Manuale Femap [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

)(0$3 Commands

Version 8.1

FEMAP Version 8.1 Commands Copyright © 1986-2001 by Structural Dynamics Research Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Data Systems Corporation. Proprietary Data. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited. All Rights Reserved. Portions of this software and related documentation are derived from GHS3D software under license from INRIA, other portions are copyrighted by and are the property of Unigraphics Solutions Inc. and Spatial Technology Inc. The FEMAP Documentation may not be copied, reproduced, disclosed, transferred, or reduced to any form, including electronic medium or machine-readable form, or transmitted or publicly performed by any means, electronic or otherwise, unless Structural Dynamics Research Corp (SDRC) consents in writing in advance.

Use of the software has been provided under a Software License Agreement. Information described in this document is furnished for information only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by SDRC. SDRC assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this document.

FEMAP is a registered trademark of Structural Dynamics Research Corporation. Dual Engine Geometry Modeling, FEMAP Professional, FEMAP Enterprise, and FEMAP Structural are trademarks of Structural Dynamics Research Corporation.

EDS PLM Solutions P.O. Box 1172, Exton, PA 19341 Phone: FAX: E-mail: Web:

(610) 458-3660 (610) 458-3665 [email protected] http://www.femap.com

This manual and software product are both copyrighted and all rights are reserved by SDRC. The distribution and sale of this product are intended for the use of the original purchaser only and for use only on the computer system specified. The software product may be used only under the provisions of the license agreement included with the FEMAP package. Unless otherwise stated, you may only use this software on a single computer, by one person, at one time.

Trademark Information Throughout this manual, and the software, you will see references to other applications and trademarks which are the property of various companies. • •

SDRC, SDRC I-DEAS and I-DEAS are registered trademarks of Structural Dynamics Research Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Data Systems Corporation. Windows, Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows Me are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Portions of the software contained on your FEMAP CD are copyrighted by Microsoft Corporation.

Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. •

Portions of this software are copyrighted by Spatial Technology, Inc., Unigraphics Solutions Inc., INRIA, Cypress Software Inc., and Microsoft Corporation.

Manual Conventions This manual uses different fonts to highlight command names or input that you must type. a:setup

Shows text that you should type.

OK, Cancel

Shows a command name or text that you will see in a dialog box.

Throughout this manual, you will see references to Windows. Windows refers to Microsoft® Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me. You will need one of these operating environments to run FEMAP for the PC. This manual assumes that you are familiar with the general use of the operating environment. If you are not, you can refer to the Windows User’s Guide for additional assistance. Similarly, throughout the manual all references to FEMAP, refer to the latest version of our software.

Table of Contents

1

1. Introduction 2. File Manipulation 2.1 Opening a Model File . . . . 2.1.1 File, New.... . . . . 2.1.2 File, Open... . . . . 2.2 Saving the Model File . . . . 2.2.1 File, Save.... . . . . 2.2.2 File, Save As... . . . . 2.2.3 File, Timed Save... . . . 2.3 Importing/Exporting Files . . . 2.3.1 File, Import Menu . . . 2.3.2 File, Export Menu . . . 2.3.3 File, Analyze... . . . . 2.4 Using Notes . . . . . . 2.5 Using Print, Copy, and Paste . . 2.5.1 File, Page Setup... . . . 2.5.2 File, Print . . . . . 2.5.3 File, Printer Setup . . . 2.5.4 File, Picture . . . . 2.5.5 File, Messages Menu . . . 2.6 Using Macros, Rebuild, and Preferences 2.6.1 File, Program Menu . . . 2.6.2 File, Rebuild... . . . . 2.6.3 File, Preferences. . . . 2.7 Using File, Recent Models - 1,2,3,4 . 2.8 Exiting FEMAP . . . . .

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2-1 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-3 2-4 2-4 2-5 2-5 2-7 2-8 2-8 2-9 2-9 2-13 2-17 2-18 2-22 2-23 2-23 2-25 2-26 2-46 2-46

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3-1 3-1 3-1 3-2 3-11 3-16 3-21 3-29 3-33 3-35 3-35 3-40 3-51 3-52

3. Geometry 3.1 Creating Points . . . 3.1.1 Geometry, Point... . 3.2 Creating Curves . . . 3.2.1 Lines . . . . 3.2.2 Arcs . . . . 3.2.3 Circles . . . 3.2.4 Splines . . . 3.2.5 Curves from Surfaces. 3.3 Creating Surfaces . . . 3.3.1 Sketch. . . . 3.3.2 Boundary Surfaces... . 3.3.3 Surfaces . . . 3.3.4 Midsurface . . . 3.4 Creating Solids/Volumes .

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72& 3.4.1 Volumes . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.2 Solids . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 Copying Geometry . . . . . . . . . 3.5.1 Geometry, Copy Commands . . . . . . 3.5.2 Geometry, Radial Copy Commands . . . . 3.5.3 Geometry, Scale Commands . . . . . . 3.5.4 Geometry, Rotate Commands . . . . . 3.5.5 Geometry, Reflect Commands . . . . . 3.6 Modifying Geometry . . . . . . . . 3.6.1 Curve Operations . . . . . . . . 3.6.2 Moving Geometry . . . . . . . . 3.6.3 Edit/Parameters . . . . . . . . 3.6.4 Advanced Updates - Modify, Update Other Commands 3.7 Deleting Geometry . . . . . . . . .

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3-53 3-59 3-73 3-73 3-74 3-75 3-76 3-76 3-77 3-78 3-85 3-94 3-95 3-97

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. 4-1 . 4-1 . 4-4 . 4-4 . 4-6 4-13 4-24 4-40 4-40 4-40 4-52 4-61 4-67 4-70 4-70 4-73 4-75 4-76 4-77 4-81 4-82 4-82 4-86 4-86 4-87 4-88 4-88 4-88 4-88 4-91 4-91 4-103 4-106 4-117

4. Finite Element Modeling 4.1 Creating Coordinate Systems . . . . 4.1.1 Model, Coord Sys... . . . . 4.2 Creating Finite Element Entities . . . 4.2.1 Model, Node... . . . . . 4.2.2 Model, Element... . . . . . 4.2.3 Model, Material . . . . . 4.2.4 Model, Property... . . . . . 4.3 Creating Loads And Constraints . . . 4.3.1 Create/Activate Load Set . . . 4.3.2 Finite Element Loads . . . . 4.3.3 Geometric Loads . . . . . 4.3.4 Load Analysis Options . . . . 4.3.5 Load Set Manipulation . . . . 4.3.6 Activate/Create Constraint Set . . 4.3.7 Finite Element (Nodal) Constraints . 4.3.8 Geometric Constraints . . . . 4.3.9 Constraint Set Manipulation . . . 4.4 Preparing for Analysis . . . . . 4.4.1 Defining a Analysis Set . . . . 4.4.2 Running the Analysis with an Analysis Set 4.5 Creating Contact . . . . . . 4.5.1 Defining a Contact Segment/Surface . 4.5.2 Defining a Contact Property . . . 4.5.3 Defining a Contact Pair . . . . 4.6 Using Optimization Analysis . . . . 4.6.1 Goal . . . . . . . 4.6.2 Vary - Design Variables . . . 4.6.3 Limit - Design Constraints . . . 4.7 Working with Functions . . . . . 4.8 Modifying FEA Entities . . . . . 4.8.1 Moving FEA Entities . . . . 4.8.2 Edit/Parameters . . . . . 4.8.3 Advanced Updates . . . . . 4.9 Deleting FEA Entities . . . . .

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72& 5. Meshing 5.1 Meshing on Geometry . . . . . . 5.1.1 Mesh, Mesh Control . . . . . 5.1.2 Mesh, Geometry. . . . . . 5.2 Non-Geometry Meshing . . . . . 5.2.1 Mesh, Between... . . . . . 5.2.2 Mesh, Region... . . . . . . 5.2.3 Mesh, Connection . . . . . 5.2.4 Mesh, Transition... . . . . . 5.3 Modifying a Mesh. . . . . . . 5.3.1 Mesh, Editing Menu . . . . . 5.3.2 Mesh, Remesh Menu . . . . . 5.3.3 Mesh, Edge Members... . . . . 5.3.4 Mesh, Smooth... . . . . . . 5.4 Copying a Mesh . . . . . . . 5.4.1 Mesh, Copy Menu . . . . . 5.4.2 Mesh, Radial Copy Menu . . . . 5.4.3 Mesh, Scale Menu . . . . . 5.4.4 Mesh, Rotate Menu . . . . . 5.5 Meshing by Extruding, Revolving, and Sweeping 5.5.1 Mesh, Extrude Menu . . . . . 5.5.2 Mesh, Revolve Menu . . . . . 5.5.3 Mesh, Sweep . . . . . .

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5-1 5-1 5-20 5-45 5-45 5-52 5-54 5-57 5-59 5-59 5-61 5-70 5-72 5-74 5-74 5-78 5-79 5-80 5-82 5-82 5-92 5-95

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6-1 6-1 6-5 6-11 6-37 6-52 6-53 6-53 6-54 6-54 6-56 6-72 6-72

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7-1 7-1 7-2 7-7 7-13 7-16 7-21 7-32 7-32 7-34 7-36

6. Viewing Your Model 6.1 View Menu Commands . . . . 6.1.1 Redrawing Views . . . . 6.1.2 Manipulating Multiple Views . . 6.1.3 View, Select and View, Options . 6.1.4 Modifying the View . . . . 6.1.5 View, Pan. . . . . . . . 6.1.6 Deleting Views . . . . . 6.2 Groups and Layers . . . . . 6.2.1 Differences Between Groups and Layers 6.2.2 Layer Commands . . . . 6.2.3 Group Menu Commands . . . 6.2.4 Deleting Groups . . . . . 6.2.5 Renumbering Groups . . . .

7. Modeling Tools 7.1 Tools Menu . . . . 7.1.1 Undo and Redo . . 7.1.2 Tools, Workplane. . . . 7.1.3 Operational Tools . 7.1.4 Entity Tools . . 7.1.5 Measuring Tools . 7.1.6 Checking Tools . . 7.2 List Menu Commands . . 7.2.1 List, Tools Menu . 7.2.2 List, Geometry Menu. 7.2.3 List, Surface... . .

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72& 7.2.4 List, Model Menu . . . 7.2.5 List, Output Menu . . . 7.2.6 List, Group. . . . . . 7.2.7 List, View. . . . . . . 7.2.8 List, Model Info . . . 7.2.9 List, Destination. . . . . 7.3 Model Style (View, Select command) 7.3.1 Features . . . . . 7.3.2 Hidden Line Modes . . 7.3.3 Free Edge . . . . 7.3.4 Free Face . . . .

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7-38 7-46 7-46 7-47 7-48 7-49 7-50 7-50 7-50 7-50 7-51

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. 8-1 . 8-1 . 8-2 . 8-2 . 8-3 . 8-3 . 8-4 . 8-4 8-23 8-27 8-28 8-28 8-29 8-29 8-31 8-31 8-31 8-31 8-32 8-32 8-36 8-37 8-38 8-38 8-38 8-39 8-39 8-39 8-40 8-40 8-40 8-40 8-41 8-43 8-43 8-44 8-45 8-46

8. Post-Processing 8.1 Procedure . . . . . . . . . 8.1.1 Reading Results . . . . . . 8.1.2 Selecting Views . . . . . . 8.1.3 Changing Options (View Options) . . 8.1.4 Manipulating/Listing Output . . . . 8.2 Types of Views - View Select... . . . . 8.2.1 Selecting Data for a Model Style . . . 8.2.2 Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles . 8.2.3 Choosing an XY Style . . . . . 8.3 View Options - PostProcessing. . . . . 8.3.1 Post Titles... . . . . . . . 8.3.2 Deformed Style . . . . . . 8.3.3 Vector Style . . . . . . . 8.3.4 Animated Style . . . . . . 8.3.5 Deformed Model.... . . . . . 8.3.6 Undeformed Model... . . . . . 8.3.7 Trace Style... . . . . . . . 8.3.8 Contour Type... . . . . . . 8.3.9 Contour/Criteria Style.... . . . . 8.3.10 Contour/Criteria Levels... . . . . 8.3.11 Contour/Criteria Legend... . . . . 8.3.12 Criteria Limits/Beam Diagrams . . . 8.3.13 Criteria - Elements that Pass/Fail... . . 8.3.14 IsoSurface... . . . . . . . 8.3.15 Contour Vector Style... . . . . 8.3.16 XY Titles... . . . . . . . 8.3.17 XY Legend... . . . . . . 8.3.18 XY Axes Style... . . . . . . 8.3.19 XY X Range/Grid... . . . . . 8.3.20 XY Y Range/Grid... . . . . . 8.3.21 XY Curve 1 through XY Curve 9... . . 8.4 Specialized Post-processing . . . . . 8.4.1 View, Advanced Post, Animation... . . 8.4.2 View, Advanced Post, Dynamic Cutting Plane... 8.4.3 View, Advanced Post, Dynamic IsoSurface... 8.5 Output Manipulation. . . . . . . 8.5.1 Model, Output, Set... . . . . . 8.5.2 Model, Output, Vector... . . . .

72& 8.5.3 Model, Output ,Define... . . . 8.5.4 Model, Output, Fill... . . . . 8.5.5 Model, Output, Process . . . 8.5.6 Model, Output, Calculate... . . 8.5.7 Model, Output, From Load... . . 8.5.8 Model, Output, Transform... . . 8.5.9 Model, Output, Extrapolate... . . 8.5.10 Model, Output, Convert Complex... 8.5.11 Model, Output, Expand Complex... . 8.6 Listing Output (List, Output Menu) . . 8.6.1 List, Output, Query... . . . . 8.6.2 List, Output, Compare... . . . 8.6.3 List, Output, Unformatted... . . 8.6.4 List, Output, Standard... . . . 8.6.5 List, Output, Use Format... . . 8.6.6 List, Output, Force Balance . . 8.6.7 List, Output, XY Plot... . . . 8.6.8 List, Output, Format... . . . 8.7 Deleting Output (Delete, Output Menu) . 8.7.1 Delete, Output Set... . . . . 8.7.2 Delete, Output Vector... . . . 8.7.3 Delete, Output, Entry... . . . 8.7.4 Delete, Output, Format... . . .

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8-47 8-47 8-48 8-59 8-60 8-61 8-63 8-65 8-66 8-67 8-67 8-69 8-70 8-71 8-74 8-77 8-77 8-78 8-78 8-79 8-79 8-79 8-79

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9-1 9-1 9-2 9-2 9-2 9-2 9-3 9-3 9-3 9-3 9-3 9-4

9. Help and Non-Menu 9.1 Help Menu Commands . . 9.1.1 Help Topics . . 9.1.2 Help, What’s New . 9.1.3 Help, Examples . . 9.1.4 Help, Using Help... . 9.1.5 Help, About... . . 9.2 Non-Menu Commands . . 9.2.1 Previous Menu . . 9.2.2 Previous Command.... 9.2.3 View, Quick Options... 9.2.4 Top to Bottom.... . 9.2.5 Bottom to Top.... .

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72&

1.

Introduction FEMAP is finite element modeling and post-processing software that allows you to perform engineering analyses both quickly and confidently. FEMAP provides the capability to develop sophisticated analyses of stress, temperature, and dynamic performance directly on the desktop. With easy access to CAD and office automation tools, productivity is dramatically improved compared to traditional approaches. FEMAP automatically provides the integration that is necessary to link all aspects of your analysis. FEMAP can be used to create geometry, or you can import CAD geometry. FEMAP provides powerful tools for meshing geometry, as well as applying loads and boundary conditions. You may then use FEMAP to export an input file to over 20 finite element codes. FEMAP can also read the results from the solver program. Once results are obtained in FEMAP, a wide variety of tools are available for visualizing and reporting on your results.

Geometry FEMAP can directly import geometry from your CAD or design system. In fact, FEMAP can directly import a solid model from any ACIS-based or Parasolid-based modeling package. If your modeling package does not use either of these packages, you can use the FEMAP IGES or STEP reader. These files can be read and then stitched together to form a solid. This typically requires using one command. If you do not have CAD geometry, you can create geometry directly in FEMAP using powerful wireframe and solid modeling tools. FEMAP Professional and FEMAP Enterprise include solid modeling directly in FEMAP with not one but two popular geometry engines (Parasolid and ACIS). You can build solid models in either engine, and then export a model. This is very convenient if you need to export geometry to CAD packages that are either ACIS- or Parasolid-based.

Finite Element Modeling Regardless of the origin of your geometry, you can use FEMAP to create a complete finite element model. Meshes can be created by many methods ranging from manual creation, to mapped meshing between keypoints, to fully automatic meshing of curves, surfaces and solids. FEMAP can even work with your existing analysis models. You can import and manipulate these models using the interfaces to any of the supported analysis programs. Appropriate materials and section properties can be created or assigned from FEMAP libraries. Many types of constraint and loading conditions can be applied to represent the design environment. You can apply loads/constraints directly on finite element enti-



Introduction

ties (nodes and elements), or you can apply them to geometry. FEMAP will automatically convert geometric conditions to nodal/elemental values upon translation to your solver program. You may even convert these loads before translation to convince yourself that the loading conditions are appropriate for your model.

Checking Your Model At every step of the modeling process, you receive graphical verification of your progress. You need not worry about making a mistake because FEMAP contains a multi-level undo and redo capability. FEMAP also provides extensive tools for checking your model before you analyze it to give you the confidence that you have properly modeled your part. It constantly examines input to prevent errors in the model, and provides immediate visual feedback. FEMAP also provides a comprehensive set of tools to evaluate your finite element model and identify errors that are often not obvious. For example, FEMAP can check for coincident geometry, find improper connections, estimate mass and inertia, evaluate your constraint conditions, and sum your loading conditions. Each of these methods can be used to identify and eliminate potential errors, saving you considerable time and money.

Analyzing Your Model When your model is complete, FEMAP provides interface to over 20 popular programs to perform finite element analysis. You can even import a model from one analysis program and automatically convert it to the format for a different analysis program. The FEMAP Structural solver is a general finite element analysis program for linear structural and thermal analysis that is integrated with FEMAP.

Post-processing After your analysis, FEMAP provides both powerful visualization tools that enable you to quickly interpret results, and numerical tools to search, report, and perform further calculations using these results. Deformation plots, contour plots, animations, and XY plots are just some of the post-processing tools available to the FEMAP user. FEMAP supports OpenGL, which provides even more capability for post-processing, including dynamic visualization of contours through solid parts. You can dynamically rotate solid contoured models with one push of your mouse button. Section cuts and isosurfaces can be viewed dynamically by simply moving your cursor. Documenting Results Documentation is also a very important factor with any analysis. FEMAP obviously provides direct, high quality printing and plotting of both graphics and text. Frequently, however, graphics or text must be incorporated into a larger report or presentation. FEMAP can export both graphics and text to non-engineering programs with a simple Windows Cut command. You can easily export pictures to popular programs such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Adobe Framemaker. You can export to spreadsheets, databases, word processors, desktop publishing software, and paint and

Introduction



illustration programs. These links enable you to create and publish a complete report or presentation, all electronically, right on your desktop.

FEMAP Documentation FEMAP comes with a set of three printed manuals: FEMAP Examples, the FEMAP User Guide, and the FEMAP Commands reference manual. The FEMAP online help includes the contents of these manuals, as well as several additional books. The complete set includes: •

FEMAP Examples: Step-by-step examples for new users.

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FEMAP User Guide: General information on how to use FEMAP, including an overview of the finite element modeling process. Also contains reference information for the FEMAP analysis program and geometry interfaces.

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FEMAP Commands: Detailed information on how to use FEMAP commands.

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FEMAP API Reference: Information on how to write your own applications that work with FEMAP.

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What’s New: New features for this release.

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FEMAP Structural User Guide: General information on how to use FEMAP Structural, plus solver formulations.

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FEMAP Structural Element Library: FEMAP Structural element formulations.

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FEMAP Structural Verification Guide: FEMAP Structural verification test cases.

1 75 2 ' 8 &7 ,2 1

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With support for AVI files, you can even include an animation directly in your PowerPoint Presentation or Word document. FEMAP also supports VRML and JPEG format so anyone can easily view results with standard viewers.



Introduction

2.

File Manipulation This topic describes the File menu commands. These commands work with new or existing FEMAP models. They can produce printed or plotted hard copy, and transfer both text and graphics to other Windows and analysis programs. The commands on the File menu are described in the following sections: •

Section 2.1, "Opening a Model File"

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Section 2.2, "Saving the Model File"

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Section 2.3, "Importing/Exporting Files"

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Section 2.4, "Using Notes"

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Section 2.5, "Using Print, Copy, and Paste"

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Section 2.6, "Using Macros, Rebuild, and Preferences"

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Section 2.7, "Using File, Recent Models - 1,2,3,4"

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Section 2.8, "Exiting FEMAP"

2.1 Opening a Model File This section contains two commands, File, New, which opens a new FEMAP model file, and File, Open, which allows you to access an existing FEMAP model file. The FEMAP model file is a binary database of everything contained in the FEMAP file. You can only have one model active for a given FEMAP session. Both commands are discussed further below. Note: If you are having a problem opening a file, check to confirm that the file has only one extension. Files with two extensions may have difficulty being opened due to the Windows file structures and default parameters. Also, you may want to remove any spaces in the file name. Spaces are typically not a problem, but may cause difficulty on certain file systems.

2.1.1 File, New... ... starts a new, empty model. If you have made any modifications to your current model, you will receive a notification and will have the opportunity to save your changes. (For information on how to save your current model, see Section 2.2, "Saving the Model File".)



File Manipulation

All new models are named “Untitled”. The FEMAP main window title bar will change to show the model name. When you start FEMAP without specifying a model file name on the command line or the “?” command line option, you begin with a new, empty model. This is just like using the File, New command.

2.1.2 File, Open...

Shift+F4

... accesses an existing FEMAP model. File, Open uses the standard file access dialog box to request the file name of the model you wish to use. The default file name extension is *.MOD. If you have updated your current model, FEMAP will give you a chance to save your changes. (For information on how to save your current model, see Section 2.2, "Saving the Model File".) The title bar for the FEMAP main window shows the file name of your model. When you open a model, it returns to the screen with the same graphics windows active (and in the same position) as when you saved the file. If you start FEMAP and specify a model file name on the command line, FEMAP will open that model just as if you opened the file using this command. You can also start FEMAP using the “?” command line option. This will display the standard file access dialog box just like File, Open.

Recovering Data from Scratch Files FEMAP does not typically work directly in your model (.MOD) file. Instead, all changes are made in a scratch file. Your model is only updated when you choose one of the save commands. The scratch file is a duplicate copy of your model. If you have an abnormal termination of FEMAP, (for example, if you have a power failure), you can usually recover the information from your scratch file. Go to your scratch directory. It is either defined by your TEMP environment variable or it is selected by your choices in the File, Preferences command, Database options. Rename the scratch file, which will always have a .SCR extension, to a new name, preferably with a .MOD extension. Restart FEMAP and open that file as your model. The file may be a bit corrupted, so go immediately to the File, Rebuild command and choose to fully rebuild the database. This option will reconstruct the database from whatever information can be found. You can then review the model to see if you have recovered any valuable information. If not, just go back to the original model. Note:

FEMAP does not save solid geometric information to the scratch file. Restarting a model after an abnormal exit will cause the existing solids to lose associativity with the rest of the model and possibly corrupt the model beyond repair. You should therefore not accept the option of restarting from the existing scratch file if you have any solid geometry in your model.

Saving the Model File

Note:



The scratch file is typically deleted when you exit normally from a FEMAP model file. If you do experience an abnormal termination, FEMAP does not delete this file. When you then try to open this same model file, FEMAP will ask if you want to start from the existing scratch file.

If you say Yes to this question, FEMAP will use that scratch file, which will allow you to recover any data that had not been saved before the abnormal termination. Since it was an abnormal termination, however, it is possible that your file is corrupt. You may want to use File, Rebuild and then File, Save As to save it under a different file name. This would enable you to keep both versions of the model file until you decide if the file resulting from the abnormal termination had been corrupted. As mentioned above, FEMAP does not save solid geometry data to the scratch file; therefore you should never restart from an existing scratch file when you have solid geometry in the model

2.2 Saving the Model File FEMAP also has three commands which allow you to save the FEMAP binary database (model file). They are: •

File, Save, which saves the file under the existing name,

•

File, Save As, which allows you to change the model filename,

•

File, Timed Save, which allows periodic saving of the model file automatically.

2.2.1 File, Save...

F4

... writes a copy of your current model to the permanent file you specify. If your current model is “Untitled”, this command asks for a filename by calling File, Save As. You must specify a file name, or you cannot save an “Untitled” model. Whenever you are working on a named model, File, Save simply writes to the same model file - without prompting for a file name. Your model will be named if you open an existing model file, or if you had previously saved the model. If you want to write to a different file, use File, Save As.

When to Save When you work on a FEMAP model, all changes are retained in memory, and in a temporary disk file. Your original model will not be updated until you save the data. This can be a mixed blessing. If you make a mistake, you can simply use File, Open to revert to your original model file. You will be right back to where you did your last save. On the other hand, if you accidentally turn your computer off, or forget to save your changes, they may be lost. In most cases, the changes will still be in your scratch file. If

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If you say No to this question, FEMAP will delete the scratch file, and create a new scratch file which is a duplicate of the original model. Any changes which were made to the file since the last Save command will be lost. Answer No only when you do not want to attempt to save this information.



File Manipulation

so, they can be recovered, but this requires extra work (For information on recovering data from scratch files, see Section 2.1, "Opening a Model File".) In general, you should save whenever you make a significant change to your model and you are certain the change is correct. It usually does not take long to save the model, and the benefits can be well worth the time. Alternatively, you can use the File, Timed Save command to save your model automatically, at a time interval that you specify.

2.2.2 File, Save As... ... is identical to File, Save, except that it always displays the standard file access dialog box to ask for the name of the file to write. File, Save automatically calls File, Save As if you are working on an “Untitled” model. You should only use this command when you want to save your model with a different file name.

2.2.3 File, Timed Save... ... instructs FEMAP to save your working model automatically either at a specified time interval or after a number of commands have been performed. It allows you to turn timed save on or off and set the time between automatic saves. The default settings for this option can be set in File, Preferences, Database. You also can request FEMAP to notify you prior to automatically saving your model. If you choose this option, you can skip a timed save by canceling FEMAP's notification. Even if you cancel, however, timed save is still active and will notify you again when the interval expires. To disable timed save, you must turn it off with File, Timed Save. If you are working with an 'Untitled' model, you must specify a file name before the model can be saved. This follows the normal process, just like the File, Save As command. If your model is named, it will be saved to that file name. Unlike some other programs, FEMAP does not interrupt your commands to save your model. After the interval has expired, FEMAP waits until the end of your next command to save your model. This means that FEMAP will never automatically save your model unless you are actively working on the model. If you are not accessing any FEMAP commands, Timed Save will be inactive; however, the timer will continue to run. In many cases, you will find that Timed Save will save your model after the next command that you access.

Importing/Exporting Files



2.3 Importing/Exporting Files The next menu commands under the File command allow you to both import and export data. FEMAP works as a general pre and post-processor for finite element analysis. You may also import and export geometry, as well as analyze your model if you have loaded one for the many solver programs that can be automatically executed by FEMAP. The commands under this area of the menu are explained more fully below.

2.3.1 File, Import Menu The File, Import commands enable you to import information from CAD packages as well as other FEA codes. There are four commands based upon the type of information to import. You can import geometry from CAD packages, the analysis model from other FEA codes, the results from FEA solver codes, or a FEMAP neutral file. Each command is further explained below.

•

ACIS Solid Model Files - *.SAT files

•

Parasolid Solid Model Files - *.X_T files

•

IGES Files - *.IGS files

•

STEP Files - *.STP files

•

Stereolithography Files - *.STL files

•

Wireframe Files - *.DXF files.

•

CATIA Models - *.MDL files

•

CATIA Express Files - *.EXP, *.DLV files

•

VDA Files - *.VDA files

•

I-DEAS Files - *.IDI files

•

Pro/ENGINEER Models - *.PRT files

•

Unigraphics Models - *.PRT files

•

Solid Edge Models - *.PAR, *.PSM files

In each of these cases, simply select the file to import. Normally FEMAP will display all of the files that it knows how to read, using the most common file name extensions for these formats. If your file uses a different extension, you may rename it, or simply drop down the file type list, choose the appropriate format, then specify the file name. If you do not use the standard extensions for each of the formats, and you are use the

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2.3.1.1 File, Import, Geometry... ... is the interface between FEMAP and other CAD programs. When you select this command, you will see the standard Windows file section dialog box. There are many types of geometry files which FEMAP can import:



File Manipulation

default All Geometry type, FEMAP may choose the wrong format to read the file, which will result in errors. Depending upon the type of file you choose, FEMAP may display information in the Messages and Lists window and then prompt you with one or more additional dialog boxes where you can set various options. For more information on the options contained in the dialog boxes, see Section 9, "Geometry Interfaces" in the FEMAP User Guide. Note:

Many of the geometry interfaces are not available in all versions of FEMAP. If an interface is not available in your version, you will see an error message which informs you to contact us to purchase that interface.

2.3.1.2 File, Import, Analysis Model

Ctrl+Shift+T This command allows you to import an analysis model from many popular FEA codes. FEMAP has support for over 20 finite element solvers. Once you select this command, you will see the Import From dialog box. Simply select the appropriate code, and FEMAP will then prompt you for the name of the input file. You may be asked other questions based upon the format you have chosen. For a more details, see Section 7, "Translation Tables for Analysis Programs" and Section 8, "Analysis Program Interfaces" in the FEMAP User Guide.

2.3.1.3 File, Import, Analysis Results... ... allows you to read results from an analysis you have performed, so you can then use FEMAP’s powerful post-processing capability. When you choose this command, you will see the same dialog box as the File, Import, Analysis Model. Simply select the appropriate format and then enter the file name. For more information on the individual solver codes supported, see Section 7, "Translation Tables for Analysis Programs" and Section 8, "Analysis Program Interfaces" in the FEMAP User Guide. Note:

You should always import analysis results into an existing model containing those nodes and elements. If you read information for entities that do not exist in your model, FEMAP will provide a warning. This could mean that you have read the results into the wrong (or modified) model.

File, Import, FEMAP Neutral...



2.3.1.4 File, Import, FEMAP Neutral... ... translates a FEMAP neutral file into a binary FEMAP database file. Once the FEMAP neutral file is read, you can save this file as a FEMAP *.mod file. Because the FEMAP neutral file is compatible across all platforms, it is the recommended format for long term storage. For more information on the FEMAP neutral file, see Section 8.1, "FEMAP Neutral Files" in the FEMAP User Guide.

2.3.2 File, Export Menu The File, Export menu allows you to export geometry, analysis model, or a FEMAP neutral file. Each of these areas are described below.

2.3.2.1 File, Export, Geometry...

• ACIS Solid Model Files - *.SAT files • Parasolid Solid Model Files *.X_T files • STEP Files - *.STP • IGES Files - *.IGS •

Stereolithography Files - *.STL files

•

VRML Files

The first two solid model options are only available if you have created or imported a solid model of the particular type. The STEP interface will allow you to export a Parasolid entity to a STEP AP203 solid via a conversion from the Parasolid modeling kernel into the STEP standard. Similarly, the IGES interface will allow you to export Parasolid geometry to an IGES file. The stereolithography file is only applicable for a meshed model. FEMAP will export a faceted representation of your model using the FEA mesh as the basis of this file. The final option, VRML, allows easy viewing of solid or meshed models in many standard viewing programs. You can even save a deformed, contour plot in VRML format. Ctrl+T 2.3.2.2 File, Export, Analysis Model... ... translates the FEMAP model file into an input file for the selected solver program. When you select this command, you will see the available analysis codes for export. Simply select the appropriate format. Unlike File, Import, Analysis Model, however, you must also select the appropriate analysis type (Static, Modes, etc.). For a more com-

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...provides export capability for FEMAP solid models. FEMAP currently supports various types of geometry export.



File Manipulation

plete description of the options available for each analysis program, see Section 8, "Analysis Program Interfaces" in the FEMAP User Guide.

2.3.2.3 File, Export, FEMAP Neutral... ... allows you to store the FEMAP model file as a neutral file. Because the FEMAP neutral file is compatible across all platforms, it is the recommended format for long term storage. For more information on the FEMAP neutral file, see Section 8.1, “FEMAP Neutral Files,” in the FEMAP User Guide.

2.3.3 File, Analyze... ... is a shortcut to write the current model for analysis. This command bypasses the File Export dialog box and immediately writes the model. The analysis program and analysis type are determined by the setting that you chose in File, Preferences, Interfaces. In the cases where FEMAP can run the analysis program, this command will also optionally begin the analysis.

2.4 Using Notes The File, Notes command provides a method of attaching notes to your model as well as translate lines to your model input file. When you select this command, the Model Notes and Text for Translation dialog box will appear. This command is most often used to provide identifying characteristics to your model, such as date, program, creator etc. You may also provide information for translation by selecting the Translation Text option. You can choose to include the translation text in an output file by selecting the Include During Write Translation option. When these commands are selected, FEMAP

Using Print, Copy, and Paste



will automatically write this information to the heading area (i.e. where FEMAP automatically writes its own date/time information) of your model. Note:

Be careful when using the Translation Text option. The information included in the Notes area must have the appropriate syntax for the type of translation you are performing. FEMAP will not perform any checks on this syntax. It will simply write the information as you input it; therefore, improper syntax could cause a fatal error in your analysis run.

2.5 Using Print, Copy, and Paste

2.5.1 File, Page Setup...

Shift+F3 ... specifies headers, footers, margins, position and other parameters. These items will be used when printing/plotting either text or graphics using the File, Print command. The sections of the Page Setup dialog box include:

Page Header and Footer The Header and Footer text are printed in the top and bottom margin of every page. This text uses the Default Fixed Pitch Font for the selected printer/plotter. You can specify

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The commands under this section of the menu involve exporting information to a printer, or to documentation programs for reporting. FEMAP is a true Windows program, which greatly simplifies the transfer of data from FEMAP to other Windows programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint or Word. The commands in this section involve different methods of transferring this data to programs such as Microsoft Word, or to a printer. Each of the five commands available in this section are explained more fully below.



File Manipulation

any other font by selecting Other Font, and then specifying the typeface and point size that you want to use. Note:

If you are using True Type, or other scalable fonts, you will often see only one size in the Point Size list, and it will usually be a very large: 50 point or larger. Since the font is scalable, you can choose any size that you want; you just have to type it manually.

Other Printed Text FEMAP uses these options when you print listings (with the List, Destination command). They are never used for printing/plotting graphics. Just like headers and footers, this text uses the Default Fixed Pitch Font. Again, you can select any other available font. Hint:

If the display looks fine on the screen, but characters are improperly printed, it is likely that your Windows printer driver does not support the selected font. Simply change the font both in this dialog box as well as under View Options, Label, Entities, and Colors, Label Parameters to a supported font.

Hint:

FEMAP listings will not be as easy to read if you select a proportionally spaced font. Selecting a fixed pitch font will properly align all columns in the listing.

Page Margins These margins identify the distance from the four edges of the page where you want printing to occur. When you are printing listings, printing will start at the top-left margin. The bottom and right margins will be used to compute the line length and number of lines on the page. For graphics printing, FEMAP combines the margins with the options in Plot Position and Size to compute the actual size and position of the graphics image. Often printers and plotters cannot print closer than some minimum distance from the edge of the paper. Check your printer documentation for information on these minimum values. Setting a margin smaller than those minimums can result in FEMAP trying to print to an inaccessible region of the paper. This should not cause any unrecoverable problems, but you will not see the portion of the print that is in the inaccessible regions.

Plot and Metafile Style The three options in this group allow you to control some specific details regarding the appearance of a graphics plot. FEMAP uses these options when you print a graphic image using File Print, or place an image in a Metafile using either the File, Picture, Save or File, Picture, Copy commands. When Draw Border is active, a single line border will be drawn around the image. The location of this border is equivalent to the onscreen window border.

File, Page Setup...



In FEMAP’s default configuration, graphic windows have black backgrounds, with white or colored images. When you print a window, you would normally see the same image on the paper (i.e. WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get). In many cases, you may want to retain the white background of the paper and print with black lines even though it does not match the image on the screen. Setting Swap Black and White will automatically reverse the black and white colors during your print, resulting in the print style described. This option has no effect on other colors, which will always be printed as shown on the screen. This option also controls color swapping for Metafiles that you transfer to the Clipboard using File, Picture, Copy or save to disk using File, Picture, Save. Note:

If you are printing to a black and white printer like a laser printer, you may find that certain colors that are displayed on the screen do not show up very well (or at all) when you print them. This is caused by the method Windows uses to shade colors on the monochrome printer. To overcome this problem, you can change all your model colors to black and white so they can print well, or just turn on the Monochrome switch. In this case, colors will still be displayed on the screen, but all colors (except color 0, which is black) will be converted to white when they are printed. You can combine Monochrome with the Swap Black and White setting to print all black lines on a white background. While the Monochrome option can quickly make a print look much better, it must be used with caution. Since it sets all colors but background to a single color, it can result in a picture which is totally illegible. For example, you should never use it if you are using a color other than color 0 for the background. If you try, nothing will be visible. Similarly, any plot with filled areas is not usually a good candidate for Monochrome. Contour plots, which rely heavily on color shading, will not work well. Setting Transparent Background will simply skip plotting the background. For printing on white paper, you will still want to use Swap Black and White. Otherwise, you will get white lines on your white paper! Transparent Background is most often used when creating a Metafile to be transferred into another application. Here, you may want just the graphic image, and rely on the other application to supply the background. This creates an image that can be overlaid on top of other text/graphics without erasing them.

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Swap Black and White relies on being able to change the color palette of bitmaps. Windows does not support color palettes, and only operates in WYSYWIG mode, on devices which can display more than 256 colors. This includes boards/graphics modes which support 32000 colors or full 24-bit color. If you are using one of these graphics boards, FEMAP will be unable to automatically swap the black and white colors. You must manually set up the screen (change background to white, entities to black). This limitation does not apply to Metafiles. Therefore, if you are printing, you will be able to use Swap Black and White successfully when you print at printer resolution (uses a Metafile), but not when you print at screen resolution (uses a bitmap). Swap Black and White should always work successfully for any Windows mode that supports 256 or fewer colors.



File Manipulation

Reset Clipping When this option is turned on, FEMAP will reset the clipping region at the end of each drawing operation or window. This is not be required for most printers, so you may be able to turn it off. Certain printers, like DeskJets, however have trouble printing multiple view layouts, headers and footers if this option is off. We therefore recommend leaving this option on (which should work for all printers), unless you are experiencing some incorrect clipping of graphics on printed images. Pen Width Factor This factor is used for Metafiles and plotting directly to a printer. In FEMAP, graphics are normally drawn as “single-pixel-width” lines - that is they are only one dot wide. For high resolution printers, like typesetters, this type of line may appear very faint due to the small size of each pixel on these devices. By increasing the Pen Width Factor, the width of each line is multiplied by this factor to obtain a print with “fatter” lines. This option has no effect on screen display Render Res Factor When you are printing graphics from Render mode, FEMAP can not print a Metafile to obtain “printer” resolution. To provide printed output at higher than screen resolution, FEMAP instead creates an off-screen bitmap, renders your image to that bitmap, and prints it just like a screen resolution print. While this is not “printer” resolution, it does provide substantially improved resolution as compared to choosing to print at screen resolution. The factor that you specify in this option is simply multiplied by the screen resolution to compute the size of the off-screen bitmap. Therefore, if you specify 2, you get a print that is twice the screen resolution. Be careful not to specify a number that is too large. It will take quite a large amount of memory, and could take a very long time to print. Plot Position and Size These options control the shape, size and position of a graphics image that you print. Choosing Maintain Window Aspect Ratio will force the height-to-width ratio of a printed image to match the shape of the screen or window that you print. If you choose this option, the resulting print will be the largest possible rectangle, with the specified height-to-width ratio that fits inside the margins and size options that you specify. Choosing this option will generally result in a smaller printed image, but one that more closely resembles what you see on the screen. Integer Scaling is a further limitation to the mapping of the screen image to the printed page. When this option is on, the pixels in the on-screen window are scaled by the largest integer (whole number) scale factor that fits inside the margins and size specifications. Scaling occurs both horizontally and vertically. If the option is off, the scale factor used is a real number (whole + fractional number) that exactly fits the margin and size specifications. Setting this option usually results in a smaller printed image. When printing using bitmap formats however, you should always specify this option for the best quality print. If you do not, FEMAP stretches the bitmap (by the fractional portion

File, Print



of the real scale factor) to fit the margins. The stretching operation results in distortions that degrade the appearance of the image. Fill Printer Margins and Custom Size control the size of a printed graphic image. Choosing Fill Printer Margins simply calculates the printable area by subtracting the margins from the size of the paper. Custom Size allows you to specify the height and width that you want. Always make sure that you specify a size that is smaller than the margins that you choose. No matter which size option you pick, the print may still be reduced from that size if you selected either Maintain Window Aspect Ratio or Integer Scaling.

Reset and Permanent Permanent allows you to save your Page Setup options, so that they will be the defaults for all future models and sessions. Reset deletes the saved options, and returns you to the normal FEMAP defaults.

2.5.2 File, Print

F3 Printed Image

Header

This command produces a printed or plotted hardcopy of your model.

The Print dialog box allows you to choose what will be printed and in what format. You will see two command buttons, Page Setup and Printer Setup, which provide you with further control Paper Orientation and Size of printing parameMargins Footer ters. These buttons simply invoke the File, Page Setup and File, Printer Setup commands, respectively.

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The final option sets (Top, T/B Center, Bottom, Left, L/R Center or Right) control the position of the printed image within the margins. If you choose to fill the margins (and none of the other options reduce the image size) your choice here will not matter: FEMAP fills the margins. Whenever the image does not fill the margins however, these options control the alignment. For example, choosing Top and Left will result in an image that has its top and left borders aligned with the top and left margins. By combining these alignment options with the margins, you can position an image anywhere on the page.



