The latest updates for PyroSim, Pathfinder and Results are available now. The 2021.1 release focuses on improving every day productivity.
View our Release Notes to download and see the full details, or read on for a quick look at what’s new. … Read More
We are constantly taking feedback from our users and incorporating their suggestions in to our products to improve the user experience. In that vein, we have made several usability improvements to PyroSim in the 2021.1 release, some of which are mentioned below. You can view the full list on the PyroSim Release Notes page after the release on February 24th.
Following the release of the Scenarios feature in version 2020.4, some users reported that they would create a new scenario and begin editing, only to realize that they had not switched over to the newly created scenario and had to undo their changes. We have updated the Scenarios tool so that when you create a new scenario it is automatically activated, and any changes that you make will be added to it by default. If you haven’t already, check out our Scenarios tutorial to learn the basics of how you can use the Scenarios feature in your workflow.
Prior to version 2021.1, if you were to start drawing with either the wall or slab tools and make a mistake, there was not a way to undo the mistake. Using the Ctrl+Z shortcut would instead undo the last action outside of the tool. In version 2021.1 we have added the ability to undo individual points when using those tools, which will be especially helpful if you are drawing obstruction with a lot of vertices. You can see a short demonstration of the new undo action below.
We had some users report that they found the FDS Blocks Preview very useful for verifying their models, but they saw performance issues when enabling/disabling the FDS Preview on larger models. This was exacerbated when they had to close and re-open models, and then had to switch to the FDS Blocks Preview. Because of this, we modified PyroSim to save the state of the FDS Blocks Preview when a model is saved. Now, if you are viewing the preview and close your model, the preview will be shown when you re-open the model.
You can now rename most objects in the PyroSim navigation tree similar to how files can be renamed in the Windows File Explorer. Prior to this, the only way to rename objects was to right-click the object, then find the rename button to trigger the renaming prompt. Now, you can select an item in the Navigation tree and click it again a few milliseconds later to rename it.
Our first release of the year will include requested improvements to our Results application. Results can view the output of the simulators embedded in PyroSim and Pathfinder. The improvements below help with visualizing social distancing hot spots using contours, showing cut outs from PyroSim slices, and improving the ability to edit colorbars for FDS results.
Our first release of the year will include requested improvements to our Results application. Results can view the output of the simulators embedded in PyroSim and Pathfinder. The improvements below help with visualizing social distancing hot spots using contours, showing cut outs from PyroSim slices, and improving the ability to edit colorbars for FDS results.
Note: The social distancing contour has inverted coloring by default. This serves to better highlight the hotspots where occupants break social distancing.
After receiving several requests from users, we modified how the data inside of obstructions is displayed when viewing 2D and 3D slices in PyroSim Results. When viewing a slice in prior versions of PyroSim, the data inside of an obstruction was stored as a value of 0, and the slice would display the appropriate color for that region. In version 2021.1, slices will display blank areas where they intersect obstructions instead of showing the color for the 0 value. This should aid users and reduce confusion when showcasing results to clients and AHJs.
The FDS data preferences colorbar setting UI was updated so that the dialog now shows a drop-down for the quantity whose colorbar information you’re editing. If you activate an output object and then double-click the colorbar, it will show the FDS preferences dialog like before, but it will automatically select the quantity of the active object in the drop-down.
Note: There are some quantities that are technically the same. For example, GAS TEMPERATURE and TEMPERATURE are different quantities even though they both measure temperature. They show up as two different quantities in the drop-down since they have different names, and you can edit properties for each separately. You’re allowed to activate objects of both quantities at the same time, but only the properties for the last activated quantity are used.
There are a few events coming up this year that we would like to make you aware of.
See the Thunderhead Training page for more information and to register for the events below.
| Location | Date | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Asia Aus/NZ |
February 16 and 17 February 23 and 24 March 2 and 3 March 9 and 10 |
PyroSim/FDS Workshop 22:00 UTC on Monday and Tuesday (Tuesday and Wednesday morning in Aus/NZ) for four weeks, two hour sessions |
| Asia Aus/NZ |
March 30 and 31 April 6 and 7 April 13 and 14 April 20 and 21 |
Advanced PyroSim/FDS Workshop 22:00 UTC on Monday and Tuesday (Tuesday and Wednesday morning in Aus/NZ) for four weeks, two hour sessions |
| Americas | May 11 and 12 May 18 and 19 May 25 and 26 June 1 and 2 |
PyroSim/FDS Workshop 17:00 UTC on Tuesday and Wednesday for four weeks, two hour sessions |
| Americas | June 22 and 23 June 29 and 30 July 6 and 7 July 13 and 14 |
Advanced PyroSim/FDS Workshop 17:00 UTC on Tuesday and Wednesday for four weeks, two hour sessions |
“Cloud HPC – Use the best scalability for your FDS analyses” – Event hosted by CFD FEA Service. To attend the webinar on Feb 18, 2021, visit the event page on LinkedIn.
Advanced Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) with PyroSim and Smokeview
This seminar will hold live sessions Monday, Wednesday, and Friday(s), February 15 – March 12 from 11am to 1pm ET. Please see the SFPE Event Page for more information and to Register.
In September, Thunderhead Engineering welcomed a record attendance to FEMTC 2020 in its first virtual edition. We are excited to present to you the full set of presentations from our event with videos, papers, and slides available. This material is free for anyone to download/view. … Read More
Our latest updates for PyroSim, Pathfinder, and Results are available now. View our Release Notes to download and see the full details, or read on for a quick look at what’s new. … Read More
In Brian’s second talk at FEMTC 2020, he presents an overview of research and development at Thunderhead Engineering in the years since FEMTC 2018. If you haven’t yet watched his first presentation, you can view it now for a deep dive into Pathfinder movement behavior research. This presentation covers the bulk of many other topics we’ve focused on. … Read More
Since introducing our Results application which combines PyroSim and Pathfinder output into a single workspace, we have continued to improve the visual realism of this application. Our users report that improvements in rendering smoke, textures, and occupant animation not only give their work a more professional look, but also increase the clarity of their findings. In the upcoming 2020.5 release, we will add several new features to deliver even more impressive fire and evacuation model reports. … Read More
In September, Thunderhead Engineering welcomed a record attendance to FEMTC 2020 in its first virtual edition. We are excited to begin delivering the presentations from that conference to everyone. First, we have a discussion of several different occupant movement topics researched by the Thunderhead Engineering R&D team and presented by President Brian Hardeman. There’s more to come! … Read More
PyroSim and Pathfinder 2020.4 bring many new features. Here is a quick look at the biggest additions. View the full release notes and download the installers for PyroSim and Pathfinder. … Read More