Translator to convert SINDA/G® and Hughes' CINDA input files to SINDA/FLUINT models

The SINDA translator is available as a free utility for our customers. The tool aids in the conversion of Network Analysis, Inc.'s SINDA/G® and Hughes' CINDA input files to SINDA/FLUINT models. The basic network descriptions (nodes, conductors, etc.) need little or no modification prior to translation. However some SINDA/G and Hughes' CINDA options although still available in SINDA/FLUINT have been replaced by newer methods for improved solutions and speed. The translator will convert older methods to newer methods where necessary.

Some translation differences between SINDA/FLUINT and Sinda/G and CINDA appear in the logic data sections. As no translator can be foolproof, users may still be required to make modifications in logic blocks where the translator cannot predict what logic the user may have added.

SINDA/G allows Global Constants names that are not in a valid SINDA/FLUINT format. During translation a file called "longRegisterNames.txt" is created. This file contains all of the register names. This file should then be edited by the user, to make it a comma delimited format of "old name, new name" (one name/line). Once the file is edited another tool which is part of the translator installation, "Name Mapper", may be used to map the long names to shorter names. This tool will read the text file, longRegisterNames.txt (or any text file). It will search for the long names and map them to the shorter form throughout the entire input file. The results will be written to the specified output file. You may use this tool to edit the original Sinda/G file, in which case you will need to re-run the translator, or the tool may be run on the resulting SINDA/FLUINT file.

One of the major differences between SINDA/FLUINT and other SINDA-like codes is the presence of FLUINT. In other codes limited fluid flow analysis is performed with one-way conductors. Although one-way conductors are available in SINDA/FLUINT, it is strongly recommended that fluid flow be modeled with FLUINT instead.

Another major difference includes the availability of registers and the built-in spreadsheet, of submodels, and of the Solver in SINDA/FLUINT. Once a model is converted, the user should consider modifying it to take advantage of these powerful features.

For more information on how SINDA/FLUINT differs from other SINDA-like codes, click here.

Registers and Expressions

With few exceptions, almost anywhere a value is input in a SINDA/FLUINT data block, an expression can be supplied instead. Expressions can use multiplications ("*"), divisions ("/"), additions ("+"), subtractions ("-"), and exponentiations ("^" or "**") nested within arbitrary levels of parentheses. Furthermore, the user can use built-in functions (like sine, cosine, and logarithms), built-in conversion constants and physical constants (pi, and the Stefan-Boltzmann constant). The user can even define their own variables, called registers, and make registers arbitrary functions of each other. An expression may containing one or more registers and be used to define SINDA/FLUINT parameters. Expressions may also contain IF/THEN/ELSE-like switching, and can refer to "processor variables" such as problem time and other control parameters, output results (e.g., temperatures, pressures), etc.

Registers and expressions should be used extensively because they

• make a model more self-documenting. An engineer who inherits a model, or who is attempting to read and understand one of his own old models, will be better able to understand the sources of inputs when they are left as full expressions.
• add spreadsheet like functions to a model. Complex interrelationships can be defined between inputs (and even between inputs and outputs) to make changes consistently, making it easier to maintain several analysis cases or designs within a single model file.
• allow model building to proceed before dimensions and properties have been finalized.
• minimize the use of logic blocks, and the need to remember translation rules, eliminating the inconvenience of defining in two places (input and logic) how a network element behaves

Furthermore, registers can be:

• varied dynamically during processor execution, with their effects propagated automatically throughout a model. This capability greatly facilitates execution of parametric analyses and sensitivity studies.
• used as output variables when goal seeking, or reversing the normal input/output sequence of SINDA/FLUINT.
• used as design variables in optimization.

• used as uncertainties or correlating parameters for automated test data correlation.

Thus, the user will find it advantageous to make copious use of registers during the construction of a model.

Submodels

Submodels are a way to breakup your model into logical parts.

Submodels allow easy system level integration and facilitate working in teams. They allow you to combine multiple component models into one large model without having to worry about duplicate conductor or nodes etc.

Submodels may be added and deleted during run time as needed to swap in or out components, boundary conditions, alternate designs or materials, etc.

Solver

The Solver is a complete design optimization module that works with the built-in spreadsheet options.

The Solver will automatically vary the model to achieve the user specified results: SINDA/FLUINT can be tasked to find the best design (least weight, best performance), or the best (correlated) model of a given design.

Download Now

To download the translator from our ftp site(look under PC versions), click here.

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