--- name: flotherm-sim description: Use when running Simcenter Flotherm thermal cases through the sim runtime. Primary path is GUI automation via pywinauto UIA (`.pack` import + FloSCRIPT playback). Direct batch (`translator.exe` + `solexe.exe`) is a headless optimization for re-solving existing projects only. --- # flotherm-sim You are connected to **Simcenter Flotherm** via sim-cli. This file is the **index**. It tells you where to look for actual content — it does not contain the content itself. The `/connect` response told you which active layer applies via: ```json "skills": { "root": "/_skills/flotherm", "active_sdk_layer": null, // Flotherm has no Python SDK "active_solver_layer":"2504" // or "2412" / "2406" } ``` Always read `base/`, then your active `solver//`. There is no `sdk/` overlay because Flotherm has no Python wrapper — the driver controls Flotherm via pywinauto UIA (Qt menu automation) + Win32 ctypes (standard file dialogs). --- ## Execution paths ### GUI automation — primary path (recommended) All vendor-documented CLI playback modes are broken in Flotherm 2504 (see `known_issues.md` ISSUE-001). GUI automation via pywinauto UIA is the only verified end-to-end working path for `.pack` import, FloSCRIPT playback, and first-time project creation/modification. ```bash uv run sim connect --solver flotherm --ui-mode gui # launch Flotherm GUI (needs RDP/interactive desktop) uv run sim exec '.pack' # import pack into GUI uv run sim exec 'solve' # run CFD solve uv run sim exec 'status' # query session state uv run sim disconnect # kill all processes ``` **Requirements**: `uv run sim serve` must run in an interactive desktop session (RDP, not SSH session 0). The GUI binary needs a real desktop to render Qt widgets. ### Direct batch — headless optimization for re-solves only Bypasses floserv — calls translator and solver executables directly. Works from SSH with no interactive desktop, BUT only for projects that already exist in `FLOUSERDIR` (i.e., previously imported/created via the GUI path). ```batch call flotherm.bat -env :: set environment only translator.exe -p "\." -n1 :: discretize model → msp_0 solexe.exe -p "\." :: run CFD solver ``` **What this path can do**: - Re-solve an existing project with no parameter changes (e.g., crash recovery, rerun with different iteration count after manually editing `solver_control`) - Run on a Flotherm project that was originally imported via the GUI path - Fully headless, fully scriptable, works from SSH **What this path cannot do**: - Create a new project from scratch - Import a `.pack` file (needs GUI automation) - Modify model parameters (requires FloSCRIPT playback, which is broken in CLI) - Change geometry, materials, boundary conditions, power values, etc. **Solver log**: `/DataSets/BaseSolution/PDTemp/logit` **Result fields**: `/DataSets/BaseSolution/msp_*/end/Temperature` etc. **Solver variants**: `solexe.exe` (single), `solexed.exe` (double), `solexe_p.exe` (parallel) ### Decision rule - **Need to import a `.pack` or create/modify a project?** → GUI automation - **Just re-solving an existing unmodified project?** → Direct batch (faster, headless) - **Need model parameter modification headlessly?** → Not yet possible (see `known_issues.md` ISSUE-003) ### How GUI automation works ``` uv run sim exec → driver.run() → _play_floscript(script_path) ├─ subprocess: pywinauto UIA expand() Macro → invoke() Play FloSCRIPT │ (invoke blocks due to modal dialog; subprocess killed after timeout) └─ main process: Win32 ctypes fills file dialog → clicks Open ``` UIA runs in a **subprocess** to isolate COM state corruption from the server process. The file dialog is a standard Windows dialog, handled via `GetDlgItem(1148)` + `SendMessage(WM_SETTEXT)` + `BM_CLICK`. --- ## base/ — always relevant | Path | What's there | |---|---| | `base/reference/floscript_modeling.md` | **FloSCRIPT model generation reference** — command vocabulary, patterns, step templates for building models from scratch via Claude. Includes the `project_run_script` chaining pattern and a pointer to the full 620-command catalogue. | | `base/reference/postprocessing.md` | **Result extraction reference** — FloSCRIPT export commands (Path A), direct binary read of `msp_*/end/` files (Path B, format verified), GUI export (Path C), plus copy-paste verification probes. | | `base/reference/error_codes.md` | **Triage table** for `E/` / `W/` / `I/` codes seen in `floerror.log` and `WinXP\bin\LogFiles\logFile*.xml`. Read this when an `ok=false` result needs a retry-vs-fatal decision. | | `base/reference/headless_bootstrap_investigation.md` | **What's ruled out, what's open** for headless project authoring (overlay approach is dead; GUI bootstrap is the next experiment) and `` `E/15001` (9 syntactic forms ruled out; recording oracle deferred). | | `base/reference/` | FloSCRIPT XML patterns, GUI control sequences, Win32 message