File Manipulation

Print to File This button allows you to print directly to a file rather than to your printer. It can be used to create files in a native printer format (for example, Postscript). When you press OK, an additional dialog box will ask you for the name of the file that you want to create. Header and Footer These options provide a quick way to set the headers and footers that will be placed at the top and bottom of the page. They can also be set via the File, Page Setup command. In fact, you must use Page, Setup if you want to change fonts or other options. Page Preview This section of the dialog box shows a symbolic graphical representation of your printed page. It quickly lets you know if your page and printer setup options are correct. You do not need to waste a piece of paper, or the time required to make a print. The outer black border represents the paper on which you will print. FEMAP calculates the size and orientation of this boundary (and the paper) from your Windows printer configuration. You can change these settings using Printer Setup. Inside this border you will see four lines (Top, Bottom, Right and Left) that represent relative margin positions. You also may see shorter horizontal lines located inside the top and bottom margins. These lines represent the locations where the page headers and footers (specified in Page Setup) will be printed. They are only visible if the header and/ or footer is not blank. Finally, located inside the margin lines, is a filled rectangle. This rectangle represents the size and position of your printed image. If the printed image is smaller than you expected, FEMAP may have automatically reduced the size due to your Page Setup choices. Maintain Window Aspect Ratio and Integer Scaling are especially important.

What to Print These options specify what will be printed or plotted. •

Selecting Active View will print a picture of your model as it currently appears in your graphics window. If you currently have multiple graphics windows open, only the “top-most” (the one that you last selected) window will be printed.

•

If you do have multiple windows, and want to print them all as they are positioned on your screen, choose the Layout option. Layout is only available when you are printing at printer/plotter resolution with multiple active windows.

•

Choosing Desktop will print an image of the “FEMAP Desktop” - the gray area underneath the Graphics window. This includes all windows: the Graphics window, dialog boxes, even non-FEMAP windows. This option is only available if you choose the Screen Resolution option.

File, Print

•

The next graphics printing choice allows you to print a graphic image stored in a file. You can choose Resolution, Screen to print a saved bitmap. If you choose Resolution, Printer/Plotter, FEMAP will print a saved Metafile or placeable Metafile. For the best results, you should always save and print placeable Metafiles. They contain additional information that allows FEMAP to properly choose font sizes and scale the picture. If you use standard Windows Metafiles, FEMAP will be able to print them, but the font sizes will vary somewhat depending on the resolution of your printer and the resolution of the graphics adapter you used to create the Metafile. Hint:

FEMAP can only print a multi-window layout as it is arranged on the screen with the Layout or Desktop options. Best results are usually obtained with Layout if you turn off the graphics window title bars. Otherwise, you will see gaps between the printed windows that represent the areas occupied by the title bars. In Layout mode, the Page Preview diagram shows one overall rectangle that surrounds all of your windows. Individual windows are not shown. For even more printing flexibility, you can transfer FEMAP graphics to other Windows programs which will allow you to print other page layouts.

The final print option allows you to print text/messages that are in the Messages and Lists window. If you do not want to print all of the messages, you can select the lines that will be printed. For instructions, see Section 2.5.5, "File, Messages Menu". When you are printing messages, the Resolution setting and the shape of the active graphics window do not matter. When you choose this option, you will see the printed image disappear from the Page Preview area. Don’t worry; this is normal behavior, because the position of the printed messages is just based on the margin settings. Hint:

You can also print messages by using the File, Messages, Copy command and copying them to another Windows application, or by setting the List, Destination to your printer and then using any of the list commands.

Resolution You have two choices for the print/plot resolution mode: screen and printer/plotter. •

Screen resolution directs FEMAP to use the on-screen bitmap and copy it to paper. The bitmap will be scaled and stretched, as required, to fill the desired margins and print size. However, the resolution of the screen image determines the ultimate print quality. This option is not available for some printers and for most plotters that cannot print a bitmap.

•

When you select Printer/Plotter resolution, FEMAP recomputes the image at the resolution of the printer. The resulting printed image is almost always of much higher quality, but can take significantly longer for complex images.

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•





File Manipulation

Copies If your printer/plotter supports making multiple copies, you can use this option to request the number of copies you need. If you choose multiple copies, and your printer does not support this option, you will receive a warning. Then, you will only get one copy of your print. For many printers, you can set this feature permanently using the Setup option under Printer Setup. Note:

FEMAP can only print a bitmap in render mode. FEMAP performs operations to provide more detail than the standard bitmap export, but it still may not be as clear and sharp as a Windows Metafile. You may want to switch out of render mode when you are printing.

Printing Tips Review the following items for some additional hints on printing: •

Use the Page Setup and Printer Setup options on this dialog box instead of the commands on the File menu. They graphically show the results of your settings in the Page Preview diagram.

•

If you want a quick draft hardcopy, print using Screen resolution. For final, highquality output, always use Printer/Plotter resolution.

•

When you are printing the active view using Screen resolution, you will get a better quality (higher resolution) print if you enlarge the window. Choose the Maximize button in the Window title bar to enlarge it to full-screen size prior to choosing File, Print.

•

Printing high-resolution images (especially color images) takes a lot of memory and/or disk space. You will need to make sure that your TEMP environment variable specifies a disk with plenty of room if you are going to print large models. Windows writes temporary files to this disk as it is printing. These files can often require several megabytes or more.

•

Some older Windows printer drivers have problems handling complex pictures (especially if you choose printer/plotter resolution). If you are having any problems printing, and you have a fairly old version of Windows or an older printer driver, you should check with either Microsoft or your printer manufacturer to see if there is a newer printer driver available. These drivers are frequently updated to correct errors and add new capabilities. If a new printer driver does not solve your problems, you may be able to reduce the complexity of the picture by selecting a group or modifying your view options. For example, if you are doing a contour plot, reducing the number of contour levels can dramatically reduce the complexity of the image that you are printing.

•

You cannot print when the active window is animating.

File, Printer Setup



•

If you want to print a contour plot on a monochrome printer, you may want to adjust the contour palette before printing. In particular, choose the View Options command. Then select the Post-processing category and the Contour/Criteria Levels option. Press Set Levels..., then press Reset Gray. Choose OK twice to accept the grayscale contour palette. With the grayscale palette loaded, your prints should come out much cleaner. If you are having trouble distinguishing contour levels on the print, you can adjust the individual colors in the palette. One good approach is to change every other color so that it uses a cross-hatched color instead of a solid color. This will result in contours that alternate between solid and the various hatch patterns.

•

Some printers (like DeskJet printers) have trouble clipping multiple regions, such as a multi-window layout, or even a window with headers or footers. If you are experiencing this type of problem you can go to Page Setup and turn on Reset Clipping. This option resets the clipping region in a way that is compatible with these printers.

2.5.3 File, Printer Setup

Printers that you installed, but did not activate, will not be shown. To choose a printer for use in FEMAP, select it from the list. To change the setup for the printer you have selected, press Setup. Depending on the printer, you will see one or more additional dialog boxes. These let you establish options like the active printing mode (i.e., 75, 150 or 300 dots/inch), portrait or landscape paper orientation, fonts, colors and many more. The dialog boxes that you see when you choose Setup are not really part of FEMAP. They are part of the printer driver that you loaded when you installed the printer for Windows. You also can modify all of the same settings using the Windows Control Panel. Refer to the Windows documentation and the documentation for your printer for further advice on setting options for particular printers. Using Control Panel, you can also install or activate additional printers. You can even make changes while FEMAP is still running. The next time you choose the Print or Printer Setup command, it will recognize any control panel changes that you have made.

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This command directly sets and modifies printer-related options. It also displays a list of the active printers.



File Manipulation

When you change certain printer settings, like the paper orientation (landscape vs. portrait) or paper size, it is usually good to review the Page Setup options. This will give you the opportunity to make any changes to margins, plot sizes or positions that are appropriate for your new printer settings.

2.5.4 File, Picture The commands on this submenu let you transfer a copy of your graphics to the Windows clipboard and then to other applications, or to a file. You can also redisplay graphics files. Note:

Just like the File, Print command, FEMAP can only export a bitmap when in Render mode. You may want to change to standard mode to export a Windows Metafile.

Ctrl+C 2.5.4.1 File, Picture, Copy... ... transfers a copy of the image in the active graphics window to the Windows clipboard. No additional input is required. By default, FEMAP transfers the image in Palette, Windows Device Dependent Bitmap (DDB), and Windows Metafile or Picture formats. Windows Device Independent Bitmaps (DIB) can also be transferred, but must be enabled using the File, Preferences, Views command. By producing these formats, you have great flexibility when you transfer the image to many other software packages. You can disable one or more of the formats for all future transfers by using File, Preferences, Views. You should only do this after verifying the format is not useful in the software where you will paste the image. If supported, transferring the Metafile/Picture format is usually your best choice since these images can be scaled and stretched and they retain the best quality image. Note:

Remember that the clipboard only holds one image, so every time you choose this command, you automatically overwrite the previous contents of the clipboard.

When you transfer a Metafile or device independent bitmap to the clipboard, the black and white colors can be swapped. This is useful for changing a picture with white lines on a black background into black lines on a white background. The Swap Black and White Metafile option, in the File, Page Setup command, controls color swapping. If this option is on, FEMAP will swap the colors. The File, Page Setup, Monochrome option can also be used to convert to a monochrome image. These options have no effect on regular device dependent bitmaps which are copied to the clipboard. Additional Page Setup options control the background and border for Metafiles. The File, Picture, Copy command will be disabled if the current window is animating. You cannot transfer animations to the clipboard.

File, Picture, Save...



Transferring Graphics to Other Applications After you use File, Picture, Copy to load your graphics to the clipboard, simply switch to the application that you want to receive the image. For most Windows applications that accept graphics input from the clipboard, you will find a Paste command somewhere in the menu (often under Edit). Pressing Ctrl+V (or Shift+Ins) will usually invoke that command, or you can simply choose it from the menu. The Paste command should immediately load the image into the other application. Some applications (like Windows Paint) sometimes require you to choose Paste twice. Other applications require you to define a region or area where the graphics will be placed prior to pasting. Refer to the documentation for the receiving application for more information.

In addition to the normal fields in the file access dialog, there are more options that specify the picture format: •

Bitmap

•

Metafile

•

Placeable MF (Metafile)

•

Bitmap Series

•

Video for Windows - AVI

•

JPEG

All formats are not available for all types of pictures.

Using Bitmaps If you select Bitmap, which is available for all views, the default file extension is .BMP, and the file will be saved as a Windows Device Independent Bitmap. Bitmap files contain only the array of pixels currently displayed in the window and are therefore equivalent to the size of the window. When you choose this format, FEMAP will ask if you want to compress the bitmap. Compressed bitmaps usually take up significantly less disk space, but are incompatible with some Windows programs. Check the documentation for your other applications, or try transferring a compressed bitmap to see if your other applications can support it. If you only plan to replay your bitmaps using FEMAP, you should always use the compressed format. Using Metafiles If you select either Metafile or Placeable MF, the default file extension is .WMF. Both options save the picture as a Metafile. Metafile chooses the Windows Metafile format, while Placeable MF chooses the Placeable Metafile Format that is used by many Win-

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Ctrl+F3 2.5.4.2 File, Picture, Save... ... transfers a copy of the image in the active graphics window to a file. The standard file access dialog box allows you to specify the name of the file to create.



File Manipulation

dows applications. Most often you will want to use the placeable Metafile for more reliable transfer to other programs. Metafiles contain commands that draw graphics into the current window. For this reason, when you load a Metafile into another application, you can scale and stretch it. The Metafile will redraw itself for the new shape. If you plan to load your pictures into another Windows application, you should refer to the documentation for that application to find advice on choosing the best format for that application. The Metafile and Placeable Metafile options are not available in Render mode. Just like for the File, Picture, Copy command, the colors black and white can be swapped when you save a Metafile or device independent bitmap. You can control color swapping with the Swap Black and White option under the File, Page Setup command. FEMAP will also convert all colors to a black and white image if the Monochrome option is on.

Saving Animations If your active graphics window is animating, FEMAP will let you choose either a bitmap, bitmap series, or AVI format. The single bitmap animation file format is very similar to the standard bitmap format, but will be incompatible with most (if not all) Windows applications other than FEMAP. Likewise, you will not be asked to choose compression. FEMAP uses the .BMP default file extension for animation files just like for standard bitmaps. Depending on the number of animation frames, the size of your animating window and the number of colors supported by your graphics board, these files can be very large. Unlike standard bitmaps or Metafiles, the various Page Setup options do not change animations. They are always saved just as they appear on the screen. You can also save animations as a Bitmap Series: a series of static bitmaps, one per animation frame with sequentially numbered file names. This format can be used with other tools to create video (AVI) files. You can also simply save the picture as a Video for Windows (AVI) file. AVI files can be imported directly into most Windows applications. If you choose Bitmap Series, FEMAP will save each frame in the animation as a series of bitmaps, under the names *n.bmp, where n ranges from 0 to n-1 frames. If you want to save an animation to replay in FEMAP, you should save the entire animation as one bitmap, not a series of bitmaps. This format is strictly for programs which can play a series of bitmaps. Hint:

When saving an AVI file, you must have a color resolution > 256 colors. if you have 256 colors or less, you will not be able to successfully import the AVI files into other applications.

File, Picture, Save Desktop...



2.5.4.3 File, Picture, Save Desktop... ... is the same as File, Picture, Save, except that instead of simply saving the active graphics window, this command saves the entire screen to the file you specify. As always, FEMAP uses the standard file access dialog. Unlike File, Picture, Save however, the desktop can only be saved in bitmap for JPEG format. This command does not show the Metafile options. Alt+F3 2.5.4.4 File, Picture, Replay... ... displays graphics that you have saved in files. Just like File, Picture, Save, you will use the standard file access dialog box to select the graphics format and file that you want to display. FEMAP will create a new window to display the bitmap image, Metafile or animation. For bitmaps, animations, and placeable Metafiles, the initial size of the replay window will be the same size as the window that you saved. If that size is too large to fit on the screen, the size will be automatically reduced.

FEMAP adds an additional command, Original Size, to the system menu. This command will automatically return the window to its default size and position. FEMAP also adds an Animation command to the system menu. This command is identical to the View, Animation command in FEMAP. It is used to control the replayed animations. You can also stop and start replayed animations simply by clicking in the window. To stop the animation, press the left mouse button while the cursor is anywhere inside the replay window. To restart the animation, press the right mouse button. You will find that animations work best if you leave the window at the original size. If you change the size, the animation will slow down dramatically since FEMAP must do many more calculations for each animation frame. If you do change the size, you can always use the Original Size command to restore the window. Note:

FEMAP will never close the replay window. You must do that manually, by double clicking the system menu with your left mouse button, or by choosing Close from the system menu. By leaving the window open, you can continue to work in FEMAP and display many simultaneous pictures just by replaying different files. The only limitation is the amount of memory available for Windows. You must be careful if you are running FEMAP or any other application maximized to the full screen. When you choose the next FEMAP command, your replay window or windows will disappear behind the maximized FEMAP window. It is very easy to forget about these extra windows. While they do no harm, they are using system resources (especially if they are animating!) that may be better applied to FEMAP or some other ongoing process. Therefore, you should always close the window as soon as you are finished looking at it.

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The replay window does not have a command menu, but does have a system menu. You can use the system menu, or the window borders to move and resize the window. If you resize the window, FEMAP will stretch a bitmap or scale a Metafile to fit in the new window.



File Manipulation

Replaying Pictures Outside of FEMAP When you choose the File, Picture, Replay command, FEMAP actually runs a separate Windows program (REPLAY.EXE). At any time you want to view a picture, you can run that program yourself without running FEMAP. When you run REPLAY by itself, you will see a dialog box that asks you for the picture file name. This is not the standard file access dialog box, and it does not list the available files. You must already know the complete file name of the file that you want to view, and type it in the dialog box. You must also include the file name extension (.BMP or .WMF, for example). Alternatively, you can specify the full file name on the command line, for example: REPLAY PICTURE.BMP

You can also run REPLAY directly from DOS with: WIN REPLAY PICTURE.BMP

REPLAY automatically determines the type of file that you are specifying from the data in the file. It does not rely on the file name extension, so you can specify any name. The commands shown above assume that both Windows and REPLAY are in directories along your PATH. If they are not, you must add the names of the appropriate directories to these commands.

2.5.5 File, Messages Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to transfer text from the Messages and Lists window. You can copy the text to a file or to the Windows clipboard and then to other applications. By default, these commands transfer all lines of text from the Messages and Lists window to the selected file, or to the clipboard. This includes all lines of text that are visible in the window, and the lines of text that can be retrieved by scrolling. You cannot copy text that has scrolled out of FEMAP’s buffer. You can set the number of lines saved in the buffer using File, Preferences, Database.

Selecting Messages If you do not want all of the text, you must select the lines that FEMAP will copy prior to invoking these commands. To select messages, point to the line that you want to select with the cursor. Press the left mouse button and drag the cursor to the last (or first) line that you want to select. As you do this, the color of the selected lines will change. Now release the button. Don’t worry if some lines appear to be missed as you drag the cursor. When you release the mouse button, FEMAP will select all lines between the two points. Simply clicking on a line with the left mouse button selects just that line. Clicking anywhere in the Messages and Lists window with the right mouse button cancels any lines that you have selected. If you want to change your selection, just repeat the process. You do not have to cancel your previous selection.

File, Messages, Copy...



2.5.5.1 File, Messages, Copy... Ctrl+Shift+C ... copies the selected (or all) lines of text from the Messages and Lists window to the Windows clipboard. No additional input is required. Note:

Remember that the Windows clipboard only holds one image or one set of text. Every time you choose this command, you automatically overwrite the previous contents of the clipboard.

2.5.5.2 File, Messages, Save... ... transfers a copy of the selected (or all) lines of text from the Messages and Lists window to a file. The standard file access dialog box allows you to specify the name of the file to create. If you select an existing file, you will be given an option to overwrite, or append to, that file. The default filename extension is *.LST.

2.6 Using Macros, Rebuild, and Preferences

2.6.1 File, Program Menu The File, Program menu enables you to run or develop macros which will automatically create and/or manipulate FEMAP models. There are two basic types of macros: program files and scripts. Program files are scripts which can execute FEMAP commands to automatically create or modify your models. You can also add logic commands (IF, GOTO...) to program files to further customize them. The commands on this area of the menu allow you to automatically record and run program files. Scripts use the FEMAP BASIC Scripting language to provide direct access to the FEMAP database engine through the BASIC interpreter built into FEMAP, a Visual Basic type programming language to perform direct manipulations on the FEMAP database. These commands are most useful for importing and exporting results information from FEMAP, as well as creating and manipulating views for post-processing. Note:

Program files enable you to perform any command in FEMAP, but they actually work on a Windows-key stroke level. As a result, they can be easily interrupted or broken. Script files, however, enable you to write scripts to manipulate the FEMAP database. Because they work on a database level, they are not easily broken, but only those commands contained in the scripting language are available.

For information on how to create program files, see Section 10, "Customization" in the FEMAP User Guide.

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This section of the File menu pertains to running macro files to automatically create and manipulate FEMAP model files, as well as rebuilding your model file and setting default parameters (preferences) for your model files. Each of these menu commands are described further below.



File Manipulation

For information on the FEMAP scripting language, see the FEMAP API Reference.

2.6.1.1 File, Program, Run... ... replays keystrokes from a stored program file. FEMAP uses the standard file access dialog box to determine which file you want to run. When you select OK, FEMAP will immediately open the file and begin executing keystrokes. Note: Do not press any keys on the keyboard while your program file is executing. Windows cannot tell the difference between keystrokes that come from your program file and keystrokes from the keyboard. If you press a key, it will be intermixed with the program file data and will cause unpredictable results. The only exceptions to this are when a program file stops to ask you for input. In a program file, you can ask for input via the and #ASK( ) commands. In these cases, the program file will be temporarily stopped, and you should complete the dialog box using either the keyboard or mouse. This command runs a program file when you request it. Using File, Preferences, you can specify a program file that FEMAP will automatically execute every time you start a model.

2.6.1.2 File, Program, Record... ... automatically creates a program file which will recreate your current session. When you choose this command you will see the standard file access dialog box, where you can specify the name of the program file that you want to create. All of the FEMAP commands that you execute after this command will be recorded in the program file. To stop recording, choose the File, Program, Stop Recording command, or just exit FEMAP. This command provides a quick way to develop a basic program file. You can then edit the file to add logic, variables, or additional commands. You will see a check mark beside this command in the menu whenever you are recording a file.

Restrictions In general, you can use any input method when recording a program file; you are not restricted to just using the keyboard. FEMAP will automatically convert mouse picks to equivalent keyboard actions. However, you cannot use the toolbar. Toolbar buttons cannot be accessed from the keyboard; therefore, FEMAP cannot convert your graphical selection of a toolbar action into an equivalent keystroke in the program file. While recording, you can still use the toolbar, but those commands will not be recorded in the program file - be careful! 2.6.1.3 File, Program, Stop Recording... ... is only available when you are recording a program file. It stops recording and closes the program file.

File, Program, Edit Script...



2.6.1.4 File, Program, Edit Script... ... allows you to edit a FEMAP script file. When you select this option, the FEMAP Basic Script Editor will appear in a new window. You can then select file to edit (or select New File), and use this editor to make the appropriate changes. Once you make the changes, simply save the file, and close the Editor window. You can now use File, Program, Run Script to run this script. 2.6.1.5 File, Program, Compile Script... ... allows you to convert a FEMAP Basic Script to a compiled format. Normally, when you write and save FEMAP basic scripts, they are stored as text files with a .BAS file extension. This allows easy modification of the scripts, but does not prevent accidental changes from being made to scripts. Similarly, it does not protect your scripts from modification if you are giving them to others to use.

Note:

Be sure to keep a copy of your original .BAS file. You cannot convert the compiled version back into a text file for later changes.

2.6.1.6 File, Program, Run Script... ... requires input of a FEMAP Script file, which will then be run by FEMAP. The only input required for this command is the file name. For more information on the FEMAP scripting language, see Section 2.6.1, "File, Program Menu".

2.6.2 File, Rebuild... ... verifies the integrity of your current model and can be used to reduce the size of a model where you have deleted entities. You will be asked to choose between two levels of rebuilding. The quickest method simply checks whether all entities that are referenced by other entities exist. For example, all nodes and properties that are referenced by elements must exist. You will receive messages informing you of any missing entities. This level of rebuilding is called automatically every time you use one of the read translators to input a model. It verifies the completeness of the model that you read. The more thorough level of rebuilding (“fully rebuild”) does everything that the quick method does and also reconstructs many internal database details. If you experience a power failure while a database is being written or run out of disk space, your model file may become corrupted. This level of rebuild will recover any data that is still present.

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When you choose this command, you will be asked to choose a Basic Script file that you want to compile. This file should have a .BAS file extension. When you choose the file, FEMAP automatically creates a compiled version of the script in the same directory as the original, with the same name, just with a .BAX extension. This compiled version cannot be modified, but can be run just like the uncompiled versions using the File, Program, Run Script command.



File Manipulation

Whenever you delete entities from a FEMAP model, the space that they occupied is marked as empty. The space is still retained in the model file. When you create new entities, FEMAP will reuse this empty space before allocating any new space. Therefore, as long as you plan to add to your model, the space will not be wasted - it will be reused. If you have a shortage of disk space, or if you have done a large amount of deleting, such as deleting sets of output data, you may want to choose the full rebuild option and allow it to compress your model. This will remove all of the empty space and reduce the size of your model file. Rebuilding is not usually required, but it is non-destructive so you can use it any time you have a question about the integrity of your model. Instead of using Rebuild, you can also use the FEMAP neutral file translator to export a neutral file, and then and import it to a new FEMAP database. The new database will also be free of empty space.

2.6.3 File, Preferences This command allows you to customize the operation of FEMAP. These options control how certain commands will operate, set defaults, and define disks or files to be used. This command is partitioned into 11 different dialog boxes based upon the type of entity you want to modify. Each of these areas are discussed in more detail below.

Note:

If you make any modifications to these parameters, FEMAP will ask you if you want to save these options as permanent. If you say Yes, they will become a permanent part of your femap.ini file (used to set default parameters when entering FEMAP) and will be set to the options you chose when you start FEMAP. If you say No, the changes will apply only to the current session.

Hint:

Be careful when changing preferences labeled “startup” preferences. These preferences cannot be modified for the active session, and must be saved as permanent to have any impact on the settings. If you do save them as permanent, the next time you enter FEMAP the options will be set as you selected them.

Messages and Lists Preferences



2.6.3.1 Messages and Lists Preferences These options control text displayed in the Messages and Lists window and the size of that window. When you select the Messages and Lists Window option, you will see the Preferences dialog box. These options are partitioned into two major types: Borders and Size, and Fonts and Colors.

Max Text With this option on, FEMAP positions the Messages and Lists window so that the horizontal scroll bar is located below the main window. When FEMAP is maximized to full screen, the scroll bar is actually off the screen and invisible. Since the scroll bar is not visible, you can get more text and larger graphics windows in this configuration. When you turn the option off, FEMAP positions the message window completely inside the main window and the horizontal scroll bar is visible. If you maximize the message window, the scroll bar is always visible, no matter how you set this option. Status Color This option controls whether the status message color is used. If you turn this off, FEMAP will simply output black status messages to the window. Scroll Back Lines This option controls the number of lines of text that are retained for scrolling back in the Messages and Lists window. You can save up to 32767 lines, but you must have disk space to store the data. This data is located on the message file scratch disk. Increasing this number increases the length of time it takes for FEMAP to start. You must save this change as permanent or it will have no effect. The change will only be implemented when you next re-enter FEMAP. Window Lines This sets the default height of the Messages and Lists window in lines of text. You can always change the size from this default by stretching or maximizing the window. This option combines with the size of the font to determine the actual window size.

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Create with Title Bar This option allows you to create or remove the title bar for the Messages and Lists window. Even if you select this option, the title bar will not be displayed unless you double-click in the Messages and Lists window, which is the same as maximizing it.



File Manipulation

Font and Size Chooses the font for display of text. You can choose any font or size that you like for text display. In general, you should always choose a fixed-pitch font. If you choose a proportionally spaced font, none of the FEMAP reports or listings will be properly aligned and they will be harder to read. Colors These options let you choose the colors of text to be displayed. You can enter a numeric color value, or choose the Palette button to select the color from the standard color palette. For these options, you must select solid colors. You cannot select any cross-hatching or patterned lines. You should also make sure that you do not choose a color for the background which matches any of the text colors, or you won’t be able to see the text. Furthermore, for best results, you should always pick a background color that results in filled areas and lines being the same color. If you do not, the background may be a different color “behind” the text than it is to the “right” of the text.

2.6.3.2 View Preferences When you select the Views option, you will see the Preferences dialog box for views.This dialog box is partitioned into four areas: •

Startup View

•

Options

•

Clipboard Formats

• View and Dynamic Rotation

Startup View The Startup View area includes two options: • The view Library contains views that can be loaded into your model. This file must exist if you are going to use the Load View or Save View buttons in the View Quick Options dialog box (Ctrl-Q). •

The View Number option lets you change the view that FEMAP uses when you start a new model, or when you create a new view. When this value is set to 0, FEMAP uses its normal defaults. If you want a different view, use the View Quick Options dialog box to store a view in the library, then set default to the ID of that view as it is

View Preferences



stored in the library. The first view in the library has an ID of 1, the second is 2, and so on. Remember to say Yes to save the preferences. When you start a new model, that view will be used as the default.

Options These options control various operational features of FEMAP views. Autoplot Created/Modified Geometry If this option is on, all geometry which is created or modified by a command will be drawn at the end of the command. FEMAP operates fully interactively in this mode, which means you do not have to request a new display. If you turn this option off, you will have to choose the View, Redraw command to display the new or updated geometry. Turning off this option will also disable Group, Operations, Automatic Add.

Workplane Never Visible in New View This option allows you to turn the workplane off when starting a new model. If this option is not checked, FEMAP will use the setting for the startup view to determine whether the workplane is visible in a new model. If this option is on, FEMAP will automatically turn the workplane off, even if the settings in the startup view call for it to be on. Alternate Color Palette Use this option to select the alternate color palette, which uses blue to represent the lowest values in a post-processing display. The standard color palette uses magenta for the lowest values. Open Views of Existing Models By default, when you open an existing model, the view of that model automatically opens. Sometimes, however, opening graphics in a corrupt model file can cause a crash. To open a model file without the graphic view of the model, turn off the Open Views of Existing Models option. Once the file is open, you can work on solving the problem, perhaps by writing out a neutral file. You can “manually” open the view by using View, Activate or View, New.

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Alternate Fill Mode FEMAP fills polygons whenever you turn on element fill or do a hidden line plot, a contour plot, or a criteria plot. Windows provides two different techniques for drawing a filled polygon, both of which should be equivalent for all cases in FEMAP. Unfortunately, some graphics adapters and their drivers have trouble filling polygons with one method or the other. Notably, some of the more “advanced” Windows accelerator boards like the Number Nine, Matrox, and other S3-based boards will often forget to draw a polygon when using the standard filling method. If you see missing spots/polygons when you draw a model (especially a contour plot), try switching the fill method. If that solves the problem, save this option when you exit Preferences so it will be used for all models.



File Manipulation

Aspect Ratio for New Views When a new view is created, the aspect ratio is normally set to 1.0. The geometry is not stretched either horizontally or vertically for display in that window. An aspect ratio of 2.0 would cause a square to be displayed two times as high as it is wide. Changing this value only sets the default for new views. You can use View, Options to update the aspect ratio for any existing window, and turn off the AutoAspect feature.

Clipboard Formats When you use the File, Picture, Copy command, FEMAP transfers the graphics displayed in the current graphics window to the Windows clipboard in a variety of formats. By default, the Device Independent Bitmap (DIB) format is not transferred. You can enable this format or disable the transfer of one or more of the other formats by changing these options. Both the Bitmap and Bitmap (DIB) formats transfer the pixels from the graphics window to the clipboard. The Bitmap (DIB) format contains additional information which makes it somewhat device independent. This is the format that is usually saved by Windows paint programs. The Metafile format is entirely different. It contains the Windows drawing commands that were used to create the image. It is a vector-based format and can redraw the image at whatever scale and shape you specify. This format can give you the best images if the program to which you are transferring supports it.

View and Dynamic Rotation These options control the rotation of views in your model when using the View toolbar commands as well as when you access the View, Rotate command. Delta This is the default angle of rotation when you click in the scroll bars in the View, Rotate command or when you use the Rotate buttons on the toolbar. It must be specified in degrees. Dynamic This option chooses the method that will be used for displaying your model during the Dynamic Rotate/Pan/Zoom command from the toolbar. If you experience flashing when you perform a dynamic rotation, set this option to a different mode to remove the problem. This option has no impact on Render mode dynamic rotation. Rotation Angles These options allow you to define three view orientations which can be accessed using the View, Rotate command buttons. The default views are Isometric, Dimetric and Trimetric. In addition to the rotation angles you can also set the button text. Place an ampersand (&) in front of the letter that you want to be able to access using the Alt+Letter keyboard combination.

Render Graphics Preferences



2.6.3.3 Render Graphics Preferences Render mode is a high-speed graphics mode that uses the OpenGL graphics language. The Render Graphics Preferences dialog box lets you control the Render graphics method used, as well as the level of functionality that you have while in Render mode. The dialog box has four areas: • Render Method • Render Options

• Advanced/Debug Options

Render Method You can choose between two Render methods: Original or Enhanced. Generally, you should use the Enhanced method, which is available beginning in FEMAP version 8.1. It has the following improvements over the Original method: •

performance has been improved, both in speed and memory

•

more View Options are implemented, including labels

•

more entities can be displayed during dynamic rotation

•

color contour displays have been improved

However, the Enhanced method doesn’t support a few post-processing displays. For these types of displays, you must set the method to Original: •

beam diagrams

•

isosurfaces

•

section cuts

•

vectors (contour and deformed), deformed trace plots

•

freebody displays

Render Options These options control how Render will be implemented.

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• Include in Dynamic Rotation



File Manipulation

Hardware Accel (startup only) This option controls whether you use hardware acceleration while in the Render mode or if the rendering is to be done by software in Windows. This will be defaulted to on, but will only work when a hardware acceleration board has been installed in your computer. If a board has been installed and you do not wish to use hardware acceleration, you can uncheck this option. You must save this preference and restart FEMAP for this option to take effect. Rotate Animation This option applies to the Original method only. When it is checked, you can dynamically rotate a model during an active animation if you are in Render mode. In the Enhanced mode, you can dynamically rotate during animation whether this option is on or not. However, the animation will pause until dynamic rotation is finished. Use Midside Nodes If this option is selected, FEMAP will use the midside nodes when drawing rendered plots. This increases the complexity of the graphics, decreases the speed of drawing the graphics window, and increases memory usage. Rotate with Edges This option applies to the Original method only. If this option is selected, FEMAP will include the element edges during any dynamic rotations in Render mode. Turning this option off significantly reduces the amount of graphics information being processed and increases the speed of dynamic rotations on large models. In the Enhanced mode, you have more control over what entities are drawn, which can significantly affect performance. See "Include in Dynamic Rotation". Vertex Arrays Using vertex arrays allows FEMAP to reduce the amount of memory used to display OpenGL graphics, and on most graphics boards that support them. This results in substantial improvements in drawing performance. Unfortunately, we have found that a number of graphics card drivers claim to support vertex arrays, but either crash or simply won’t draw properly when they are used. In general, you should leave this option turned on unless you are having trouble with FEMAP graphics in Render mode. If you are having problems, turn off this option, exit FEMAP, restart, and retry the operation. Memory Optimization This option applies to the Enhanced method only. When on, FEMAP doesn’t use as much memory when drawing. This may or may not be helpful, depending on the size of your model: •

In very large models that require memory swapping, turning on this option will improve display performance.

Render Graphics Preferences

•



In small/medium-size models that don’t require memory swapping, turning on this option may slow down display performance.

Hint:

For small models, you may find this option helpful in viewing arrowheads that represent boundary conditions. If the option is on, the arrowhead will display flat on the screen as the model is rotated. If the option is off, the orientation of the arrowhead will rotate with the model.

Beam Facet Edges On

Off

Include in Dynamic Rotation These options apply to the Enhanced method only. They let you select the entities that will be included in dynamic rotation. By deselecting some of these entities, you can improve display performance. In large models, you may see dramatic performance improvements when you turn off options such as Fill, Shading, Filled Edges, and Undeformed. Hint:

Remember that you can also use View Options to control which entities are displayed.

Advanced/Debug Options These options apply to the Enhanced method only. They help you work with FEMAP Support to resolve Render graphics display problems that may be unique to your graphics card driver. Print Debug Messages If you turn this option on, FEMAP will write print debug messages to the Messages and Lists window. FEMAP Support may request this information to help you resolve a graphics display problem. Bitmap Alignment This option controls the way that bitmaps are stored. The default setting is 4. Changing this setting may cause severe display problems. Do not change this setting unless FEMAP Support instructs you to.

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This option applies to the Enhanced method only. It controls how a cross section is displayed on a beam element. When on, the cross section extends along the length of the element. When off, the cross section is drawn only at the ends of the beam element.



File Manipulation

Pixel Format This option controls graphics descriptors. The default setting of 0 instructs FEMAP to use the optimal pixel format for your graphics board. Changing this setting may cause severe display problems. Do not change this setting unless FEMAP Support instructs you to.

2.6.3.4 Menu and Toolbar Preferences When you choose this option, you will see the Preferences dialog box for menus and toolbars. This dialog box is partitioned into three major categories: • Menus • Graphical Selection • Show (Startup Only) Any options in the first two sections can be changed for a given session, while the Show options are startup preferences that must be saved as permanent to have an effect.

Menus Autorepeat Create Commands If this option is on, all entity create commands will automatically repeat until you choose Cancel. This allows you to continue creating entities without repeatedly choosing the same command. Autopopup Previous Menu If you choose this option, FEMAP will automatically redisplay the menu that contains the last command you selected. With these menus displayed, you can pick other related commands without choosing the top level menus. If you do not want menus to pop up all the time, turn this option off. You can then use the Previous Menu and Previous Command commands whenever you need these functions. Turning Autopopup on is the same as choosing Previous Menu after every command. Menu Help If this option is on, FEMAP will display a one-line description of each menu entry as you select it. The descriptions are displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the FEMAP main window, or they replace the title in the title bar at the top of the FEMAP

Menu and Toolbar Preferences



main window if the status bar is deactivated. This is especially useful when selecting commands from toolbars. With this option enabled, you can learn about the FEMAP commands simply by pointing to a menu, pressing down the left mouse button and then dragging the cursor through the menus. As long as you hold the button down, a new description will be displayed for each menu entry that you select. You will also see the descriptions when you select menus with the keyboard. The window title will revert to the original text whenever you choose a command, or cancel the menus. Remember Dialog Positions When this option is on, FEMAP will remember the last screen location for each dialog box. If you move a dialog box then pick the command again later, FEMAP will place the dialog box in the position you chose rather than in the default position. FEMAP will remember the dialog box locations only for the current FEMAP session. To restore dialog boxes to their original positions, use the Reset Dialog Positions button.

Graphical Selection Track Mouse Picking This option activates dynamic selection tracking. When you move the cursor through the graphics window to select nodes, elements or other geometry, FEMAP dynamically highlights the entity that will be selected if you click the mouse button. This makes accurate selection much easier in complex models. Pick All Inside This option controls selection of entities when screen area (using box or circle) picking is used to select entities whose position is defined by other multiple entities (i.e. elements by their nodes, curves by their points). If this option is on, all entities which comprise the selected entity must be inside the selected area (i.e. for an element, all of its nodes must be in the selected area for it to be picked). If it is off, only one entity must be selected (i.e. for an element, only one node must be in the selected region when this option is off).

Show (startup only) These commands control whether the status bar and command toolbars are visible, and the location of the toolbars. In general, you will want to show all three of these options. You may want to modify the location of the View Toolbar and Command Toolbar. You cannot modify the location of the Status Bar.

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Recently Used Files This option sets the number of recently used files that will be listed at the bottom of the File menu.



File Manipulation

2.6.3.5 Shortcut Keys This option allows you to define letter keys in FEMAP as FEMAP commands. You can therefore quickly customize FEMAP to use letter keystrokes as your most often used FEMAP commands. This option allows you to define the alphabetic keys on your keyboard as FEMAP commands. Different commands can be chosen for both capital and small letters, thereby enabling you to define up to 52 different commands on these keys. The Add command allows you to define a key as a command, while Delete will remove the command definition from the chosen key. By defining shortcut keys for your most used commands, you can save time moving through the FEMAP menu structure. Shortcut keys are only available from the FEMAP menu level. If you are already in another command or dialog box, pressing these keys will not have the desired effect. In most cases, it will simply result in typing the letter that you pressed. You may also save these values when you exit Preferences, or you may simply change them for the active session. Some hints are provided below for quickly changing the shortcut keys: •

You can quickly assign commands to keys by clicking on the appropriate letter in the Shortcut Keys list and then double-clicking in the Menu list.

•

You can quickly delete shortcut key assignments by double-clicking in the Shortcut Keys list.

•

These shortcut keys are not eliminated by the Reset All option.

•

If you have created your own menu commands, they can also be accessed in the same manner as any other menu commands.

User Menu Preferences



2.6.3.6 User Menu Preferences The User Menu Preferences dialog box lets you create your own custom menus in FEMAP. Under each custom menu, you can directly run the following types of commands: • program files saved with a .PRG extension. For more information, see Section 2.6.1, "File, Program Menu".

• executables (for example, a spreadsheet program), or a program created with the FEMAP OLE/COM API •

batch files that can be run from the DOS command line

Creating a Menu To create a user menu: 1. Pick the Menu button. 2. Enter the menu’s name in the Menu Text field. 3. Pick the Add button. The menu name will appear in the Menu Definition area.

Creating Commands To create a command: 1. In the Menu Definition area, highlight a menu or command. The new command will be placed under the highlighted line. 2. Pick the Command button. 3. Enter the command’s name in the Menu Text field. 4. Use the Browse button to find the file and enter it in the Filename field. 5. Pick the Add button. The command will appear in the Menu Definition area.

Modifying Menus Use these buttons to modify your menus:

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• scripts created with the FEMAP BASIC scripting language with .BAS or .BAX extensions. For more information, see Section 2.6.1, "File, Program Menu".



File Manipulation

•

Pick Separator, then pick Add to add a separator line to a menu.

•

To make changes to a menu or command: highlight it in the Menu Definition, make changes, then pick Update.

•

Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to rearrange items on the menus.

Saving and Displaying User Menus Once you press OK, your custom menus and commands will be stored in the .esp file listed under File, Preferences, Library Preferences, Menu. To see the user menu in FEMAP, you must save your preferences.

2.6.3.7 Database and Startup Preferences These options control certain database options, including memory management and location of scratch files. All of these options, with the exception of those labeled immediate, are only used at startup. You must therefore save any changes you make when exiting Preferences. When you select this option, you will see the Database and Startup Preferences dialog box.This dialog box is partitioned into five areas: • Database Options • Meshing • Timed Save • Scratch Disks • Startup Program File Each area is discussed more fully below.

Database Options These options control how FEMAP interacts with the FEMAP model file (binary database). Backup before Save When this option is on and your model has been saved previously, FEMAP will keep a backup copy of your model in the file modelname.BAK (where modelname.MOD is the name of your model). Only one backup copy is saved, so the .BAK file will be updated and overwritten every time you save. By default this option is disabled, and no backup copies are saved.

Database and Startup Preferences



Unlike the other options in this dialog box, changes to the backup option are effective immediately. You do not have to save them permanently. The backup option is ignored whenever Use Model Scratch File is off. In this state, you directly update the model file during every command, not just when you choose Save. Therefore, FEMAP does not attempt to make a backup when you save. Use Model Scratch File If this option is on, FEMAP works in a temporary copy of your model file and only copies your changes to your real model when you save your model. It is best to always leave this option on. It provides additional safeguards for your model. With this option on, if you make a mistake, you can always restart your model and get back to the point of your last save. If this option is off, FEMAP is directly modifying your model and you may not be able to easily recover.

Low Disk Warning When this option is on, FEMAP will issue a warning when free space on the scratch file’s disk drops below the amount specified. Undo Levels Controls how many commands (0-99) that you will be able to undo. Setting this to a larger number gives you greater flexibility in being able to backup your commands, but can take a significant amount of disk space. All files are placed on the Undo Files scratch disk. Cache Pages, Blocks/Page, Max Cached Label These options control how FEMAP accesses your database file and handles internal caching of database information. A database block is 4096 bytes. When FEMAP needs to read from disk, rather than simply reading one block it reads a “page” consisting of a number of contiguous blocks. Since most commands access groups of entities, this minimizes the number of disk accesses, and speeds up FEMAP. •

The Blocks/Page number sets this “page” size. The optimum setting of this number depends on the speed of your disk and controller.

•

The Cache Pages numbers indicates how many of these pages FEMAP will retain in memory simultaneously. When FEMAP starts with a new model, it allocates the number of pages specified in Cache Pages. If your model is even larger than that, any additional data will be written to disk (in the model scratch file).

