ACCOPTION causes pymapdl run to fail

[mcMunich]

🤓 Before submitting the issue

• I have visited the Troubleshooting section.
• I have searched among the existing issues.
• I am using a Python virtual environment.
• I am using the latest version of PyMAPDL and its dependencies (fully updated virtual environment). You can update them using pip install --upgrade --upgrade-strategy eager ansys-mapdl-core in your activated virtual environment.

🔍 Description of the bug

The ACCOPTION command should allow the user to accelerate an analysis using their GPU. However, it seems to cause my analysis to fail.

🕵️ Steps To Reproduce

from ansys.mapdl.core import launch_mapdl
import os
here = os.getcwd()

# parameters
x = 1 # create a square block
f = 1e6 # force over 1 side of block
ndiv = 4 # element/line division
numElem = (ndiv/x)**3
loadDirection = 'y'

##### modeling
#elemSize = (x**3)/numElem**(1/3)

#### Launch pymapdl
mapdl = launch_mapdl(run_location=here, version = 232)
mapdl.prep7()

#### Materials
mapdl.mp("EX", 1, 200e9)
mapdl.mp("PRXY", 1, 0.3)

#### Geometry
mapdl.csys(0)
mapdl.blc4(0, 0,x, x, x)

#### Elements and meshing
mapdl.et(1, "SOLID186")
mapdl.type(1)
mapdl.keyopt(1, 2, 1)
#mapdl.esize(elemSize)
mapdl.vmesh("ALL")
mapdl.eplot()

#### Boundary Conditions: fixed constraint
mapdl.nsel("s", "loc", loadDirection, 0)
mapdl.d("all", "all")

#### Boundary Conditions: load
mapdl.nsel("s", "loc", loadDirection, x)
nnodes = mapdl.get("NumNodes" , "NODE" ,0 , "COUNT" )
mapdl.f("all", "fy",f/nnodes)
mapdl.allsel()

#### Solve
mapdl.run("/solu")
mapdl.accoption(activate='ON')
sol_output = mapdl.solve()

#### Plot Results
# plot the normalized global displacement
mapdl.post_processing.plot_nodal_displacement(lighting=False, show_edges=True)

mapdl.exit()

💻 Which Operating System are you using?

Windows

🐍 Which Python version are you using?

3.11

📝 PyMAPDL Report

na

📝 Installed packages

na

📝 Logger output file

na

[Mike Rife]

@mcMunich check the file0.err file and see if it shows that the CUDA driver needs to be updated. Mike

[German]

this is going to be a bit tricky. Delaying to the next week (I need my Windows laptop)

[German]

I got the following error:

 *** ERROR ***                           CP =       0.641   TIME= 15:59:19
 The GPU accelerator capability cannot be activated with the ACCOPTION   
 command.  Please read the following message for more details.           

 *** ERROR ***                           CP =       0.641   TIME= 15:59:19
 The capability GPU was either not ordered with this Ansys installation  
 or the appropriate product was not selected for this session.           
  Contact your Ansys support person for more information.                

[Mike Rife]

@germa89 most laptops don't have a GPU that would be automatically used - have you set the following environment variable?
ANSGPU_OVERRIDE=1

Mike

[German]

So it seems that to use ACCOPTION you need to also do something like:

mapdl = launch_mapdl(additional_switches="-acc NVIDIA")

Notes

To inject env vars in MAPDL process:

mapdl = launch_mapdl(additional_switches="-acc NVIDIA", add_env_vars={"ANSGPU_OVERRIDE": "1"})

I acknowledge PyMAPDL should return something more explicit than Connection terminated.

[German]

PyMAPDL needs a better error catching... either at launching or during runtime.

[German]

I'm closing this issue because there is no PyMAPDL issue per se.