5. Input and configuration (GUI/CLI)

This section documents Wake CFD’s configuration scope—mesh, physics, boundary conditions, and numerical methods. The GUI and CLI operate on the same project model; concepts are presented here once and apply to both interfaces.

JSONC structure connecting mesh, physics, domains, numerical methods, execution, and output settings

Placeholder for the input-file structure. Before public release, replace with a diagram showing relationships between configuration blocks.

How to use this reference

Each topic is structured in the following order.

  1. What it is — The setting’s role in an analysis
  2. Configure in the GUI — Modal inputs and selection criteria
  3. Configure from the CLI — JSONC examples for batch, HPC, and automation

The GUI provides visual configuration and writes to the same JSONC project model. Screenshots show the corresponding Desktop editor, while the JSONC examples are the same settings consumed by the CLI, AI agents, and automation workflows. Some advanced or solver-specific keys are not yet exposed by the GUI; those keys remain available through JSONC and are identified on the relevant page. Values visible in a screenshot describe one configured case; they are not necessarily the solver defaults or a recommendation for every case.

Find a topic

What to configure Start here
Complete JSONC structure and required blocks Input-file structure
Mesh files and zone/marker connections Mesh, Domains and boundary conditions
Solver, steady/unsteady analysis, and dimension selection Analysis
Euler, Navier–Stokes, and turbulence models Physical models
Fluid and solid properties and equations of state Materials
Force, moment, and coefficient-normalization reference values Reference values
Fluid/solid regions and boundary conditions Domains and boundary conditions
Periodic, mixing plane, frozen rotor, sliding mesh, GGI, or CHT interfaces Interfaces
Schemes, linear solvers, CFL, and time integration Numerical methods, Run control and convergence
Initial fields, restart, or expression-based initial conditions Initialization
Residual, force, mass flow, and probe monitoring Monitoring
Restart, volume, surface, and slice file outputs File output
Reusing cases with inheritance, overlays, and patches Running Wake CFD

Case-authoring sequence

  1. Check zone and marker names in mesh.
  2. Define the physical problem through analysis, models, materials, and reference.
  3. Connect domains and, if necessary, interfaces.
  4. Write numerical_method, initialization, and run_control for the selected solver.
  5. Add monitoring and outputs for quantities of interest.
Tip

Start from an example

Copy a similar example and modify settings incrementally rather than authoring a complete input file directly. This approach reduces configuration errors.