{"id":34142,"date":"2022-01-26T06:38:42","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T11:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/?p=34142&preview=true&preview_id=34142"},"modified":"2026-03-26T06:23:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:23:53","slug":"simulation-templates-your-magic-typewriter-for-cfd-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/simulation-templates-your-magic-typewriter-for-cfd-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"Simulation Templates, your magic typewriter for CFD Automation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I don\u2019t know anyone who doesn\u2019t enjoy a good story, but have you ever tried writing one yourself? Lately, a lot of us spent time watching movies, reading books, or playing video games. Personally, I can recognize different writing styles, different categories of stories and can tell you what I like and don\u2019t like. But writing a story myself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not an easy feat, only a chosen few have the magical ability to do so. It is not enough for the storyteller to have an idea and the desire to write. When they put their ideas on paper, they face a lot of challenges. They must follow several rules about how to construct the story, the characters, the relationships\u2026 We thank them for their effort if all is done well as we can just enjoy these stories without thinking about the struggles behind the scenes. Of course, the reward for the storyteller is knowing that we are enjoying their creations. And if they are really good, the recognition they get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simulation story: the engineer’s journey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The more I think about it, the more I realize that we, as engineers, are in a similar situation as storytellers. We have problems to solve. We face struggles in solving these problems and we must follow a lot of rules (for example maths, physics, chemistry). In the end, if we are successful, our (rather huge) audience can benefit from our work as we build almost everything in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Automation – the way of telling a consistent simulation story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As simulation engineers, one way we can make sure our simulation is telling a consistent story is through automation. By writing up a script (pun not intended) on what our engineering tool is supposed to do, we are transferring the status of our protagonist (the product) from one state to another\/hopefully better one while gaining detailed insights into its performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripts – the hard way of telling a simulation story <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But here comes the issue with authorship again! Looking back at the first \u201cengineering story\u201d I tried to write up through simulation automation, I don\u2019t think I can fit my journey into one single plotline. I was trying to update the Java macros created by someone else. 16 000 lines of code, it was like being in someone else\u2019s brain! And to make things worse, this person left the company and couldn\u2019t hold my hand whilst I was navigating his brain. All I had as a guide were a few comments in the Java macros. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Coding<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After 2 weeks of failing to understand those 16 000 lines, I decided this was mission impossible. At this point, I had two choices:<\/p>\n\n\n\n