use it to define input of the same type. For example, you can define Force1 as a force parameter. When defining force values, you can link Force1 to any force value field instead of entering a numeric value. Changing the value of Force1, automatically changes the applied force.

The first column lists the parameters that are used in the study. The Units column lists the units of the parameter. The User defined column lists the values of the parameters as last defined or edited. Fill in the table. To activate a parameter (row), click the associated check box. If you uncheck a row, the program assumes the initial value for all sets. To deactivate a set, click its check box. Each column defines a design scenario. The check mark indicates that the set is active. Unchecked columns are ignored when running the associate study. The User defined column lists the initial parameter values defined in the Parameter list box. These values cannot be edited in this table. Under Run options, click All scenario to run all active design scenario. On the Result Locations tab, choose up to 25 vertices (only vertices are allowed) to define desired result locations.

If you run the design scenarios, the software evaluates the results for each active design scenario you defined. If the specified parameters include factors that change the mesh, like geometric model dimensions, global element size, and mesh control, the software remeshes the model before running the study for a set. When running the study for a certain design scenario, the software overwrites existing results based on the previous run. At the end of the analysis, the results and other folders ofthe associate study correspond to the set used in the last run.

The Design Scenario Results Summary dialog box lists a summary of the results of running a design scenario defined in the current document in a tabulated format. To access the Design Scenario Results Summary dialog box after running a design scenario, right-click the Results folder and select Show Design Scenario Summary. You can save the results to an excel sheet.