Can OpenFOAM auto-delete out of date time steps?

Nicole · December 10, 2015, 10:10

Hi foamers,

I am running some OpenFOAM cases on a cluster for the first time and they keep stopping. The log files just end mid-time step so I am trying to guess at the problem...

I think the cluster may be running out of memory. Is there a way to tell an OpenFOAM case to just save the latest time step, or overwrite the previous time step as it writes the new ones? I only need the latest time step, but I do not want to wait to save a step until it has converged, in case it crashes again. I am trying to run 10 different cases simultaneously that take 4-5 days each to converge properly.

I hope someone can help!!

simon-2 · December 10, 2015, 10:59

in controlDict, there is an entry called purgeWrite. Set this to 5 for example, and only the latest 5 time steps are being kept. If this is set to zero, the function is turned off and all steps are kept.

Nicole · December 10, 2015, 11:06

You just totally saved my day!! Thanks so much

aow · November 28, 2018, 21:46

Same here! You've saved me a huge amount of time and worrying about filling up my research group's storage drives.

December 10, 2015, 10:10	Can OpenFOAM auto-delete out of date time steps?	#1
Nicole Member Nicole Andrew Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pretoria, South Africa Posts: 58 Rep Power: 12	Hi foamers, I am running some OpenFOAM cases on a cluster for the first time and they keep stopping. The log files just end mid-time step so I am trying to guess at the problem... I think the cluster may be running out of memory. Is there a way to tell an OpenFOAM case to just save the latest time step, or overwrite the previous time step as it writes the new ones? I only need the latest time step, but I do not want to wait to save a step until it has converged, in case it crashes again. I am trying to run 10 different cases simultaneously that take 4-5 days each to converge properly. I hope someone can help!!

December 10, 2015, 10:59		#2
simon-2 New Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 13	in controlDict, there is an entry called purgeWrite. Set this to 5 for example, and only the latest 5 time steps are being kept. If this is set to zero, the function is turned off and all steps are kept. francescomarra, Nicole, jmdf and 1 others like this. Last edited by simon-2; December 10, 2015 at 11:00. Reason: typo

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December 10, 2015, 11:06		#3
Nicole Member Nicole Andrew Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pretoria, South Africa Posts: 58 Rep Power: 12	You just totally saved my day!! Thanks so much

November 28, 2018, 21:46		#4
aow Member Andrew O. Winter Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Seattle, WA, USA Posts: 78 Rep Power: 11	Same here! You've saved me a huge amount of time and worrying about filling up my research group's storage drives.