| Pitfall | Symptom | Fix | |--------|---------|-----| | Leaking geometry | Flow passes through solid walls | Use Check Geometry → close gaps with Extrude or Boundary | | Diverging solution | Residuals increase, NaN values | Reduce inlet velocity, coarsen mesh, increase relaxation factors | | Mesh too coarse | Pressure drop 30% too low | Enable automatic refinement, set min gap cells = 5 | | Wrong boundary condition | Recirculation at outlet | Extend outlet length 5x diameter, use Environment Pressure | | Steady state oscillates | Goals never flatten | Switch to Transient with small time step (0.001 s) |
| Error Message / Issue | Cause | Solution | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | "Failed to identify the fluid volume" | The model is not watertight (leakage). | Check for gaps. Ensure Lids are properly mated to ports. Use the "Check Geometry" tool. | | "Solid component intersects boundary condition" | You applied a boundary condition to a solid part, not a fluid face. | Ensure you select the inner face of the lid or pipe, not the outer face. | | Calculation does not converge | The mesh is too coarse or the flow is highly turbulent. | Refine the mesh. Increase the "Travel" limit in calculation options. | | "Model has zero thickness faces" | Sheet metal or surface bodies used incorrectly in CFD. | Flow Simulation requires solid geometry for most basic studies. | solidworks flow simulation 2012 tutorial.pdf
Many universities (MIT OCW, University of Alberta, TU Delft) hosted public mirrors of manuals for student use between 2012 and 2015. Use specific search strings: | Pitfall | Symptom | Fix | |--------|---------|-----|
The original PDF likely followed this order: Many universities (MIT OCW, University of Alberta, TU