recipes. | | `base/workflows/` | End-to-end demo runs of typical Phase A `.pack` cases. | | `base/docs/` | Background on the GUI-automation approach and why headless batch is broken upstream. | | `base/skill_tests/` | Skill QA cases (kept inside `base/` for flotherm because the GUI playback IS the skill — there's no separate Python control surface). | ## solver// — release specifics Empty stubs by default; per-release deltas land here as discovered. - `solver/2504/notes.md` — 2025.1, current - `solver/2412/notes.md` — 2024.4 - `solver/2406/notes.md` — 2024.2 ## known_issues.md and tests/ (top-level) Top-level QA artifacts. `known_issues.md` documents the vendor-defect-broken headless batch mode. `tests/` is the pytest suite for the inline driver. Not loaded during a normal session. --- ## Example files (reference only) This skill's workflow scripts and `skill_tests/` reference vendor-shipped demo models by the paths where they live inside a local Flotherm install. This skill does **not** bundle any of that content (it is proprietary Siemens / Mentor Graphics material and was removed under issue #2 for IP compliance). To reproduce the tests, point the helpers at your own Flotherm 2504 install — default on Windows is `C:\Program Files\Siemens\SimcenterFlotherm\2504\examples\` (override in `flotherm/tests/execution/run_helpers.ps1` if installed elsewhere). | File referenced in this skill | Location inside `…\2504\examples\` | |---|---| | `Mobile_Demo-Steady_State.pack` | `FloSCRIPT\Demonstration Examples\Transient Power Update\` | | `SuperPosition.pack` | `Demonstration Models\Superposition\` | | `Grid-HeatSinks-and-Fans.xml`, `Make_Tube.xml`, `linear-relaxation-setup.xml`, `Remove-All-Grid.xml`, `reset_solver_controls.xml` | `FloSCRIPT\Utilities\` and `FloSCRIPT\Demonstration Examples\Voxelization\` | | FloSCRIPT XSD schemas (`FloSCRIPTSchema.xsd`, `CommonCommands.xsd`, `CoreFloviewCommands.xsd`, …) | `FloSCRIPT\Schema\` | | `FloSCRIPT_Rack.cls` VBA module | `DCIM\` | For Flotherm 2410, the same subpaths apply under `C:\Program Files\Siemens\SimcenterFlotherm\2410\examples\`. ## Model generation (building from scratch) To build a Flotherm model from a natural language description, generate FloSCRIPT XML step by step. See `base/reference/floscript_modeling.md` for the full command reference, common patterns, and pitfalls. ```bash uv run sim connect --solver flotherm --ui-mode gui uv run sim lint step1.xml # XSD validates automatically uv run sim exec step1.xml # create geometry + save checkpoint uv run sim lint step2.xml uv run sim exec step2.xml # add sources + save checkpoint uv run sim exec 'solve' # run CFD uv run sim disconnect ``` Each step is a separate FloSCRIPT file with `` at the end for crash recovery. Lint before play — XSD validation catches typos and structural errors with line numbers. ## Hard constraints 1. **GUI must be visible.** The automation uses pywinauto UIA which requires the Flotherm window to be in an interactive desktop session. `uv run sim serve` must be started from RDP, not SSH. 2. **Don't open Flotherm by hand while sim is using it.** UIA element discovery races with user input. Let the driver own the lifecycle. 3. **UIA must run in a subprocess.** `invoke()` on Qt menu items throws COMError and corrupts COM state for the entire process. Always isolate in `subprocess.Popen` with timeout. 4. **Acceptance ≠ exit code.** Always extract a numeric (max temp, junction-to-ambient ΔT) from the .pack output and validate against the user's criterion. --- ## Required protocol 1. `uv run sim connect --solver flotherm --ui-mode gui` — launches Flotherm 2. `uv run sim exec '.pack'` — imports pack (uses `project_import` FloSCRIPT with `import_type="Pack File"`) 3. `uv run sim exec 'solve'` — plays `` FloSCRIPT 4. Verify solve completed: check Message Window for `I/9001 - Solver stopped: steady solution converged` 5. `uv run sim disconnect` — kills floserv, floview, flotherm --- ## GUI actuation Flotherm's driver is the original user of the UIA subprocess + Win32 file-dialog pattern. Starting with Phase 3 that pattern lives in [`sim.gui._win32_dialog`](../../sim-cli/src/sim/gui/_win32_dialog.py) and [`sim.gui._pywinauto_tools`](../../sim-cli/src/sim/gui/_pywinauto_tools.py), shared with every other driver. Flotherm's `_win32_backend.py` now imports from there — behaviour is unchanged, the code is no longer duplicated. A `gui` object is **not** injected for Flotherm sessions because the driver's `play_floscript` helper already owns the UI interaction. If you need generic window actions (screenshot of the Message Window dock, a quick `list_windows()` to debug a launch), import the primitives directly: ```python from sim.gui import GuiController controller = GuiController(process_name_substrings=("flotherm", "flomain")) print(controller.list_windows()) ``` See [the sim-cli `gui` skill](../sim-cli/gui/SKILL.md) for the full API reference.