•

Max Cached Label sets the largest label that FEMAP will reserve memory for. This option must be set to a ID higher than any entity in the model.

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Delete Model Scratch File When this option is on, FEMAP will automatically delete your scratch file whenever you begin a new model or exit FEMAP. This option has no effect if the Use Model Scratch File option is not enabled.



File Manipulation

For more information, see Section 3.5.2, "Improving Performance (RAM Management)" in the FEMAP User Guide.

Startup Program File... ... allows you to automate tasks that you want to occur every time you start FEMAP and every time you start a different model. You can use this technique to load data into your models, change the screen setup, or anything else that you can do in a program file. If you specify a program filename, FEMAP will run that program at startup and every time you start a new or existing model. If you check the Run Program for New Models only button, FEMAP will not run the program when you open an existing model (either at startup or with the File, Open command). For information on program files, see Section 10, "Customization" in the FEMAP User Guide.

Meshing Surface Meshing in Memory This preference determines whether additional memory will be allocated by the FEMAP boundary mesher. If this option is selected, FEMAP will allocate new memory to create the mesh. If it is not selected, FEMAP will utilize the memory allocated in the database to perform the mesh. By allocating new memory, the FEMAP mesher can run significantly faster than if it is limited to the database memory. Therefore, this option should almost always be turned on. The only reason to turn this option off is if the available memory on the current machine is low enough that allocation of new memory is extremely limited. Use Fast Tri-Mesher The fast tri-mesher option uses a method to create triangles that generally produces fewer triangles with better aspect ratios. When this option is on, the FEMAP surface mesher will use the fast tri-mesher by default. You can also control the tri-mesher from the Automesh Surfaces dialog box (see Section 5.1.2.3, "Mesh, Geometry, Surface...").

Timed Save On and Notify The selected option specifies if FEMAP should notify you when it hits a preset limit or if it should just automatically save the model. Interval and Commands The Interval sets the time in minutes between automatic saves, while the number of Commands set the number of commands performed before FEMAP notifies you that it has performed an automatic save.

Scratch Disks These options determine where temporary files will be placed.

Geometry



•

The Model Scratch file is only used if it is turned on. The scratch file is a duplicate of your model file and therefore is the same size.

•

The size of the Undo Files depends upon how many levels of undo you choose and the FEMAP commands that you execute. They can be large.

•

The Message File contains the text which is displayed in the Messages and Lists window. The model scratch file is not deleted (unless you request deletion using the Delete Model Scratch File option), when you exit FEMAP, but all other files are deleted.

In Windows 3.1 these must be a single character that selects the disk where the scratch files will be placed. For Windows NT, 95, and UNIX, these can (and often times should) be complete path names.

2.6.3.8 Geometry

You can specify the default geometry engine for solid modeling, as well as the midside node load expansion. Each of these sections are described below. Geometry Engine (startup only) FEMAP can perform solid modeling with either the ACIS or Parasolid Solid Modeler. This option controls the default geometry engine upon entering FEMAP. Choice of this option is only important if you have only purchased one of the geometric engines, or plan on exporting a solid model to another ACIS or Parasolid-based program. If you do not plan to export a solid model, either engine can be used to develop a solid model for use in FEA. When importing geometry, FEMAP will automatically switch to the appropriate geometry engine. Solid Geometry Scale Factor The scale factor is used and applied to solid geometry only. The scaling is done internally in FEMAP so that a part of 1.0 on the desktop will be stored as 0.0254 in the database. The scaling will allow you to import and model parts that are outside of the Parasolid modeling limits. The default is 39.37, which will allow you to import a part using the default import scaling options of 39.37, and continue to work in inches without manually having to scale the part. This is a startup preference; therefore, you must save the preference and exit FEMAP for it to take effect.

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The Geometry button opens the Geometry and Geometric Load Preferences dialog box.



File Manipulation

Load Expansion on Midside Nodes This section sets the defaults for modification of the distribution of nodal loads (such as force and moment) on parabolic elements. To obtain an even distribution of force across a parabolic element, most programs require a larger portion of the force be assigned to the midside nodes. You can set the factors Along Edges, On Tri-Face, or On Quad-Face to represent the amount of the total load on the element which will be applied to the midside node. You will typically want to use the default values above, as well as use the Midside Node Adjustment Default. If you have further questions on the distribution required for your solver program, please consult the reference documentation for your analysis program.

2.6.3.9 Interfaces This section controls defaults for interfaces to other programs. When you select the Interfaces option, the Interfaces Preferences dialog box will appear. It includes the following options: Interface This option simply chooses the default analysis program that FEMAP will display for the File, Import (or Export) Analysis Model, and File, Import, Analysis Results commands. You should set this option to the interface that you use most often. Analysis Type This option chooses the default type of analysis that will be performed. Set this to the type of analysis you perform most often. Non-FEMAP Neutral Version To export a FEMAP model to some external analysis programs (CAEFEM, CDA/Spring, CFDesign, SINDA/G), you use a neutral file. If your external program requires a previous version as input, use this option to set the neutral file version. For example, an older version of CAEFEM may require a FEMAP version 6 neutral file rather than the current version. Neutral Digits Use this command to set the number of significant digits for real numbers in the neutral file. Interface Style These options mask commands for users of some analysis programs. The two thermal options will configure FEMAP in a thermal mode only, changing many dialog boxes. Many structural options will be hidden, and you will no longer have access to them. The

Interfaces



thermal options are is only recommended when performing modeling specific to thermal analysis and exporting to a thermal specific program. •

Structural makes all commands visible. Most users should use this option.

•

Thermal displays only thermal properties in material dialog boxes. This option can be used by structural analysis program (such as NASTRAN) users who are performing thermal analyses.

•

Advanced Thermal displays only thermal properties in material dialog boxes, and limits the element types available. This option is for SINDA/G users only.

Skip Comments when Exporting When this option is on, FEMAP will not write any comments into the input file. Comments include FEMAP names and IDs for corresponding groups and sets. Header information indicating the version of FEMAP used and the date the file was written will also not be written.

This option works best reading in comments as material and property titles. It may not read in comments as function, load set, or constraint set titles. Compute Principal Stress/Strain When this option is on and you read analysis results, FEMAP will automatically compute principal, Von Mises, max shear and mean stresses and strains if they have not been read, and if all required XYZ components of stress/strain have been read. You can turn this option off if you do not want to post-process these output quantities. Turning this option off can result in substantial speed improvements during the final phases of reading results. You may also want to turn this option off if your analysis program already computes these values. FEMAP does not compute new values if results exist already, but the checking procedure for these vectors will take some time, especially in extremely large models. Assume Engineering Shear Strain Turn on this option to assume that the shear strain read from the solver results is engineering shear strain rather than actual shear strain. Since shear strain is used to calculate the principal stress/strain values, it’s important to specify the shear strain method. Read DirCos for Solid Stress/Strain This option can be set on when you wish to retrieve the direction cosines for solid stress/ strain post-processing information from your analysis program. Previous versions of FEMAP would ask you if you wanted to read this data during the results import process.

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Read Comments as Titles When you write out a NASTRAN file from FEMAP, you can write out titles (such as property or material names) as comments. Turn on this option to read in these comments when you import the NASTRAN results back into FEMAP.



File Manipulation

This is off by default since the direction cosine information can be quite large and most users do not use this information. FEMAP Structural Solver Options These options include: •

Run Analysis using VisQ: Turn on this option to use VisQ, the Visual Queue Manager for FEMAP, to run the FEMAP Structural analysis. If this option is off, the solve will be run interactively on your computer.

•

Minimize FEMAP During Solve: Use this option to control whether the FEMAP window is displayed during a FEMAP Structural solve.

•

Keep Window Open After Solve: Turn on this option to keep the solver window open after a FEMAP Structural solve. You can then review the messages in this window. This option only applies if you are running interactively (VisQ is off).

•

Mass Conversion Factor: The FEMAP Structural solver requires model data in mass, rather than weight units. If you build your model in mass units, you should leave the Mass Conversion Factor set to 1.0 (no conversion factor is used). If you build your model in weight units, however, enter the conversion factor for weight to mass units. As you export your model to the FEMAP Structural solver, the software will multiply all densities and masses by this number to convert them to masses. (This option is similar to the NASTRAN PARAM,WTMASS command.)

•

Solver Memory (Mb 0=Auto): FEMAP automatically calculates the FEMAP Structural solver’s default memory usage. You can use this field to override the default calculation by specifying a fixed amount of memory to always use. (You can also override the default when you create an analysis set.)

2.6.3.10 Libraries This section allows you to define the default libraries as well as the default view. For any of the libraries, you do not have to specify a complete path as long as the file is in a directory which is along your DOS PATH. FEMAP first searches your current directory and then along your path until it finds the file.

Colors



The Material, Property, Function, Analysis, and Report Format libraries are files which contain data that can be accessed via the Save and Load buttons on the creation (or list) commands. You must specify the name of an existing file if you plan to use the Load option; however, Save will create a new file if one does not currently exist.

•

The Toolbox library is the file that contains the commands and pictures for the toolbox. This file must exist if you are going to use the FEMAP toolbox.

•

The Menu library is the file that stores user-defined menus. (See Section 2.6.3.6, "User Menu Preferences").

•

The Contour library contains the user-defined contour palette colors. This file must exist if you are going to choose the user-defined palette in the View Options command.

•

The Material Type Definition file contains the dialog box titles as well as the record formats for Other Types of materials. This file can be modified to include additional material types, but modifications are only suggested when accessing FEMAP information from a FEMAP neutral file since dedicated translators such as ABAQUS or LS-DYNA3D will not recognize these user materials. Materials contained in the mat_scr.esp file installed with FEMAP are supported by the specific dedicated translators.

2.6.3.11 Colors This command opens the Model Color Preferences dialog box. • You can control the default colors for all entities. • You can also choose the Palette to use for these colors. These colors will be used whenever you start a new model. You must save these changes if you want them to have any effect. • The Reset button on this dialog box changes all colors back to the FEMAP defaults.

2.6.3.12 Reset All This option permanently resets all changes that you have made back to the FEMAP default configuration. You will be asked to confirm this command before FEMAP resets

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•



File Manipulation

all options. The only preferences which will not be changed are any shortcut keys you have defined.

2.7 Using File, Recent Models - 1,2,3,4 The four most recently edited model files are listed on the File menu to enable you to more rapidly select them. If you choose one of these files, FEMAP will automatically open this model file, but only after asking you if you would like to save the current model file.

2.8 Exiting FEMAP

Alt+F4

The File, Exit command allows you to leave FEMAP. You will be given a chance to save your current model if you have made any changes since your last save. If you have just started a new Untitled model, you will always be asked whether you want to save the model even though it might be empty. If your model is untitled, the standard file access dialog box will be displayed so you can specify a file name for the model. You can also exit FEMAP by double-clicking the main window system menu, or by using the Close command on that menu.

3.

Geometry Geometry provides the framework for most finite element meshes. Therefore, it is necessary to have robust tools for creating geometry. FEMAP has the capability to build geometry from simple points to complex 3-D solids. Generally, you can create, copy, or modify geometry. The geometry section of this manual is separated into six main sections, which are listed below. •

Section 3.1, "Creating Points" (on the Geometry menu)

•

Section 3.2, "Creating Curves"(on the Geometry menu)

•

Section 3.3, "Creating Surfaces"(on the Geometry menu)

•

Section 3.4, "Creating Solids/Volumes"(on the Geometry menu)

•

Section 3.5, "Copying Geometry"(on the Geometry menu)

•

Section 3.6, "Modifying Geometry" (on the Modify menu)

•

Section 3.7, "Deleting Geometry" (on the Delete menu)

3.1 Creating Points Points are used for constructing other geometry or finite element data. You may also apply loads and constraints to points, and FEMAP will automatically apply them to nodes attached to the points. Points are similar to nodes in that they are simply located at a specific location. Unlike nodes, however, they are not a finite element entity and are not translated to analysis programs. Instead, they are used for defining geometry. Just as elements reference nodes, curves reference points.

3.1.1 Geometry, Point... ... uses the standard coordinate definition dialog boxes (described in the FEMAP User Guide) to create points. Choosing the Parameters button will display the Geometry Parameters dialog box, where you can set the active layer or point color.

3.2 Creating Curves Curves form the basis from which you can create surfaces, and they can also be generated from surfaces. They reference points to define their location. You can apply loads and constraints directly to curves, and FEMAP will automatically convert them to nodal/elemental values on the attached FEA entities. The Curve section of the Geometry menu has five submenus:



Geometry

•

Curve -Line

•

Curve - Arc

•

Curve - Circle

•

Curve - Spline

•

Curve - From Surface

3.2.1 Lines Lines are simply straight lines connecting two points. The Geometry, Curve-Line menu is partitioned into three sections: •

The top portion creates lines in the workplane. Any locations that are specified in 3D space will be automatically projected onto the workplane.

•

The second section consists of the Rectangle command. This command creates a rectangle in the workplane. It is separated from the commands above because it creates four lines at once.

•

The bottom portion of the menu contains commands that are used to create lines in 3-D space. These commands do not project the inputs onto the workplane.

3.2.1.1 Geometry, Curve-Line, Project Points... . . . creates a line between two locations, which you specify using the standard coordinate definition dialog boxes. Before creating the line, this command projects the coordinates that you specify Projected onto the workplane. Coordinates Therefore, the line that is created always lies in the workplane. The Original Coordinates coordinates are projected along a vector that is perpendicular to the workplane. If you want to create a line between coordinates in 3D space (i.e. not in the workplane), use the Curve - Line, Coordinates command. Workplane

Hint:

You can use this command to create a 2D projected image of 3D geometry. Just set up the workplane so the workplane normal is along the direction that you want to project, and pick the end points of the existing lines (using Snap To Point). New lines will be created in the workplane.

Geometry, Curve-Line, Horizontal...



3.2.1.2 Geometry, Curve-Line, Horizontal... . . . creates a line, centered around one location. The line is oriented along the X axis of the workplane. The name of this command comes from the fact that in the default XY view, before you reorient the workplane, the workplane X axis is horizontal on the screen. Workplane Projected Coordinates Yw

Xw

Original Coordinates

This command uses the standard coordinate definition dialog boxes to specify the coordinates of the required location. The location is automatically projected onto the workplane, along a vector which is perpendicular to the workplane. The projected location is used as the center of the line.

The length of the horizontal line in either direction from the center is controlled by the Horizontal/Vertical Line Length parameter. You can adjust this length by pressing the Parameter button on the standard coordinate dialog, and entering a new value prior to defining the center location. Hint:

3.2.1.3 Geometry, Curve-Line, Vertical... ... works just like Curve - Line, Horizontal, except the line will lie along the workplane Y axis. In the default XY view with the original workplane orientation, this will be vertical on your screen. 3.2.1.4 Geometry, Curve-Line, Perpendicular... ... creates a line in the workplane that is perpendicular to another curve. Three inputs are required for this method, the origin of the new line, the original curve, and a location to specify direction. The origin projected along the workplane normal vector, onto the workplane.

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>.This enables you to define properties for creep analysis. Creep properties can be defined even if no other nonlinear/ plasticity properties have been defined. Two creep formulations are available: Empirical Model, and Tabular Model. For the Empirical Model, the Threshold Strain, Reference Temp, and Temp Dependent Rate must be defined as well as the Empirical Creep Law and Coefficients. Two classes of empirical creep law are available. They are: Creep Law Class 1 :

c

ε ( σ, t ) = A(σ) [ 1 – e where

– R(σ)t

b

] + K(σ)t

A(σ) → aσ or ae R(σ) → ce

dσ

bσ

or cσ g

d

K(σ) → e [ sinh ( fσ ) ] or ee Creep Law Class 2 :

c

b d

ε (σ, t) = aσ t

fσ

Defining Phase Change Material Properties



The appropriate law and coefficients are defined by their equations in the dialog box. All inappropriate information will be grayed. The second creep formulation is tabular model which requires only function inputs under the Tabular Creep Law section. You must define FEMAP function types vs. stress for the three coefficients Kp, Cp (primary creep) and Cs (secondary creep) of the uniaxial rheological model. Note: Similar to hyperelastic materials, support of nonlinear and creep material properties by analysis programs is limited. You should verify that both the FEMAP translator for your analysis code and the code itself supports creep material properties.

4.2.3.9 Defining Phase Change Material Properties All materials but Other Types have a Phase Change button. This allows you to add material constants which are normally required for heat transfer and thermal analysis that involve a phase change (i.e. solidto liquid, liquid-to-gas). The phase change material model is primarily available for NASTRAN and ABAQUS. It can also be used for custom programs or programs that access the FEMAP neutral file. Reference enthalpy need not be specified when using ABAQUS.

4.2.3.10 Defining Thermo-Optical Material Properties Isotropic and orthotropic materials have the ability to also specify thermo-optical properties of the material. These properties are used for heat transfer analyses in programs

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Finite Element Modeling

like TMG. They are not used by NASTRAN, ANSYS, ABAQUS or any of the other structural programs where FEMAP supports heat transfer analyses.

All of the fields are function dependent. You should specify the constant value in the field to the left, which is applied as a multiplier to any function you select from the lists. If you do not select a function, the values are simply constants. The “Front Side” and “Reverse Side” for InfraRed and Solar properties refer to planar elements, where the “Front” is the face in the direction of the element normal.

4.2.4 Model, Property... ...creates a new property. Properties are used to define additional analysis information for one or more elements. Most property data is geometric (thicknesses, areas, radii, etc.), but properties also specify mass and inertia and select the materials to be used. The available property types match the available element types. For an element to reference a property, both the property and the element must be the same type. The only exception is that there is no distinction between linear and parabolic properties. In fact both linear and parabolic elements can reference the same property.

Common Features of All Property Dialog Boxes There are many different dialog boxes used for creating the various property types since different values are required for nearly every element type. Near the top of each dialog box however, you will notice a group of controls which are used to set various parameters for the property to be created. The Type button, used to choose a new property type, can be found here also. This button will display the same dialog box as described in the Model, Element command. ID, Color/Palette and Layer: These options set parameters for the property to be created. Every time you create a property, the default ID will be automatically incremented.

Model, Property...



Title: This option allows you to provide a title of up to 25 characters for the property. You should always specify descriptive titles because they will appear in the drop-down selection lists and will help you identify the property. Material: This drop-down list allows you to choose the material to be referenced by the property. A few property types (mass, stiffness matrix...) do not require a material, but most do. For your reference, all materials which are defined in your model will be shown in the list. For details on how various material types translate to your analysis program, see Section 8, "Analysis Program Interfaces" in the FEMAP User Guide. In general, for plane element/property types you should pick either an isotropic, orthotropic 2D, or anisotropic 2D material. Similarly isotropic, orthotropic 3D or anisotropic 3D materials should be used with solid elements. Some analysis programs however, support 3D orthotropic materials for plate elements to add transverse properties. You can make your choice by typing an ID, choosing from the list, or by graphically selecting an existing element which references the material that you want. If you do not specify a material (leave the option blank or 0), when you press OK, you will be given a chance to automatically create a new material. This is the same as using the Model, Material command, except that the property creation dialog box is still visible and the resulting material ID will automatically be entered into the list.

Copying Properties If you need to create a property that is similar to another in your model, you do not have to enter all of the property values manually. Pressing the Copy button will display a list of all existing properties. When you choose a property from the list, the property values will be copied from that material and displayed in the current property creation dialog box. You can then modify any of these values, or even change your mind and copy a different property, before pressing OK to create the new property.

Working with Property Libraries Property libraries allow you to create standard properties that you can use over and over again in many different models. When you press Save, the current property is added to the property library file. Pressing Load will display a list of the properties in the library and let you choose one to be loaded into the property creation dialog box. Just like Copy, you can then modify the values before pressing OK to create the property. Also,

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Copying is only useful when you copy properties of the same or similar type. When you copy properties of the same type, all values are directly transferred to the new property. If you copy a property of one type into a property of a different type, FEMAP converts the property to the new type, but many of the property constants may be meaningless. If the property types are similar, like a bar and beam, the similar properties will be copied. If you attempt to copy a plate property to a beam, or vice versa, you will get meaningless constants. You should review carefully any properties which you copy between different types.



Finite Element Modeling

just like Copy, when you load a property of a different type it is automatically converted. The property ID, Color, Layer and Material are not saved in the library, nor updated when a property is loaded from the library. For more information on libraries, see Section 2.6.3.10, "Libraries".

4.2.4.1 Line Element Properties Rod Element Properties Rod elements require cross-sectional properties - area and the torsional stiffness. Distributed, nonstructural mass (per unit length) can also be specified. The coefficient for torsional stress is used in the calculation for torsional stress as follows: C × Mθ τ = -----------------J

where τ is the torsional stress C is the coefficient of torsional stress, J is the torsional stiffness, and Mθ is the torsional moment.

Tube Element Properties The tube element cross section is circular. It is defined by the outer and inner tube diameters. Distributed, nonstructural mass (per unit length) can also be specified. Curved Tube Element Properties Curved tube element properties are the same as the tube, with the addition of a bend radius. Bar Element Properties In addition to the cross sectional area, numerous inertia properties must also be defined for the bar element. These properties are identical to those required for beam properties except that beam elements contain additional inputs. For more information, see "Beam Element Properties".

Line Element Properties



Beam Element Properties Beam properties are identical to bar properties except that you can specify different properties at each end of the beam, and you can define a neutral axis offset from the shear center. You must turn on the Tapered Beam option if you want to enter different properties at the second end of the beam. If this option is off, the properties at the second end will be equal to the first end. Care must be taken in properly specifying these properties with respect to the element axes. For FEMAP, I1 is the moment of inertia about the elemental Z axis, which will resist bending in the outer fiber in the elemental Y direction. Some people look at this as the moment of inertia in Plane 1, the plane formed by the elemental X and Y axes. For more information on the element directions, see Section 6, "Element Reference" in the FEMAP User Guide. The figure will give some examples of cross sections, their orientations and relative inertias. Vectors show the elemental Y axis, which is the orientation direction.

Small I1, Large I2

Large I1, Small I2

Large I1, Small I2

Distributed, nonstructural mass (per unit length) can also be specified. You can specify up to four stress recovery locations in the plane of the element cross section. If you just specify the first location, and leave the remaining ones blank or zero, FEMAP will automatically assign the remaining three locations with positive and negative combinations of the location that you specified. This feature automates stress recovery for the four corners of a rectangular cross section.

Shape - Section Property Generator A graphical cross section property generator is available for this property type (as well as bar and curved beam). FEMAP can automatically compute the cross section properties and stress recovery locations for common or arbitrary shapes. The common shapes include rectangular, trapezoidal, circular, and hexagonal bars and tubes, and structural

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The neutral axis offsets should be specified in the local beam coordinate system, based upon the orientation node or vector for the particular elements. This offset is only used to offset the neutral axis from the shear center. The offset of the shear center (and neutral axis) from the vector between the two nodes defining the beam is input on the beam Element command, not the beam Property command.



Finite Element Modeling

shapes such as I, C, L, T, Z and hats. Required input for these standard shapes is shown in the figure.

An arbitrary shape requires creating a surface before entering Model, Property, and then selecting General Section, pushing the Surface button, and selecting the surface. Whether you select a common or arbitrary shape, you can have FEMAP draw the cross section by pressing Draw. An error in the input will prevent drawing of the cross sec-

Line Element Properties



tion. This dialog box can also be used to define the stress recovery locations and orientation vector direction.

Stress Recovery and Reference Point The Stress Recovery section of this dialog box allows the selection of stress recovery locations at standard points on the cross section. By pressing the Next button, FEMAP will move the location to the next standard point. Whether you specify stress recovery locations here or not, they still have the option to input values directly on the previous dialog box.

When a curve is meshed containing mesh attributes, and the offsets method has been set to Location, FEMAP will place the reference point on the line joining the two nodes, and then calculate the offset of the shear center from this point. The result is stored on the element record as the shear center/neutral axis offset.

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The Reference Point is only used when mesh attributes are assigned to a curve (Mesh, Mesh Control, Attributes Along Curve). The reference point provides an easy method to automatically define the shear center/neutral axis offset for beams that are automatically meshed onto a curve.



Finite Element Modeling

Note: The offset stored on the element record calculated from the reference point moves both the neutral axis and shear center from the line joining the two nodes of the beam. The offset stored on the property record and calculated when Compute Shear Center offset is checked offsets the Neutral Axis from the Shear Center. The Attributes Along Curve command also has the capability to place the reference point at a distance from the line joining the two nodes of the beam by setting y and z values. For more information, see "Mesh, Mesh Control, Attributes Along Curve". Orientation Direction This section simply allows you to specify the direction of the orientation vector. This is very important since an inappropriate direction of the vector with respect to the beam mesh will result in erroneous results. The Cross Section Definition dialog box provides a visual representation of the required direction of the orientation vector for the beams. Change Shape This option is only available when editing a cross section for which properties have already been calculated. This option must be turned on before any properties can be changed. Once this option is selected, FEMAP will use the cross section generator to calculate new properties when exiting this dialog box via the OK button. If you simply want to edit stress recovery locations or orientation, FEMAP will use stored values to calculate any change in properties instead of creating an entire new set. This can save some time when making these simple changes. Compute Shear Center Offset, Compute Warping Constant These options are only available for beam properties. They are not available for bar or curved beam properties since they are not supported by most analysis codes for these types of elements. If Compute Shear Center Offset is on, FEMAP will use its cross section generator to compute the offset of the neutral axis from the shear center and store the result on the property record. This is on by default since this offset can be important with certain cross sections and such programs as NASTRAN, ABAQUS, and ANSYS provide support for these offsets. If Compute Warping Constant is on, FEMAP will calculate the warping constant for the cross section. This is off by default since warping is often not important in beam analysis and there is limited support among the analysis programs for warping.

Link Element Properties Link element properties consist of just the stiffness values, in all six degrees of freedom, at each end of the element. The link element is rigid between the ends.

Line Element Properties



Curved Beam Element Properties The curved beam element properties are just like those for the bar element (see previous paragraphs), and similar to the beam property (except neutral axis offsets from the shear center and warping are not supported) except that you must also specify a bend radius. All elements which reference this property will use this constant radius. Spring Element Properties The FEMAP spring element is a combined linear spring and damper, which connects either translational (axial) or rotational (torsional) degrees of freedom. You can specify both stiffness and damping values for the same elements, however, some analysis programs do not support the damping values. DOF Spring Element Properties Unlike the spring element which acts along the line between the elemental end points, the DOF Spring connects two nodal degrees of freedom - independent of their orientation relative to each other. You choose the degrees of freedom via the buttons at the left of the dialog box. Like the spring however, you can specify both stiffness and damping. Gap Element Properties For gap elements you can specify an initial gap distance, tension, compression and transverse stiffness and friction constants. You should carefully review which of these options are supported by your analysis program before using gap elements.

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Finite Element Modeling

For zero length gaps (coincident node gaps), you can specify a coordinate system for orientation. Additional NASTRAN options include limits on Penetration, and Adjustment, as well as an Adaptive option. For ABAQUS, gap properties are also used to define properties of interface elements, and you can specify the interface normal and width/area.

4.2.4.2 Plane Element Properties Shear Element Properties Shear panel properties are limited to element thickness and distributed nonstructural mass. For some analysis programs, you can also specify effectiveness factors which provide for treatment of the effective extensional area of the shear panel. Membrane, Bending, Plane Strain and Plate Element Properties

These property types are all variations of plate element properties. They all require the thickness property, but the plate type allows you to vary the thickness at each element corner. Be careful, though, these corner thicknesses will be applied to each element that references this property. The stress recovery locations are measured from the neutral axis of the plate toward the top fiber. These are not offsets, they are simply the location where stresses are recovered. NASTRAN Options The Bending Stiffness (12I/T**3) and Transverse Shear Thickness/Element Thickness (Ts/T) properties are used by NASTRAN to simulate non-isotropic or sandwich material behavior. In addition to these options, FEMAP now supports choosing different materials for the bending, transverse shear, and membrane-bending coupling behavior. By default, the plate will use the material that you select at the top of the dialog box, how-

Plane Element Properties



ever, you can disable any of these properties, or select a different material simply by choosing the options in the lists.

Laminate Element Properties

Properties of this type are different than those for any other type of element. In this case, the normal material reference (at the top of the dialog box), is not used. It is provided just for your convenience. Rather, you must specify a material ID, thickness and orientation angle for each layer or ply in your laminate. Leaving the material ID blank or zero eliminates that layer, however, if you specify a nonzero thickness or nonzero angle, FEMAP will ask whether you want to create a material rather than eliminate the layer. The material ID for any ply can be specified by graphically selected an existing element referencing the desired material ID.

Many programs support the failure theories listed. You must specify the bond shear allowable, along with strength allowables on the materials if you want to use the failure theory calculations. In general, you must list all plys in your laminate. If you are using NASTRAN, and your laminate is symmetric, you can set the Symmetric Layers option and only enter one half of the layers.

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The layers are specified in order from the “bottom” or -Z face of the element. The angles are specified relative to the material axes which were defined for the element. If you did not specify a material orientation angle, these angles are measured from the first side of the element (the edge from the first to the second node). They are measured from the rotated material axes otherwise.



Finite Element Modeling

Next and Prev FEMAP now supports up to 90 plys on a property, but only 18 at a time can be displayed in the dialog box. When you press Next or Prev, the dialog box will scroll to show the other plys that make up the property that you are defining.

4.2.4.3 Volume Element Properties Axisymmetric Element Properties Actually, axisymmetric elements do not have any property values. The FEMAP property for these types is simply used to reference the desired material. Solid Element Properties Unlike the plane elements, which orient their material axes with using an angle on each element, solid element properties can reference a coordinate system to align the material axes. This difference is due to the fact that solid elements require orientation of all three principal directions. Plane elements always have their Z direction normal to the plane and can therefore be oriented with a single rotation angle. You can also choose to orient solid elements based on the directions defined by the element’s corner nodes. 4.2.4.4 Other Element Properties Mass Element Properties FEMAP mass elements support differing mass and inertia properties in three principal directions. Many analysis programs do not support differing X, Y and Z masses. In this case FEMAP just uses the X mass that you defined. As an input convenience, if you leave My and/or Mz blank (or zero) they will be automatically set equal to the Mx value. If you really want almost no mass value in one of these directions, you must set the value to a small nonzero number like 1E-10. FEMAP can also align the principal mass directions to any coordinate system and offset the mass from a node. Check to see if your analysis program supports these options before using them. Use the Effective Diameter field for mass elements that are part of a model to be solved with FEMAP Thermal. The solver will use the implied area of a sphere with the specified diameter to calculate the relevant conductances.

Mass and Stiffness Matrix Element Properties Properties for mass matrix and stiffness matrix elements are input as a symmetric 6x6 matrix. Since mass matrix elements are only connected to one node, this fully defines all six mass degrees of freedom for that node. Stiffness matrix elements connect two nodes, and hence 12 degrees of freedom. The 6x6 stiffness matrix is simply replicated to form a 12x12 matrix in this case.

Other Element Properties



The following form is used (A is the 6x6 matrix you specify): A –A symmetric A

Note: This formulation does not take into account any geometric transformations required to connect non-coincident nodes, so care should be taken when using this element type.

Slide Line Element Properties You must define the interaction property values for the slide line element which include the slide line plane, width of surfaces, and stiffness and frictional conditions. Both symmetrical penetration and unsymmetrical penetration (for the slave nodes only) are available. No material reference is required for slide line element properties. Contact Element Properties You must define interface information for the contact element with the Contact Property option. When you define a contact property, you will see the Define Property dialog box for contact pairs.

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This dialog box is separated into sections for Friction Values, which are pertinent for all programs, and specific program input for ABAQUS, LS-DYNA3D, ANSYS, and MARC. The most commonly-used options are contained on this dialog box, while more advanced, solver-specific options are available by pushing the button corresponding to your solver.



Finite Element Modeling

LS-DYNA3D Contact Properties The most important option is the Type of contact you want to define. You can select many different types of contact including automatic, eroding, constraint, tied, etc. If you select an option that requires additional information beyond the standard inputs, you must pick the DYNA... option to enter this information. If not, errors may result, or at minimum your analysis will run with all defaults, which may or may not be appropriate. The main dialog box also contains options to choose ONE_WAY contact for those types of contact that support this (default is two-way contact between surfaces). An offset for TIED contact types can be toggled on and off, as well as a toggle to use a penetration formulation, which can also be based on the shortest diagonal. DYNA... ... allows you to specify additional contact parameters for LS-DYNA3D. When you select this option you will see the LS DYNA3D Advanced Contact Property Options dialog box.

The left side of the dialog box contains information which is pertinent for all contact types. They include Scale Factors, Thickness Overrides, Time Activation, and Output information. If no values are input or set, the defaults will be used. The right side of the dialog box contains information specific to certain contact types. If you have selected one of these types (Rigid, Tiebreak, or Eroding), you will want to select the appropriate information. Refer to your LS-DYNA3D User’s Manual for more information for each of these options.

Other Element Properties



ABAQUS Contact Properties The ABAQUS-specific section allows you to specify parameters found on the *CONTACT PAIR option, as well as the thickness/area for input for 1or 2-D contact. Typically, the most important input in this section is the Critical Penetration (HCRIT in ABAQUS). This value defines the maximum allowable penetration of a slave node into a master surface. Penetration values above this value will cause ABAQUS to abandon the current increment and start again with a smaller increment. This value can greatly affect convergence and accuracy of the overall solution. For a description of the other parameters, see the ABAQUS Standard and Explicit User’s Manuals. ABAQUS... ... allows you to specify additional contact parameters. On the ABAQUS Advanced Contact Property Options dialog box, the first three parameters are related to friction and are included on the *FRICTION card in ABAQUS. They include Friction Type, Slip Value (dependent on Friction Type), and the Max Shear Stress (equivalent shear stress limit). The remaining options, Max Slide Distance and Approach, are input to the *CONTACT PAIR option. Max Slide Distance limits finite sliding in 3D deformable contact. Approach activates automatic viscous damping for a contact pair. On this dialog box, the STEP Control options apply to the load set. To turn on these options in a time step, you must specify them on the ABAQUS STEP Options dialog box. For a detailed process, see Section 8.2.1.1, "Preparing the Model for Analysis" in the FEMAP User Guide. 0

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Finite Element Modeling

ANSYS Contact Properties The ANSYS-specific section allows you to specify the real constants on the TARGE169 (2-D), TARGE170 (3-D), CONTA171 (2-D), CONTA172 (2-D with midside nodes), CONTA173 (3-D), and CONTA174 (3-D with midside nodes). Contact surface elements are associated with target segment elements through a shared set of real constants, and ANSYS only looks for contact between surfaces with the same real constant set. Only contact elements and target elements of the same dimension (2-D or 3-D) can be in contact with each other. For complete definitions of these real constants, see the ANSYS Element Reference Guide as well as the ANSYS Structural Analysis Guide. ANSYS... ... allows you to specify additional contact parameters. All of these parameters correspond to KEYOPT entries on the ANSYS contact and target elements. These are more advanced options used to create contact models which require additional parameters. The check boxes in the top of the ANSYS Advanced Contact Property Options dialog box allow you to toggle between two options for KEYOPTs (2), (4), (5), (8), and (11). The pull-down boxes in the lower half of the dialog box correspond to KEYOPTs (7), (9), and (12), which offer additional options that can be chosen to create a more realistic contact model. Be sure to review the ANSYS Element Reference Guide as well as the ANSYS Structural Analysis Guide before beginning any type of nonlinear contact analysis. MSC.MARC Contact Properties Pick the MARC button to specify parameters found on the *CONTACT and *CONTACT TABLE options.

Other Element Properties



Contact Options This section contains all property inputs for the *CONTACT TABLE option. They will also be used in the *CONTACT option if the property is chosen. For details, see Section 8.6, "Marc Interfaces" in the FEMAP User Guide. You can specify the tolerance for contact (when two bodies are considered touching), the separation force to separate a node from a body, and an interference closure amount. In addition, if you choose No Relative Contact Disp, the glue option will be invoked. Stick-Slip Model, Rigid Plasticity, Friction Values, Contact Checking, Separation Checking The remaining contact parameters are only relevant if the contact property is chosen in translation to be output to the CONTACT option. In most cases, the defaults will be chosen if none of the options are selected for the contact property. Refer to your MARC Program Input Manual (Volume C) for descriptions of these options.

Plot Only and Rigid Element Properties There are no properties required for these element types, so they are not normally defined. You can however create properties of these types if you want to use them in any of the other generation / meshing commands.

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Finite Element Modeling

4.3 Creating Loads And Constraints This section describes methods to load and constrain your model. Loads and constraints are applied in a similar manner. Both are input as part of sets. Therefore, you can define multiple load and constraints for your analysis. You can apply loads and constraints to geometry and/or FEA entities. You can even copy or combine sets for either loads or constraints. The sections that follow will first explain the application of loads, and then move on to constraints.

4.3.1 Create/Activate Load Set Ctrl+F2 4.3.1.1 Model, Load, Set... ... makes a new load set or activates an existing set. This menu command is also available on the tray at the bottom right portion of the graphics window, as well as through the Load toolbar. To create a new load set, enter an ID that does not appear in the list of available sets. Then enter a title and press OK. As always, you should choose a descriptive title. The titles are displayed, along with the IDs, whenever you are asked to select a load set. To activate a load set that already exists, simply choose it from the list, or enter its ID, and press OK. To deactivate all load sets, press Reset. Enter Set ID to activate here or, choose an existing set from this list

Click here t deactivate sets.

4.3.2 Finite Element Loads FEMAP allows you to create loads directly on finite element entities. These types of loads will be exported directly to the solver on translation, assuming that the translator supports the type of loading input. Loads can be applied to the entire finite element model (Model, Load, Body command), to individual or groups of nodes (the Model, Load, Nodal, the Model, Load, Nodal, and the Model, Node, Nonlinear Force commands), and to individual or groups of elements (the Model, Load, Element command). Each type of load and its command is discussed in more detail below.

Model, Load, Body



4.3.2.1 Model, Load, Body Body loads act on all elements of your model and represent global motions, accelerations or temperatures. You must activate the body loads that you want prior to defining load values, by checking the various active options. Body loads can be separated into acceleration, velocity, and thermal. Acceleration These body loads represent constant translational and/or rotational acceleration. Input must always be in the global directions. Translational accelerations are often used to represent gravity loads. Watch the units however, these are not specified in “g’s”. Velocity This type of body load represents a constant speed rotation and the resulting loads which are caused by centripetal acceleration. Origin This specifies the location of the center of rotation for the rotational body loads (rotational velocity and rotational acceleration). Thermal The default temperature is the temperature of all nodes/elements which are not given a specific temperature in this load set by nodal or elemental temperature loads. This option can be used to quickly assign a temperature for the entire model. The reference temperature is the initial temperature of the model before temperatures are applied.

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4.3.2.2 Model, Load, Nodal Creating nodal loads is a two step process. First, you must select the nodes where the load will be applied. As always, this is done using the standard entity selection dialog box. After you select the nodes, you will see another dialog box which defines the load.



Finite Element Modeling

The first selection you should make is the type of load you wish to create. FEMAP supports eleven types of nodal loads - forces, moments, displacements, enforced rotations, velocities, rotational velocities, accelerations, rotational accelerations, nodal temperatures, nodal heat generation and nodal heat fluxes. The last 10 load types available are Fluid specific and are only accessible through the FEMAP neutral file. As you choose a load type, FEMAP will disable or hide any controls in the load definition dialog box which are not required. After choosing a load type you can proceed to define the other load parameters and values. Color/Palette and Layer: These controls define parameters for the load to be created. Direction: All non-thermal load types are vector quantities which require a direction. FEMAP provides five methods to define the direction of a load: Components, Vector, Along Curve, Normal to Plane, and Normal to Surface. The Components method simply requires input of components in the three directions. For all methods except Components, you must check the Specify button to either define the vector (FEMAP standard vector definition dialog box will appear), select the curve, define the plane (FEMAP standard plane definition dialog box will appear), or select the surface. These methods provide great flexibility for defining the direction of the loads. Note: Since these loads are created on the nodes themselves, the actual method of computing the direction is not stored. FEMAP calculates the direction from the method, and then stores the result in component form. This enables you to modify or remove any geometry that was created to specify the direction without changing the load direction. If you attempt to edit or list the load, the values listed will be in component form. Only loads attached directly to geometry store any information regarding the direction method.

Model, Load, Nodal

Hint:



When choosing the Along Curve or Normal to Surface options, be careful that the nodes fall within the length of the curve or the area bounded by the surface. If the curve is anything but a line, FEMAP will attempt to project the position of the nodes onto the curve to determine the direction of the curve at that location. A similar projection is also required for the Normal to Surface method. If the projection falls well outside the curve or surface actual bounds, unexpected values for the direction may result.

Coordinate System: This option is only available if you select the Components method for direction for nonthermal load types. The components are defined relative to the selected coordinate system. If you select a cylindrical or spherical system, the true direction of the loads also depends on the location of the node where it is applied. For example, a positive radial force goes in a different direction if the node is at 0 degrees, than if it is at 180 degrees.

Choosing a Load Creation Method There are two methods available to create loads on the nodes that you selected. The simplest, and default method, is to assign a constant load value to each of the nodes. As an alternative, you can define an equation which defines the value at each node. If you choose this method, you must select a variable (default is i - must select Advanced under Variable to change it) which will be updated to contain the ID of the node where loads are being defined. Then, instead of entering a numeric value for the loads, enter an equation in Value which uses the variable. You will find the XND(), YND() and ZND() functions very useful in defining loads in terms of the locations of the nodes that you are loading. If instead of entering an equation, you enter a numeric value, that value will be assigned to every node, just as if you had specified a constant. Conversely, if you enter an equation, but also set Constant, the equation will be evaluated prior to load definition and the constant result will be assigned to all selected nodes. For example, if you choose to enter an equation in Value such as: 10*(xnd(!i)-xnd(1))+50

Note: The equation is evaluated at each node, and the actual calculated value of the load is stored as a nodal load. The equation, itself is not stored. Equations are only stored for geometric loads.

Time, Temperature or Frequency Dependent Loads If the loads that you are creating are constant, simply set this option to 0.None. However, if your loads vary with either time, temperature or frequency, you can choose the

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each node will receive a load which is equal to fifty, plus ten times the length in the X direction between that node and node 1.



Finite Element Modeling

appropriate function to define that dependence. Prior to creating your loads, you must use the Model, Function command to create the functions, so that they can be selected from the list. The Y values of the function are used to multiply the constant values that you specify in this dialog box. Do not confuse frequency dependence of the load value (specified here) with frequency dependence of the phase (specified at the bottom of the dialog box for frequency analyses).

