Postprocessing with Tosca Extension for ANSYS® Workbench

Tosca Extension for ANSYS® Workbench provides multiple possibilites to regard a completed optimization. Some are available in the Mechanical application itself.

This task shows you how to:

Display Topology Optimization Result

Before you begin:

To display a topology optimization result correctly in the Mechanical application, make sure that the correct Geometry option in the upper toolbar is activated.

  • The following table shows the results of the geometry view options:

    Geometry view option

    leads to










    With the option Capped IsoSurfaces it depends on the elements’ density whether they are displayed or not. This limit density (elements above or below are displayed) is adjustable.


    With IsoSurfaces activated, no result will be displayed.

Display Shape Optimization Result

  1. To display the stress results of a shape optimization in the Mechanical application, select the created Controller Input.

    This will display the resulting stresses and optimized shape of the component.

  2. Alternatively it is also possible to display the nodal displacement for each iteration in order to determine to what extent each node is moved during the optimization: Right-click Solution in the Tree Outline.

  3. Select Insert > Deformation > Total as shown in the following figure.

    Note: This does NOT refer to the total deformation of the component subject to the different load case of the static structural analysis.



  4. Besides the total nodal displacement, the directional nodal displacement can be visualized as well: Right-click Solution in the Tree Outline. Select Insert > Deformation > Directional.

Display Iteration Animation

The Graph window in the Mechanical application provides an overview of the optimization steps. It’s either possible to have a look at each single iteration or to show a little animation from the beginning until the end of the optimization run.

  1. To display a single iteration step, right-click on a certain point of time on the graph.

    The corresponding model is displayed.

  2. Right-click and select Retrieve this result.

  3. For an animation it is possible to use the Play and Stop button or regulate animation speed. All required buttons can be found in the Graph window.





    For shape optimization, result animation can be started analogously.

Open Result Files

A SIMULIA Tosca Structure optimization run saves a lot of data in either the saving directory or a temporary directory.

  • To find the working directory, right-click on the Solution item within the Tree Outline and select Open Solver Files Directory as shown in the following figure:

    In the folder you find solution data files, the tosca.par file, a vtfx file for visualization with Tosca Structure.view and much more information.