# User Defined Dynamics

User Defined Dynamics (UDD) is a powerful feature in Flow360 that allows you to implement custom motion for components in your simulation. This capability is essential for simulating complex scenarios such as dynamic control surface deflections, or custom rotational motions.

# Overview

User Defined Dynamics allows you to define:

  • Custom time-dependent motion for components
  • Complex trajectories and rotations
  • Interactions between aerodynamic forces and component movement

# Implementation Recommendation

Important: We currently recommend using the Python API for implementing User Defined Dynamics rather than the Web UI. The Python interface provides more flexibility and better debugging capabilities for complex dynamic scenarios.

# Coming Soon: Improved Interface

We are actively working on a new User Defined Dynamics interface that will provide:

  • A more user-friendly experience
  • Better integration with the Web UI
  • Enhanced debugging capabilities

This new interface will be available in an upcoming releases of Flow360.

# Basic Implementation Structure

A User Defined Dynamics implementation typically includes:

  1. Initialization: Set up initial conditions and parameters
  2. Time-Dependent Update: Define how the component should move at each time step
  3. Termination Criteria: Specify when the dynamic motion should end

# Best Practices

  1. Start with simple motions and gradually add complexity
  2. Test your UDD implementation with coarse meshes before running full simulations
  3. Ensure mesh rotation settings are appropriate for the expected range of motion
  4. Monitor forces and moments during motion to ensure physical behavior

For detailed implementation examples, please refer to the Flow360 Python API documentation.

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