Creating Component Loads (Forces, Moments, etc.) For component of non-thermal loads (forces, moments, displacements, enforced displacements, velocities, rotational velocities, accelerations, and rotational accelerations) you must activate the various load components, using the option boxes, prior to setting the load value. There is no load applied to any component which is not activated. For forces, moments, velocities, rotational velocities, accelerations, and rotational accelerations, this is equivalent to activating the component and then applying a zero (or blank) load. For displacements and enforced rotations, however, these two alternatives are not equivalent. With the component deactivated, that component is free to move (displace) freely. Activating the component and then specifying a zero displacement (or a blank), prevents all movement of that component. This is similar to a constraint. As just described, FEMAP will allow you to activate load components which have a zero (or blank) load value. You may not however, have all load values equal to zero. If you want to use displacement loads as pseudo-constraints, you must specify at least one small nonzero value, like 1E-10 or smaller. You should never have to create a zero force or acceleration, since it will have no effect. Phase: Non-thermal loads also allow you to specify a phase. This value is only used for frequency analyses. In addition, for frequency response analyses, you can make the phase frequency dependent by selecting an additional function.

4.3.2.3 Model, Load, Nodal On Face... ... is the same as Model, Load, Nodal, except that instead of directly selecting the nodes where the loads will be applied, here you select the faces of elements. You will first use the standard entity selection dialog box to select the elements which reference the nodes where you want to place loads. Then, the face selection dialog box (as described later in Model, Load, Elemental) is used to limit the nodal selection to specific element faces. When you have selected the element faces, FEMAP will automatically determine the nodes where loads will be defined, and this command will continue, just like the normal Model, Load, Nodal command. Note: This command can be a convenient method of specifying nodal loads on complex models, especially on solid models where you can use the adjacent faces approach (see Section 4.3.2.2, "Model, Load, Nodal"). This is an alternative to creating geometric loads and can be very useful to create loads on a portion of a surface.

Model, Load, Elemental...



4.3.2.4 Model, Load, Elemental... ...is used to create elemental loads. The process is very similar to Model, Load, Nodal. You must first select the elements where the load will be applied using the standard entity selection dialog box. Then, another dialog box allows you to define the load type and values similar to the Create Loads on Nodes dialog box. The one major difference is that you will not be able to specify a direction. All elemental loads have a certain prescribed direction (typically normal to face of application). There are seven types of elemental loads in FEMAP: distributed loads on line elements, pressure, temperature, and four types of heat transfer loads - heat generation, heat flux, convection and radiation. Again, just like nodal loads, you should select the load type first. This choice will disable or hide all controls which are not necessary for the type of load you are defining. Finally, specify the other load parameters and values. You can also make elemental loads function dependent, just like nodal loads, as well as input a constant or variable load. You will find the XEL( ), YEL( ), ZEL( ), XEF( ), YEF( ) and ZEF( ) functions very useful in defining loads in terms of the locations of the elements and element faces that you are loading. If instead of entering an equation, you enter a numeric value, that value will be assigned to every element, just as if you had specified a constant. Conversely, if you enter an equation, but also set Constant, the equation will be evaluated prior to load definition and the constant result will be assigned to all selected elements.

Creating Distributed Loads Distributed loads are forces applied along the length of line elements (bars, beams...). Their load values are specified as a force per unit length. You can specify a different value at each end of the element. If you want a constant load along the length, you must specify the same End A and End B values. If you leave End B blank, zero load will be applied at that end. In this case the same function dependence will apply to the loads at both ends of the element. Distributed Load Direction

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After you specify the load magnitude and phase, press OK. You will be prompted for the load direction, which can be along any of the elemental or global axes. You can not specify an arbitrary direction or the axis of any other coordinate system. The elemental axes are determined by the element orientation. For elements that do not require an orientation (rods, ...) you should always use the global directions.



Finite Element Modeling

Creating Pressure Loads Elemental pressure loads always act normal to an element face or edge. For this reason, you can only apply pressure to plane or solid elements. You may not apply pressure to line, or other element types. Just like distributed loads, you first defined the load magnitude and phase, and any function dependence. You will also have the option to input the pressure at corners. This will require input of four values and enables you to specify a varying pressure load across an element. This capability is most useful when defining a variable pressure load across a surface. Note: Not all analysis programs support pressures at the corners of elements. If you translate to a program that does not support corner pressures, FEMAP will automatically average the corner pressures and output a centroidal value. Specifying Face IDs For pressures, when you press OK, you will be presented with the following dialog box to choose the face or faces where the pressure will be applied: This provides four ways to select the faces. The most obvious is to simply choose Face ID and select the ID of a face. For details on how face numbers for plane and solid elements are defined, see Section 6, "Element Reference" in the FEMAP User Guide. Alternatively, you can simply choose the face graphically by moving the cursor near the center of the face and clicking the left mouse button. The selected face will be highlighted. If you chose an unexpected face, simply move the mouse and click again until you get the face you want. While this method is easy to understand, it has the disadvantage of applying the loads to the same face number on all selected elements. If the elements where you need to apply loads are oriented randomly, this method is not very effective. You will either need to use one of the other methods, or in some cases you can reorient the elements (see Section 4.8.3.10, "Modify, Update Elements, Reverse..."). Choosing Faces Near a Surface If you have used geometry to define your elements, or if you just have surfaces in your model, you can apply loads to element faces which are close to a selected surface. When you choose Near Surface, you must also choose a surface and specify a tolerance. Loads will be applied to the faces of the selected elements that are closer than your specified

Model, Load, Elemental...



tolerance from the surface. This method can only be used to apply pressure to Face 1 of planar elements (not to the edges). Choosing Faces Near a Plane The Near Coordinates method is very similar to Near Surface. Instead of specifying a surface, however, you choose a coordinate system, direction and position. This defines a planar surface, which is used along with the tolerance to find the closest faces. Choosing Adjacent Faces The final and most powerful method for choosing faces, especially for complex solid and planar element models, is Adjacent Faces. You choose just one initial face (and the associated element ID). This can be done very easily by graphically selecting the face. You then specify a tolerance angle. FEMAP will search all selected elements for faces that are connected to the face that you chose and that are within the specified tolerance from being coplanar (colinear for planar elements) with an already selected face. This can be used to find all faces on an outer surface (or edge) of a solid (or planar) - regardless of the shape.

Selected Face Loads on Adjacent Faces

In the picture above, loads could have been applied to all exterior faces, including those inside the hole, by choosing a tolerance greater than 90 degrees. Loads could have been applied just in the hole by selecting a face inside the hole and specifying a fairly low tolerance.

Creating Loads for Heat Transfer All of the loads for heat transfer analysis are created similarly to pressure and temperature loads, the only difference is the parameters that need to be specified.

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Creating Elemental Temperatures For temperature loads, you can only specify a single temperature value. This value is assigned to all selected elements. If you need to represent temperatures which vary within an element, you must use nodal temperature loads. No face specification is required for temperatures, they apply to the entire element.



Finite Element Modeling

Heat Generation For heat generation, only a single constant is required - the generation rate. Heat Flux Elemental heat flux is applied normal to an element face. You must specify the rate of flux, and, just like pressure, apply the flux to a specific face. Alternatively, you can define a directional heat flux. In this case, you must also specify a surface absorptivity and temperature for the selected face. And, after pressing OK, you must specify a flux direction. The direction is defined either as a constant by giving the components of a vector in the direction of the flux, or as a time varying vector, by choosing three functions which contain the components defined as a function of time. In either case the components must be specified in global rectangular coordinates. Finally, after defining the direction, you will choose the face(s) where the fluxes will be applied. For more information about choosing faces, see "Creating Pressure Loads". Convection Free convection loads require the convection coefficient and the film temperature, along with the face where the convection is acting. As always, the face is chosen after you press OK, in the standard fashion. For more information about choosing faces, see "Creating Pressure Loads". Forced convection loading is also supported, although only for a 1-D type analogy. In this case you must specify the flow rate and diameter along with the temperature, so the proper coefficients can be calculated. For this type of analysis, you will also have to specify numerous fluid properties in the Model, Loads, Body command described earlier. Special Case - Forced Convection Over a Plate or Surface For MSC/NASTRAN, forced convection loads can also be used to model one or more flows over a plate. This is a very specialized capability and requires a thorough understanding of MSC/NASTRAN’s thermal capability before you attempt to perform this type of analysis. To model this condition you must follow these steps: 1. Model the plate. You can use any general mesh, however a rectangular mapped mesh will be much easier to understand, and will more accurately represent the flow. 2. Model “flow tubes”. Since MSC/NASTRAN only has forced convection along “line elements”, i.e. a 1-D case, you must define a series of tube elements that represent the flow location and direction. These are typically placed at some location above/below the plate.

Model, Load, Elemental...



If you are going to have more than one discreet flow, place all tube elements from each flow on a separate layer. Use the Create Layer command to create a layer, then choose that layer when creating the elements, or use the Modify, Layer command to change it later. Unlike most general modeling techniques in FEMAP, tube elements are required for this special capability. In most cases, where these tubes are simply a modeling convenience and do not represent a physical tube with thermal properties, you will not want them to be written to your NASTRAN model. In that case, just define both the inner and outer diameters of the tube property as 0.0 - this indicates that you want the tube to be skipped during translation. If you do want the tube to be translated, just specify nonzero diameters. If you need to use tube elements in your model that are not being used to represent flow tubes, you MUST place them on a layer that is not used by any of the forced convections that you will later apply to the plate elements. If you do not, FEMAP may create improper links that do not represent the situation that you are attempting to represent. 3. Model the mass flow. The mass flow is modeled by applying forced convections to each of the flow tube elements. For all of these loads you must check the Disable Convection option. This will result in a load that simply models the mass/energy transfer down the flow stream, and not the convection effects. You must specify a flow diameter on these loads. Even though it is not required for the mass transfer equations, it is necessary to properly connect the convections from the plate. Typically you will want to specify a value that is near (or at least the same order of magnitude) the flow diameter for the plate convections.

On all of these plate convections you should check the Disable Advection option. This will effectively eliminate the mass transfer, and indicate that you are trying to associate this load with a flow tube. You must also specify the flow diameter (hydraulic diameter). This diameter will be used in the calculation of the Reynolds number. In addition, when you check this option you will see an additional option displayed that is titled Area Factor. If you do not specify anything here, FEMAP uses the plate

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4. Model the convection on the plate. Next, apply forced convections to the plate elements where the flow is occurring. All forced convections on plate elements are placed on Face 1, flowing from the middle of the first edge of the plate to the middle of the third edge (to the opposite node for triangular plates). If you created your elements in a manner where this does not really represent the direction of your flow you should use the Modify, Update, Reverse command, and the Align First Edge to Vector option to realign your plates so that the flow is properly represented. This is the step that can become very difficult if you have an arbitrary (non-rectangular or nonmapped) mesh. It is very important that as they are displayed, all of these convections on the plate point along the general flow direction.



Finite Element Modeling

areas to compute coefficients in the heat transfer equation. By specifying a value you can scale that computation to allow for fins or any other area correction that you wish to apply. If you are working with multiple discreet flows, once again you must use the FEMAP layer capability to assign these convections to a flow number. Set the convection load layer to the same ID as that of the associated flow tubes. Links Created by MSC/NASTRAN Translator

Flow Tube with Advection

Convection on Plate

Specify additional fluid/heat transfer options. Go to the Model, Load, Body command and choose the Heat Transfer button. This will display a dialog box where you can specify the fluid properties and other flow parameters. Currently only one fluid and set of parameters can be specified.

5. Translate to MSC/NASTRAN. When you translate these loads to MSC/NASTRAN, the translator creates Plot-Only elements to represent the CHBDY elements that are required, and also create the links shown above. These links represent how each of the “convection only” plates are linked to the “advection only” flow tubes. Also, during the translation you will be asked to specify a factor that is used to disable the convection and advection. Since MSC/NASTRAN really has no way to disable these portions of the problem, we simulate this effect by scaling the appropriate components downward by the scale factor that you specify. Make sure that you always specify a small number ( 0 where X j(t) ≤ 0 A

where X j(t) < 0 where X j(t) ≥ 0

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Negative Variable to Power

 Scale × [ X j(t) ] F i(t) =  0



Finite Element Modeling

The other options simply define the arguments to these equations. In all cases, you must specify a scale factor. The X(t) arguments represent the displacement or velocity at node/ DOF j (the first node) or k (the second). For Tabular Function loads, you must define and select a force vs. displacement/velocity function which will be used by the analysis program to calculate the force. Since FEMAP does not currently contain a “vs. Force” function, any function type can be used, but it should contain the appropriate force values. The nodal degrees of freedom must be specified as 1 through 6. For the Positive and Negative Power relationships, power is the exponent, A, of the equation shown.

4.3.3 Geometric Loads As an alternative, and/or supplement to finite element loads, FEMAP allows you to create loads on geometry. Since analysis programs require loads directly on nodes and elements, FEMAP will convert these loads to nodal and elemental upon translation. Defining loads by geometry can greatly simplify load input, especially in complex solid models. It also provides a convenient method of load distribution, since a many times you will know the total load on a surface. FEMAP will automatically distribute that load over the surface based upon the area of the elements. Geometric loads also offer the advantage of storing equations and methods of direction. When you create a variable geometric load, FEMAP will store the equation and only evaluate it upon translation, or when expansion to a nodal or elemental load is requested. The geometric load section contains four commands, based upon the type of load to create. They are On Point, On Curve, On Surface, and Expand. The first three commands enable you to create a load on the selected geometric entity, while the fourth command allows you to convert between FEA (nodal/elemental) and geometric (point/curve/surface) loads. Each of these commands are discussed in more detail below.

Model, Load, On Point...



4.3.3.1 Model, Load, On Point... ... allows creation of loads directly on points. The type of loads available are identical to those that are available through the Model, Load, Nodal command. All loads are converted directly to nodal loads upon translation or expansion. Most often you may want to simply use Model, Load, Nodal to create nodal loads directly. There are two major advantages of using this method over the Model, Load, Nodal command. The first is the ease of picking the correct entities. Points will typically be one of the first entities created in your model, even before any FEA entities are created, which will make selecting the points relatively simple. Also, you will generally have fewer points than nodes in your model, which again simplifies the selection process. The second advantage is that you can create a variable load which stores the equation and can then be easily modified.

4.3.3.2 Model, Load, On Curve... ...creates loads on curves, which are then converted to nodal or elemental loads (based upon the type of load) upon translation or expansion. This section documents unique features of loads on the curves. It does not go into detailed explanation of the input values for each type of load. For more detailed information on the specific inputs for each load type, see Section 4.3.2.2, "Model, Load, Nodal" or Section 4.3.2.4, "Model, Load, Elemental...". FEA Attachment All loads on curves must be eventually expanded to nodal or elemental loads when translated to a finite element analysis program. When FEMAP expands the loads on curves into elemental or nodal loads, it creates loads for nodes or elements that were originally from that curve during a meshing procedure (or manually attached). This procedure is relatively simple for nodal loads. FEMAP determines which nodes are attached to the curve and creates the loads on these nodes. The only item which may alter this calculation is if you have turned on Midside Node Adjustment (see "Midside Node Adjustment").

Load Types There are 33 loads available for loads on curves. Many of the load types, such as force, force per length, and force per node are just different input methods for the same nodal load type (force). These different input methods enable FEMAP to distribute loads along the curve.

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For loads converted to elemental loads, only 2-D elements can be attached to the curve. For an element to be attached to the curve, all nodes on a face of an element must be attached to that curve. If a parabolic element is along a curve, but the midside node has been detached from that curve for some reason, the element is not considered to be on the curve.



Finite Element Modeling

The listing in the dialog box of the load type are separated into four sections: structural loads, temperature, heat transfer loads, and fluid loads. All structural loads except pressure are converted to nodal loads. Temperature is converted to a nodal temperature while elemental temperature obviously is an elemental load. The heat transfer loads include loads which will be converted to nodal loads (heat flux, heat flux per length, heat flux at node, and heat generation) or elemental nodes (element heat flux, convection, radiation, and element heat generation). There are 10 fluid loads that are scalar quantities and can only be accessed through the neutral file for use in analysis.

Load Input Values There are also three basic types of load input values: Total, Per Length, and Per Node. The “total” loads include force, moment, and heat flux. Input is a total load that is then automatically distributed along the nodes attached to the curve. The distribution will be based upon the total length associated with each node. Total loads must be input as constant. They cannot be variable. Loads input as “per length” loads (force per length. moment per length, and heat flux per length) are very similar to “total” loads. The load is distributed identically to a “total” load, except the values are then multiplied by the length along the curve associated with each node. The sum of all these loads is simply the input value multiplied by the total length of the curve. These types of loads must also be input as constant. All other loads are input on an “per node” basis. These include force per node, moment per node, heat flux per node, and translational and rotational displacements, velocities, and accelerations. These values are applied directly to the node with no distribution.This load type is most commonly used for displacements, as well as variable loading conditions for forces. If you have a load which varies along the length of the curve, this type of load input will allow you to describe an equation or function to simulate that loading condition. Direction Structural loads (i.e. force, force/length, etc.) which are converted to nodal loads upon expansion require input of the direction. The direction is identified identically to the specification of nodal load direction (see Section 4.3.2.2, "Model, Load, Nodal") with two small differences. The first is that the Direction method is saved. FEMAP does not convert the loads into components until you expand or translate. Therefore, if you list or modify these loads, you will see the same direction method you originally specified.

Model, Load, On Curve...



Secondly, if you choose the Along Curve method, you cannot specify the curve. FEMAP will automatically use the curve(s) to which the loads are applied. Method The Method allows you to choose between a constant or variable load. If constant loading is required, simply choose Constant and input the values. If Variable loading is required (not available for “total” and “per length” loads), you must select Advanced, which allows you to define the type of definition for your variable load: Equation, Function, or Interpolation. Note: A variable load is only available for elemental loads and nodal loads that are “per node”. Nodal loads that are total (i.e. force, moment, etc.) and per length (force per length, etc.) must be constant. Equation Equation allows you to specify a variable loading in terms of the x, y, and z positions of the nodes or elements. Each of these values may be used in the equation definition, preceded by an !. For example 4.35*!x - 2*!y would multiply the x coordinate of each node (or element) and then subtract the product of 2 and the y coordinate. The x, y, and z coordinates are in the coordinate system defined in the main load dialog box. FEMAP will store the equation, and evaluate it only upon translation or expansion. The variable i is not used for loading on geometry, therefore all functions such as XND, and XEL are not applicable and should not be used.

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Note: The node locations are used to evaluate the equation for all loads converted to nodal loads. The position of the centroid of the elemental face attached to the loaded curve is used for all elemental face loads while the centroid of the element is used for non-face loads such as elemental temperature and elemental heat generation. The only exception is FEMAP will use the node locations to calculate pressure if the At Corner option for pressures is selected.



Finite Element Modeling

Function The second type, Function, allows you to define a function to describe the loading. This function must be created before defining the load by using the Model, Load, Function command. Two types of functions are acceptable for variable loads on curves: vs. curve length, and vs. curve parameterization. Simply create this type of function with the load value as Y, and the X value as either the length along the curve, or the parameter value. By creating a function, you can model any irregular load pattern over the curve. FEMAP will use the position of the node, element face centroid, or element centroid and linearly interpolate a value at that position from the function. FEMAP does not perform any extrapolation of these values. Therefore, if a load occurs over the entire length of the curve, you should take care to define the values of the curve at the beginning and end points. Interpolation The third type, Interpolation, is really a shortcut version of Function. When you select Interpolation, the Locate 1 and Locate 2 areas become accessible. You can then select Locate for 1 and 2 and the standard coordinate definition dialog box will appear. You simply define the two locations and then define the load values associated with them. FEMAP will interpolate between these values to obtain loads on the nodes or elements attached to the curve. Once again, FEMAP will perform no extrapolation. This is a useful method for defining loads on a segment of a curve.

FEA Attachment All loads on curves must be eventually expanded to nodal or elemental loads when translated to a finite element analysis program. When FEMAP expands these loads, it creates loads for nodes or elements that were originally generated from that curve during a meshing procedure (or manually attached). This procedure is relatively simple for nodal loads. FEMAP determines which nodes are attached to the curve and creates the loads on these nodes. The only item which may alter this calculation is if you have turned on Midside Node Adjustment (see "Midside Node Adjustment"). For loads converted to elemental loads, both 2-D and 3-D elements can be attached to the Surface. IF FEMAP finds faces of 2-D and 3-D elements that are identical, FEMAP will expand the load on the 2-D element, and issue a warning message. The only exception to this procedure is if the 2-D elements are plot-only planes. For an element to be attached to the surface, all nodes on a face of an element must be attached to that surface. If a parabolic element was created on a surface, but midside nodes have been detached from that surface for some reason, the element is not considered to be on the curve. Note: Loads are not expanded on plot-only planar elements since these elements are not translated as structural elements. Loads cannot be applied to these elements.

Model, Load, On Surface...



Midside Node Adjustment Some methods such as force/length and force distribute the loads over the entire length. For many parabolic elements, you cannot simply distribute the force evenly and obtain an even displacement result. You must apply a larger value to the midside nodes than the corner nodes, and this value is in excess of 1/2 the value of the total load on the element. You can specify the factor you want on the midside nodes under File Preferences, Geometry, on the Edge Factor. This value defaults to 2/3, which is standard for many programs. This means that 2/3 of the load will be applied to the midside node, and 1/6 to each corner node. If your results are inappropriate for your analysis program, please consult the documentation for your program. You can also remove the option to adjust for midside nodes by clicking this option off.

4.3.3.3 Model, Load, On Surface... ...creates loads on surfaces, which are then converted to nodal or elemental loads (based upon the type of load) upon translation or expansion. This section documents unique features of loads on surfaces. It does not go into detailed explanation of the input values for each type of load. For more detailed information on the specific inputs for each load type, see Section 4.3.2.2, "Model, Load, Nodal" and Section 4.3.2.4, "Model, Load, Elemental...". FEA Attachment All loads on surfaces must be eventually expanded to nodal or elemental loads when translated to a finite element analysis program. When FEMAP expands these loads, it creates loads for nodes or elements that were originally generated from that surface during a meshing procedure (or manually attached). This procedure is relatively simple for nodal loads. FEMAP determines which nodes are attached to the curve and creates the loads on these nodes. The only item which may alter this calculation is if you have turned on Midside Node Adjustment (see "Midside Node Adjustment"). For loads converted to elemental loads, both 2-D and 3-D elements can be attached to the surface. If FEMAP finds faces of 2-D and 3-D elements that are identical, FEMAP will expand the load on the 2-D element and issue a warning message. The only exception to this procedure is if the 2-D elements are plot-only planes. Since plot only elements are not translated as structural elements, loads cannot be applied to these elements.

Load Types There are 33 loads available for loads on surfaces. Many of the load types, such as force, force per area, and force at node are just different input methods for the same nodal load

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For an element to be attached to the surface, all nodes on a face of an element must be attached to that surface. If a parabolic element was created on a surface, but midside nodes have been detached from that surface for some reason, the element is not considered to be on the curve.



Finite Element Modeling

type (Force). These different input methods enable FEMAP to distribute loads along the surface. The listing in the dialog box of the load type are separated into four sections: structural loads, temperature, heat transfer loads, and fluid loads. All structural loads except pressure are converted to nodal loads. Temperature is converted to a nodal temperature, while elemental temperature obviously is an elemental load. The heat transfer loads include both nodal (heat flux, heat flux per length, heat flux at node, and heat generation) and elemental nodes (element heat flux, convection, radiation, and element heat generation). There are 10 fluid loads that are scalar quantities and can only be accessed through the neutral file for use in analysis.

Load Input Values There are also three basic types of load input values: Total, Per Area, and Per Node. The total loads include force, moment, and heat flux. Input the total load value, and FEMAP will automatically distribute it over the surface. The distribution will be based upon the total area associated with each node. Total loads must be input as constant. They cannot be variable. Loads input as “per area” loads (force per area, moment per area, and heat flux per area) are very similar to “total” loads. The load is distributed identically to a “total” load, except the values are then multiplied by the area associated with each node. The sum of all these loads is simply the input value multiplied by the total area of the elements. These types of loads must also be input as constant. All other loads are input on a “per node” basis. These include any “per node” loads as well as translational and rotational displacements, velocities, and accelerations. These values are applied directly to the node with no distribution.These are most commonly used for displacements and variable loading conditions. If you have a load which varies over a surface, this type of load input will allow you to input an equation to simulate the loading condition. Direction Structural loads (i.e. force, force/length, etc.) which are converted to nodal loads upon expansion require input of the direction. The direction is identified identically to the specification of nodal load direction (see Section 4.3.2.2, "Model, Load, Nodal") with two differences. The first is that the Direction method is stored. FEMAP does not convert loads into components until you expand or translate. Therefore, if you list or mod-

Model, Load, On Surface...



ify these loads, the same direction method is shown. Second, if you choose the Normal to Surface method, you cannot specify the surface. FEMAP will automatically use the surface(s) to which the loads are applied. Method The Method allows you to choose between a constant load or a variable load. If a constant load is required, simply choose Constant and input the values. If a variable load is required (not available for “total” and “per length” loads), you must select Advanced and select the Equation method. The Function and Interpolation methods are not available for loads on surfaces. Note: A variable load is only available for elemental loads and nodal loads that are “per node”. Nodal loads that are total (i.e. force, moment, etc.) and per area (i.e. force per area, etc.) must be constant. Equation Equation allows you to specify a variable loading in terms of the x, y, and z positions of the nodes or elements. Each of these values may be used in the equation definition, preceded by an !. For example 4.35*!x - 2*!y would multiply the x coordinate of each node (or element) and then subtract the product of 2 and the y coordinate. The x, y, and z coordinates are in the coordinate system defined in the main load dialog box. FEMAP will store the equation, and evaluate it only upon translation or expansion. The variable i is not used for loading on geometry, therefore all functions such as XND, and XEL are not applicable and should not be used. FEMAP stores the equation and only evaluates it when the load is expanded upon translation or when the Model, Load, Expand command is used.

Midside Node Adjustment Some loads such as force/area and force distribute the loads on the nodes over the entire area. For many parabolic elements, you cannot simply distribute the force evenly and obtain an even displacement result. You must apply a larger value to the midside nodes

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Note: The location of the nodes are used to evaluate the equation for all loads converted to nodal loads. The position of the centroid of the elemental face is attached to the loaded curve is used for all elemental face loads. The position of the centroid of the element is used for non-face loads such as elemental temperature and elemental heat generation. The only exception to the above is FEMAP will use the position of the nodes to calculate pressure loads if you select the At Corner option for pressures.



Finite Element Modeling

than the Corner nodes, and this value is in excess of 1/2 the value of the total load on the element. You can specify the factor you want on the midside nodes under File, Preferences, Geometry. There are two factors available for Midside Node Adjustment, Tri-Face and Quad-Face factors. These value represent the percentage of the load on each midside node. The values default to 1/3. which means for tri-faces, no loads are applied to the corner nodes, and a -1/12 factor is applied to quad-face corner nodes. These values are standard for many programs. If your results are inappropriate for your analysis program, please consult the documentation for your program. You can also remove the option to adjust for midside nodes by clicking this option off.

4.3.3.4 Model, Load, Expand... ...enables you to visualize the nodal and elemental loads which will be created from geometric loads. This command operates only on the current active load set. When this command is selected, you will see the following dialog box. The Model, Load, Expand command can be used to either expand or compress the geometric loads. When using it to expand loads, you have the option to specify which loads to expand (On Point, On Curve, On Surface) or to expand the entire set (All in Set). If you select an option other than All in Set, the standard entity selection box will appear. When compressing loads, individual types of loads cannot be selected. Compression is always performed on the entire set. If a load has already been expanded, and you select to expand it again, or expand the entire set, an error message will be supplied and the load will not be expanded a second time. This procedure prevents duplication of loads. When translating to an FEA model, to prevent duplication, and to evaluate all loads with their current equation, all loads used in the translation will be compressed, then expanded through the translator, and finally compressed again after translation. Therefore, any expanded geometric loads which appear as elemental or nodal loads before expansion, will be converted back to geometric loads. Convert To Node/Elem This option allows you to permanently convert the selected loads to nodal/elemental loads. Be careful when using this option, because you cannot convert back to the original geometric loads. This option can be useful when a load is mostly constant (or easily described as an equation) over a surface, except at a few nodes (or elements). You can permanently expand the load, and then use the Modify, Update Other, Scale Load command to change individual loads.

Load Analysis Options



Combined Nodal Loads When FEMAP expands multiple geometric loads, it will attempt to combine all similar nodal loads into one load for each DOF. Many analysis programs require only one load on a DOF. With loads such as forces and moments, FEMAP will add the components. The only exception is if the loads contain either different vs. time/temp/freq reference functions, different phases, or different freq reference functions for the phase. In these cases, the loads will remain separate and a warning message will be written. For loads such as displacement or acceleration, FEMAP will not add values for the same DOF. It will keep these values separate and provide a warning message that two different values were found for the same DOF. You will need to modify the input to obtain the desired values at the nodes. The option to permanently convert to nodal loads could be used in this to expand and then modify the displacements on the nodes.

4.3.4 Load Analysis Options These three commands enable you to set options for different analysis types. Three commands are available, based upon the type of analysis required: heat transfer analysis, dynamic analysis, and nonlinear analysis. These commands are not used to put loads onto the model. Rather, they simply define certain parameters which are required for the analysis type. The options contained in each of these commands are discussed below. These commands are not used if you are performing simple static or modal analysis.

4.3.4.1 Model, Load, Nonlinear Analysis...

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...defines the information that is typically required to perform a nonlinear analysis. While this information does not typically represent a load, it is included in the load menu because it does relate to the other loading conditions and how they will be applied. Each load set to be used in a nonlinear analysis must have the appropriate solution type activated.



Finite Element Modeling

Solution Type The solution type determines the type of solution that will be performed for the particular load set. Available options are Static, Creep, and Transient. Only appropriate control information in the remainder of the window will be available based upon the type of solution you choose. Basic These values provide the time and iteration control information for the nonlinear analysis steps. They control the Number of Increments and the Time Increment to be used, as well as the Maximum Iterations for each step. No time increment is used for static analysis. Stiffness Updates This specifies the number of iterations to be performed before the stiffness matrix is updated, as well as the update Method. Five different update methods are available, but not all are appropriate for all each solution type. If an inappropriate method is selected, the translator will provide an error message and automatically choose the default method. Output Control Output Control information allows you to request or eliminate output at intermediate steps (static and creep) or request Output Every Nth Step (transient). Convergence Tolerances The type of Convergence Tolerances (Load, Displacement, and/or Work) as well as the tolerance values themselves are defined in these boxes. Solution Strategy Overrides This area provides you with the capability to further control the strategy that will be employed to converge toward a solution. Defaults When you first choose this command, all values will be zero. By pushing this button, nonzero default values will be entered for all properties. You can then modify these defaults as appropriate. Copy Copy allows you to duplicate the nonlinear analysis information from any other load set in the current model.

Model, Load, Dynamic Analysis...



Advanced This button enables you to access additional nonlinear analysis options as well as damping inputs for nonlinear transient analysis. For most problems, the nonlinear options are not required, but they are available for experienced analysts to modify the default solution controls. The damping values for nonlinear transient analyses can be input here or under Model, Load, Dynamic Analysis.

4.3.4.2 Model, Load, Dynamic Analysis... ...provides the solution type and control information for dynamic analyses. Each load set to be utilized in a dynamic analysis must have the appropriate solution method activated. In addition, a dynamic analysis load is required for nonlinear transient analysis to define structural damping.

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Solution Method The solution method chooses the type of dynamics solution to be performed. Four available options exist: Direct Transient, Modal Transient, Direct Frequency, and



Finite Element Modeling

Modal Frequency. The inappropriate boxes for each Solution Method will be grayed automatically. Equivalent Viscous Damping This box provides damping information for the structure. The Overall Structural Damping Coefficient is input for all four solution methods, while the Modal Damping Table is utilized for only the two modal methods. The Modal Damping Table requires a function to define damping information as a function of frequency. Three types of FEMAP functions can be chosen: Viscous Damping vs. Frequency, Critical Damping vs. Frequency, and Amplification vs. Frequency. Equivalent Viscous Damping Conversion Information for both system damping and element damping is provided in this box. These values are only input in direct and modal transient Analysis. These values provide the conversion from the frequency domain, in which damping is usually defined, into the time domain. The Frequency for System Damping (W3 - Hz) is divided into the overall damping coefficient (for NASTRAN and ANSYS), or the material damping values for each material (for ABAQUS and LS-DYNA3D) and then multiplied by the stiffness to obtain element (or stiffness) damping. The Frequency for Element Damping (W4 Hz) is used in combination with the material damping values to obtain structural damping in NASTRAN, and mass damping in ABAQUS, ANSYS, and LS-DYNA3D. Response Based On Modes For the modal solution methods, these options allow you to choose the number and/or range of modes to include in the frequency response or transient formulation. Transient Time Step Interval For transient analyses, these options control the number of steps, size of steps, and the output interval. If this load is to be used in a nonlinear transient analysis, these options are overridden by the nonlinear transient time step input. Frequency Response The Solutions Frequencies table is chosen in this section. This table defines the frequencies to be analyzed for both direct and modal frequency analysis. The frequency table is just a function with a list of frequencies in the X position. The y position is irrelevant and will be ignored. A solution frequency table can be automatically created by pressing the Modal Freq button. If you are using NASTRAN, you may also select the Advanced option to define the range of solution frequencies. Random Analysis Options This option allows you to define a Power Spectral Density (PSD) function to be used for random analysis. You simply use the Model, Function command to define the PSD values as a function of frequency (a vs. frequency function type), and then select this function under Random Analysis Options. This option is used only for random response analysis.

Model, Load, Dynamic Analysis...



Modal Freq If you have previously performed a modal analysis on your model, and have the solution information in the current model, you can automatically create a solution frequencies function/table from that output. Simply press Modal Freq, and you will see the following: The modal frequency in each output case will be selected for the Solution Frequency table. Additionally, frequencies in a band near each modal frequency can be chosen by using the Additional Solution Frequency Points. The Number of Points per Existing Mode defines the number of frequencies to be included for each modal frequency, while the Frequency Band Spread defines the placement of the additional frequencies. Choosing only one point per mode will select just the modal frequencies. Choosing three points per mode will select the modal frequencies and two additional frequencies at the modal frequency plus and minus the spread value. The number of points must always be odd so that the modal frequencies are selected. Enforced Motion Pressing the Enforced Motion button enables you to define a base acceleration. This option creates a base mass, links it to a set of “base nodes” in your model with rigid elements, and applies an equivalent base force. To begin you specify coordinates for the base mass using the standard coordinate definition dialog box. A node will be automatically created at this location. The next dialogue box is the standard entity selection box, which asks you to choose the nodes on the base. A rigid element is then created with the newly generated node as the independent node and the selected nodes as the dependent nodes. Next you define the base acceleration using the standard load creation dialog box. The type of load to create will be limited to either acceleration or rotational acceleration. You must choose a time or frequency dependent function to associate with the acceleration.

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The final required input is the mass and the acceleration scale factor. They are utilized to generate a nodal force (force = base mass * specified acceleration) at the independent node of the newly created rigid body. The values are automatically computed based on your current model and the acceleration that you chose. The default for the mass value is several orders of magnitude larger than the mass of the current model so the large mass will drive the rest of the model.You can either simply press OK to accept them, change them here, or edit the force later with the Modify, Edit commands.



Finite Element Modeling

Advanced As with nonlinear analysis, an Advanced button is provided to give experienced analysts more control over the solution strategy. The following dialog box is provided to enable choices for Mass Formulation and Dynamic Data Recovery. You can also specify addition analysis inputs for Solution Frequencies and Random Response Analysis. Solution Frequencies This option provides an alternative method to the Solution Frequencies function on the main Dynamic Analysis dialog box. This is currently only supported for NASTRAN. If you have selected a direct frequency analysis, only the Default List and the Frequency Range (Min, Max, No. of Intervals) options will be available, although logarithmic interpolation can also be employed for the frequency range. If you select Modal Frequency as the analysis type, additional types to determine the solution frequencies from the natural modes will be available. These are Cluster around Modes, which corresponds to the NASTRAN FREQ3 card, and Spread Around Modes (MSC/NASTRAN FREQ4 card). Cluster around Modes will also have a logarithmic interpolation option. Random Analysis There are currently two options supported for random analysis. The first is the ANSYS PSD type: ANSYS has the capability to input acceleration (in g2/Hz or acc units2/Hz, displacement, velocity, or force). By simply changing this option, the type of input on the PSD Function in the main Dynamic Analysis dialog box is modified. The second is NASTRAN PSD Interpolation: Nastran has the ability to define the PSD table in the following four formats... (Log, Log), (Linear, Linear), (X Log, Y Lin), (X Lin, YLog). By simply changing this option, the type of Interpolation used on the PSD table input (MSC/NASTRAN TABRND1) in the main Dynamic Analysis dialog box is modified. Copy This selection allows you to copy dynamic analysis options from any other load set in the current model.

Model, Load, Heat Transfer Analysis



4.3.4.3 Model, Load, Heat Transfer Analysis This command enables you to define heat transfer constants, thermal characteristics for convection, and select the type of formulation to use for different types of heat transfer problems. Radiation If you are going to perform a radiation analysis, you must specify the temperature difference between absolute zero and zero in the temperature system that you are using, and the StefanBoltzmann constant.

Free Convection For free convection analysis, you can choose between two alternative forms of the free convection temperature exponent. They are: Standard q = h × u CTRLND × ( T – TAMB ) Alternate q = h × u CTRLND × ( T

EXPF

EXPF

–T

× ( T – TAMB )

EXPF

AMB )

The Convection Exponent is the value shown as EXPF in the above equations. These options are currently used for MSC/NASTRAN only. Forced Convection The forced convection values specify the properties and behavior of the fluid to be analyzed. These options correspond directly to the options on the MSC/NASTRAN PCONVM and MAT4 commands. Refer to the NASTRAN documentation for more information about the proper values for these options.

4.3.5 Load Set Manipulation

4.3.5.1 Model, Load, Copy... ... duplicates the active load set. All loads, including body, nodal elemental, and geometric loads are copied to the new set. If you do not want to duplicate all of them, use the Delete, Model, Load commands to remove the ones that you do not want from the new set.

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This section of the menu works to create either additional load sets or new loads from output. There are four commands available: Copy, Combine, From Output, and From Freebody. Each command is briefly discussed below.



Finite Element Modeling

Input for this command is minimal. Simply specify the ID of the load set that you want to create. This new set must not exist. FEMAP will create a duplicate copy of the active set with the ID that you specify. After the copy has been made, FEMAP will ask whether you want to activate the new set. Answer No if you want to continue working with the original load set. Answer Yes to work with the new copy. Hint:

You may want to use the Model, Load, Set command to modify the title of the new copy. FEMAP will always create it with the same title as the original set that was copied.

4.3.5.2 Model, Load, Combine... ... enables you to combine two or more load sets into one new load set based upon the following formula Load = A 1 Load 1 + A 2 Load 2 + … + A n Load n

This command works in a repetitive fashion. You essentially copy one “From Set” at a time with a specified Scale Factor every time you press More. This is equivalent to a single term in the above equation. For the final set that you wish to linearly combine, press Last One instead of More. This will combine the set, and exit the command. Temperature loads will not be linearly combined. FEMAP will simply copy the nodal and elemental temperatures. If conflicting temperatures exist for the same node or element in the individual load sets, FEMAP will use the last temperature. Also, If loads exist on the same node or element in different sets that are combined, the resulting set will simply obtain multiple loads on that node or element, which can then be combined with Tools, Check, Coincident Loads.

4.3.5.3 Model, Load, From Output... ... lets you convert output data from one or more output vectors into various load types. The loads are always created in the active load set. When you choose this command, FEMAP displays a dialog box to let you choose the type of load you want to create. After you make a selection, and press OK, the Create Loads From Output dialog box will be displayed. If you are creating nodal or elemental temperatures, pressures or heat transfer loads, you will be able to specify an output set and output vector which contains the temperature data. For other types of loads, six vectors can be selected.

Model, Load, From Freebody...



Data from the six vectors will be converted to the six loading degrees of freedom. If you leave any vectors blank (or zero), no loads will be created in that direction. You must always specify at least one vector. When creating elemental pressures, or many of the elemental heat transfer loads, you must also specify a Face ID where the load will act. You cannot create output on different element faces at the same time with this command. Also, all loads are created in global rectangular coordinates, therefore the output must also be in global rectangular. You can choose the Color and Layer for all new loads. Finally, after you complete these options and press OK, the standard entity selection dialog box will be displayed. You must select the nodes or elements where loads will be created. You can either select your entire model, in which case all output will be converted, or limit the conversion to some selected portion of your model. In either case, loads will only be created if output exists for a particular node or element.

Why Create Loads from Output? The primary reason to convert output data to load data is for use in future analyses. For example, you may want to convert that data to temperature loads from a heat transfer run in a structural analysis. Similarly, you might want to use displacement, force or acceleration output from one structural analysis as a loading condition for further analyses. Converting Between Nodal and Elemental Temperatures Another reason to use this command is to convert nodal to elemental temperatures, or vice versa. If you have defined temperatures and need to convert them to the opposite type, this command can be combined with several others to accomplish that task. First, convert your current temperatures to output data using Model, Output, From Load command. Then use Model, Output, Convert to create an additional output vector of the opposite type. Finally, use Model, Load, From Output and select the vector created with Model, Output, Convert.

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4.3.5.4 Model, Load, From Freebody... ...creates loads directly from a freebody display. You must have a freebody display active and Show Load Summation under Freebody Display must be on. The only input to this command is the nodes to apply the loads. FEMAP will automatically create loads from the freebody display for the nodes you selected. If you have requested a total load calculation at a specific location in the freebody display, FEMAP will ask you if it is OK to create this load as well as the individual loads. If you say Yes to the “Total Load” question, FEMAP will create a node at this location and then create the appropriate load.



Finite Element Modeling

4.3.6 Activate/Create Constraint Set All nodal constraints, constraint equations, and geometric constraints are created in the active constraint set. Therefore, you must always activate a constraint set prior to creating either of them.

4.3.6.1 Model, Constraint, Set...

Shift+F2

Enter Set ID to activate here or, choose an existing set from this list

Click here deactivate sets.

... makes a new constraint set or activates an existing set. To create a new constraint set, enter an ID which does not appear in the list of available sets. Then enter a title and press OK. As always, you should choose a descriptive title. The titles are displayed, along with the IDs, whenever you are asked to select a constraint set. To activate a constraint set that already exists, simply choose it from the list, or enter its ID, and press OK. To deactivate all constraint sets, press Reset.

