OpenFAST I/O ignores output channels not in fast_vars_out.py

[amineeva-GWT]

Description

I'm successfully running an OpenFast simulation using WEIS, but am only getting data from some outputs I list in the InflowFile.dat file. Specifically, in the InflowFile.dat file it seems that any output variables with names longer than 9 characters are somehow not being read by WEIS. However, they show up in the .out files when I run the same .fst file directly through OpenFast.

Steps to reproduce issue

1. Set up a basic WEIS model with modeling.yaml, analysis.yaml, geometry.yaml, and weis_driver.py files. Make sure that the files are referencing each other correctly.
2. Create/generate a test.fst file that points to a tester_InflowFile.dat.
3. Within the tester_InflowFile.dat, list the following output parameters: "Wind1VelX" "Wind1VelY" "Wind1VelZ" "WindHubVelX" "WindHubVelXY" "WindDiskVelXY" "WindHubVelMag" "WindDiskVelMag" "WindHubAngXY" "WindDiskAngXY" "WindMeas1"
4. Set the modeling.yaml to Level 3 and point towards test.fst.
5. Run weis_driver.py
6. Open any .out file - you should only be able to see output parameters "Wind1VelX", "Wind1VelY", "Wind1VelZ", and "WindMeas1". Alternatively, you could also look at the generated copy of the InflowFile.dat within your outputs folder - the same should be seen there.
7. Optional - if you run the test.fst file directly with OpenFast, all output parameters should be present.

Current behavior

This seems like a WEIS issue rather than an OpenFast one because I'm getting outputs when running directly through OpenFast. Something to note is that these variables have names that are longer than 9 characters, which goes against the output channel rules listed in the following outlist parameter document: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fopenfast.readthedocs.io%2Fen%2Fmain%2F_downloads%2F3f19498a5dc774461e022b671ff01ec6%2FOutListParameters.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Expected behavior

Hopefully, WEIS should recognize and track all outputs.

[dzalkind]

Hi, thanks for the heads up here!

If you add the channels you want to this dictionary, does it work?

For the WEIS team or future self: a better solution we should implement would be to update/standardize the reading of the output channels. InflowWind uses an older version. Updating that fast_out_vars dict is tedious. This is the newer version I like better: https://github.com/WISDEM/WEIS/blob/9d80ce8517a9a4b814082626bd2159d9acfcba30/weis/aeroelasticse/FAST_reader.py#L154

[amineeva-GWT]

Yes, adding them directly to the dictionary creates outputs for those variables. Thanks for your help!

[dzalkind]

Thanks for following up! I'll re-open this until we implement the more permanent fix.

[dzalkind]

@mayankchetan , can we close this since OpenFAST will handle I/O writing soon?

[mayankchetan]

Yes, we expect to release openfast_io with the v4.0 release and then I'll have it integrated into WEIS soon after