Define Nodal Initial Conditions by Plane

Use the Plane tool to select solids and define initial conditions on either side of a plane.

You can define a plane before meshing as well. At the time of export, all the nodes found on the defined side of the plane will be assigned an initial condition. This tool is specifically useful to define the initial level of field in the case of multiphase analysis.

  1. From the Solution ribbon, click the Plane tool.


    Figure 1.
  2. Select solids.
  3. Click Plane on the guide bar.
  4. Left-click in the modeling window to position the plane.
  5. In the microdialog, click to orient the plane with the Vector tool. After defining the orientation, press Esc to return to the current tool.
  6. Click the arrow on the plane to determine which side is considered.
  7. In the microdialog, click , select variables for the initial condition, then left-click in empty space in the dialog.
    Tip: Select a variable and click to remove it from consideration.
  8. Define initial condition parameters for each selected variable.
    For non-constant definition types, use the table and plot area to input data. Click in the Edit column to if you need to go back and edit the table/plot.
  9. Optional: Right-click on a column heading to change the visible data in the microdialog.
  10. From the guide bar, execute the command in the following ways:
    • Click to confirm your selection and remain in the tool.

      This allows you to continue creating instances and helps you visualize and edit instances with the legend.

    • Click to confirm your selection and exit the tool.