4.3.7 Finite Element (Nodal) Constraints FEMAP allows you to apply constraints directly to nodes or create constraint equations which provide a relationship between DOFs of nodes. You must apply constraints directly to the nodes (as opposed to the geometry) when you are fixing only certain DOFs. Geometric constraints only allow you to create pinned (DOFs 123) or fixed (all 6 DOFs) constraints. There are three commands which apply constraints directly to the nodes: Nodal, Nodal on Face, and Equation. Each of these commands is discussed below.

4.3.7.1 Model, Constraint, Nodal... Nodal constraints are used to prevent movement in one or more nodal directions (degrees of freedom). Creating nodal constraints is a two step process: (1) select the nodes to be constrained using the standard entity selection dialog box, and (2) choose the degrees of freedom, or compo-

Model, Constraint, Nodal...



nent directions, at each of these nodes, which will be constrained. The same constraints will be applied to all of the nodes that you select in a single command. Color/Palette and Layer: These controls define parameters for the nodal constraint to be created. Coordinate System: This list allows you to choose a coordinate system which will define the nodal degrees of freedom, and hence the constraint directions, for all selected nodes. The coordinate system you select here replaces the coordinate system that you selected as the nodal output coordinate system (see Section 4.2.1, "Model, Node..."). If the coordinate system that you choose is different from your previous selection, you will be asked to confirm that you want to overwrite the previous selection for all nodes. Note: Be careful when you change the output coordinate system. If you have other constraints defined on the same node, even in other constraint sets, you are implicitly changing their orientation every time you change the output coordinate system. These changes can result in modeling errors which FEMAP can not detect. Remember, you can only have one output coordinate system per node. All constraints, in all sets, as well as everything else that references nodal degrees of freedom, are specified relative to that coordinate system.

Specifying Degrees of Freedom Any combination of the six nodal degrees of freedom (TX, TY, TZ, RX, RY and RZ) can be selected using the check boxes. In many cases however, standard combinations of degrees of freedom will be needed. For these situations, you can quickly select the combination by pressing the appropriate command button. The following table shows the combinations which are available. In the table, * indicates a constrained degree of freedom. Command Button

TY

TZ

RX

RY

RZ

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

* *

* *

* * *

* * * * *

*

* * *

* * *

* * *

Simply choose the command button you need, followed by OK, to create the constraint.

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Fixed Free Pinned No Rotation X Symmetry Y Symmetry Z Symmetry X AntiSym Y AntiSym Z AntiSym

TX



Finite Element Modeling

Other Uses for Nodal Constraints In most cases, you will want to create nodal constraints to do exactly what their name implies - constrain your model. For some types of analysis (usually modal analysis) other sets of degrees of freedom can be used. One typical example of this is the analysis set (NASTRAN ASET, ANSYS M set, STARDYNE GUYAN set) which is often used for reduced modal analysis. FEMAP’s translators support these additional, non-constraint sets. All you have to do is create an additional set, just like you specified your constraints, which contains the nodal degrees of freedom that you want. It is a good idea to specify a title that will help you to properly identify the set. Then when you translate your model, simply choose this set for its intended purpose, instead of translating it as a constraint set. 4.3.7.2 Model, Constraint, Nodal on Face... ...works just like Model, Constraint, Nodal, but instead of directly selecting the nodes where constraints will be applied, you select elements and element faces. FEMAP then automatically finds all of the nodes on those faces and applies the specified constraints. For more information, see Section 4.3.2.3, "Model, Load, Nodal On Face...". 4.3.7.3 Model, Constraint, Equation... ...relates the motion or displacement of two or more (up to 70) nodal degrees of freedom. When you create a constraint equation, you must specify all of the terms in the following equation: 0 =

∑ Aj uj

where Aj are the equation coefficients, and uj are the nodal degrees of freedom

Equation coefficients are directly specified in the constraint equation definition dialog box: Add, Multiple Nodes, Replace, Delete: Nodal degrees of freedom are identified by selecting a node number and selecting the degree of freedoms (see table below). To input one node at a time, define the coefficient, select the degrees of freedom, and then select/ input the node and press Add. This will add it to the constraint equation. You can also add multiple nodes, if you have multiple nodes in the con-

Geometric Constraints



straint equation that have identical degrees of freedoms and coefficient. Simply input the coefficient, select the degrees of freedom, and then press the Multiple Nodes button. You will then see the standard entity selection dialog box. Select the appropriate nodes and press OK. This will add these nodes with the selecting degrees of freedom and coefficient to the constraint equation. You can also modify your selections by highlighting a selection in the dialog box. When a selection is highlighted, you can remove it by pressing Delete, or change it to your current pick by pressing Replace. Number 1 2 3 4 5 6

DOF TX, X Translation TY, Y Translation TZ, Z Translation RX, X Rotation RY, Y Rotation RZ, Z Rotation

As always, the nodal degrees of freedom are in the X, Y and Z directions defined by the nodal output coordinate systems. ID, Color, Layer: In addition to the equation terms, you must define an equation ID. This ID must be unique within each constraint set, and is used only to identify the equation within FEMAP. The ID will automatically increment each time that you create a new equation. You can also specify a Color and Layer for each equation.

4.3.8 Geometric Constraints You may also create nodal constraints in FEMAP by constraining geometry. FEMAP will automatically transfer these constraints to nodes attached to the constrained geometry upon translation or expansion. The one major limitation to all geometric constraints is that you can only fix either all translations (DOF 123 - Pinned), all translations + all rotations (DOF 123456 - Fixed), or all rotations (DOF 456 - No Rotation).

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Geometric constraints are expanded to nodal constraints upon translation or expansion. If you have already defined nodal constraints for nodes on the geometry, FEMAP will combine the constraints. In this manner, you could pin nodes on a curve, and then create a no rotation condition on one of the nodes through Model, Constraint, Nodal, and the combined result would be a pinned surface with one node as fixed.



Finite Element Modeling

Note: Other combinations of degrees of freedom (besides pinned, fixed, or no rotation) cannot be constrained through geometric constraints. You must use Model, Constraint, Nodal for these other combinations. You may still use geometry, however, to select these nodes. When the standard entity selection box appears, simply press the Method button, and change to a geometric method. You can then select the geometric entities you want and FEMAP will automatically determine which nodes are attached to these entities. The nodal constraints will then be applied directly to these nodes, and their output coordinate systems will be adjusted appropriately. The geometric constraints, similar to the geometric loads, are divided into four commands: On Point, On Curve, On Surface, and Expand.

4.3.8.1 Model, Constraint, On Point... ...allows you to apply constraints directly to points, which are then transformed to nodal constraints upon translation or expansion. This command can ease the entity selection process since you will typically have many more nodes than points in your model, however, it is often just as easy to apply the constraints directly to the nodes with the Model, Constraint, Nodal command. 4.3.8.2 Model, Constraint, On Curve... ...allows you to apply constraints directly to curves. You simply select the curves through the standard entity selection box, and then select the type of constraint. Nodes attached to that curve will then be constrained upon translation or expansion. 4.3.8.3 Model, Constraint, On Surface... ...allows you to apply constraints directly to surfaces. You simply select the surfaces through the standard entity selection box, and then select the type of constraint. Nodes attached to that curve will then be constrained upon translation or expansion.

Model, Constraint, Expand...



4.3.8.4 Model, Constraint, Expand... ...is used to expand or compress geometric constraints. It operates identically to Model, Load, Expand. You can select individual types to expand, or an entire set. You can also compress an entire set. If you choose Convert to Nodal, the geometric constraint will be removed and be replaced by nodal constraints. Just like with the Model, Load, Expand command, be careful when converting to nodal. This conversion is permanent. You cannot go back to the original geometric load.

4.3.9 Constraint Set Manipulation This section contains command to copy or combine entire constraint sets.

4.3.9.1 Model, Constraint ,Copy... ...duplicates the active constraint set. All nodal constraints and constraint equations are copied to the new set. If you do not want to duplicate all of them, use the Delete, Model, Constraint commands to remove unwanted constraints from the new set. Input for this command is minimal. Simply specify the ID of the constraint set that you want to create. This new set must not already exist. FEMAP will create a duplicate copy of the active set with the ID that you specify. After the copy has been made, FEMAP will ask whether you want to activate the new set. Answer no if you want to continue working with the original constraint set. Answer yes to work with the new copy. Hint:

You may want to use the Model, Constraint, Set command to modify the title of the new copy. FEMAP will always create it with the same title as the original set that was copied.

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4.3.9.2 Model, Constraint, Combine... ... enables you to combine two or more constraint sets into one new constraint set. This option works much like Model, Load, Combine, except there is no scale factor input, and you will have the option to combine or overwrite constraints for each set that you choose.



Finite Element Modeling

4.4 Preparing for Analysis The Analysis Set Manager dialog box lets you create analysis sets that define the analysis parameters, boundary conditions, and output for an analysis. Once you have defined an analysis set, you can use it as input to an analysis program such as FEMAP Structural or MSC/ NASTRAN. Analysis sets are saved in the model file, unlike the parameters that you define when you use the File, Export or File, Analyze commands. You can also save analysis sets in FEMAP analysis libraries. For more information, see Section 4.4.1, "Defining a Analysis Set" and Section 4.4.2, "Running the Analysis with an Analysis Set". The Analysis Set Manager dialog box has two areas: the analysis set list and buttons that enable you to control data stored for an analysis set. Analysis Set List The Analysis Set Manager list area lets you easily view the parameters for your analysis set: solver name, type of solve, options, master output requests and boundary conditions, and cases. To work with the list: •

Use the plus and minus buttons to collapse and expand the analysis set hierarchy.

•

Double-click on an item to bring up a dialog box that lets you define or modify the item. For example, if you double-click on Solver, the Analysis Set dialog box opens. You can then modify the analysis program or analysis type.

•

You can use a combination of list items and buttons to perform actions. For example, to copy an analysis set, pick the analysis set and the Copy button.

Analyze The Analyze button begins the analysis using the active analysis set. Once you enter a file name, the analysis will start.

Defining a Analysis Set



Active The active analysis set is the set that will be sent to the analysis program or saved in the analysis library. The Analysis Set Manager dialog box displays the active analysis set in the title bar. Use the Active button to make a different analysis set active. MultiSet Use MultiSet to automatically create cases for every combination of load set and constraint set that you have defined for your model. You can then review the list of cases and delete those that you don’t want to include in the analysis. Copy Use Copy if you need to create an analysis set or case that it similar to one that already exists. From the analysis set list, pick the set or case to use, then pick Copy. You can copy cases from one analysis set to another. Delete Use Delete to remove analysis sets or cases from the analysis set list. Pick the set or case, then pick Delete. Load/Save Use Load and Save to work with analysis libraries. An analysis library is an external file that lets you store analysis sets. Analysis libraries let you create standard analysis sets that you can use in many different models. Pick Load to use an analysis set from a library. Pick Save to save the active analysis set to the library file. The default analysis library file name is analysis.esp. To change the name, use File, Preferences. New Use New to create a new analysis set or case. Pick an existing set or case, then pick New. Edit Use Edit to modify analysis sets. Pick an item from the analysis set list, then pick Edit.

4.4.1 Defining a Analysis Set The general process for defining an analysis set is: 1. Pick the first item on the list, then pick New. (You can also double-click the item.) 2. On the Analysis Set dialog box, enter the Title. 3. Choose the Analysis Program and Analysis Type. This information determines the remaining options and parameters that you’ll define.

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Done When you are finished creating analysis sets, pick Done. The analysis sets are stored in the model file.



Finite Element Modeling

4. The best way to define an analysis set is to pick Next to work through the dialog boxes in order. Alternatively, you can pick OK to close the dialog box. From the analysis set list, you can then double-click on a parameter to bring up the dialog box. (You can also click the item and press Edit.) For details on the dialog boxes, see the following topics: •

Section 4.4.1.1, "Analysis Set"

•

Section 4.4.1.2, "Options"

•

Section 4.4.1.3, "Master Requests and Conditions"

•

Section 4.4.1.4, "Boundary Conditions"

•

Section 4.4.1.5, "Output Requests"

•

Section 4.4.1.6, "Cases"

4.4.1.1 Analysis Set The Analysis Set dialog box lets you define the Title, Analysis Program, and Analysis Type. Pick Next to continue setting up the analysis. The options on the remaining dialog boxes are dependent on analysis program and type. For more information on analysis program interfaces, see: •

FEMAP Structural User Guide

•

Section 8, "Analysis Program Interfaces" in the FEMAP User Guide

4.4.1.2 Options Use the Options dialog boxes to define specific information required by your solver. For example, the FEMAP Structural options include solution parameters (specific to analysis type), solver parameters (such as memory settings), and files. For more information, see: •

FEMAP Structural User Guide

•

Section 8, "Analysis Program Interfaces" in the FEMAP User Guide

Master Requests and Conditions



4.4.1.3 Master Requests and Conditions In an analysis, the master requests and conditions are the default output requests and boundary conditions (loads and constraints). The analysis will generate one output set for the master requests and conditions, unless you define a case. (For more information, see Section 4.4.1.6, "Cases".) On the Master Requests and Conditions dialog box, you can enter a Title and Manual Control options. Once you have entered this data, pick Next to set up the boundary conditions. The Manual Control options include: •

Skip Standard: If this switch is on, the interface does not write text to the input file. If Start and End Text have been defined, they will still be written to the input file.

•

Start Text: Pick this option to add text to the beginning of the the input file.

•

End Text: Pick this option to add text to the end of the input file.

4.4.1.4 Boundary Conditions The Boundary Conditions dialog box lets you select the loads and constraints to apply to your analysis.You can apply boundary conditions as both master boundary conditions or in cases. Once you have entered this data, pick Next to continue setting up the analysis.

Primary Sets Depending on your analysis type, you can select constraints and loads. • Constraints: pick a constraint set for your model. Loads: pick a load set for your model.

• Initial conditions: for some solvers, you can pick a load set to use for initial conditions. •

Constraint equations: pick a constraint set to define constraint equations.

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Finite Element Modeling

Other DOF Sets You can select constraint sets to use as various types of DOF sets. •

The Master/ASET field lets you use a constraint set to define a FEMAP Structural master DOF set or an MSC/NASTRAN ASET.

•

The Kinematic/SUPORT field lets you use a constraint set to define a FEMAP Structural kinematic DOF set or an MSC/NASTRAN SUPORT set.

The remaining DOF set names let you define other MSC/NASTRAN DOF sets. For heat transfer analyses, you will notice that constraint sets are not used. Rather, loads and constraints are both selected from a load set. FEMAP translates nodal temperatures, in the same set as the other thermal loads, as thermal constraints (boundary conditions). Note: If your analysis requires multiple load or constraint sets, you must create cases.

4.4.1.5 Output Requests Use the Output Requests dialog box to identify the types of output that you want from the analysis. The type of output that you can request will depend on the analysis program and analysis type.

You can define output requests as both master output requests or as part of a case.

Cases



4.4.1.6 Cases Cases let you perform multiple analyses with different load and/or constraint sets.You can also specify output requests for each case. The analysis program will generate one output set for each case. Use the Analysis Case dialog box to enter a Case ID and Title for a case. For some analysis programs, you can also enter manual control text. Once you have entered this data, pick Next to continue setting up the analysis. (The master requests and conditions provide the defaults for the cases.) The Manual Control options include: •

Skip Standard: If this switch is on, the interface does not write text to the input file. If Start and End Text have been defined, they will still be written to the input file.

•

Start Text: Pick this option to add text to the beginning of the the input file.

•

End Text: Pick this option to add text to the end of the input file.

Hint:

One easy way to create cases is to use the MultiSet button on the Analysis Set Manager. Multi-Set creates one case for each combination of loads and constraints.

4.4.2 Running the Analysis with an Analysis Set When you are ready to solve your model: 1. Check the title bar for the active set. If the correct set isn’t active, pick Active, then the analysis set to analyze. 2. Pick Analyze. 3. Depending on the solver you’re using, you may need to enter a name for the file that will be written to the solver. Once the analysis is complete, the output sets will be loaded into FEMAP. You can examine the results using FEMAP’s post-processing capabilities. 0

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Finite Element Modeling

4.5 Creating Contact The commands under the Model, Contact menu generate node, elements, or property information for general contact. This type of contact is currently supported for ABAQUS, ANSYS, LS-DYNA3D, NE/NASTRAN, and MARC. There are three steps in creating contact for these programs. They involve three different entity creations: •

contact segment/surface

•

contact property

•

contact pair

Each of these entities are described in the following sections. Note: The Contact Property and Contact Pair options are provided under the Model, Contact menu purely for convenience. These options can be created through the standard Model, Property and Model, Element commands.

4.5.1 Defining a Contact Segment/Surface The Model, Contact, Segment/Surface command creates the individual segments for contact. When you access this command, you will see the Contact Segment dialog box.

This dialog box is partitioned into four major sections: standard entity information, Defined By, Type, and Output. Each of these sections are described more fully below. In addition, Add includes one item, Multiple allows you to select multiple entities, Delete removes one item, and Reset removes the entire list. Note: An entity is not selected until it appears in the large window on the right of the dialog box. Thus, an item contained in the entry area (shown as Surface above) will not be included if you enter the entity and press OK. You must select button. Each of these methods are discussed below.

Standard Extrusion Standard extrusions are used to simply extrude the curves a constant distance along a vector. You must choose the property to be used for the planar elements and the total number of Elements along Length as shown in the above dialog box. The type of elements that are created is based on the type of property that you select. For example, choose a plate property to create plate elements, a laminate property to create laminate elements, and so on. If you do not have any planar element properties, choose New Property to create one. Specify the number of elements that you want along the extrusion vector in the Elements along Length box before you press OK. Once you press OK, FEMAP will prompt you to specify the extrusion vector using the standard vector dialog boxes. The vector can be located anywhere but must have the direction and magnitude that you want for the extrusion. The length of this vector will be the total length of the extruded elements. Also remember, the same vector will be used for all selected curves so in general it should be relatively normal to the “plane” of the curves (although the curves do not have to be planar).

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5.5.1.1 Mesh, Extrude, Curve... ... creates planar elements by moving curves along a vector or curve. Before you choose this command, you must define the mesh size, using the Mesh, Mesh Control, Size Along Curve command for the curves you select. The mesh size will determine the number of elements created by each curve.



Meshing

The figure shows one example of extruding a connected set of curves.

Mesh Size along curves

Extrusion Vector

Original Curves

Extruded Elements

Advanced Extrusion The Advanced>> button provides access to the Generation Options dialog box for advanced extrusions. This dialog box controls the different methods of extrusion. Each area of the dialog box will be explained more fully below, but first a quick explanation of the overall procedure is necessary.

Operation The Advanced option can be used to extrude along one or more vectors or curves. You can specify mesh biasing for the extrusion, as well as offsets from the original curves. The Offset and Along areas next to OK and Cancel provide status information on their current settings. If no method (Along or Follow Curve) has been specified, the OK option will be grayed and Along will show Must Specify, as seen above.

Mesh, Extrude, Curve...



The sample below shows a rectangle which was extruded into plate elements by extruding along a spline. You will notice that the mesh both follows the spline, as well as gets finer in the area of curvature due to the specified mesh sizing on the spline. 0

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Original Curves to Extrude

Curve for Extrusion Path

Mesh Size Along Curves Extruded Plate Elements

You can even do multi-level extrusions with different properties. The dialog box will continue to repeat each time you press OK. Once the first extrusion is created, FEMAP will automatically update the offset so that it corresponds to the location of the end of the previous extrusion. If you need to make several levels of extrusions with different properties, simply input the appropriate parameters for each extrusion and pick a different property. Note: FEMAP does not automatically merge coincident nodes of multi-level extrusions. There are times when you may want to keep coincident nodes to simulate contact or other interface conditions. If you do want to merge all coincident nodes, simply use the Tools, Check Coincident Nodes command after the extrusion is complete to merge the extrusions together. Property For each extrusion, you must choose a planar property. If you do not have a planar property in your model, you can press New Property to select one. You can create a multilevel extrusion of different properties simply by picking a different property for each extrusion pass. Extrusion Vectors The four options in this section of the dialog box allow you to specify the vector for extrusion. There are two modes of extrusion: Along a vector and Follow Curve. If you choose Along a vector, you must specify the vector through the standard Vector Definition dialog box. The Follow Curve option requires selection of a curve. The vector option provides access to the Extrusion Distance and Elements section of the dialog box to define the length and mesh sizing. When you extrude along a curve, however, these options are grayed. The distance and mesh sizing for the extrusion is obtained from the curve you selected to follow and its mesh spacing. Therefore, it is



Meshing

very important to define the mesh size on the selected curve before performing the extrusion to guarantee that you get the desired mesh. The Offset option allows you to specify an offset via the standard Vector Definition dialog box. This offset defines the vector from the original curves to the start of the extrusion. Normally you will not specify offsets manually, unless your curves are not located where you want to start the extrusion. If you are creating a multi-level extrusion, the offsets will be automatically updated at the end of each individual extrusion, so that the next one starts where the last one ended. If you want to create a discontinuous mesh, you can update the offsets manually before extruding again. If you want to remove any offset, simply press Reset Offset. Extrusion Distance and Elements If the extrusion is to take place along a vector, the Extrusion Distance and Elements area of the dialog box must be specified. This section determines the overall length and mesh sizing of the extrusion. The mesh sizing is defined similar to any mesh sizing on a curve. Simply specify the total number of elements and a bias factor. There are three options available to define the total length of the extrusion: 1. Use Vector Length - uses the length of the vector that you defined for the total extrusion length. 2. Locate - The extrusion length is calculated from start of the extrusion to a defined location. If you choose this method, you will be asked to define the location (with the standard coordinate dialog) when you press OK to create the extrusion. If the location that you specify is not along the extrusion vector, it is projected onto that vector, before the length is computed. This method is a good one to use if you are trying to match another existing mesh, or geometry. You can simply pick nodes or points for the location to extrude to, without worrying about the actual dimensions. 3. Distance - this method requires direct specification of the extrusion length. The vector length is ignored, in favor of the distance you specify here. This method is a good one if you have a series of extrusions, along the same vector, and you know the distances or “stations” where you want the extrusions to end. You never need to redefine the vector, just keep specifying new distances. Note: This command always creates linear elements, you cannot create parabolic elements simply by selecting a parabolic property. You can however convert the linear elements to parabolics after they are created by using the Modify, Update Elements, Order command.

Mesh, Extrude, Element...



The required input and procedure are similar to the Mesh, Extrude, Curve command. There are two modes of operation: (1) Standard, which simply uses the Generation Options dialog box shown here, and (2) Advanced, which is accessed through the Advanced >> button. In either case, you must first select the elements to extrude, then specify the extrusion parameters. Each of these methods is explained below.

Standard Extrusion You may only select one type (line or planar) of elements for this command. The property that you select or create must be of the correct type for the elements that you will create. Remember, if you selected line elements you will need a property for planar elements. If you selected planar elements you will need a property for solid elements. The Elements along Length parameter sets the number of elements that each original element will produce. Extrusion vector

Extrude as Solids

Extrude as Plates 4 elements along length

5 elements along length Original Plate Elements

The new elements will use the color and layer of the original elements that you are extruding if you choose Match Original Entities. If you choose Use Current Settings

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5.5.1.2 Mesh, Extrude, Element... ... creates elements by extruding existing elements of a different type. Any line element or planar element can be extruded. Line elements will extrude into quadrilateral plane elements. Triangular and quadrilateral plane elements extrude into wedge and brick solids respectively. If you choose parabolic planar elements, they will create parabolic solids. Each element that you select will create one element at each step along the extrusion length.



Meshing

they will use the active color and layer. You also will want to check the Delete Original Elements option if you want to automatically delete the original elements that are being extruded. Finally, press OK and then define the extrusion vector using the standard Vector Definition dialog box. The selected elements will be extruded along this vector direction. The magnitude of the vector will be the extrusion length.These pictures show two extrusions, one of line elements, the other of planar elements. Both used the same extrusion vector. All elements are shown with “element shrink” turned on, so that you can see both the original and generated elements. Alternate Extrusion Methods When you are extruding planar elements, you will have two additional methods available: extruding along the element normal directions, and extruding along the element normal directions with thickness corrections. Both of these methods use the normal vectors at each node to determine the extrusion direction. As shown here, this can be used to quickly take a surface model and turn it into a solid element model. Original Planar Elements

Extruded with Thickness Correction

The element normal method simply extrudes along the element normals by the extrusion length that you specify. This method will result in the distance between all inner and outer nodes being equal to the extrusion length. In areas where the planar elements are not “coplanar” however, the resulting element thicknesses will not be constant, and in general will be less than the extrusion length. For this reason, it is usually best to choose the final method that includes thickness corrections.

Mesh, Extrude, Element...



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with thickness correction Extrude

without thickness correction

By choosing the Normals with Thickness Correction method, FEMAP attempts to adjust the extrusion length at each node to make the resulting element thicknesses at that node equal to the extrusion length. This will typically result in the distance between the inner and outer nodes being greater than the distance you specified. If your plates are at the midplane of where you want the solids, you will have to use this command twice. One time, you will specify a positive extrusion length (along the positive element normal). Then use a negative extrusion length (along the negative element normal). Note: It is up to you to prepare your plate elements with all of their normals pointing in a consistent direction prior to using this command. FEMAP assumes you want to use the normal direction that you defined. You can use Modify, Update Elements, Reverse or Tools, Check, Normals to adjust element normals. The View Options command can be used to display normal vectors.



Meshing

Advanced Extrusion The Advanced>> option provides access to the Generation Options dialog box for advanced extrusions which controls the different methods of extrusion. Each area of the dialog box is explained more fully below, but the overall procedure is explained first.

Operation The Advanced option can be used to extrude along a vector or curve. You can also specify mesh biasing for the extrusion, as well as offsets from the original curves. The Offset and Along areas next to OK and Cancel provide status information on their current settings. If no method (Along or Follow Curve) has been specified, the OK option will be grayed and Along will show Must Specify, as seen above. The sample shows a rectangular plate mesh which was extruded into solid elements by extruding along a spline. You will notice that the mesh both follows the spline, as well as gets finer in the area of curvature due to the specified mesh sizing on the spline. Solid Extruded Elements Planar Elements

Curve for Extrusion Path

Mesh Size on Curve

You can even do multi-level extrusions with different properties. The dialog box will continue to repeat each time you press OK. Once the first extrusion is created, FEMAP will automatically update the offset so that it corresponds to the location at the end of the previous extrusion. If you need to make several levels of extrusions with different

Mesh, Extrude, Element...



properties, simply input the appropriate parameters for each extrusion and pick the selected property.

Parameters You can select whether the new entities will use current settings or match the values for the original entities. For each extrusion, you must also choose a property. This must be either a planar property if extruding line elements, or a solid property if extruding plate elements. If you do not have an appropriate property in your model, you can press New Property to select one. You can create a multi-level extrusion of different properties simply by picking a different property for each extrusion pass. Extrusion Vectors The four options in this section of the dialog box allow you to specify the vector for extrusion. There are two modes of extrusion: along a vector and Follow Curve. If you choose Along a vector, you must specify the vector through the standard Vector Definition dialog box. The Follow Curve option requires selection of a curve. The vector option provides access to the Extrusion Distance and Elements section of the dialog box to define the length and mesh sizing. When you extrude along a curve, however, these options are grayed. The distance and mesh sizing for the extrusion is obtained from the curve you selected to follow and its mesh spacing. Therefore, it is very important to define the mesh size on the selected curve before performing the extrusion to guarantee that you get the desired mesh. The Offset option allows you to specify an offset via the standard Vector Definition dialog box. This offset defines the vector from the original curves to the start of the extrusion. Normally you will not specify offsets manually, unless your curves are not located where you want to start the extrusion. If you are creating a multi-level extrusion, the offsets will be automatically updated at the end of each individual extrusion, so that the next one starts where the last one ended. If you want to create a discontinuous mesh, you can update the offsets manually before extruding again. If you want to remove any offset, simply press Reset Offset.

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Note: FEMAP does not automatically merge coincident nodes of multilevel extrusions since there are times when you want to keep coincident nodes to simulate contact or other interface conditions. If you do want to merge all coincident nodes, simply use the Tools, Check, Coincident Nodes command after the extrusion is complete to sew the extrusions together.



Hint:

Meshing

You can tell the current offset value and extrusion method by examining values of Offset and Along. These values are dynamically updated every time you or FEMAP changes the information. The Offset will either be No Offset, or the offset vector (x, y, z Global). The Along option will be Must Specify, the extrusion vector (x, y, z Global), or the Curve ID. If Must Specify is the Along option, the OK button will be grayed until you choose Along or Follow Curve to specify the extrusion method.

Extrusion Distance and Elements If the extrusion is to take place along a vector, the Extrusion Distance and Elements area of the dialog box must be specified. This section determines the overall length and mesh sizing of the extrusion. The mesh sizing is defined similar to any mesh sizing on a curve. Simply specify the total number of elements and a bias factor. There are three options available to define the total length of the extrusion: 1. Use Vector Length - uses the length of the vector that you defined for the total extrusion length. 2. Locate - The extrusion length is calculated from start of the extrusion to a defined location. If you choose this method, you will be asked to define the location (with the standard coordinate dialog) when you press OK to create the extrusion. If the location that you specify is not along the extrusion vector, it is projected onto that vector, before the length is computed. This method is a good one to use if you are trying to match another existing mesh, or geometry. You can simply pick nodes or points for the location to extrude to, without worrying about the actual dimensions. 3. Distance - this method requires direct specification of the extrusion length. The vector length is ignored, in favor of the distance you specify here. This method is a good one if you have a series of extrusions, along the same vector, and you know the distances or “stations” where you want the extrusions to end. You never need to redefine the vector, just keep specifying new distances.

5.5.2 Mesh, Revolve Menu The Mesh, Revolve commands are very similar to the Mesh, Extrude commands - they take existing curves or elements and create additional planar or solid elements. In this case however, the original elements are rotated (revolved) around an axis vector, rather than being translated along the vector as in the Extrude commands. The other major difference is that there are no Advanced options available for the Mesh, Revolve commands.

5.5.2.1 Mesh, Revolve, Curve... ... creates planar elements by revolving curves around a vector. Before you choose this command, define the mesh size along the curves that you will select. The mesh size will

Mesh, Revolve, Curve...



determine the number of elements created by each curve. Use the Mesh, Mesh Control, Size Along Curve command to define these sizes.

You should not select any curves that cross the vector that you plan to revolve around. If you do, those curves will generate twisted elements since each end of the curve would revolve in a different direction. This command makes no allowance for generating triangular elements in the middle of a curve to eliminate this restriction. You can, on the other hand, choose curves that have endpoints on the axis of revolution. These curves will automatically create triangular elements (instead of quadrilaterals) at those endpoints. After you have selected the curves to revolve, you must specify the generation options. This is identical to the Mesh, Extrude, Curves command (see Section 5.5.1.1, "Mesh, Extrude, Curve..."). Next, the standard vector dialog box is used to define the axis of revolution. Unlike the extrude commands, the magnitude of this vector is not important, but its location and direction are important. The relationship between the location of the vector and the curves you selected determines how the elements will be created. Finally, you must specify the angle of rotation and the distance to translate along the axis of revolution. These values are just like those specified for the Mesh, Rotate commands, except you specify the total angle and total distance, not the values per iteration. The picture shows the result of revolving a series of curves (no translation distance was specified). Quadrilateral Elements Mesh Size controls elements along curves

Axis of Revolution

Original curves

Triangular Elements

9 elements along length of revolution

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To begin, you select the curves to revolve using the standard entity selection dialog box. Any type of curve can be selected, and the curves do not have to form a closed or ordered boundary. However, the generated elements will only be connected to each other at locations where the original curves were connected. Therefore, if you are trying to generate a connected group of elements (with no coincident nodes) it is always best to select a connected boundary in an ordered sequence around the boundary.



Meshing

5.5.2.2 Mesh, Revolve, Element... ... creates planar or solid elements by revolving existing elements around a vector - the axis of revolution. Line and planar elements can be revolved, but you can only choose one type in a single command. Line elements will create planar elements and planar elements will create solids as they are revolved. Using this command is essentially the same as the Mesh, Revolve, Curve command. First, choose the elements to revolve. Second, set the generation options using the dialog box shown in the Mesh, Extrude,Elements command. Next, define the axis of revolution using the vector definition dialog boxes. Remember, only the location and direction of this vector are important for this command. It is important to specify an axis that is properly positioned relative to the elements you selected. In general, it should be defined so elements will be revolved normal to their current positions. If you choose other locations or directions, it can result in badly shaped elements. In extreme cases like revolving plates in their own plane, this command will fail and will not create new elements. Finally, set the total rotation angle, and the translation distance (along the axis of revolution). Both of these quantities are input as the total values for the entire revolution. Line Elements

Revolve into Plates

Axis of Revolution

Plate Elements Quads with one corner on axis are split into two triangles and revolve into 4 tetras

Revolve into Solids Triangles revolve into Wedges Quads revolve into Bricks

Axis of Revolution Quads on axis revolve into Wedges

Mesh, Sweep



5.5.3 Mesh, Sweep

Like the Advanced, Follow Curve option for the Mesh, Extrude commands, the curves or elements are swept along a curve. The Mesh, Sweep commands, however, keep the edge of the new elements tangent to the curve. The edges of elements generated with the Mesh, Extrude commands remain parallel to the edge of the curve but are not tangent to it. The menu includes two commands: •

Z

Mesh, Sweep, Curve: Any type of curve can be selected, and the curves do not have to form a closed or ordered boundary. The generated elements, however, will only be connected to each other at locations where the original curves were connected. Therefore, if you are trying to generate a connected group of elements (with no coincident nodes) it is always best to select a connected boundary in an ordered sequence around the boundary.

Z

Y X

•

Y X

Mesh, Sweep, Element: Any line element or planar element can be selected. Line elements will be swept into quadrilateral plane elements. Triangular and quadrilateral plane elements sweep into wedge and brick solids, respectively. If you choose parabolic planar elements, they will create parabolic solids. Each element that you select will create one element at each step along the length of the curve.

V1

Y Z X

V1

Y Z X

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The Mesh, Sweep menu allows you to select curves or elements, and then sweep them along one or more curves to form the new elements. Sweeping curves will form FEMAP planar (2-D) elements, while sweeping elements will form either planar elements (if 1-D elements are swept) or solid elements (if planar elements are swept).



Meshing

Sweeping Curves and Elements Use the following procedure to sweep curves and elements: 1. Before you pick the Sweep command, define the mesh size using the Mesh, Mesh Control, Size Along Curve command for the curves (both the curves to sweep and the curve to sweep along). The mesh size will determine the number of elements created for each curve. 2. Pick the Mesh, Sweep, Curve or Mesh, Sweep, Element command. 3. Select the curves or elements to sweep using the standard entity selection dialog box. 4. Select the curve(s) to sweep along. 5. You will next see the the Generation Options dialog box. To use the active element color and layer for the new elements, pick Use Current Setting. To use the color and layer of the original elements that you are sweeping, pick Match Original Entities. 6. Pick the Property for the elements that will be created. For curves and line elements to sweep, pick a plane element property. For plane elements to sweep, pick a solid element property. 7. If the curve to sweep along is planar, you do not need to pick any additional options. If the curve to sweep along is not planar, you can pick an Alignment Curve. Once you pick OK, you will be prompted for the curve. If you don’t choose an alignment curve, you will prompted to pick a reference point. The elements will be oriented toward either the point or curve(s) that you select. For examples, see "Sweeping Along a Non-Planar Curve".

Sweeping Along a Non-Planar Curve If you are sweeping along a non-planar curve, you must use either a reference point or alignment curve to orient the elements along the curve.

Mesh, Sweep



The figure shows how two curves are swept along an out of plane curve. Note how the orientation of the elements stays relative to the alignment curve.

V1

V1 Alignment Curve

0

Z

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Z

Y X

Y X

Curves to Sweep

Sometimes you may prefer to use a reference point. However, poor placement of either an reference point or alignment curve can cause problems with the element orientation. In the example below, note how the element orientations are twisted.

1

Z

Reference Point

V1

Z

Y X

Curves to Sweep

Y X

Twisted Elements



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6.

Viewing Your Model In addition to the numerous pre-and post-processing options provided by FEMAP, FEMAP also provides a wide array of viewing options that play a key role in increasing your FEA productivity. The options and methods for controlling how your model is displayed on screen can be divided into two broad categories: •

View menu commands

•

groups and layers

Each of these areas and their associated commands are discussed more fully below.

6.1 View Menu Commands The commands on this menu control the display of your model on your computer monitor, on printed/plotted output, and in graphical data which is saved or transferred to other applications. Additionally, these commands help you to create and manage the graphical windows on your screen. FEMAP uses the term “view” to refer to the combination of the graphics window and all of the options that define what, how, and where your model will be displayed. FEMAP Views are stored with your model database. They can be either active or inactive. Active views are associated with an on-screen window. Inactive views are not currently displayed on your screen, but can be activated at any time you choose. Only non-iconic active views can be modified. The View menu is separated into six partitions. The first partition involves redrawing of the views, the second is multiple view manipulation, and the third is view selection and options. The fourth through sixth sections all involve modifying the view, whether it be through magnification, rotation, etc. Each of these areas is described more fully below.

6.1.1 Redrawing Views This section includes commands for redrawing of your model. There are two different command for redrawing: View, Redraw and View, Regenerate. In addition, you can show particular entities in a view, as well as apply all changes to All Views. Ctrl+D or F12 6.1.1.1 View, Redraw... ... forces FEMAP to redraw or redisplay the active graphics window. You can redraw your graphics at any time.



Viewing Your Model

Graphics windows are redrawn automatically whenever required by Windows. Additionally, if you select the Autoplot option under the File, Preferences, Views command, all entities that are created or modified will be drawn automatically. This option is on by default. Unlike View, Redraw, the Autoplot option only draws entities you created or modified, not the full view. For more information, see Section 6.1.1.2, "View, Regenerate...". Ctrl+Shift+D Redrawing Multiple Windows If you have multiple graphics windows on your screen, and All Views is set, they will all be redrawn. In addition, no matter how All Views is set, you can redraw all active windows by pressing Ctrl+Shift+D. For more information, see Section 6.1.1.4, "View, All Views...".

Aborting a Redraw Drawing your model can take a significant amount of time, depending on the size of your model and the options you choose. In some cases, you may not want to wait for the view to be completely redrawn before you choose your next command. In these cases, you can abort the display simply by choosing your next command. When FEMAP is redrawing your display, the graphics cursor will change to an hourglass behind a pointer. This shape indicates that FEMAP is busy with your current command, but the current command will be aborted automatically if you make a new selection. Actually, FEMAP just “watches” the keyboard and mouse. The command is aborted whenever you press any key, or mouse button. These are the actions that you have to do to choose the next command anyway. When FEMAP is done with the current command, the hourglass will disappear and the cursor will return to its normal pointer or crosshair shape. Since FEMAP automatically aborts whenever you press a key or the left mouse button, you can never press either of them before a redraw is complete, unless you want to abort. If you abort a redraw, you should still be able to graphically select any of the entities which have been displayed. You may not be able to select entities which have not been displayed. Extensive graphical selections should always be done in a view which has been completely redrawn. Ctrl+G or Ctrl+F12 6.1.1.2 View, Regenerate... ... is just like the View, Redraw command. It forces FEMAP to redraw either the active graphics window, or all graphics windows (if All Views is set). When FEMAP draws your model for the first time, certain view dependent data is retained in your model. Saving this data speeds up future redraws. For all types of displays, FEMAP will save a display list of transformed coordinates. This eliminates the need to continually transform from your three-dimensional model, to the orientation you choose on the two-dimensional screen. For hidden line displays, FEMAP also saves a sorted list of the entities which you displayed. Once this list has been calculated, it can

View, Show. . .



be redisplayed without additional hidden line calculations. Similarly, for free edge and free face displays, lists of the free edges and faces are retained. If you are using the Quick Display capability, even more information is saved. If you choose the View, Redraw command, these saved lists will be used, whenever they are available. View, Regenerate will throw away all of the lists and then call View, Redraw. This forces FEMAP to regenerate all of the information from your model. If the display lists were never created, View, Redraw and View, Regenerate are identical.

Ctrl+Shift+G Regenerating Multiple Windows If you have multiple graphics windows on your screen, and All Views is set, they will all be regenerated. In addition, no matter how All Views is set, you can regenerate all active windows by pressing Ctrl+Shift+G. Hint:

If you are redrawing your model and something does not look correct, always try to do a regenerate before looking for other problems.

Shift+F12 6.1.1.3 View, Show. . . . . . provides a way to graphically query your model. Although there are many possible uses for this command, there are two primary reasons you might want to choose it: What is the ID of this element (or node . . .)? The first potential use occurs if you have a model displayed on the screen with no labels (because the picture is too complicated with them). You can choose View, Show and graphically pick one or more entities. With the labelling option turned on, FEMAP will display the IDs of the entities that you choose. Where is element (or node . . .) number 10? The second use involves finding certain entities in a complicated model. If you need to find a certain entity, you can just type its ID, rather than selecting it graphically. FEMAP will highlight the entities that you have chosen and optionally add labels. If you autoscale your model before using this command, the entity will be visible on your screen. Selecting Options The View, Show command requires input of the type of entity to show. You can only select one type of entity each time you use this command.

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FEMAP will automatically discard the display lists whenever you change alignment or close/deactivate a view. FEMAP will also update the transformed coordinates whenever you move a node or point. FEMAP will not update or destroy the hidden line or free edge display lists, since rebuilding them involves significant computations. It is up to you to choose the View, Regenerate command whenever you want FEMAP to calculate a new hidden line or free edge display. Conversely, for many modifications (zoom, pan, color, layer, small position changes...) you can still choose View, Redraw and save a large portion of the time required for these displays.



Viewing Your Model

Style If you select Erase Background First, the window will be erased before the selected entities are shown, otherwise the entities will just be added to the current picture. The Label with ID option controls whether IDs will be added to the selected entities. If entity labels are already on, they will be drawn even if this option is off. If they are normally off however, turning this option on insures that the entities that you show will be labelled with their ID. By default, Show Color is selected. This will cause all selected entities to be drawn in the color listed to the right. You can change this color by typing a different ID, or by pressing Palette to choose a color from the palette dialog. The default show color has been chosen to highlight the entities that you choose. If you just want to add IDs to the selected entities, you may want to switch to entity colors. This will display the entities in their normal colors. Selecting the Entities to Show After you choose the desired options, and press OK, you will see the standard entity selection dialog box. The type of entities that are selected by this box depends on the entity type option that you chose. Just like other commands, you can use any combination of keyboard and graphical input to select the entities that you want to show. Press OK to show the entities that you have selected. Hint:

The View, Show command is also very useful to show connections between FEA entities and geometry. For example, to see what nodes are attached to a surface, select Node as the option. When the standard entity selection dialog box appears, change the method to On Surface, and select the desired surface. FEMAP will then highlight all nodes that are attached to that surface.

