Automatically Generating Cell Networks Using the CellNet Generator

In some situations, you may need to create a rectangular or cylindrical network of Cell pathways with advective and/or diffusive connections. Although such a network can be created manually, if it contains a large number of Cells doing so can become cumbersome and time-consuming. Therefore, GoldSim provides a special element to automate the creation of such Cell networks.

The CellNet Generator discretizes a rectangular or cylindrical region of space and creates a two-dimensional array of Cell elements, including any necessary advective or diffusive mass flux links between them. You can specify the existence of different fluid or solid materials in different parts of the generation region. If a fluid is defined, you can specify its flow velocity (the Darcy velocity, if a porous solid is defined). After defining the geometry of the region you wish to simulate, the level of discretization (i.e., the number of Cells), the properties of the Cells (i.e., the media they contain), and the nature of the advective and diffusive connections between the Cells, you instruct GoldSim to create the Cell network, and it automatically does so.

Once the Cell elements have been generated, you can manually edit them to add any flux links necessary to connect them to the rest of your model.

You insert a CellNet Generator element by selecting Insert Element | Contaminant Transport | CellNet Generator from the main menu or the context menu of the graphics pane.

Note: The Aquifer pathway also provides a way to automatically generate a Cell network. An Aquifer pathway performs its computations by creating a temporary Cell network during the simulation, which is subsequently removed at the end of the simulation. In most cases, there is no need for you to be aware of how this is done, or to view the temporary Cell pathways that are created. The Cell network generated by an Aquifer is always one-dimensional and homogeneous.

Warning: The CellNet Generator is not intended to generate extremely large Cell networks (e.g., thousands of Cells). As the size of the network increases, the number of system resources required increases, and eventually the system will run out of resources and GoldSim will be unable to run.

Note: The CellNet Generator is only available within the RT Module. It is not available within the CT Module.