Seed Cases

A Seed Case provides the foundation for all Cruncher processing. It represents a solved base case, along with optional configuration files, that define the initial system state before forecasts, outages, or other study inputs are applied. All Snapshots and downstream results are built from one or more Seed Cases.

Structure of a Seed Case

A Seed Case is organized as a folder on disk. This folder typically contains:

• Source Cases – One or more case files (PWB, AUX, or HDBExport). Cruncher will select the most recent valid case by modification timestamp, using reverse alphabetical order as a tiebreaker.
• pre subdirectory – Optional. Contains AUX or HDBExport files that should be applied before the source case is loaded. These often define Simulator configuration settings that affect case loading.
• post subdirectory – Optional. Contains AUX or HDBExport files that should be applied after the source case is loaded. These often provide standardization or additional initialization.
• logs subdirectory – Created automatically by Cruncher during the build process. Includes a summary log and a copy of the Simulator log for detailed troubleshooting.

Build Process

When Cruncher processes a Seed Case directory:

1. Runs any AUX files in the pre subdirectory in alphabetical order.
2. Opens the selected source case file.
3. Runs any AUX files in the post subdirectory in alphabetical order.
4. Attempts to solve the case. If it does not solve, restart the process using the next Source Case in order.
5. Saves a cached solved version of the case in the Seed Case folder.

On subsequent runs, Cruncher uses this cached solved case if it is still valid; otherwise, it rebuilds the cache. This caching ensures consistent results while reducing overhead.

Configuration in Cruncher

• Name – Defaults to the Seed Case directory name. Can be overridden for clarity.
• Directory – Path to the Seed Case folder.
• Description – Optional notes to provide context or versioning details about the case.
• Pre Case AUX / Post Case AUX – Lists automatically populated based on the presence of pre and post subdirectories.