Alt+F7 6.1.1.4 View, All Views... . . . alternately turns the All Views switch on and off. When the “All Views” switch is on, a check mark will appear in the menu beside this command. No input is required for this command. When All Views is off, only one window, the active one, will be redrawn or modified. The active window is always the one that you last selected. If you do nothing else, the last window that you activated will still be active. Simply clicking with the left mouse button in a graphics window will select it as the active graphics window. You can also tell the active window by the “arrow” pointers that are place around its title (assuming you have title bars turned on). When All Views is on, FEMAP will redraw all of the on-screen windows. Similarly, the other view-related commands will update all of the on-screen windows which are not minimized (turned into icons). You can therefore limit updates to a selected set of windows simply by minimizing the others and then turning All Views on, prior to making

Manipulating Multiple Views



the modification. After you make the changes you want, you can restore the iconic windows to their original size and position. Instead of using this command, the same All Views switch can also be controlled from the various dialog boxes which are displayed by the other View commands. You will see a check box named All Views in the upper right corner of each dialog box. If the box is checked, All Views is on - all of the on-screen, non-iconic views will be updated.

6.1.2 Manipulating Multiple Views This section involves creating, sizing, and activating multiple views. Each active view in FEMAP corresponds to a given graphics window which can be sized or changed similar to any standard graphics window. In addition, FEMAP supplies automatic tools for activating, creating, and sizing single or multiple graphics windows (views).

The Activate View dialog box is used by this command. It contains two lists. The list on the left shows all of the views which are defined in your model, and which are not currently active (on-screen). The list on the right shows the views which are currently active. The command buttons in the middle, move a view from one list to the other, and hence activate or deactivate the view.

To activate a view, select it from the list on the left, and press the Activate button. This will create a new on-screen window and activate the view. To close a single view, select it from the list on the right, and press Close. The on-screen window will be closed, but the view will still remain in your database. It can be reactivated at any time using the Activate button. Pressing Close All will close all of the active graphics windows. You can have as many views defined in your model as you want, but FEMAP will only allow you to have 20 graphics windows active at one time. If you need additional windows, you must start a second copy of FEMAP. You can also close graphics windows by using the Close command on the window system menu, or by double-clicking the window system menu. If you want to delete a view

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6.1.2.1 View, Activate. . . . . . activates views that have been previously defined in your model. When a view is activated, a new graphics window is created on your screen. You can also use this command to close or deactivate graphics windows.



Viewing Your Model

from your database, use the Delete View command. To activate one or more views which have not yet been defined, use the View, New command. Hint:

You can also activate/close a view simply by double-clicking on the name in one of the lists

6.1.2.2 View, New. . . ... creates new views in your model, and automatically activates them by opening new graphics windows.

This command uses the New View dialog box. Your most basic choice is to select the number of views and the window layout that you want to create. The dialog box shows you six possible alternatives to create between one and six new views. The pictures show the window layout that will be created. Each rectangle represents a window that will be created. The black (or darkest) rectangle indicates the graphics window which will initially be active. If the Default View option is chosen, when new views are created, the view options and selections will be set to match those of the default view. This is the view that is created automatically when you start FEMAP with an unnamed model. If Copy is chosen, the new views are created to match the view that you select from the list. Whenever you create multiple views, the orientation of the views is automatically defined to provide multiple planes (XY, YZ, and ZX) and isometric views. The view represented by the black rectangle is always set to an XY view if you use the Default View option, or to the

View, Tile...



orientation of the view that you are copying if Default View is off. The following table shows the orientations of the views which are created for each layout. Layout 1

View Rotations

Layout

Default (XY or copy)

4

2V, 2H XY, Default (XY or copy) 3 XZ, XY, Default (XY or copy)

6

View Rotations XZ, XY, YZ, Default (XY or copy) Isometric (-23,34,0 rotation), XZ, XY, YZ, Isometric (60,0,60 rotation), Default (XY or copy)

The Close All command button will close all graphics windows and deactivate the associated views. You should press this button before you press OK, if you want the new views to be the only ones which are active. You can also accomplish this with the View, Activate command. Choosing the option during this command however, will save you time.

6.1.2.3 View, Tile... ... resizes and arranges all of the active graphics windows to fit in the FEMAP workspace. The windows are arranged so that the contents of each window are visible, and so that no windows overlap. The current size and position of the FEMAP main window, and the FEMAP Messages and Lists window combine to determine the overall area that Tile can use. Tile uses the largest available rectangular area which is inside the main window and which is not obscured by the Messages and Lists window or the toolbox. If you do not change either of these, and only have one graphics window, Tile will restore it to the size and position of the default graphics window. If you reposition or resize/reshape the Messages and Lists window, you can use Tile to automatically make your graphics windows as large as possible without having any overlapping windows. In general, overlapping windows are not desirable since they can cause additional redrawing to reveal obscured information.

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The ID and Title are used to set the ID and view title for the window represented by the black rectangle. View titles are displayed in the title bar of the window. Titles are automatically assigned to the other views in any multi-view layout that you create. These automatic titles describe the view orientation.



Viewing Your Model

6.1.2.4 View, Cascade... ... resizes and arranges all of the active graphics windows to fit in the FEMAP workspace. The windows are arranged starting in the upper left corner of the main window workspace. Each window’s title remains visible, so that you can identify the active windows, but only one graphics window will be fully visible. Like View, Tile, Cascade chooses the available area as the largest rectangular area within the main window that is not obscured by the Messages and Lists window or toolbox. View Cascade is only available when you have multiple active graphics windows. Cascading windows are not generally recommended since they can result in additional redrawing of the graphics windows.

6.1.2.5 View, Window. . . ... controls the view title, background color, and appearance of the on-screen window. Using the View Window dialog box, you can change the title which has been defined for (or automatically assigned to) a view. The view title is displayed in the window title bar, and identifies the view which is shown in the window. Even if All Views is set, only the title for the active view will be changed. This prevents you from accidently changing all titles to the same text. The Title Bar and Window Border options let you control the appearance and functionality of the window itself. These options can be very powerful, yet they should be used with caution. Some normal Windows functions will be temporarily lost for windows where you change these options. The following table shows the impact of various settings:

View, Window. . .

Title Bar

Window Border

On

Thick

On

None, Thin Thick

Off

Off

None, Thin

Visual Impact



Functions Disabled

Standard Graphics Window

No matter what settings you choose for your graphics windows, you can always resize and reposition them with the View, Tile and View, Cascade commands, and you can always close them with View, Activate. Note:

Due to limitations in Windows, you should never make changes to graphics windows which are maximized to full screen. If you do, the changes may be ignored

You can also set the background color for your graphics windows using this command. If you choose Transparent, FEMAP will simply not draw the background. If you use overlapping windows, you can see graphics in one window, even though they are “behind” another window with a transparent background. This option should only be chosen for final images and special effects. If you move or resize a window that has a transparent background, the resulting image can be very strange since FEMAP does not “properly” erase the background. The normal setting is to choose a solid background color. In this case, the color that you select fills the entire window background prior to drawing your model. You should normally pick a color for your background which is a solid (non-dithered) color. You can pick any color, but dithered colors can make it difficult to see your model. With your mouse, you can quickly toggle the window title bar on or off. Press the Shift key, then click the right mouse button inside the graphics window. If a title bar was visible, it will disappear. Repeating the process will restore the title bar. This technique does not affect the border or background colors. It can also be used to toggle the title bar of the Messages and Lists window. You can also press Shift and click the right mouse button in the title bar or border (not the drawing area) of any graphics window to display the View Window dialog box.

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None, you can move and resize the window using the borders, title bar, and system menu. Thick border around win- Cannot resize window. dow becomes a thin line No Title bar Cannot move window by grabbing title bar, cannot minimize or maximize window, cannot use system menu. Thick border around win- Cannot change window in any way. dow becomes thin or invisible. Maximizes graphics area.



Viewing Your Model

6.1.2.6 View, Layers... ... allows you to control which layers will be active for display.

The default settings are to Show All Layers. If you want to only show selected layers, change to Show Visible Layers Only, and then move the layers that you want to the Visible Layers list. The Show, Show All, Hide and Hide All buttons simply move the layers between the Hidden and Visible lists. To move a single layer, select it in the appropriate box, then press Show or Hide. Alternatively, just double-click the layer and it will move to the other list. In addition to controlling your display, visible layers also control entity selection. Only entities on visible layers and which are not on the NoPick Layer can be selected graphically. With the Active Layer option, you can also select the layer that will be used for entity creation. You may also use the View Layer option to create a new layer. The View Layers command can also be accessed from the toolbar. Note:

Entities used for solid geometry construction (such as a boundary surface for an extrusion) are automatically moved onto the Construction Layer, which is the default for the NoPick Layer. FEMAP moves construction geometry onto this layer to prevent it from being selected for load or constraint application. If you need to access this geometry, change the NoPick Layer and you will be able to graphically select these entities. Be careful when doing this however, since this geometry may occupy the identical space as a solid face or edge.

View, Select and View, Options



6.1.3 View, Select and View, Options This section of the menu contains two of the most often used commands in FEMAP: View, Select and View, Options. View, Select controls the top level display options. With View, Select, you can control whether your model is displayed in hidden line or plain wireframe mode, turn on and off stress contours, animations, and deformed plots, etc. View, Options provides detailed control over how entities are displayed, i.e. what color elements are drawn with, whether or not labels for nodes are displayed, whether or not perspective is turned on, etc. View, Options also provides extensive control over postprocessing display options that are more fully described in the post-processing section of this manual. Ctrl+S or F5 6.1.3.1 View, Select... ... chooses what will be displayed in a view. You can select both the type of display, and the model or postprocessing data which will be displayed. 9

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The View Select dialog box is divided into several sections: •

The XY Style and Model Style buttons comprise the first section. These options choose the method for display. You can choose any one option from these two groups of styles. If you choose a model style, your model will be displayed in the view, using all of the other options you choose. If instead you choose an XY style, the view will contain a 2D, XY plot of the selected output data or function. XY styles are only available when you have output data available for post-processing (or functions). For information on model style, see Section 6.1.3.2, "Choosing a Model Style". For information on XY style, see Section 8.2.3, "Choosing an XY Style".

•

The second section of the dialog box consists of the Deformed Style and Contour Style option buttons. Here you can choose one option from each category to define the type of post-processing display that you want to have. The default settings



Viewing Your Model

(None-Model Only) are used to create a normal model display which does not use any output data for post-processing. The settings of these options are ignored if you choose an XY style. For more information, see Section 8.2.2, "Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles". •

The final section of the dialog box, located under the previous sections, consists of the XY Data, Model Data, and Deformed and Contour Data buttons. Each of these buttons displays an additional dialog box that allows you to select the model or output data that will be used in the view. You can select data using any of these buttons, but it will not be used until you also select the appropriate styles, as described above. For more information, see Section 8.2.3, "Choosing an XY Style", Section 6.1.3.2, "Choosing a Model Style", or Section 8.2.2, "Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles".

6.1.3.2 Choosing a Model Style FEMAP provides numerous styles in which you can display your model. Each style provides certain benefits. Choice of the best style depends upon what you need to accomplish. The following table describes all of the styles, their advantages and disadvantages:

Style Draw Model

Description Simply displays all entities.

Advantages Fast. Everything visible. Usually best “working mode”. Good for screen selection.

Fast. Results in a plot which only shows color boundaries. With proper color assignments can show property or material boundaries. Good for final display and Quick Sorts all elements, then Hidden displays from the back of visualization of complex Line view. Only shows entities 3D models. Can be helpwhich are visible - hidden ful for screen selection in complicated models. lines are removed.

Features

Draws all entities. Lines of the same color, which overlap, alternately draw and erase themselves.

Disadvantages Complex 3D models can be hard to visualize. Entities drawn on top of each other may make it difficult to locate a particular detail. Not usually appropriate for screen selection. Resulting display depends on your color choices.

Fairly Slow. Not usually best for picking - many entities are not visible. Does not properly remove hidden lines for some elements (see Full Hidden Line).

Choosing a Model Style

Style

Description

Full Same as Quick Hidden Hidden Line, but does additional Line checking to properly remove all hidden lines. Free Finds and displays all eleEdge ment edges which do not join to another element. Free Face

Advantages Same as Quick Hidden Line.



Disadvantages Slow.

The pictures, below, show examples of the various model styles. Draw Model

Hidden Line

Free Edge

Free Face

Although the hidden line removal options do require substantial calculations, and are therefore somewhat slower, they can often be the best approach to understanding a complex model. This is especially true for 3D models. After you make the first hidden line display, FEMAP retains a display list of the sorted information. This dramatically speeds up redrawing hidden line views. For more information, see Section 6.1.1.1, "View, Redraw..." and Section 6.1.1.2, "View, Regenerate...".

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Can quickly point out Not appropriate as a workholes or disconnections in ing mode. Really just your model. intended for checking your model. Finds and displays all ele- Can quickly point out dis- Usually not used for a working mode. Intended ment faces which do not connections between join to another element. solid elements. Reduces for checking model. complexity of solid model plots. Can help to find duplicate plate elements.



Viewing Your Model

For solid element models, you can also use the Free Face option to simulate a hidden line view. In fact, you can even use this mode to show hidden lines in a different line style (like dashed), instead of removing them. To remove backfaces, use the Fill, Backfaces and Hidden option, in the View, Options command, and chose one of the Skip methods. Choose the Show All Faces method to show hidden lines as a different color/style, then go to the Free Edge and Face options and set the Free Edge Color to Use View Color. Finally, choose the color and line style you want to use. Render The Render selection checkbox is applicable to all model styles. The Render option implements the FEMAP OpenGL capability for more rapid drawing and rotating of large models. Render mode enables you to dynamically rotate a model by simply holding the left mouse button and without switching to wireframe (including rotation of models with contours on them). It is most often used for complex solid models in both hidden line mode as well as for postprocessing. There are two Render modes available: Enhanced and Original. For more information, see Section 2.6.3.3, "Render Graphics Preferences". Selecting Data for a Model Style You can control what portions of your model are displayed by any of the model styles by pressing the Model Data button. The Select Model Data for View dialog box will then be displayed. Here you can choose the load set, constraint set, and group that will be displayed in the view. By default, whatever load and constraint set you activate will be displayed. You can however eliminate loads and/or constraints by choosing the None options, or you can select a particular set for display whether or not it is active. If you choose the Select option, you must specify an existing set in the appropriate drop-down list. By default, your entire model will always be displayed. Since the Group option is set to None, activating a group will not change the display. This enables you to activate a group and then graphically select entities, from your entire model, into the group. If you

View, Options. . .



want to display only a portion of your model, switch this option to either Active or Select. Then only the entities which are in the appropriate group will be displayed. The final section of this dialog box, Function, is used to select the function that will be displayed when you choose the XY of Function display style. Even though this is obviously an XY plot, you must choose the function to be displayed from this dialog because it is a display of model information, not post-processing information like other XY plotting styles. Quickly Choosing Model Data In addition to using the View, Select command, you can also access the Model Data dialog box directly from the Quick Access menu. Just press the right mouse button while you are pointing inside any graphics window, and choose Model Data. You can also get to this dialog box by pressing Ctrl+F5.

Ctrl+O or F6 6.1.3.3 View, Options. . . ...controls how your model (or XY plot) is displayed in a view. You can control whether entities are displayed, labelling, colors, and hundreds of other options. You can also control the display of non-model entities, such as the view origin, workplane, and snap grid. Finally, this command controls all of the graphical post-processing options.

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Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles When you want to graphically post-process model output, you must choose one of the deformed or contour styles, in addition to a model style. Choosing None for either of these options disables that type of postprocessing. You will use None any time you just want to display your model. If you want to display a combined post-processing view, for example, a Deformed Contour, just choose both a deformed and a contour style. For more information on the options available and overall general post-processing capability, see Section 8, "Post-Processing".



Viewing Your Model

Choose category to change between option lists

Scroll down for more options

Choose option to display or change settings

All of these different options are controlled from the View Options dialog box. There are three basic parts to this dialog box. The Category option buttons choose the type of view options that you want to update. When you choose a category, the Options list is automatically updated. This list displays all View options that you can update for each category. You may have to scroll through the list, using the scroll bar, to see all of available options. To modify an option, simply select it from the list. You can do this either by pointing at it with the cursor and clicking the left mouse button, or by pressing the direction keys. As you select an option, the right side of the dialog box is updated. It displays various controls which allow you to set the option. The current option settings are loaded as the defaults.

View, Options. . .



The Standard View Option Settings There are eight standard controls which appear in the right side of the View Options dialog box. If the option you select does not need a particular control, that control will not be visible. In fact, none of the options use all eight controls, and most only use a few. The titles of the controls change depending on the option being updated. Each control however, has a similar function for all view options. We will therefore describe them in terms of overall titles. You can refer to the table at the end of this section for more detailed information on the settings that can be chosen for each option. That table also shows the titles for any controls that do not control the standard functions that are described here. In order, from top to bottom, down the right side of the dialog box, the controls are:

Double -licking the associated item in the Options list will toggle this control on and off. Label List: This list box is usually used to choose the labelling mode for entities. You can choose to turn all labels off, to label by ID, and many other settings. For certain view options, this list is used for other label-related options. Examples include font selections, label or legend positioning, and symbol sizing. Color Mode List: This list box controls how an entity color will be chosen. If you pick Entity Colors, the colors that you assigned to each entity will be displayed. If you pick Use View Color, the single color that you specify in the View Color control will be used. Choosing Use Layer Color will result in each entity being displayed with the color of the layer that it references. Depending on the view option you are updating, other settings are also available. Still other view options use this list to control settings like the legend style, XY curve style, or light source position for shading. View Color and Palette: Typically, this text box defines a single color for the selected entity option. To use this color, you must also choose the Use View Color setting from the Color Mode list. You can either type a color ID in the text box, or press Palette to select the color graphically. Additional Text Boxes: Below the View Color controls, there are two additional controls which are used to specify other numeric settings. Examples of this include scale factors, animation frames, shrink and lighting percentages, minimum and maximum criteria limits, and the view aspect ratio. Most options do not use these text boxes.

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Draw Check Box: If this control is checked, the related entities will be drawn, otherwise they will be skipped. Some view options use this control to turn something else on or off. Examples include label prefixes, line elements in a free edge check, element shrinking, and filling.



Viewing Your Model

Command Button: A few view options display an additional command button (located directly above Apply). Pushing this button will display other dialog boxes. The options that use these buttons are described later in this section.

Setting Multiple View Options Updating a view option is simple. You choose the category and option that you want to modify, and then change the available settings in the other controls. To modify other view options, just repeat the process. Pick a new Category, if necessary, and a new Option. Then change those settings. You can repeat this as many times as you want. Previewing and Cancelling Your Selections If you would like to see the effect of your changes, press Apply. This will redraw the current view, using the new settings. If you decide that you did not like the changes, just press Cancel to leave the dialog box. This will automatically restore all view options to their prior settings. To save your changes, you must press OK. Using Quick Options There are times that you will want to quickly update many different options. If you press Quick Options, you will see the View Quick Options dialog box. You can choose any of the command buttons on this dialog box to instantly set all of the related view options, or you can individually control which entities will be drawn using the check boxes on the left. When you are finished, press Done. FEMAP will return to the View Options dialog box, where you can make further updates or review your selections. Other than Reset, the quick option buttons only update the options from the Labels, Entities, and Color category.

View, Options. . .



The table describes the functions performed by each of the quick options command buttons: Quick Option Button

Function

Quick Access to Quick Options- Ctrl+Q or Shift+F6 You can also access the Quick Options dialog box without using the View Options command by pressing Ctrl+Q or Shift+F6. Changes made in this manner, however, cannot be cancelled.

View Options Categories As described above, FEMAP splits the view options into three categories. Each category contains related options.

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All Entities on Turns Draw Entity check box on for all options. All Entities off Turns Draw Entity check box off for all options. Geometry on Turns Draw Entity check box on for points, curves... Geometry off Turns Draw Entity check box off for points, curves. . . Analysis Entities on Turns Draw Entity check box on for nodes, elements. . . Analysis Entities off Turns Draw Entity check box off for nodes, elements. . . Labels on Changes Label mode to ID for all options. Labels off Changes Label mode to No Labels for all options. Entity Colors Changes Color mode to Entity Colors for all options. View Colors Changes Color mode to View Colors for all options. Note: The following buttons change the entire view (selections, alignment, magnification, etc.), not just the view options. Reset View Resets the entire view to FEMAP defaults. Load View Updates the current view by restoring from the View library. Save View Store the current view in the View library



Viewing Your Model

The Labels, Entities, and Color category contains all of the options that control the display of model entities. With these options, you choose whether entities will be drawn, if and how they will be labeled, and what colors will be used. Entity label sizes and styles are further controlled by the Label Parameter option that is also in this category. Other entity-related view options can also be found here. For example, you can control the display of element direction arrows, offsets, and orientation vectors, among others. The Tools and View Style category contains the options that control whether tools, like the workplane and snap grid, will be displayed. This category also contains options that control the style of the view. For example, you can choose, free edge settings, element filling, shading, perspective, and stereo options. Each of these will change the overall style of the view. Finally, you will find options in this category to control view-related items, such as the legend, origin, and view axes.

View, Options. . .



The final category, PostProcessing, controls all of the graphical postprocessing options. These include all of the options for deformed, animated, vector, contour, criteria, and XY plots. None, of these options, has any impact, unless you have selected one of the post-processing options through the View, Select command.

Additional Comments on View Options Options that are not self-explanatory are described in the following paragraphs. Postprocessing related items will be further explained in Section 8, "Post-Processing".

Note:

If the labels appear fine on the screen but are not printed properly, it is probably because your Windows printer driver does not support that font. Simply change the font and reprint.

The first two color mode options, Entity Colors and Use View Color, just draw the label. Label colors either match the entities that they are labelling, or else all labels are drawn using the single view color. The final two options, Entity, Erase Back and View, Erase Back, choose the label color, in the same way as the first two options. If you pick one of these options however, FEMAP will erase the area where the label will be drawn, prior to drawing the label. If you are labelling filled areas, it is often good to choose one of these final options - they are easier to read. In fact if you do not, you will not be able to see any labels that use the same color as the filled area. Coordinate System... . . . controls the display of user defined coordinate systems only. This is not used for the global (or view) axes. Use the View Axes display option to update those axes. Point, Curve, Surface, Boundary, Volume,... ... controls the display of these entities. You can choose a color mode, label mode (typically ID), and whether to draw the entity. Points can be labelled with their defined mesh size. In this case, any point that has a size defined will be labelled with the size value. Points which have no size defined will not be labelled. Points can be drawn as “+” symbols or dots - refer to the Symbols options. You can also label all of these entities with their mesh attributes instead of an ID.

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Labels, Entities and Color Options Label Parameters This option controls the format of all labels in your view. If you turn the prefix on, entity labels will be preceded by a single letter prefix which will identify the entity type. For example, Node 1 will be labeled N1, Element 23 will be labelled E23. With the prefix turned off only the number will be used. You can choose any of the listed fonts. Larger fonts can be easier to read for simple models, but often obliterate each other on complex models. The font must be available to Windows before you can use it.



Viewing Your Model

Curve - Mesh Size... ... controls the display of mesh symbols and labels along curves. The default setting, Symbols Only, will only display symbols on curves which have a mesh size defined along the curve. If a mesh size is implied from point or default mesh sizes, it will not be shown. The second labelling option, Size and Bias, works similarly. In this case however, numeric values for the number of elements along the curve and the bias are shown. The bias value is not displayed when it is 1.0 (a uniform mesh). The third labelling option, Symbols (all curves), will display symbols on every curve. If no mesh size is defined along the curve, the size will be determined from point and default sizes. The final labeling option, Symbols and Count will show symbols as well as a numeric value for the number of elements for all curves that have a mesh size set. Text... . . . controls the display of text. You can eliminate certain types of text from the view by choosing one of the visibility settings. Node... . . . controls display of nodes. Nodes can be drawn as either an “X” symbol or as dots refer to the Symbols options. Node - Perm Constraint... If you have permanent constraints applied to one or more of your nodes, these settings will determine whether or not they are displayed. If the Constraint view option is also on, permanent constraints will be combined with the nodal constraints at any node where both exist. You will be unable to distinguish graphically which degrees of freedom are permanent constraints, and which are nodal. To make that determination, you must turn one of the options off. Element... ... controls the display of elements. There are several different options for labeling (ID, Property, Material, Type, ID/Property/Material, and Layer), and color (Entity, View, Layer, Property, and Material) modes. Refer to the next several options for additional information on elements. Element - Directions If this option is turned on, FEMAP will display an arrowhead on one element side, or a vector normal to the element (planar elements only). If you choose the Right-Hand Rule Normal Style, the arrowhead indicates the direction of the element connectivity. For line elements, the arrowhead points at the second node. For planar elements, the arrow is always located on the last edge, and points at the first node. For solid elements, the arrow is located on the last edge of the first face, again, pointing at the first node.

View, Options. . .



Face normals can be determined by using the right-hand rule in conjunction with the direction arrows. The normal points in the positive, righthand rule direction. You may want to turn on Shrink Elements to see the relationships between arrowheads and elements. If instead, you choose the Normal Vector style, vectors will be drawn at the center of planar elements to indicate the positive normal direction.

Centerline of Beam Released Degrees of Freedom

456

Offsets

You can use the Release Labels option to display the degrees of freedom that are released. When this option is set, FEMAP will label each released degree of freedom at the appropriate end of the beam. FEMAP uses the numbers one to six to represent the six elemental degrees of freedom. Element - Orientation/Shape If this option is on, FEMAP will draw a vector in the direction of the element orientation. For beams and other line elements, this vector will either point toward the third node, or in the direction of the vector orientation that you specified. For plane elements,

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Element - Offsets/Releases... ... controls whether element offsets will be displayed. If this option is on, FEMAP will draw lines from the nodes to the offset locations, and then draw the element connecting the offset locations. FEMAP always draws offsets to their actual lengths. If you have very small offsets, you might not see them, even though they are displayed.



Viewing Your Model

that have rotated material axes, FEMAP will draw the vector in the direction of the material axes. Element - Beam Y-Axis is very similar to this option. Orientation On

Offset Beams with Orientation Vectors

Plates with Material Orientation Vectors

The second list box, Element Shape, allows you to change how line and plane elements will be displayed. In the default setting, Line/Plane Only, these elements will simply be drawn connecting the nodes. Line elements will just be a single line, plane elements will be a triangle or quadrilateral. Switching to either of the other options lets you see more information for these elements. Line elements can be shown with a rectangular cross section, the actual input cross section, or a box denoting Plates the stress recovery location. These options only affect line elements. There is no difference for solid or plate elements between Show Fiber Thickness, Show Inertia Ratio, Show Cross Section or Show Stress Recovery Locations. The Show Fiber Thickness and Show Inertia Ratio settings display the cross section as a rectangle. For bar and beam elements, if you choose Show Fiber Thickness, the size of the rectangle is based on the stress recovery locations. If you choose Show Inertia Ratios, the rectangular cross section is based on the area and crosssectional inertias (I1 and I2). Since the cross section may not really be a rectangle, the height and width of the rectangle shown may not be correct, but it will be representative of a rectangular cross section with the same inertia ratio (I1/I2). The area, I1 and I2 values must all be nonzero or no cross section will be shown. Element Shape On

Offset Beams

View, Options. . .



Show Stress Recovery Locations will be identical to Show Cross Section, except it will draw a rectangular cross section based upon the stress recovery locations for all beams that do not have a defined cross section. As stated above, for all other element types, these four options produce identical results. For tubes and rods, the cross-section is based on the radius. Other line elements can not display a cross section. Planar elements will be expanded to show their thicknesses. If you have specified top and bottom fiber distances, these will be used. If you have not, or the element type does not support fiber distances, the element thickness will be used and will be centered about the nodal plane. There are many benefits to using this option. It allows you to graphically see your property data, find errors, and it provides a more realistic display. For beam/bar elements, it also helps you to determine if you have properly specified the beam orientations. Since the rectangular cross section rotates with the orientation vector, you can see how your beam is oriented. By choosing these different options, you can graphically check beam cross sections. Note:

Although possible, you should not display element thicknesses when you are doing contour plots. FEMAP does not adjust the contour data to the surfaces of the “thickened” elements and the resulting picture can be confusing.

Element - Beam Y-Axis... ... is similar to Element - Orientation. Instead of drawing the vector toward the third node, or vector orientation that you specify, this option will draw a vector in the true element Y-Axis. FEMAP will calculate cross products, using the element X axis and the element orientation to determine the Y-Axis. If the orientation that you specified is perpendicular to the element X-Axis, it will always be equivalent to the Y-axis. This option is only used for line elements.

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Show Cross Section draws the cross-section of the beams based upon the input to the FEMAP cross section property generator. This can be an arbitrary surface shape or a standard shape. This sample shows the difference between drawing the beam cross section and just line representations. The beam cross section picture provides a much better physical representation of the actual model.



Viewing Your Model

Load Vector... ...controls the length of the displayed vectors on the screen. You can choose a Uniform style or Scale by Magnitude, which scales the vector length based upon the magnitude. You may also specify the magnitude which controls the length of the largest load. All other loads are scaled accordingly. Each load type is scaled separately. To prevent visual loss of small loads in a large model, you may also specify a Minimum Scale. All loads which would fall below this minimum are then scaled to the minimum. Load - Force, Moment, Thermal, Distributed Loads, Pressure, Acceleration, Velocity, Enforced Displacement, Nonlinear Force, Heat Generation, Heat Flux, Convection and Radiation... ... independently control the display of each load type. For forces, moments, accelerations, velocities, and enforced displacements, you can choose to display either the resultant load vectors or the load components. If you choose either Color/Component Mode option 0 or 1, FEMAP will display one vector for each load in the direction of the resultant load. If you choose option 2 or 3, FEMAP will display the components of the load. This will draw up to three vectors which are aligned with the global rectangular directions. It does not matter what coordinate system you used to define the load, the components are always drawn in global rectangular. In either case, the vectors will be colored based on the entity or view color, as is typical for all of the other view options. When displayed, the various nodal forces are drawn as shown as in the diagram.

Force

Acceleration

Moment

Enforced Displacement

Enforced Rotation

Rotational Temperature Heat Acceleration Flux

Velocity

Rotational Velocity

Heat Generation

Elemental loads are drawn very much like nodal loads, but are located at the center (or along) the element face where they are applied. Directional elemental loads (like direc-

View, Options. . .



tion heat flux and distributed loads) also represent the direction in which the load will be applied. Distributed Load Radiation

Convection

Temperature

Pressure

Heat Flux

Heat Generation

Function dependent loads can be labelled with both the load value and the function ID that has been selected. The function ID is shown in parenthesis. 9

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2.(1)

Load Dependent on Function 1

2.

Constant Load

Constraint and Constraint Equation... . . . control the display of nodal constraints and constraint equations. If you also have permanent constraints in your model, see "Node - Perm Constraint...".. Also note that you can label both the degree of freedom, and the coefficients for constraint equations. Nodal Constraints with DOF labels 12456 156

246

156 246

156 123456

246 123456

123456 123456

123456 123456 123456

123456

Contact Segment... ... controls whether contact segments are visible, the color mode, and whether the label ID is plotted.



Viewing Your Model

Tools and View Style Options Free Edge and Face... . . . is only used for free edge and free face displays. If All Elements is selected, line elements will be considered in the search for free edges, and plane elements will be considered in the search for free faces. Otherwise, only plane and volume elements are used in free edge calculations, and only volume elements are used in free face calculations. With All Elements active, a plate made of planar elements and framed with beams would have no free edges. If All Elements were off, the beams would not be considered. The same framed plate would have all of its outer edges free. The Parabolic Edges options are similar. If you skip midnodes, FEMAP only checks the corner nodes of parabolic elements. In this case, edges of linear elements that connect to parabolic elements will not be considered free edges. Similarly, only the corners of element faces are used in the free face calculations. If you use midnodes, FEMAP requires that all nodes on an edge or face must match. Otherwise, the edge or face is free. In general, you should always use the midnodes. This insures that you do not miss a true disconnection at the midnodes between two parabolic elements. The Free Edge/Backface Color options are primarily for free edge displays. However, if you choose Use View Color, backfaces in free face displays will use the Free Edge View Color. By adjusting this color, you can often get a better understanding of the front and back portions of your model. You can even create a pseudo hidden line plot with dashed lines by changing the View Color to a dashed line style. If you would like to display the free edges along with the remainder of your model, so that it is easier to locate them, choose the View, Draw Model option. The default Free Edge View color has been chosen so that they will still be visible with most element displays. Shrink Elements If this option is on, all elements will be reduced in size, by the percentage that you specify. A size of 100% means that the elements will not be reduced. A size of 0% reduces the elements to a point at their centroid. Shrink Off

Shrink On

Reveals Line Elements that were hidden with Shrink Off

View, Options. . .



Fill, Backfaces and Hidden Element Fill On

If Fill is on, elements in your model will be filled with color. Whenever it is off, just the boundaries of the entities will be drawn. For more information, see "Filled Edges".

Fill can be used to fill elements with color for line contour and line criteria displays. If you choose filled contours or filled criteria, that will override this switch, since each element can only be filled once.

When you define solid elements, they are automatically constructed so that the faces on the “back” of each element, will be properly defined backfaces. Therefore, you can safely turn on the first level, Skip Solid Backfaces, and be reasonably sure that you will not lose any meaningful information. On the other hand, the final two options must be used very carefully. Since you determine the orientation of normal to planar elements by the way you connect them, the backface option may discard faces of planar elements which lie on the “front” of your model. It all depends on how you define their normals. If you do want to use these options, you must build your model so that all planar elements are defined with their normals pointing either “inward” or “outward” from the center of the model. Then choose the appropriate option to remove the elements that you want. The Hidden Line Option selections control how hidden line calculations will be done for solid elements. By default, FEMAP will calculate the free faces of all solids, and just display them in a hidden line view, along with faces from all planar and line elements. If you just want to see the solid elements, choose Free Faces Only, or if you want to see all faces being drawn - including interior ones - choose Draw All Faces. Be aware, however, that Draw All Faces is substantially slower, and will result in the same final picture unless you have element shrink turned on. You can combine the Free Face plot style and Skip Solid Backfaces to do a fairly quick, and accurate hidden line plot of complex solid element models. Filled Edges When elements, or other entities are filled, the normal entity color fills the interior. If this option is on, the boundaries will also be drawn. The color of those boundaries is determined by the color mode set for this option. If you choose entity colors, you may not be able to see the border, since it will probably match the filled area. Contrasting

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The Backfaces option allows you to automatically remove some element faces from the display. FEMAP calculates the normal (based on the right hand rule around the face) of each element face. If it faces forward, out of the screen, that face is not drawn when backfaces are being skipped. Since this removes information, and takes some additional computations, this option is normally off, i.e. Show All Faces.



Viewing Your Model

colors are also based on the entity color, but FEMAP automatically chooses a color which does not match that color. If you want to draw just the filled areas, with no edges, turn this option off. The Filled Edges on/off switch is used any time you turn on the Fill Element option, or for contour and criteria displays. The only exception is line criteria displays where the switch is ignored since turning off the edges would eliminate the criteria information. The Filled Edges color is only used when you set Fill Element on. It is not automatically used for contour and criteria displays. Instead, the colors currently chosen by the element option are used. The Section Cut Edges options determine whether element edges will be draw on section cutting planes. If displayed, these edges are drawn with the Filled Edge view color. Render Options... ...controls the viewing of surfaces and curves on solid models, as well as midside nodes for parabolic elements. These options have no effect unless you are in Render mode (see Section 6.1.3.1, "View, Select..."). •

The Curve Transparency controls whether curves are viewed even when hidden in hidden line mode. This option is typically off. Turning it on will enable you to view all curves even in hidden line mode. This can be helpful when you are previewing mesh settings.

•

You may use the Hatch Surfaces option to show parametric (or hatch) lines on the surface. This option is available for Draw Model and Hidden Line modes when in Render mode. The default is to show surfaces only (no hatching).

•

The Parabolic Edge/Face allows you to view or skip midside nodes while in Render mode. If you use midside nodes for viewing purposes, it can increase drawing times while in Render mode. If drawing time is significantly increased, you may want to skip midnodes when viewing and orienting your model, and use midnodes only when examining deformed plots. The skipping of midside node information on deformed plots may lead to misinterpretation of results.

•

Offset Factor and Offset Units control how element edges and surface edges are displayed in a solid model. If the values are both 0 (not the default), the element edges will have a stitched appearance, since they drawn in the same location as filled triangles. The Offset Factor is a percentage (0-200%) that defines how much the element edges will be pulled forward in the display. The Offset Units value is also a percentage that controls the appearance of the element edges on filled triangles when the model is displayed at an angle. (This value applies to Enhanced Render mode only.) Generally, you should use the default values. You can adjust these values to improve the display for your graphics card. The recommended range of values is 25 - 150.

View, Options. . .



Shading When this option is on, FEMAP will modify the entity colors based on its orientation to the light source. You can perform shading both in normal mode and Render mode. When the entity normal is perpendicular to the light source, the shaded color is equal to the original, unshaded color. Ambient light is considered to be directionless. All surfaces are equally lit. The remainder of the light comes from a single point source that you can position with the Color Mode option.

For plane elements, FEMAP does not consider the direction of the face normal when calculating the angle to the light source. Co-planar elements which have face normals pointing toward and away from the light source will be shaded identically. This will result in bright areas on the “back-side” of a plate model. It is necessary however, since FEMAP does not restrict the direction of plate normals. For solid elements in normal mode, where FEMAP controls the face normals, backfaces will receive only ambient light. Render mode will highlight backfaces, but hidden line mode will hide them. For normal mode, you can use the Shading Mode options to shade either filled areas, lines or both. This option has no affect when in Render mode. Render mode can only shade filled areas. Shaded Tube

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If you choose Light at Viewer for the Color Mode option, the light is actually located along the vector that is normal to the screen at an infinite distance from your model. If you choose Position Light, you must also press the Light command button. This will display the standard coordinate dialog box and you can specify a location for the light source. The third option, Spotlight at Viewer, is applicable only to Render mode and works in conjunction with the distance value input. By providing a distance for the spotlight, you can create a specular pattern for the light. The specularity decreases with increasing distance. If you specify a very large distance, it will have the same result as the Position Light at Viewer option.



Viewing Your Model

Note:

Because Windows cannot dither lines, many graphics boards will be unable to properly shade the lines in your view. You should therefore turn on the appropriate fill options along with shading. FEMAP and Windows will properly shade the resulting filled areas. If your graphics board supports a large number (>256) of colors, you will still be able to shade lines. If you try to shade lines on graphics boards with less colors, Windows will map the shaded color to one of its available colors. This can look strange on the screen. If you make a hardcopy on a color printer that can print a large number of colors, the lines will be properly shaded, even though they might look strange on your screen.

Perspective When this option is on, FEMAP will display a perspective projection of your model, otherwise axonometric (parallel) projections are drawn. You can control the distortion in the perspective projection by modifying the distance. Smaller values result in more distortion. Perspective drawings can result in more realistic images, but take longer to draw. Additionally, because of the non-parallel transformations involved, FEMAP must fully rebuild the display lists whenever you zoom, pan, center, or magnify a perspective view. This is not required for non-perspective views. Perspective Off

Perspective On

Finally, although it may work, perspective views are not usually the best to use for graphical selection. Graphical selection is inherently two-dimensional. Since perspective projections distort any two dimensional object which is not perpendicular to the projection, you may be surprised at what is selected. If you do make graphical selections from perspective views, you should review what was really selected before you proceed. The Left Stereo Color is not a part of perspective. For more information, see "Stereo". Stereo When this option is on, FEMAP will display a stereo image of your model. The stereo image is actually two images, slightly rotated from each other, each displayed in a dif-

View, Options. . .



ferent color. If you view the stereo image through 3D or stereo glasses, it will appear three dimensional. When you first look at a stereo image, it can take some time to properly focus your eyes to see the 3D image. Keep trying! You may find it helpful to vary the Eye Separation. This setting changes the separation between the left and right image. Most 3D stereo glasses have one red and one blue lens. You can adjust the Left Stereo Color (in the Perspective option) and the Right Stereo Color if they do not properly match your glasses. You should always turn perspective on for stereo views, and turn fill off. Similarly, you must just draw your model - do not choose a hidden line view. The method that FEMAP uses to produce hidden line views is not compatible with stereo.

View Legend with Titles

V: Default XY View L: 100 psi Pressure Loading C: Fixed Edges and Symmetry G: Plate Elements

View Axes Z Y X

View Axes The view axes represent the orientation of the global axes. They are normally displayed in the lower left corner of the view, but you can specify a new position by pressing Position. Here you can simply enter the location in percentages of the graphics window (from top left) where you want the axes to appear. You can also select the position graphically by pointing with the mouse and clicking the left button. Origin The origin of global coordinates is indicated by a circular symbol. This option can be used to turn this symbol on or off.

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View Legend The view legend identifies the load (prefixed by L) and constraint (C) sets, the group (G), and the view (V) that are displayed in a window. You can choose to display either the IDs or titles of these items. You can also move the legend to any of the eight positions.



Viewing Your Model

Workplane and Rulers When this option is on, the workplane will be visible. The workplane is always present and active - even if it is not visible. Workplane

Rulers 12. 11.

Y

10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

Workplane Grid

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Z

9. Y

10. 11.

X

X 12.

For rulers to be drawn, the Show Rulers option must be on, and the appropriate ruler options must be set in the Tools Snap To command. The color of both the workplane and the rulers is chosen by the view color. Workplane Grid If this option is on, the snap grid will be drawn, in the workplane. The style of the grid is controlled by the Tools Snap To command. If you define an Invisible grid in that command, you will not be able to see it, even though you turn this option on. You do not have to be snapping to the grid for it to be visible. Clipping Planes If you turn this option on, and you are displaying a group which uses one or more clipping planes, the clipping planes will be drawn. Symbols... . . . controls the size and color of symbols. This includes the symbols drawn for points, nodes, constraints, loads and many more. Choosing a larger size makes the symbols larger. The Preview Color is used for the symbols (dots, vectors, planes. . .) which are drawn when you press the Preview command buttons that can be found on many dialog boxes. You can also choose whether nodes and points will be drawn as their normal “x” and “+” symbols, or as single dots. If you choose the dot option, a single pixel is drawn - if you go to a printer or Metafile they will still be a single dot in the device resolution. The Load Len and Other Vec options allow you to customize the length of vectors that are displayed. If you want to display shorter vectors, reduce the numbers below the

View, Options. . .



100% default value. Larger numbers result in longer vectors. Load Len is used for all loads. Other Vec is used for everything else. Note:

You may also use the View, Options, Labels, Entities and Colors, Load Vectors option to scale the load lengths as well as use a Uniform or scaled distribution

View Aspect Ratio... ... controls how FEMAP will distort your model as it is drawn on the screen. With AutoAspect on, FEMAP will gather information about your display from Windows and will calculate an internal aspect ratio. This automatic calculation will attempt to correct for differences between graphics boards. It adjusts the aspect ratio, so that the true shape of your model is shown. For example, circles are drawn as circles, not ellipses.

Note:

FEMAP and Windows adjust the aspect ratio based on the normal aspect ratio of pixels for your graphics board. There is no way to determine the effect of the horizontal and vertical size settings on your monitor. For this reason, AutoAspect may not result in a true correction. You can either adjust your monitor sizes, or specify an aspect ratio manually.

Curve and Surface Accuracy This option allows you to set the accuracy with which curves (arcs, circles...) and surfaces are drawn. FEMAP draws all curves as a series of line segments. A more precise (lower value) curve accuracy requires more line segments and drawing will be slower. Similarly, a higher value results in a faster draw but a less accurate picture (circles look like polygons). For circles and arcs, the error percentage that you specify is the ratio of the maximum distance from the chord formed by the line segments to the actual arc boundary, relative to the arc radius. This means that if you specify 1%, no pixel on the lines drawn will be more than 1% of the radius distance away from the true arc.

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If you turn AutoAspect off, you can specify an Aspect Ratio that you can use to eliminate any remaining distortions, or to intentionally distort a view of your model. Aspect ratios that are larger than 1.0 will make your model appear taller than normal. Aspect ratios less than 1.0 will make it appear wider. You should never specify very large aspect ratios - the severe distortion introduces other display problems for coordinate system triads and other symbols. The default Aspect Ratio can be set using the File, Preferences command.



Viewing Your Model

5.0% Error

0.5% Error

Turning the Curved Beam switch on causes curved beam elements to be drawn as arcs, with their appropriate bend radii. When the switch is off, they are drawn as straight lines connecting nodes, just like other straight beam elements. Curved beam elements with no bend radius, or a radius that is too small for the nodal spacing are always drawn as straight lines. The Surface Divisions adjustments allow you to control the number of lines drawn for each surface. Every surface has a number of divisions assigned for each parametric direction. When Entity Divisions is active, each surface will display the number of divisions for that entity. If you choose View Divisions, all surfaces will be drawn with the number of divisions set below in the Divisions control. This same number is used in both parametric directions. The final choice, Show Mesh Size, should be used sparingly since it is the slowest. It provides a way to see the elements that would be created by the Mesh, Geometry, Surface command, without having to generate the elements. With this option, the surface divisions are based on the current mesh sizes, including any biasing. One line is drawn at each mesh point, so the resulting pattern looks just like quadrilateral elements that will be created on the surface. This can be very helpful as you adjust the mesh sizes. The Parametric Directions enable you to view the directions of curves and surfaces. An arrow is placed at the end of each curve, and arrows are produced on the surface divisions to designate the s direction of the surface. The direction is particularly important when defining a mesh size on the s and t directions of a surface.

PostProcessing Options See Section 8, "Post-Processing". 6.1.3.4 View, Advanced Post These commands provide special animation capability. The View, Animation command provides “VCR-like” controls for your animating plot, while the other two commands provide special “move through” viewing using OpenGL for post-processing. For more information, see Section 8, "Post-Processing".

Modifying the View



6.1.4 Modifying the View The last three sections of commands on the View menu all involve modifying the active view. These commands provide capability to rotate, pan, zoom, and align your model. They can be very helpful to orient your model in different positions for both checking and entity selection purposes. Many times, however, it is easier to use the Dynamic Rotate, Pan, and Zoom (see Section 4.2.2, "FEMAP View Toolbar" in the FEMAP User Guide) capability to quickly manipulate the view. In Render mode you can access this capability simply by holding down the left mouse button, while the View Toolbar button provides this capability in normal mode. This is especially convenient since this command is available while in another menu command. An explanation of these menu commands are provided below.

Ctrl+R or F8 View, Rotate, Model... ... rotates the current view. Unlike most of the other view commands, this command ignores the All Views option. It will only update one view at a time.

This command displays the View Rotate dialog box, which is very interactive. The current view orientation will be loaded as the default orientation. As soon as you make a change though, FEMAP will begin redrawing your current view. This gives you instantaneous feedback on whether you have made the correct choice. If the new orientation is not what you want, you can immediately make a new selection. Since FEMAP lets you abort any redraw by simply pressing a key, or the left mouse button, that selection will abort the previous redraw, update the orientation, and begin redrawing again. You decide how much of the redraw you want or need to see before you make your next selection. If you turn off the Redraw check box, FEMAP will only redraw the global axes (instead of the entire model), when you press the scroll bars, or type rotation angles. FEMAP always draws the entire model when you choose one of the standard orientation push buttons. FEMAP also draws the entire model if the global axes are not visible in the active view. Turn off Redraw for the fastest possible rotations.

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6.1.4.1 View, Rotate Menu The commands on this menu provide two basic capabilities to rotate the view of your model. Rotate Model provides precise control of rotation angles and quick access to predefined views. Dynamic provides flexible interactive manipulation of the view.



Viewing Your Model

Using the Scroll Bars The three scroll bars, located near the left side of the dialog box, are used to rotate your view from its present position. As you click the scroll bar arrows, the view will rotate by the number of degrees currently defined in the Delta text box. The axis of rotation is based on the scroll bar you selected, and the selected rotation axes. If Model Axes are selected, the rotation will be around the global coordinate directions. When Screen Axes are selected, rotations will be around the screen axes. The screen X axis is always horizontal to the right, Y is always upward and Z is always “out of the screen”. Clicking the left scroll arrow rotates around the negative axis direction. The right scroll arrow rotates around the positive axis direction. Clicking in the gray scroll bar area is very similar to clicking the scroll arrow. The axis and direction of rotation are identical. When you click here however, FEMAP will ignore the Delta angle, and always rotate by 45 degrees. This is a good coarse adjustment for the orientation. Then, after you get close to the orientation you want, use the arrows for smaller rotations. You can accomplish the same rotations using the keyboard. First, you must select the desired scroll bar. Press the Tab key until the scroll bar is highlighted. Then press the left arrow to rotate by Delta around the negative axis direction, or right arrow to rotate around the positive direction. PageUp and PageDown rotate by 45 degrees. When using the scroll bars, remember: •

If you want the rotation to go faster, specify a larger Delta.

•

The standard orientation buttons that are described later in this section automatically update Delta. The first six buttons change it to 10 degrees, the last three change it to 90 degrees. These automatic changes allow you to quickly select a starting point using these buttons, and then use the scroll bars to update that orientation.

•

If you want to quickly rotate your model around one axis multiple times, you must repeatedly press and release the left mouse button. FEMAP does not abort redraws if you just hold the button down. Unless your model is small, the redraw time will significantly slow down your rotations.

•

For small models, you can dynamically rotate the model on screen by pointing at one of the scroll arrows, pressing the left mouse button, and holding it down. FEMAP will completely redraw your model, rotate the view, and draw again. Let go of the button whenever you want to stop.

•

Don't worry about the position of the scroll bar “thumb buttons”. When you rotate your view, they tend to jump around. Because of the way FEMAP defines the rotation angles, rotation about one model or screen axis can actually result in changes to all three rotation angles. For the same reason, it is very difficult to orient your view by dragging the “thumb buttons”.

View, Rotate Menu



Typing Rotation Angles Occasionally, you may know the rotation angles that produce the orientation that you want. If you do, you can type the angles into the three text boxes located just to the right of the scroll bars. Remember, these angles are rotations about X axis, then the rotated Y axis, then the doubly rotated Z axis. They are not direction cosine angles. For more information on rotation angles, see Section 4.1.1, "Model, Coord Sys...". Selecting Standard Orientations Near the center of the dialog box you will see nine command buttons. These buttons will instantly switch your orientation to the appropriate predefined orientation. The first six buttons, XY Top, Bottom, YZ Right, Left, ZX Front, and Back, always align the view with one of the principal planes of the global coordinate system. You can use these to quickly look at your model from six orthogonal directions.

Mag, Zoom, and Pan These command buttons are shortcuts to the View Magnify, Zoom, and Pan commands. If you are updating a view, it is often more convenient to use these buttons than to press OK and then choose the command from the menu. Pressing any of these buttons automatically accepts any changes you have made - just as if you had pressed OK.

View, Rotate, Dynamic . . . ...allows you to dynamically rotate, pan and zoom your model curves and elements. When you choose this command, you will see the following dialog box:

If you are not in Render mode (under View Select), your model will automatically switch to a wireframe, single color display of the curves and elements. All other entities will temporarily disappear. If you are in Render mode, the model will look the same.

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The last three buttons, Isometric, Dimetric, and Trimetric, define three additional orientations. We have chosen orientations for these three buttons that are frequently used and correspond to their names. If you would like to use other orientations, you can use the File, Preferences, Views command to redefine the names and orientations of all three buttons.



Viewing Your Model

Whether you are in Render mode or not, the operations for the View, Align By, Dynamic operate the same. Hint:

These dynamic rotation commands can also be accessed at any time in Render mode simply by holding the left mouse button in the graphics window. You will then be able to rotate around XY. If you hold the Alt, Ctrl, or Shift keys down when first pressing the left mouse button, you can rotate about Z, pan, or zoom, respectively. Holding down Alt+Ctrl and pressing the left mouse button allows you to rotate around another axis that you define. No dialog box will appear. Also, if you have previously selected one of the buttons for Rotate Z, Rotate Axis, Pan, or Zoom, FEMAP will automatically default to this mode when you next access dynamic rotation.

All operations (rotate, pan or zoom) are done by pressing and holding the left mouse button in the active graphics window, and then dragging the mouse either horizontally or vertically. For example, to rotate around the screen Y axis:

Press Left Button

Release Button Drag Mouse

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View, Rotate Menu



The following mouse actions are recognized, with the left button down: Rotate XY Mode Rotate Around -X

Rotate Z Mode

Rotate Around -Z Rotate Around -Y

Rotate Around +Y

Rotate Around +Z Rotate Around +X Pan Mode

Zoom Mode

Pan Up Pan Left

Zoom Out (smaller)

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Zoom In (larger)

For the Rotate Axis mode, moving the mouse to the right rotates counter-clockwise about the axis (right-hand rule), and moving left rotates clockwise. The dynamic mode can be chosen in several ways. The most obvious is to select one of the available buttons. Alternatively however, you can simply hold down the Alt key as you press the left button down to rotate around the Z axis. Press Ctrl to pan, or press Shift to zoom. Press Alt and Ctrl to rotate around the predefined axis. You do not have to hold the key as you drag the mouse, just make sure it is down before you press the mouse button. When you let go of the left mouse button, your model will begin to redraw in whatever mode that you have selected. That is with all entities and post-processing options. If you are not satisfied with the view, or need to do more transformations, simply press the button down again and drag it further.



Viewing Your Model

Options... If you choose the Options button, you will see a menu that provides further control over the dynamic alignment command. Single Axis Controls how model XY rotations will be done. If you refer back to the previous diagram, dragging horizontally rotates around Y, dragging vertically rotates around Z. Normally, it is easiest to accomplish compound rotations by dragging along one axis for a while, then dragging along the other. Since it is very difficult to drag the mouse along a precisely horizontal or vertical axis however, the Single Axis option limits rotations to the single direction in which you are moving the greatest distance. Small deviations from horizontal or vertical will be ignored. If you turn this option off however, moving the mouse diagonally will perform a rotation about a diagonal vector. Model Axes Controls whether rotations will be around the default screen axes or around the model axes. If you are rotating around model axes, mouse movements are the same, they just apply to the corresponding model axes instead of the screen axes. AutoCenter In a three dimensional model, you will occasionally find that your model is rotating off of the screen as you move it with this command. You can either choose pan to bring it back, or press AutoCenter. AutoCenter is just like the View, Autoscale command, in that it calculates a new model center, but it does not change the scale at which the model is displayed. Use Rotation Center This menu item is simply a toggle that turns on and off every time you choose it. When it is checked, all rotations will be about the center of rotation that you specify with the Rotation Center command. If it is off, rotations will be around the View Center. Rotation Center... Allows you to specify a center of rotation to be used for future rotations. This does not change the location of the model on the screen like View Center does; it simply allows rotation around another location. When you choose this command, Use Rotation Center is automatically turned on. Rotation Axis... Allows you to specify a vector that will be used as the rotation axis, if you are in the Rotate Axis mode (Alt+Ctrl keys). When you specify a rotation vector, the base of the vector is automatically used to update the rotation center, so all rotations will be about

View, Rotate Menu



that point. When you choose this command, Use Rotation Center is automatically turned on.. Note:

This command does not account for any perspective that you have specified. It is usually best therefore to turn off Perspective before using this command.

Note:

All rotations are performed around the view center (or the rotation center, if you have turned on this option). If you only move the mouse slightly and a large rotation occurs, it is because that portion of the model you are rotating is well away from the center of rotation - possibly in the direction that is perpendicular to the screen. To avoid this, position the view center (or rotation center) on the geometry/mesh you are trying to rotate.

Render mode on or off: • The model is drawn in various styles depending on the View Style that is active and the type of elements in your model. For example, if you rotate a free-edge view, the free edges will be rotated. Solid elements do not display interior faces (like a freeface plot). •

Only element edges and curves are drawn. No labels or other symbols are displayed. (This limitation does not apply to Enhanced Render mode.)

Render mode off: • The display is limited to a single color - either black or white depending on the color you choose for the window background. •

There are limitations on the total number of nodes, and faces that can be displayed. Depending upon your model, and available memory you should be able to display models of around 3000-4000 faces. If your model is larger, you will still be able to use this function, but only the first 3000-4000 faces will be displayed - still probably more than enough to orient your model. If you are working with very large models, consider either activating a group to reduce the number, and choose the elements that will be displayed. Alternatively you can switch to a free edge display.

•

Hidden line removal can not be done during dynamic display.

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Limitations While the dynamic display capability will work with any graphics adapter (you do not need any special acceleration or 3D hardware), Render mode can provide significantly increased dynamic rotation speed and drawing with an OpenGL accelerator board. Following are some limitations of dynamic display:



Viewing Your Model

Improving Performance of Dynamic Display FEMAP provides three different methods to redisplay your model during this command. Again, these methods are only applicable when you are not in Render mode. Depending on your computer, graphics adapter and graphics drivers, any one of these three methods may result in best performance. You should always experiment with these methods to find the one that works best on your system. The methods are selected using the Dynamic option of the File, Preferences command. Method Fast Redraw

Reduced Bitmap Full Bitmap

Description Usually fastest for small models, but not good for large models unless your graphics adapter can draw vectors very rapidly. Some screen flicker. Fast on most systems. Little or no flicker. Basically the same as Reduced Bitmap. Will usually be slower - but not always.

Experiment with both small and large models to see which works best for you. In some cases the performance differences will be dramatic, depending upon the capabilities of your graphics adapter. When you have found the method that you like, remember to choose the Permanent button in File, Preferences to save your selection for future models.

View, Rotate, Use Rotation Center. . . This menu item is simply a toggle that turns on and off every time you choose it. When it is checked, all dynamic rotations will be about the center of rotation that you specify with the Rotation Center command. If it is off, rotations will be around the view center. This command can also be accessed from the Options menu on the Dynamic Rotations dialog box. View, Rotate, Rotation Center. . . ...allows you to specify a center of rotation to be used for future dynamic rotations. This does not change the location of the model on the screen like View Center does; it simply allows rotation around another location. When you choose this command, Use Rotation Center is automatically turned on. This command can also be accessed from the Options menu on the Dynamic Rotations dialog box. View, Rotate, Rotation Axis. . . ...allows you to specify a vector that will be used as the rotation axis for dynamic rotation, if you are also in the Rotate Axis mode (Alt+Ctrl keys). When you specify a rotation vector, the base of the vector is automatically used to update the rotation center, so all rotations will be about that point. When you choose this command, Use Rotation Center is automatically turned on. This command can also be accessed from the Options menu on the Dynamic Rotations dialog box.

View, Align By Menu



6.1.4.2 View, Align By Menu The commands on this menu are alternatives to the View, Rotate command. They are also used to orient your model within a view. These commands are usually used when you want to orient the view relative to some geometry or other entities in your model. You can also use these commands to define an initial orientation, and then use View, Rotate to update the view relative to that starting point. View, Align By, Coord Sys. . . ... automatically aligns the view to the XY axes of a coordinate system. This command displays a standard dialog box so you can select a coordinate system. The view will be rotated so that the coordinate system axes are aligned with the screen axes. That is, X horizontally to the right, Y up, and Z “out of the screen”.

Since a vector really only defines one of the orientation axes, the rotation of your model about the orientation vector is undefined. This is the rotation about the screen Z axis (“out of the screen”). In general, FEMAP will align one of the global coordinate axes with the screen X (horizontal) axis. If you want to update this orientation, just switch to the View, Rotate command, and rotate the view about the Z screen axis. This will retain the vector orientation, but will rotate about that vector. Hint:

You can choose any of the available vector definition methods. This will enable you to easily orient your view relative to different entities in your model. You can also use the various snap modes to select the vector.

View, Align By, Workplane... . . . immediately aligns the view to the current workplane. No additional input is required. The workplane axes are aligned with the screen axes. The X axis is horizontal (to the right), Y is up, and Z is out of the screen. Hint:

If you want to align your view normal to a plane in your model, you can use View, Align By, Along Vector, or this command. To use this command, you must first use the Tools, Workplane command to align the workplane to the desired orientation. This approach allows you to use all of the standard plane definition methods for selecting the orientation plane.

Shift+F7 6.1.4.3 View, Autoscale This menu provides several ways to automatically scale and move your model so that it is visible in your window.

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Ctrl+F8 View, Align By, Along Vector. . . . . . aligns the view to a specified vector. The standard vector definition dialog box defines the alignment vector. When you specify the vector, the view will be aligned so the vector you selected will be pointing into the screen. In the resulting view, your model will be oriented so that you are looking from the base of the vector, toward the tip.



Viewing Your Model

View, Autoscale, All Shift+F7 . . . automatically centers and magnifies your model in the view. No additional input is required. To determine the automatic scale and center, FEMAP finds the maximum dimensions of your model in all three global directions. This essentially puts your model inside a “box”. FEMAP sets the center of the view to the center of that box. The scale is adjusted, so that you can rotate your model to any orientation without parts of it going out of the window. It is based on the longest, diagonal of the “box”, and the smallest window dimension. Depending on the real shape of your model, the shape of the window, and the orientation you have currently chosen, you may feel that the autoscaled magnification is too small. This can be especially true for long, thin models in non-square windows. If you need to enlarge the model use either the View, Zoom or View, Magnify command. Since no dialog box is displayed, you cannot choose between autoscaling one, or multiple views, during this command. Before you choose View, Autoscale, you must use the All Views command to select the views that you want to modify.

View, Autoscale, Regenerate All If AutoScale All does not work, then...

Ctrl+Shift+A

FEMAP maintains overall size information about your model in your database. This information is used to properly autoscale your model into the active window. If you have created some entities which were positioned at a large distance from your model, and then deleted or moved those entities, the autoscale calculations may still be based on the larger overall model size. This will result in scaling which is too small, and typically not centered, relative to your window. If you see this behavior, you can force FEMAP to recalculate all of the autoscaling information by choosing this command, or pressing Shift+Ctrl+A (instead of just Ctrl+A). This combination should restore your scaling to the proper size and centering.

View, Autoscale, Visible Ctrl+A ...works just like the View, Autoscale, All command, except that it only uses considers the portions of the model that are displayed when doing the centering and scaling computations. This means that if you are only displaying geometry, then the nodes and elements in your mesh will not be used for the scaling (and therefore may be outside of the window). Likewise, the current group and layer settings are also considered. If you are displaying a group that only contains one corner of your model, then that corner will be scaled to fill the window and moved to the center. Using Autoscale for XY-Plots If you have selected any of the XY-plot styles, View, Autoscale will set both the XY X Range/Grid and XY Y Range/Grid options to Automatic. These selections display the entire XY-plot. The axis extents are determined from the data you have selected.

View, Magnify. . .

6.1.4.4 View, Magnify. . . ... adjusts the scale of your model in the active view.



Ctrl+M or Ctrl+F7

This command displays the View, Magnify dialog box. The current view scale is shown in the Magnification Factor edit control. If you know the scale factor you want, you can type it in this control and press OK. This method is also useful when you want to set All Views to the same scale factor. Up 50%

Original

Down 50%

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Magnification factors are relative to the size determined by the View, Autoscale command. A magnification factor of 1.0 is always used for an autoscaled view. This does not mean that one inch in your model equals one inch on the screen. Larger magnification factors make your model appear larger in the view. The buttons near the center of the dialog box provide another method of adjusting the magnification. They adjust the magnification relative to the current setting. Up 10% and Up 50% make your model appear larger. Down 10% and Down 50% make your model appear smaller. When you press any of these buttons, or type a new factor, FEMAP will magnify around the center of the view. The Fill View button is similar to the View, Autoscale command. It too bases its calculations on the overall model dimensions. However, this button only considers the current orientation of your model. It projects the overall dimensions into the current view and then adjusts the magnification factor to attempt to fill the screen. This will always result in a larger image than View, Autoscale. If your model geometry is non-rectangular, or has cutouts, this option still might not fill the view. Unlike the other View, Magnify options, but just like the View, Autoscale command, the Fill View button will automatically adjust the centering of your model.



Viewing Your Model

Rotate, Zoom, and Pan These command buttons are shortcuts to the View, Rotate, Zoom, and Pan commands. If you are updating a view, it is often more convenient to use these buttons, than to press OK and then choose the command from the menu. Pressing any of these buttons automatically accepts any changes you have made - just as if you had pressed OK. Using Magnify for XY-Plots If you have selected any of the XY-plot styles, View, Magnify will set both the XY X Range/Grid and XY Y Range/Grid options to Max Min. The minimum and maximum axes values are also adjusted to magnify the curves. For XY-plot styles, pressing Fill View results in the same image as the View, Autoscale command. You cannot type a magnification factor for XY-plot styles. F7 6.1.4.5 View, Zoom. . . ... simultaneously updates the scale and centering of your model in the active view. The update is based on a rectangular area that you define relative to the window.

This command displays the View Zoom dialog box. You must choose between two zooming directions: Zoom In and Zoom Out. When you zoom in, FEMAP will enlarge the rectangular area that you define to fill the entire window. Zoom Out does just the opposite. The magnification is reduced, so that the portion of your model that had filled the entire window now only fills the rectangular zoom area. The four text boxes near the center of the dialog box are used to define two diagonal corners of the zoom rectangle. It does not matter whether you choose the upper-left and lower-right corners, or the upper-right and lower-left corners. It also does not matter which corner you specify first. The corner locations are specified in percentages of the

View, Zoom. . .



window. The upper-left corner of the window is (0%,0%). The lower-right corner is (100%,100%). Upper-right is (100%,0%). 1

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The easiest way to specify the zoom rectangle is to use your mouse. First, make sure one of the Corner 1 text boxes is active. Then move the mouse, in the graphics window, to point at the first corner of the rectangle. Press the left mouse button. Then move the mouse to point at the diagonally opposite corner. As you do this, you will see the rectangular zoom area in your graphics window. Position it wherever you want and press the left mouse button again. Double-click the button instead, if you want to automatically select OK. If you have any of the cursor snap modes enabled, (Snap To Grid, Snap To Node,...) they may change the location you pick with the mouse. You can use this feature to your advantage if you want to use a node or point as the corner of the zoom rectangle. For more information on graphical selection, see Section 4, "User Interface". You can also just type the locations of the corners using the keyboard. If you choose this method however, you do not have the advantage of using the dynamic zoom box to position the zoom area.

Previewing the Zoomed View After you define the zoom area, you can press Apply to zoom, and redraw the view. This is just like pressing OK, except that the View Zoom dialog box is still present. You can still press Cancel to revert to the original view, or you can define additional zoom areas to further update the view.

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6



Viewing Your Model

Rotate, Mag, and Pan These command buttons are shortcuts to the View Rotate, Magnify, and Pan commands. If you are updating a view, it is often more convenient to use these buttons, than to press OK and then choose the command from the menu. Pressing any of these buttons automatically accepts any changes you have made - just as if you had pressed OK. Using Zoom for XY-Plots If you have selected any of the XY-plot styles, View Zoom will set both the XY X Range/ Grid and XY Y Range/Grid options to Max Min. The minimum and maximum axes values are adjusted based on the zoom area that you specify. This is probably the easiest way to choose particular sections of a complex XY plot. The zoom area that you choose should be inside the graph area - although it does not have to be. 6.1.4.6 View, UnZoom... . . . returns you to the previous magnification and centering, after you have changed them with a zoom, magnify, pan, or center command. Choosing this command a second time will return to the original view. This provides a quick way to alternate between full-model, and detailed views. It also allows you to change your view to see other parts of your model, and quickly return to the original settings. Note: Only one level of previous zoom is saved. That means, for example, if you press the Pan buttons on the toolbar more than once, or you center, then magnify, you will only be able to back up one step - not return to the original position before you changed the view. Shift+F8 6.1.4.7 View, Center. . . . . . chooses the model coordinates that will be located at the center of the view. This command does not change the magnification or orientation of the model. It just moves the specified coordinates to the center of the view. The standard coordinate definition dialog boxes are used to define the center coordinates. The center is entered in three dimensions because FEMAP will use this location as the center of rotation for the View, Rotate command. By precisely specifying the location you want, you can later rotate a view about any location in your model. Alternatively, if you just want to quickly center the current view, and you do not care about later

View, Center. . .



rotations, the coordinate perpendicular to the screen can be given any value (or just skipped). It is unimportant.

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If you want to center about an existing node or point, you can enable the appropriate snap mode prior to your graphical selection. In this case, the center coordinates will be equal to the coordinates of the entity you “snapped to”. If you really want to specify a three-dimensional center, you may want to use the keyboard. You can choose any of the standard coordinate definition methods, and enter the coordinates manually. You can also graphically select coordinates, and then update one or more of them prior to pressing OK.

Using Center for XY-Plots If you have selected any of the XY-plot styles, View, Center will set both the XY X Range/Grid and XY Y Range/Grid options to Max Min. The minimum and maximum axes values are adjusted based on the location that you specify. The magnification is unchanged. The location that you choose is just moved to the center of the graph. Instead of the standard coordinate definition dialog boxes, XY-plots display the View Position dialog box. These coordinates are specified as a percentage of the window. The location (0%,0%) is in the upper-left corner of the window. The lower-right corner is (100%,100%). It is usually best to use the mouse to graphically select the new center. This is especially true since the required coordinates are relative to the window and not the graph area.

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You can use the mouse to choose the center of the view. It will work just like any other graphical coordinate selection. If you just want to move something to the center of the screen, this may be the easiest way to accomplish it. Just point at the location with the mouse, and press the left mouse button. This will move the location you chose to the center of the view. Remember however, that the depth, “into the screen”, will be chosen in the workplane. As described in the previous paragraph, this might not be the point you want to rotate around.



Viewing Your Model

6.1.5 View, Pan. . .

Ctrl+P or Alt+F8 ... is similar to the View, Center command. It adjusts the position of your model within a view, without changing the magnification or orientation.

This command provides two different methods to position your model. You can just press the Left, Right, Up, or Down buttons to move your model in the indicated direction. This method moves the amount specified by Percent, which indicates a percent of the window. The other positioning method requires two locations. Within the view, the model is moved from the first location to the second. You will probably find that the easiest method of panning with the second method is to choose the two locations graphically. Point to the location that you want to move from, and press the left mouse button. Then point to the location you want to move to. As you move, you will see an arrow moving with the cursor. The arrow indicates the direction and distance of the pan. You can also pan the view by typing coordinates. The two pan locations are specified in percentages of the window. The location (0%,0%) indicates the upper-left window corner. The lower-right corner is (100%,100%), and the upper-right corner is (100%,0%).

Previewing the Panned View After you define the pan locations, you can press Apply to pan, and redraw the view. This is just like pressing OK, except that the View Pan dialog box is still present. You can still press Cancel to revert to the original view, or you can define additional pan locations to further update the view. If you use the Left, Right, Up, or Down buttons, they will automatically redraw the view. Rotate, Mag, and Zoom These command buttons are shortcuts to the View Rotate, Magnify, and Zoom commands. If you are updating a view, it is often more convenient to use these buttons, than to press OK and then choose the command from the menu. Pressing any of these buttons automatically accepts any changes you have made - just as if you had pressed OK. Using Pan for XY-Plots If you have selected any of the XY-plot styles, View Pan will set both the XY X Range/ Grid and XY Y Range/Grid options to Max Min. The minimum and maximum axes values are adjusted based on the pan locations that you specify. If you have magnified an XY-plot, this is an easy way to move it around to see different portions of the curves.

Deleting Views



The pan locations that you choose should be inside the graph area - although it does not have to be. It is usually best to use the mouse to graphically select the pan locations. This is especially true since the required coordinates are relative to the window and not the graph area.

6.1.6 Deleting Views Views, just like other FEMAP entities, can be deleted from the model. Simply use the Delete View command, and select the number of the views you wish to delete. You may also simply click on a view if it is currently visible to select it. FEMAP will ask if it is OK to delete this view. If you say yes, the view(s) will be deleted. If you say no, the command will be canceled.

6.2 Groups and Layers The previous section concentrated on the View menu command to manipulate the view. The other major area to modify what you see in a view involves groups and layers. By using groups and layers, you can segment your model into smaller, more manageable, discrete pieces. These pieces can then be used to minimize the amount of information presented in the view window, or in printed reports by specifying which group will be seen or used to create a report. Groups and layers also make it easier to manipulate, update, and apply loads to your model. This section will describe the differences between groups and layers, commands pertaining to layering, which are scattered throughout the FEMAP menu, and the Group menu.

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Views have no entities which are dependent upon them, so they are therefore always deletable. Although it is often times just as easy to de-activate a view than delete it, there are specific instances when deleting a view is recommended. Specifically, if you have trouble working with a view, certain items do not appear, or you get Abort messages, it may be due to a corrupted view (especially if this model had experienced an abnormal termination previously). If you suspect a view is corrupt, simply delete the view and create a new one with the View, New command. You should also then perform a File, Rebuild to restructure the database. This should remove the corruption from the model.



Viewing Your Model

6.2.1 Differences Between Groups and Layers Groups and layers provide a convenient method of segmenting a model, however, there are some key differences between groups and layers. Some main points about groups and layers are summarized in the table below. Groups

Layers

Reference

Entity in multiple groups

Each entity on only one layer

Display

Only one group at a time Active or specific group

Any combination of layers

Active

Only one active group

Only one active layer

By creating multiple groups, and using multiple layers, you can create an infinite number of visual combinations for your model. This greater flexibility also provides the disadvantage of more methods to “hide” things in your model. If you do not see an entity which you created, it is a good bet that either it is not in the group you are currently displaying, or it is not on a visible layer. Groups are designed to mimic how FEA models were numbered and arranged when they were built by hand. For example, in the aircraft industry, a model of a complete aircraft would be carefully numbered. All the nodes and elements at a frame at a particular location along the fuselage would be numbered in such a manner as to clearly identify them as belonging to that frame. FEMAP grouping makes it very easy to isolate portions of a finite element model that are numbered in such a manner. You may also easily group elements using a particular property or material. Layers, on the other hand, are designed similar to layering in most CAD systems. The name layer comes from the clear sheet of paper analogy for CAD layering, where all the entities associated with a given layer would be drawn on a clear sheet of paper, and only the “active” clear sheets being overlaid would produce a visual image.

6.2.2 Layer Commands There are several commands associated with layers which are scattered through the FEMAP menu. They can be separated into two major areas: creating a layer and viewing layers, which are discussed below. Other commands involve deleting layers, modifying layer reference on entities, and the Group, Layers command. Brief explanations are also provided for these entities.

Creating a Layer (Tools, Layers command)



6.2.2.1 Creating a Layer (Tools, Layers command) The Tools, Layers command is used to define layers in your model. By themselves, layers cannot be displayed. Rather, all entities in FEMAP are placed on the layers that you create with this command. The following dialog box is displayed:

Once layers have been created and entities assigned to them, they can be used to control display and entity selection (View, Layers command), or to control groups (Group Layers command).

6.2.2.2 Viewing Layers (View, Layers command) The View, Layers command allows you to control which layers are active for the display. You may Show All Layers (default setting) or Show Visible Layers Only. You may select any combination of layers to Show or Hide. For more information, see Section 6.1.2.6, "View, Layers...". 6.2.2.3 Related Layer Commands Other commands related to layers include the Modify, Layer menu, Delete, Tools, Layers, and Group, Layers. Each of these commands are described in more detail in their appropriate sections. A brief description, however, is provided below. Modify, Layer The Modify, Layer commands actually make no changes to the layers themselves. Instead, you can use these commands to move entities from one layer to another. This is a much easier method of changing the layer of a large number of entities in comparison to Modify, Edit, which requires input for each entity you selected. Delete, Tool, Layer This command enables you to delete a layer. You will typically only want to use this command when you have an empty layer. This command does not delete entities that are

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This dialog box works just like the other set creation dialog boxes. To make a new layer, enter an ID that does not exist in the list of available layers. Then enter a title, choose a color and press OK. You may also use this command to activate a layer by selecting the layer and pressing OK (you may also use the View, Layers command to activate a layer). Unlike other sets, you must always have some layer active.



Viewing Your Model

on the layer. In fact, these entities may still have the same layer reference, but the layer itself will be removed. The entities on the deleted layers will then not be visible unless you have Show All Layers active. There are also no checks made to see if entities exist on a layer when you are about to delete it. Therefore, be careful when using this command. Hint:

If you do delete a layer which has information contained on it, you may simply use Tools, Layers to create a new layer with that same number. The entities which were on the deleted layer will automatically be placed on the new layer.

Group, Layers This command provides an easy method to limit a group to a specific number of layer(s). This does not automatically create a group with all the entities in that layer. It simply limits the selected entities to a specific layer. For more information, see Section 6.2.3.4, "Group, Layers...".

6.2.3 Group Menu Commands The commands on this menu allow you to create, edit, and manipulate groups within your model. These commands are separated into three major sections: •

the Group, Set command

•

group manipulations

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commands to add certain identities to the group

How Groups are Used FEMAP groups identify portions of your model. With the View, Select command (press the Model Data command button), you can select a group that will be used to limit your display to the portion of the model which is “in the group”. In addition to simplifying your display, this group also has an impact on postprocessing. Contour/criteria limits can automatically be adjusted to the peak values which occur on those entities in the group (see Section 6.1.3.3, "View, Options. . ."). Similarly, nodal output data is converted to elemental output data, and vice versa based on the selected group (see Section 8.5.5.5, "Converting Nodal and Elemental Data"). For more information on methodology and how to use groups, see Section 5.8, "Groups, Layers and Viewing Your Model" in the FEMAP User Guide. This section will concentrate on the individual commands contained on the Group menu. Alt+F2 6.2.3.1 Group, Set... ... creates a new group, or activates an existing group. It is similar to the Model, Load Set and Model, Constraint Set commands. To create a new group, enter an ID that does not appear in the list of available sets (groups). Then enter a descriptive title, and press OK. To activate a group that already

Group, Operations Menu



exists, simply choose it from the list, or enter the ID, and press OK. To deactivate all groups, press Reset. All group definition commands work with the active group. You will not be able to define or edit a group if it has not been activated using this command.

6.2.3.2 Group, Operations Menu The commands on this menu are used to manipulate a group. They do not add any new definitions to the current group. Group, Operations, Evaluate... ... evaluates the active group. When you invoke this command, FEMAP will ask you to confirm that you really want to evaluate the active group - no additional input is required.

Group, Operations, Evaluate Always... ... sets a group to be evaluated every time it is used. When this option is set for the active group, you will see a check mark beside the command in the menu. If you choose to “always” evaluate, every time you use the group, FEMAP will reevaluate all clipping, layers, and rules. You do not have to use the Group, Operations, Evaluate command. This can significantly decrease system performance, but will automatically add new or modified entities to the group every time you use it. You can turn this option off by reselecting the command, and choosing No - don't automatically evaluate. You do not need to turn on Evaluate Always for a group that you select for Automatic Add. In fact, it will be much faster if you do not. Note:

If you are displaying a group where you have turned on Evaluate Always, you will not be able to graphically select nodes or other entities in that view. In addition, any attempt to reference that view will be significantly slower than if Evaluate Always was off, because the group must be reevaluated.

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You should use this command any time that you create or modify entities that should be selected in the current group. This command will use the group clipping planes, layer options, and rules to find the entities that are included.



Viewing Your Model

Group, Operations, Automatic Add... ...automatically adds all newly created entities to the selected group. With this option there is no need to reevaluate the selected group to have the entities appear - they are added without the need for reevaluation. Note:

You will be able to choose from the “Active” group, Select a group or None. The default is None, which means that new entities will not be added into any group. If you choose the Active option, newly created entities will be added to whatever group is active at that time. You can change the active group using the Group, Set command. If no group is active, it is the same as choosing the None option. If you choose Select, then you must also choose an existing group from the combo box. All entities will be added to that group. In this mode, if you want to switch to a different group, you must use this command to make a new selection.

Note:

In File, Preferences, the Views, Autoplot Created/Modified Geometry preference must be on, or Automatic Add will be disabled.

Group, Operations, Renumber... ...provides the capability to maintain the same entities in the group even when you renumber the entities. When you select this command, FEMAP will ask you whether it is OK to renumber the active group when you renumber entities. The default is Yes for this command. This means that if you have included Node 1 in the group, and you then renumber it to 50, it will still remain in the group (i.e. FEMAP will change the Group Node ID entry from 1 to 50). If you select No for the renumbering option, Node 1 will remain as the entry, and you will lose the new Node 50 (renumbered 1) from the group. Any entity you make in the future with Node ID 1 will automatically be included in the group. You will typically want to have this option on Yes to prevent changes in your groups from renumbering. Group, Operations, Copy... ... makes a new group which is a copy of the active group. When you invoke this command, you must input the ID and title of the group that will be created. If you check the Evaluate option, you will force the group to be reevaluated prior to being copied. If the active group has not been evaluated since it was created or last modified, FEMAP will always evaluate it before the group is copied. This evaluation must happen, and will occur no matter how you set the Evaluate option. Group, Operations, Condense... ... is similar to Group, Operations, Copy, in that it creates a new group which selects the same entities as the active group. In this case, however, the new group is not a copy of the active group. Instead, all of the entities which are selected in the active group are used to define ID rules in the new group. The new ID rules (coordinate system IDs, point IDs, node IDs, etc.) will select all of the entities that were previously selected. It does not matter if the original group selected the entities by clipping or other types of

Group, Operations Menu



rules; the selections will be converted to ID rules. None of the original rules, clipping, or layer information will be included in the new group. When to Use Condense Condense is usually used when you have defined a group using clipping or other fairly general rules (like Nodes 1 to 10000), and you want to make sure that no entities, other than those which are currently selected, will be inadvertently included during future group evaluations. In addition, a condensed group will typically reevaluate faster than the group defined by clipping. Condense will reduce these general selections to specific rules which will only include the currently selected entities.

A new ID will automatically be assigned for the group to create, but you can choose the ID of any nonexisting group. You should also specify a descriptive title. The resulting group is formed just like it was by the Group, Condense command. All clipping, layer, and rule information in the original two groups is reduced to “by ID” rules which select just the appropriate IDs. To be selected in the resulting group, an entity must be included in both the active group AND the other group you select.

Group, Operations, Or... ... is similar to the Group, Operations, And command. The only difference is that the resulting group contains all entities which are included in either the active group, or the other group that you select. Group, Operations, Exclusive Or... ... is similar to the Group, Operations, And command. In this command, however, the resulting group contains only those entities which are included in either the active group, or the other group that you select, but that are not included in both groups. Group, Operations, Not... ... is also similar to the Group, Operations, And command, except that this command only works with the active group. Other than the title, the dialog box is just like the one for Group, Operations, Copy. The new group that is created will contain “by ID” rules which select all of the entities in your model that are not selected in the active group. Group, Operations, Generate... ... will automatically create groups by segmenting your model based on geometric, property and material features and discontinuities. The capabilities of this command are

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Group, Operations, And... ... creates a new group which selects all of the entities that are currently in two other selected groups. This command works with the active group, as well as a 2nd group that you select from the existing group list. You can also choose to evaluate either group prior to creating the new group. Again, just like for the other Group, Operations commands, the groups will always be evaluated if they have not already been evaluated.



Viewing Your Model

also used by the Model, Output, Extrapolate command to segment your model prior to extrapolation. In that case however no groups are created. When you choose this command, you will be asked for the elements that you want to consider. This command only works with planar or solid elements. Line and other types of elements will simply be ignored. Typically, you should only choose one type (planar or solid) at a time. You will then see the following dialog box: The correct element type should be selected automatically based on the elements that you selected - unless you chose multiple types. You must then decide how you want to segment your model. Add Layers If you turn this option on, not only will elements be placed into segmented groups, their layers will also be updated so that each segment is on a separate layer. This can be useful if you want to display multiple segments simultaneously, since any combination of layers can be displayed. Attribute Breaks Breaking your model into segments based on attributes allows you to find areas of differing thickness or material. When used for output extrapolation, these options recognize that stresses or other output are not continuous across different materials or other part/thickness boundaries. If you want to put elements with different properties into different groups, choose Property ID. Since each property references a material, this will automatically put each material into one or more groups. If you just want to break based on changing materials, choose Material ID. Choose None to skip this type of checking when the model is being segmented. In addition to these basic attribute options, you can also choose to formulate different groups based on changes in the layer or color that each element references. These options really provide you a way to customize the way that FEMAP will segment your model. For example, if you really want to break some portion of your model into multiple parts, but all elements have the same property, you can always set their color or layer prior to using this command, then choose the appropriate option, and FEMAP will segment based on those attributes.

Group, Operations Menu



Geometric Breaks Unlike the attribute breaks, which can be used with either planar or solid elements, geometric breaks apply only to planar elements. Geometric breaks are very important for segmenting complex plate structures. For example, if you have a box structure, geometric breaks will automatically detect and segment each face of the box - even if all elements have identical attributes. When you choose to do geometric breaking, FEMAP calculates the normal to the planar face for each element. If the normals of two adjoining elements are within the angle that you specify of being parallel, they will be considered to be in the same segment (neglecting any attribute differences). If they are not within that angle, a new segment will be formed. To ignore geometric breaks, choose None.

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Complete Model

Generated Groups

Note:

This command can create quite a few groups given a large model - especially if you use geometric breaks with a small angle. It can also take quite a while to evaluate the entire model.

Note:

Since FEMAP has no way of knowing what the various segments of your model represent, it simply assigns default titles to the groups that are generated. After they are created, it is usually best to display each group, one at a time, and change the title (use Group, Set) to something that will be more meaningful to you.

Group, Operations, Generate Solids... ...will automatically create a group based on solid geometry. You simply select the solids you wish to group and FEMAP will create a single group containing the selected solids and there associated curves, lines and points.



Viewing Your Model

Operations, Generate Property... ... will automatically create groups by segmenting your model based on properties. You simply select the properties you wish to consider and FEMAP will create separate groups containing elements that reference each property. This works very similar to Group, Operations, Generate, except you pick the particular properties for the groups, and no discontinuities will be considered. All elements in the model referencing a particular property will be placed in the same group, regardless of their locations. Group, Operations, Generate Material... ... is similar to the Group, Operations, Generate Property command, except the groups are generated based upon the materials of the elements (on their property cards), not the properties themselves. Group, Operations, Generate Elem Type... ...is similar to the Group, Operations, Generate Property command, except the groups are based upon the element type, not the properties themselves. Group, Operations, Peel... ... is used with solid elements to remove one or more layers from the outside of a model. Initially, you choose the elements that you want to “peel”. Typically you will want to select the entire model. Remember however, that only solid elements are considered for this command. You specify the number of layers of elements to “peel” off of the outside. Elements are “peeled” if they have one or more faces on the outer surface of the selected elements. Similarly if you choose to peel multiple layers, each layer is removed, and the next layer is “peeled” from the remaining elements. You have two choices as you group elements using this command. You can create groups from the outer layers - the ones that are “peeled”. This will result in one group for each layer that you choose. You can also choose to create a group from the elements that remain after all peeling has been completed - i.e. the core elements. While it is somewhat difficult to visualize the result of this command the following picture attempts to show it:

Group, Operations Menu



First Layer (no center elements)

Complete Model

Second Layer (no center element)

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Remaining Core

Group, Operations, Select Model... ... is a shortcut to create rules that will select your entire model. Rather than manually going to each entity type and adding a rule that includes all IDs (1 to 99999999), you can use this command to automatically create all of those rules in the current group. When you are asked whether to create the rules, you must press Yes or the command will end. After creating these rules, you can then go add additional rules to remove or exclude portions of your model.

Group, Operations, Select Mesh... ...selects all the entities related to a mesh and places them into a group. After you pick the command, you select the elements for the group. FEMAP then adds the related entities which may include nodes, properties, materials, loads, and constraints.

Group, Operations, Contact Segment/Surface... ... enables you to put contact segments into the group. When this command is used, the standard entity selection dialog box will appear. Simply select the contact segments to include in the group. You can also use the Group, Contact commands to select contact segments for the group. Group, Operations, Reset Rules... ... deletes all rules in the active group. You can selectively delete rules by choosing the appropriate Group menu commands and deleting entries in the standard entity selection



Viewing Your Model

dialog boxes. If you want to delete all of your rules, of all types, this command is much faster. As for all delete commands, you will be asked to confirm your desire to delete the rules before this command proceeds.

6.2.3.3 Group Clipping Menu The commands on this submenu are used to define the coordinate and plane clipping options for the active group. You can independently specify both coordinate clipping and up to six clipping planes. Note:

The Group Clipping Screen, Plane, and Volume commands all control the same six clipping planes. They are not independent - choosing one will override previous plane selections. FEMAP will therefore ask you to confirm that you want to turn off the previous clipping options, if they were defined using a different command. If you answer No for screen and volume clipping, the command will continue, but the defaults will be relatively meaningless. When you choose No for plane clipping, the clipping planes that were previously active will remain active. You can use this technique to edit one or more planes that you defined using screen or volume.

How Clipping is Evaluated When you specify either plane or coordinate clipping, FEMAP bases the selection of entities on coordinate locations. Points, nodes, and coordinate systems are all clipped based on their location in your model. Text that is positioned relative to your model is clipped in the same way. View positioned text can not be selected via clipping. Other entities are clipped based on the points or nodes that they reference. For example, elements are included if any of the nodes that they reference are included by clipping. It is not necessary that all of the nodes referenced by an element are included - just one. Nodal loads are included if the nodes where they are applied have been selected by clipping. Elemental loads are included only if the elements where they are applied have been selected by clipping. This implies that at least one of the nodes referenced by those elements has been included also. If you are trying to establish clipping planes to select elements, you only need to include one of the nodes to include the elements.

Group Clipping Menu



Group, Clipping, Coordinate... ... allows you to quickly select portions of your model based on their coordinate values relative to a selected coordinate system.

Finally, you can select any existing coordinate system. To evaluate the clipping, FEMAP will transform the entity coordinates into the system you select and compare them against the Minimum and/or Maximum values that you specify. When you choose Above, anything which is above the Maximum will be clipped, or removed. Anything less than the Maximum will be included. Below is the opposite. Anything less than the Minimum will be clipped. Between will clip or remove anything between the Minimum and Maximum. Outside is the opposite. Clipping Non-Planar Regions If you choose a cylindrical or spherical coordinate system, the clipping region can be non-planar. For example, if you wanted to select a cylindrical volume, you could choose a cylindrical system and then clip above an X (actually a radius for a cylindrical system) value. Everything that has a radius which is smaller than the Maximum value that you specify will be included.

Group, Clipping, Screen... ... allows you to quickly orient up to four (of the possible six) clipping planes. With this command you pick a series of locations. The clipping planes will be oriented to pass through those positions and be normal to the active view - hence the title Screen Clipping. Although the orientation of the active view orients the clipping planes, the planes are still defined relative to your model. That means that if you rotate the view after you define the clipping planes, the planes will not rotate. They are still defined relative to

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The Group Selection by Coordinate Clipping dialog box selects the clipping options. You can choose to clip Above, Below, Between, or Outside of the selected minimum and/ or maximum coordinates. The Coordinate Value section allows you to select the coordinate direction that will control clipping. If you choose None, coordinate clipping will be turned off.



Viewing Your Model

model coordinates - which cannot change. This approach insures that the same entities are always selected for the group, no matter how you orient the view.

When you invoke the command, the Group Selection by Screen Clipping dialog box will be displayed. You can choose between four possible methods to orient the clipping planes. Rectangle allows you to specify two opposite corners of a rectangular region. The sides of the rectangle are aligned with the sides of the window. The 2 Point method defines a single clipping plane which passes through the two locations and which is perpendicular to the active view. Both the 3 Point and the 4 Point methods define clipping polygons, just like the Rectangle method. With these options however, you can specify an arbitrary polygon. Although you can specify a convex polygon with the 4 Point method, it will not clip your model properly. Since all clipping is really done with planes, they can only properly be combined to form non-convex regions. The figure shows how, and why, a convex region will be improperly clipped.

This edge clips the shaded area

Clipping Polygon

This area is inside the polygon, but is still clipped by the other edge

After choosing a method, you should define the locations that you want to use to position the clipping plane or planes. While you can always type X, Y and Z coordinates, the easiest way to define these positions is to use the graphics cursor to choose screen locations. Simply move the cursor to the location you want and press the left mouse button. Then, move to the next location and press again. As you move the cursor around in your graphics window, you will see lines which outline the region that you are defining. These lines can assist you in properly positioning the clipping planes. If you are typing

Group Clipping Menu



coordinates, or you just want to verify your final positions before pressing OK, you can press Preview to draw an outline around the clipping region. If you type coordinates, they must always be relative to the active coordinate system. You cannot choose an active system in this command. Before invoking this command, you can choose an active coordinate system using the Tools, Parameters command, or many others. To complete the screen clipping specification, you must choose whether to clip inside or outside the clipping region. For the methods that define polygonal regions, this choice should be obvious. For the 2 Point method, Outside chooses the side of the plane indicated by the right-hand rule going from the first to the second point and then into the screen. Choosing Outside will clip or remove all entities which lie outside of the clipping region, and will select all entities which are inside the region. Choosing Inside does just the opposite.

When you choose Group, Clipping, Plane, you will see the Group Selection by Plane Clipping dialog box. You can choose which plane to define or update by selecting one of the option buttons from 1 to 6. If a plane is already active you will see the word On beside the option button. You must also choose whether to clip the positive side or negative side of the plane. The positive side is the side toward the plane normal direction. Clipping the positive side will ignore all entities on the side toward the positive plane normal and include entities on the other side. When you press OK, the standard plane definition dialog box will be displayed. You can choose any of the definition methods to orient the plane. If you want to turn a particular plane off, select the appropriate option button, and press Reset. If you want to turn all planes off, it is quicker to use the Group, Clipping, Reset command. Working with Multiple Clipping Planes By correctly choosing between the Positive Side and Negative Side options, you can clip entities on either side of a plane. When you are trying to combine multiple planes to clip a more complex region, you must be certain that these orientations are properly aligned. If they are not, you will not select the correct portion of your model. In general, if you want to select some region of your model using multiple planes, you should use the Positive Side option. Then, position the clipping planes around the periphery of the region you want to keep, with all plane normals pointing outward. As stated previously, you can not create convex clipping regions.

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Group, Clipping, Plane... ... enables you to independently position the six clipping planes. For this command, the standard plane definition dialog boxes are used to position the planes. Only one plane can be positioned each time you use this command.



Viewing Your Model

Group, Clipping, Volume... ... automatically positions all six clipping planes to form a cubic (hexahedral) volume. There are two methods for defining the desired volume, which you can select from the Group Selection by Volume Clipping dialog box, a 2-point method or an 8-point method. The 2 Point method defines a cubic volume, aligned with the global rectangular coordinate system. For this method, when you press OK, the standard coordinate definition dialog box will be displayed twice, once for each corner. The two coordinates that you specify will define the diagonal of the clipping cube. With the 8 Point method, you can define a general hexahedron. The standard coordinate definition dialog box is displayed eight times. Each coordinate defines a corner of the hexahedron. You must specify the corners in the same order as you would for an 8noded solid element - around the bottom face and then around the top face. Before you press OK, you must also choose whether to clip outside or inside the volume. If you clip outside, all entities which are outside of the volume you define will be skipped. The entities which are inside will be selected into the group. Clipping inside does just the opposite.

Group, Clipping, Reset Clip... ... turns off both coordinate clipping and plane clipping. This command will ask two questions. The first asks whether you wish to turn off all plane clipping. The second asks whether to turn off coordinate clipping. If you answer Yes to either of these questions, the associated clipping options will be turned off. 6.2.3.4 Group, Layers... ... defines the layers which can be referenced by entities which are included in the group. You can not automatically select entities using this command, but you will remove them from the group if they are not on one of the active layers. The Limit Group to Selected Layers dialog box specifies the allowable layers. Initially, All layers are acceptable. If you choose one of the other options, you must specify the Minimum and/or Maximum allowable layer. The Between option will enable inclusion of entities which reference the Minimum or Maximum layers (or anything in between). Outside will allow you to select entities that reference layers numbers which are less than (but not equal to) the minimum, or that reference layers which are greater than (but not equal to) the maximum.

Grouping Individual Entities



6.2.3.5 Grouping Individual Entities The remaining commands involve adding individual entities to the group. They are separated into different sections based upon the type of entity to group. Each entity will also have several methods available for including them in the group. Common methods to all entities include Group by ID, Color, and Layer. Additional options will be available based upon the entity (i.e. you can select curves by methods Using Point, On Surface, or On Solid, while you can select materials by methods on Property, on Element, or Type). For more information, see Section 5.8, "Groups, Layers and Viewing Your Model" in the FEMAP User Guide.

Group, Text Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules which will be used to select text. You can select text into your group using the common methods only (ID, Color, or Layer).

Group, Curve Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules which will be used to select curves. You can select curves into your group based on ID, Color, Layer, Points that they reference, Surfaces that reference them, Solids that reference them, or any combination of these methods. Group, Surface Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules which will be used to select surfaces. You can select surfaces into your group based on their ID, Color, Layer, Curves that they reference, Volumes that reference them, Solids that reference them, or any combination of these methods. Group, Volume Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules that will be used to select volumes. You can select volumes into your group based on their ID, Color, Layer, Surfaces that they reference, or any combination of these methods. Group, Solid Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules that will be used to select volumes. You can select solids into your group based on their ID, Color, Layer, Curves that they reference, Surfaces they reference, or any combination of these methods.

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Group, Point Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules which will be used to select points. You can select points into your group based upon ID, Color, Layer, Definition Coordinate System, Curves that reference them, or any combination of these methods.



Viewing Your Model

Group, Coord Sys Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules that will be used to select coordinate systems. You can select coordinate systems into your group based on their ID, Color, Layer, Definition Coordinate System, Type, defined at a Point or Node, or any combination of these methods. The predefined global coordinate systems cannot be selected into a group.

Group, Node Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules that will be used to select nodes. You can select nodes into your group based on their ID, Color, Layer, Definition Coordinate Systems, Output Coordinate Systems, Elements that reference them, Element Orientation (selects nodes used for orientation by beam elements), geometric references (Points, Curves, Surfaces, and Volume/Solids from which they were created), or any combination of these methods. The ID option has additional options under the Method area that you can use to limit the IDs to those nodes on a Free Edge, on a Free Face, Constrained or Loaded. These limitations only apply to graphical selection from the view. If you enter the ID values, or do a Select All, FEMAP will include these entities into the group. To use the Free Edge or Free Face options, you must have performed a free edge or free face plot since your last View, Regenerate. If you have not, no free edge or face lists will be present, and no nodes will be selected. When you select ID - Constrained, the Select Nodes with Constraint dialog box will appear. This dialog box enables you to limit the selected nodes to those that are constrained in any constraint set or a specific set as well specific DOFs. You must graphically select the nodes for FEMAP to properly limit the node selection.

Grouping Individual Entities



When you select IDLoaded, the Select Entities with Load dialog box will appear. You must select the type of load on the node for it to be selected in the group. In addition, you can limit it to a specific load set and magnitude range. Again, you must graphical select the nodes for FEMAP to properly limit the node selection. If you want to select all nodes that are loaded, or constrained (or on free edges or free faces), simply do a View, Autoscale, change the method for the grouping to the appropriate ID method, and then do a box pick of the entire screen. This will select all nodes that meet the criteria.

Group, Element Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules that will be used to select elements. You can select elements into your group based on their ID, Color, Layer, Properties, Materials or Nodes that they reference, the Element Type, the Element Shape, geometric references (Points, Curves, Surfaces, and Volume/Solids from which they were created), or any combination of these methods. Similar to the Group Node by ID, you can limit the ID selections to those elements that have a free edge, free face, or a load applied.

Group, Material Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules that will be used to select materials. You can select materials into your group based on their ID, Color, Layer, Properties or Elements that reference them, the Material Type, or any combination of these methods. Group, Property Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules which will be used to select properties. You can select properties into your group based on their ID, Color, Layer, Elements that reference them, Materials that they reference, the Property Type, or any combination of these methods. Group, Load Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules that will be used to select loads. Since loads are defined in multiple sets, the commands on this menu really do not select the loads, but instead select the nodes and elements where the

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Hint:



Viewing Your Model

loads are applied. This allows you to choose a certain portion of your model, and include loads which are applied to that portion of your model, in all sets. When the group is used for display or selecting entities, as always, only the loads from the active load set are selected.

Group, Constraint Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules which will be used to select constraints. Since constraints are defined in multiple sets, the commands on this menu really do not select the constraints, but instead select the nodes where the constraints are applied. This allows you to choose a certain portion of your model and include constraints which are applied to that portion of your model in all sets. When the group is used for display or selecting entities, as always, only the constraints from the active constraint set are selected. Group, Contact Segment/Surface Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to define, edit, and delete the rules that will be used to select contact segments/surfaces. You can include or exclude contact segments based upon ID, Color, or Layer.

6.2.4 Deleting Groups Just like any other FEMAP entity, you can delete groups. Select the Delete Group command, then choose the group or groups to delete. You then verify that you want to delete the group(s). There are no entities that depend on groups; therefore, groups should never be nondeletable.

6.2.5 Renumbering Groups To renumber groups, pick the Modify, Renumber Groups command. Enter the groups to renumber. You will then see the Renumber To dialog box. The only orders available for groups are Original ID and Selection Order. You can also choose Ascending or Descending order, as well as Verify Renumbering. The final option, Constant Offset, allows you to renumber by simply adding a constant value to each ID.

7.

Modeling Tools FEMAP has an extensive array of tools for checking and manipulating your model. These tools range from summing forces to performing free edge and free face plots to visualize any gaps in the model. These tools can be separated into three major areas based upon their functions and their placement in the menu: Tools, List, and View.The commands under the Tools and List menus will be explained more fully below, while View tools will be briefly discussed. For further explanation on the general operation of the viewing commands, see Section 6.1, "View Menu Commands".

7.1 Tools Menu The commands on the Tools menu provide a wide variety of tools for checking and operating on your model. The Tools menu also contains commands that are not specifically designed for checking your model, but are considered general tools for your use when operating FEMAP. These commands will also be explained in this section. The FEMAP Tools menu is separated into five major categories, based upon the type of function to perform: •

command undo and redo

•

changing the workplane

•

tools for operating on your model

•

FEMAP finite element entities used for viewing, reporting, and entering data

•

measuring and checking commands

Each of the above sections, with their associated commands, will be explained more fully below.

7.1.1 Undo and Redo These commands provide a simple method of reverting backward, or moving forward through the commands you just performed. This is a very easy method to eliminate commands that have had unexpected results. Ctrl+Z 7.1.1.1 Tools, Undo... ... removes the effect of the previous command. This allows you to “back up” one command if you made a mistake, or if you want to review the effect of the changes. The Tools, Redo command will “undo the undo”, or go forward one command. You can



Modeling Tools

repeatedly use Undo to backup multiple commands. You can set the total number of commands that you can undo in the File, Preferences, Database command. When you undo a command, you will see a message in the Messages and Lists window that tells you the command that you are undoing. The graphics windows will also be updated to show the effect of undoing the command. Immediately following an Undo, you may need to use View, Redraw, prior to being able to graphically select an entity from the screen - even though the entity is displayed. If you attempt to select something, and a different entity is picked, or nothing is selected, then use View, Redraw. You cannot undo: commands on the File menu, the View, New, Activate and Window commands. They all write files, or make changes that are non-reversible. You cannot undo back through the initialization of either the ACIS or Parasolid advanced geometry engines since their initialization also causes non-reversible changes to the database. If you execute any of these commands, you will be unable to back-up past that point. Other changes which you make to resize or move a window will also not be undone, but do not cause any loss of previous undo information. If you are using the autorepeat feature of the creation commands to create multiple entities, Undo will erase all of those entities as a single command. You must choose the command from the menu to be able to backup a single creation per undo. Ctrl+Shift+Z 7.1.1.2 Tools, Redo... ... goes forward one command following an Undo. This command is only available following one or more Undo commands. It works identically to Undo, just in reverse. You can use Redo repeatedly up to the point where you are back to your last real (not Undo) command. If you have undone one or more commands, and then choose another real command, you can no longer use Redo to retrieve the undone commands.

7.1.2 Tools, Workplane. . .

Ctrl+W or F2

... specifies the location, size and orientation of the workplane that is used for cursor selections or defining two-dimensional geometry.When you select this command, the following dialog box will appear:

Define Plane



These commands all involve different methods of locating the workplane. There are three major types of options: Define Plane, Move Plane, and Origin and Axes. In addition, you can change snap options or turn the drawing of the workplane on or off. Hint:

You can also access this command from any dialog box (in a text box or dropdown list) by using the Ctrl+W shortcut keys, or from the workplane option on many of the command toolbars (those related to creating geometry).

7.1.2.1 Define Plane These commands locate the workplane in space. Select Plane/Global Plane Both the Select Plane and Global Plane options use the standard plane definition dialog box to define the model workplane. The only difference is the Global Plane method sets the default on the plane definition dialog box to that method. You can still select a different method. For more information, see Section 4.3.1, "Entity Selection" in the FEMAP User Guide. On Surface The On Surface method allows you to align the workplane to a particular surface. When you select this method, you will see the Define Model Workplane dialog box.

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Enter (or graphically select) the Surface ID, the point for the origin of the workplane grid (At Point), and optionally a point along the X axis (Axis Point). FEMAP will automatically align the plane to the surface by orienting the Y axis to the surface, and then use the right-hand rule convention to align the Z axis to complete the triad. In addition, you can decide to force the surface to be in the first quadrant of the workplane (First Quadrant), reverse the direction of the normals (Reverse Direction), or provide an offset distance from the surface. The First Quadrant option may also reverse the normal direction. If you plan to perform solid boolean operations such as Extrude, it is best to leave this option off so the default directions for Add or Remove material will be properly aligned.

Previous The Previous method requires no input. It simply places the workplane at its last previous location. You can only backup one position with this command. If you perform previous twice, the workplane will be placed back at its original position.



Modeling Tools

7.1.2.2 Move Plane The Move Plane methods allow you to define the location of the workplane by translating or rotating the current workplane with a location input respect to its current location. There are three available methods for this type of procedure: Offset Distance, Move to Point, and Rotate. Offset Distance involves both translation and rotation, while Move to Point is pure translation, and Rotate is pure rotation. Offset Distance This method allows you to both translate and rotate the workplane with respect to its normal (Z direction). When you select this method, you must enter both a Z offset (in units of length), and a rotation value (in degrees). The workplane will be translated along its normal by the translation amount, and then rotated about its normal by the rotation amount. If you want to translate or rotate in the negative direction, simply input a negative value. Move to Point The Move to Point method simply translates the workplane origin to a specified location. The only input required is the coordinate location (via the standard coordinate definition dialog box). The workplane will maintain the same rotational orientation. It will simply be moved to that coordinate. Rotate This method allows you to rotate the workplane around an arbitrary vector. The only inputs required are the vector to serve as the axis of rotation (defined by using the standard vector definition dialog box), and the rotation angle. As always, rotation is performed using a right-hand rule convention.

7.1.2.3 Origin and Axes These commands do not change the “plane” associated with the workplane, but simply move the origin or the axes of the workplane within that plane. The first two commands move the origin (Offset Origin and Move Origin), and the last two commands orient the X and Y axes (Align X Axis and Align Y Axis, respectively). Offset Origin, Move Origin These two commands move the origin of the workplane. The offset origin method offsets the origin of the workplane from its current location. Only two inputs are required, X Offset and Y Offset. These offsets are in the workplane X and Y directions. Move Origin requires input of the location of the origin via the Standard Coordinate Definition Dialog box. You should typically select a location that is on the current workplane. If you do not, FEMAP will project this point onto the workplane, and the resulting origin may not be where you expected.

Align X Axis, Align Y Axis These methods allow you to align the X axis or Y axis to a vector which you define through the standard coordinate definition dialog box. You should typically select a vec-

Snap Options...



tor that is in the current workplane. If you do not, FEMAP will project this vector onto the workplane, and the resulting axis may not be where you expected.

7.1.2.4 Snap Options... ... defines the graphics cursor snap mode, the size and orientation of the snap grid and the grid display style. The Snap To dialog box sets these options.

Hint:

You can access this command from any dialog box (in a text box or drop-down list) by using the Ctrl+T shortcut keys, through the Quick Access command menu, or through the Workplane icon.

Grid and Ruler Spacing These options specify the spacing between snap grid locations. You can allow FEMAP to determine the spacing (Automatic), set a Uniform spacing, or a Nonuniform spacing. Automatic requires input only of the divisions. The Divisions option specifies how many minor tic marks will be drawn between every major tic. FEMAP will calculate a grid spacing based upon the model size and then use the Divisions value to further partition the grid. Uniform and Nonuniform spacing also require input of the Divisions, but you must also specify a Grid Size. For Uniform, enter a value for the X Grid Size ,and FEMAP will also use this for Y. In addition, FEMAP uses this value for the ruler labels, which controls the frequency of labels on the workplane. Nonuniform requires the additional input of the Y Grid Size, and the Ruler Labels. The Ruler Labels value will be used for both grids. You cannot define nonuniform labeling.

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The Snap To dialog box is separated into four major sections: Grid and Ruler Spacing, Grid Style, Workplane Size, and Snap To. Each of these areas are explained more fully below.



Modeling Tools

Grid Style The Snap Grid can be displayed either as dots or lines, or it can be invisible. The style of display has no effect on whether or not the cursor snaps to a particular location. You can make the grid invisible and still snap to it. Conversely it can be displayed as dots or lines and the snap mode can be set to snap to a point, node or screen location. The display of the snap grid for an individual window can be turned on or off using the View, Options command. If the snap grid spacing is too small relative to the image displayed in a window, the dots or lines could completely fill the window. In this case, the grid will not be drawn, and you will receive a message which tells you that the grid is too dense for display.

Workplane Size This area controls the total size of the workplane grid, as well as the drawing of the X and Y rulers. The X From/To and Y From/To allow to manually scale the workplane. This can be very handy in instances when you are working on small sections of your model to define the workplane size. It is often much easier, however, to select the Adjust to Model Size and Adjust to Planar Surface options. These options will allow FEMAP to automatically scale FEMAP based upon the model size, and even attach the workplane directly to planar surfaces when the workplane coincides with a planar surface. These options are much more convenient when building a model than the manually scaling approach. The snap grid is drawn as a rectangular pattern. The size of that pattern is based on your model size and current view scale factors when using the automatic scaling. If your workplane and grid is rotated relative to your graphics window, the grid may not completely cover the window display area. Also, you may manually define a workplane that does not fill the screen. Even in these areas where the dots or lines are not drawn, the cursor will still snap to the grid location (assuming you have the snap mode set). The Draw X and Y Ruler controls define whether the rulers are drawn. You will also have to turn on the option to Show Rulers under View, Options, Tools and View Style, Workplane and Rulers to see the rulers.

Snap To These options choose whether the graphics cursor will select locations which correspond to a screen location (off), or will snap to the nearest snap grid location, nearest point, or nearest node. For more information on the snap to methods, see Section 4.4.3, "Snap To" in the FEMAP User Guide. Hint:

You can also set these modes from any dialog box by using the Ctrl+S (Off), Ctrl+G (Snap Grid), Ctrl+P (Point) or Ctrl+N (Node) shortcut keys, the Quick Access menu, or from the View toolbar.

Operational Tools



Coord Only This option controls whether FEMAP will use the snap mode only during coordinate definition, or every time you select an entity from the graphics window. When this is on, FEMAP will only snap if you are trying to define a model coordinate location. All other picks will work as if snap was off. If you turn it off however, the active snap mode will always be used - even when you are picking entities, zooming, or any other time you click in the graphics window. Full Precision This option controls how FEMAP will write graphically selected coordinates into your dialog boxes. It only applies when you are snapping to nodes or points. If Full Precision is on, FEMAP will use the equation functions XND( ), YND( ), ZND( ), XPT( ), YPT( ) and ZPT( ) instead of the coordinate values. In this case, when you press OK, FEMAP will use the full double-precision database coordinates of the selected node or point. When Full Precision is off, the coordinate values are written to the dialog box. In this case, the location is only as accurate as the number of digits that are in the dialog box.

7.1.3 Operational Tools The next set of commands on the Tools menu involve operational commands which provide access to different types of entities, as well as defining or modifying parameters. There are five commands contained in this section, and they will be explained below.

7.1.3.1 Tools, Advanced Geometry...

• Standard • Advanced Geometry - Parasolid • Advanced Geometry - ACIS ACIS Depending upon the options you purchased with FEMAP, one, two or three of these options may be applicable. The Standard engine uses internal FEMAP geometry to create models. This engine does not have solid modeling or advanced surface capability. You must have the Parasolids and/or ACIS modelers to perform solid modeling operations. If you have selected one of these modules or FEMAP has activated one of them automatically, you will see a check mark next to the Advanced Geometry command on the menu. FEMAP will automatically choose the appropriate engine when importing geometry files. It will also default to the proper engine if you have only purchased one of the modeling engines. The only time you need to select the engine is if you combine an ACIS and a Parasolid part, or are creating a solid model inside of FEMAP, and need to export either an ACIS or Parasolid file to import to another program.

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... selects the type of geometry engine to use for geometric modeling. There are currently three options:



Modeling Tools

7.1.3.2 Tools, Cursor Position... ... alternately displays and removes the Cursor Position dialog box. This tool will show you the X,Y,Z coordinates of the graphics cursor as it moves around in the graphics window. These coordinates are reported in the active coordinate system. If you are snapping to the screen (no snapping) or to the snap grid, the coordinates will reflect the true location. If you are snapping to the closest point or node, the screen location that will be used to determine the closest entity will be shown. For more information on the cursor position tool, see Section 4.4.2, "The Cursor Position Tool" in the FEMAP User Guide. Whenever the Cursor Position dialog box is displayed, this command will be displayed in the menu with a check mark beside it. You can close this dialog box either by choosing Close from its system menu, or by selecting the command a second time. Always on Top You will find an option on the system menu of the Cursor Position dialog that is titled Always on Top. If this option is checked, the Cursor Position dialog will always stay on top of all other windows, and will therefore always be visible. If you turn this option off, the dialog can disappear behind other windows.

7.1.3.3 Tools, Toolbox... ... alternately displays and removes the Toolbox dialog box. The toolbox gives you quick, graphical access to the commands that you use most. Just by clicking on one of the picture buttons in the toolbox, you will execute a command or macro (just like a program file but stored in the toolbox file). Icons can be confusing, so FEMAP automatically displays a one line description of each button in the main window title bar. All you have to do is point at the button with your cursor. This feature can be disabled using File, Preferences, Menus and Toolbars.

Tools, Parameters. . .



Most toolbox buttons execute commands, however, some will switch to a “toolbox submenu”. In the standard toolbox, these buttons have a small black arrow, just like the menu items that display a submenu. When you switch to a toolbox submenu, an extra button, labelled Layer #Curve

_______________________________________________________________________ 1 0 0. 0. 0. 24 0.5 1 0 2 0 1. 0. 0. 24 1 0 3 0 1. 1. 0. 24 0.25 1 0 4 0 -1.91421 0.239276 0. 24 0.25 1 0 5 0 -0.714612 0.553248 0. 24 1 0 6 0 1.63669 -0.530196 0. 24 0.25 1 0

List, Curve...



In the listing, ID is the ID of the point. Def CS is the ID of the Definition Coordinate System. X1, X2, X3 are the coordinates of the point, relative to either the definition coordinate system, or the listing coordinate system. Color is the point color. MeshSize is the mesh size which is assigned to this point for boundary surface meshing. This will be blank if no size was assigned. Layer is the point layer. #Curve indicates how many Curves reference this point. The width of the sample listing shown above has been reduced to fit within the manual margins. You will notice that on many video adapters, you will have to scroll right in the Messages and Lists window to see the end of this listing.

7.2.2.3 List, Curve... ... produces a report of selected curves in your model. After selecting the curves you want to list (using the standard entity selection dialog box), you select the Sort by method and Sort Order (Ascending or Descending). Sorting methods available include the common methods (see Section 7.2.2.1, "Common Listing Options"), by type, or by minimum point ID (points reference by the curve).

Advanced You will also see an Advanced option for curves. The Advanced option is only applicable for B-splines, and will include the type of B-spline (Rational or NURB), the order, the number of points, and the knot values in the output listing. The curve listing looks like the following: ID Type Color Layer Bias MeshElem ---- Points ---> #Surface Length Radius Angle _________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Line 100 1 0. 0 7 9 0 2.37519 2 Line 100 1 2.5 8 9 8 0 1.98853 3 Line 100 1 0. 0 10 8 0 2.37519 4 Line 100 1 1. 4 7 10 0 1.98853 5 Arc 100 1 1. 3 11 12 13 14 0 4.14771 1.30573 182.002 6 Circ 100 1 0. 0 15 16 17 18 0 6.28319 1. 360. 19 7 Spln 100 1 0. 0 20 21 22 23 0 5.14384

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The X, Y, and Z sort listing options use the location of the first point referenced by the curve. For circles and arcs, this is the location of the center of curvature. For other types of curves, it is the first endpoint.



Modeling Tools

In the listing, ID Type Color Layer Bias

MeshElem

Points

#Surface Length Radius Angle

is the ID of the curve. is the type of the curve. is the curve color. is the curve layer. is the mesh biasing factor size which is assigned to this curve for boundary meshing. This will be 0.0 if no size has been assigned. is the mesh size which is assigned to this curve for boundary meshing. This will be zero if no size has been assigned. are the IDs of the points which are referenced by this curve. For lines, these are the endpoints. For arcs and circles they are the center, start, middle and endpoints. For splines, they are the control points. the number of surfaces which reference the curve. the length of the curve. This is the arc length/perimeter for arcs and circles. the curve radius - only listed for arcs and circles. the included angle - only listed for arcs and circles.

The width of the sample listing shown above has been reduced to fit within the manual margins. You will notice that on many video adapters, you will have to scroll right in the Messages and Lists window to see the end of this listing.

7.2.3 List, Surface... ... produces a report of selected surfaces in your model. After selecting the surfaces you want to list (using the standard entity selection dialog box), you select the Sort by method and Sort Order (Ascending or Descending). Sorting methods available include the common methods (see Section 7.2.2.1, "Common Listing Options"), by Type, or by Minimum Curve ID (curves referenced by the surface). If you choose Minimum Curve ID, the listing will be sorted on the IDs of the curves that define the surfaces. X, Y, and Z allow you to sort the listing based on the location of the parametric center of the surface. The surface listing looks like the following: ID Type Color Divisions Layer #Volume ________________________________________________________________________ 1 Bilinear 2 3 x 4 8 9 10 R 11 R 1 0 2 Revolve 2 8 x 4 5 12 R 13 1 0 3 Ruled 2 3 x 4 3 14 1 R 15 1 0 4 Revolve 2 4 x 4 17 16 R 18 R 4 1 0 5 Bezier 2 16 x 16 21 22 7 R 23 1 0 20 19 R 6 Coons 2 16 x 16 7 22 R 21 R 23 R 1 0

List, Volume...



In the listing, ID Type Color Divisions Curves

Layer #Volume

is the ID of the surface. is the type of the surface. is the surface color. are the number of surface divisions assigned for display purposes. are the IDs of the curves that define the surface. If an “R” follows the number, the parametric direction of the curve is reversed compared to the curve’s alignment in the surface definition. is the surface layer. the number of volumes which reference the surface.

In addition, if the surface forms the face of a solid, the number of segments, the geometric engine (Parasolid or ACIS), and the address of the face in the geometric engine database will be listed. The width of the sample listing shown above has been reduced to fit within the manual margins. You will notice that on many video adapters, you will have to scroll right in the Messages and Lists window to see the end of this listing.

7.2.3.1 List, Volume... ... produces a report of selected volumes in your model.

The volume listing looks like the following: ID Type Color Layer ________________________________________________________________________ 1 Wedge 24580 8 --9 --7 --1 10 R-R 10 R-R --2 Brick 24580 13 --14 --11 --1 15 --R 12 --15 --R 3 Tetra 24580 16 --17 --18 --1 19 R------

In the listing, ID Type

is the ID of the volume. is the type/shape of the volume.

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After selecting the curves you want to list (using the standard entity selection dialog box), you select the Sort by method and Sort Order (Ascending or Descending). Sorting methods available include the common methods (see Section 7.2.2.1, "Common Listing Options"), by Type, or by Minimum Surface ID (surfaces reference by the volume). If you choose Minimum Surface ID, the listing will be sorted on the IDs of the surfaces that define the volumes. X, Y, and Z allow you to sort the listing based on the location of the parametric center of the volume.



Modeling Tools

Color Surfaces

Layer

is the volume color. are the IDs of the surfaces that define the volume. Three characters (“R” or “-”) follow each ID. These correspond to the s, t and normal surface parametric directions. An “R” indicates the parametric direction of the surface is reversed compared the surface’s alignment in the volume definition. is the volume layer.

The width of the sample listing shown above has been reduced to fit within the manual margins. You will notice that on many video adapters, you will have to scroll right in the Messages and Lists window to see the end of this listing.

7.2.3.2 List, Solid... ...simply requires input of the solids you want to list. List information for the solid includes the name, engine (Parasolid or ACIS) and address.

7.2.4 List, Model Menu This menu contains commands which will allow you to list information about your FEA entities. This menu is partitioned very much like the Model menu, and contains commands identical to those on the Model menu, except these commands simply list entities. They do not create new entities. For more information, see Section 4, "Finite Element Modeling".

7.2.4.1 Common List Options Much like the geometry listing commands, a common dialog box is used for the List, Model commands. Some of the options may not be available for all entities, but the procedure is identical. The dialog box contains a Sort By section, which determines the method of sorting, and a Sort Order section, where you choose Ascending or Descending. You can also choose a Listing Coordinate System for points. Sort By: These options control the order of the listing. By default, and the fastest method, is to list the entities in order of ascending IDs (lowest ID to highest ID). Choosing Selection Order will order the listing in the

List, Model, Coord Sys...



order that you selected the points. This option allows you to list the entities in any order, simply by selecting them in that order. Other common sorting methods include Color, Layer, position (X, Y, or Z), and Absolute Value of position.

7.2.4.2 List, Model, Coord Sys... ... produces a report of selected user-defined coordinate systems in your model. You cannot list the predefined global coordinate systems (0, 1 or 2). After selecting the coordinate systems you want to list (using the standard entity selection dialog box), you will see a dialog box which provides options to customize your listing. Listing Coordinate System: If you select a listing coordinate system, all selected coordinate systems will be transformed and listed relative to this selected system. If you leave the coordinate system blank (not 0, but blank), each coordinate system will be listed relative to its own definition coordinate system. Sort By: In addition to the common options, you can also list by the Definition Coordinate System. The position sort methods (X, Y, and Z) use the coordinate system origin. For more information on common options, see Section 7.2.2.1, "Common Listing Options". The coordinate system listing looks like the following:

Coordinate System 4 - Secondary CSys Type Def CS Origin Rotation Sph 3 X=-0.281312 X=-178.223 Y=-1.10288 Y=17.0431 Z=-0.64794 Z=-148.036

Color 60

Layer

Color 60

Layer

1

1

Referenced By CS=1 PT=0 NO=0 MT=0 PR=0 CN=0 LD=0 Referenced By CS=0 PT=0 NO=0 MT=0 PR=0 CN=0 LD=0

In the listing, Type Def CS Origin

Rotation

is the coordinate system type Rectangular, Cylindrical or Spherical. is the ID of the Definition Coordinate System. is the coordinates of the origin, relative to either the definition coordinate system, or the listing coordinate system. is the rotation angles (in degrees) about the definition or listing coordinate system which orient the axes.

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Coordinate System 3 - Base System Type Def CS Origin Rotation Rect 0 X=0.264032 X=30. Y=0.232348 Y=30. Z=0. Z=-75.



Modeling Tools

Color Layer Referenced By

is the coordinate system color. is the coordinate system layer. indicates how many other coordinate systems (CS), points (PT), nodes (NO), materials (MT), properties (PR), constraints (CN) and loads (LD) reference this coordinate system.

7.2.4.3 List, Model, Node... ... produces a report of selected nodes in your model. After selecting the nodes you want to list (using the standard entity selection dialog box), you will see a dialog box which provides options to customize your listing. These options are identical to those defined in the List, Coordinate Systems command (see Section 7.2.4.2, "List, Model, Coord Sys..."). The node listing looks like the following: ID Def CS Out CS X1 X2 X3 Color PermBC> Layer #Elem #Load #BC _____________________________________________________________________________ 1 0 0 -0.332681 -0.601993 0. 46 -----1 0 0 0 5 0 0 -0.315078 -0.264032 0. 46 -----1 0 0 0 9 0 0 -0.297476 7.3929E-2 0. 46 -----1 0 0 0 13 0 0 -0.279874 0.41189 0. 46 -----1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0.181302 -0.436533 0. 46 -----1 0 0 0 7 0 0 0.203598 -0.159593 0. 46 -----1 0 0 0 11 0 0 0.225894 0.117348 0. 46 -----1 0 0 0

In the listing, ID Def CS Out CS X1, X2, X3

is the ID of the node. is the ID of the definition coordinate system. is the ID of the nodal output coordinate System. are the coordinates of the node, relative to either the definition coordinate system, or the listing coordinate system. Color is the node color. PermBC are the six nodal permanent degrees of freedom. “-” indicates that the degree of freedom is unconstrained. The numbers 1-6 are used to indicate constraints. Layer is the node layer. #Elem, indicates how many elements, loads and constraints ref#Load, #BC erence this node. The width of the sample listing shown above has been reduced to fit within the manual margins. You will notice that on many video adapters, you will have to scroll right in the Messages and Lists window to see the end of this listing.

List, Model, Element...



7.2.4.4 List, Model, Element... . . . produces a report of selected elements in your model. After selecting the elements you want to list (using the standard entity selection dialog box), you must choose the method of sorting. In addition to the common options available (please see Section 7.2.4.1, "Common List Options"), you can also list by Element Type, Property ID, or Minimum Node ID. The location of the center of the element will be used for the position sort (X, Y, and Z). Element listings resemble the following: Element 1 - PLATE Property 1 Color 124 Nodes 9 5 6 Element 2 - PLATE Property 1 Color 124 Nodes 6 7 10 Element 3 - BEAM Property 2 Color 124 Orientation Node 11 Offset Vector End 1 0. Offset Vector End 2 0. Release End 1 12---Nodes 3 8 Element 4 - BEAM Property 2 Color 124 Orientation Vector -0.951615 Nodes 8 12 Element 5 - RIGID Property 2 Color 124 Nodes 16 15 11

Layer 1 10 Layer 1 Layer 1 0. 0. End 2 -----Layer 1 0.307293

0.1 0.1

0.

Layer 1 12

Many other formats are also used for the other element types, but they all follow the conventions shown above. The element type is listed on the first line, along with the ID. The next line lists the property, color, and layer which are referenced by the element. Additional element data (like orientation, releases, and offsets) are then given. Finally, all of the nodes are listed.

After selecting the materials you want to list (using the standard entity selection dialog box), you must choose the method of sorting. In addition to the common options available (see Section 7.2.4.1, "Common List Options"), you can also list by Material Type, and the position sort (X, Y, and Z) will not be available.

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7.2.4.5 List, Model, Material... . . . produces a report of selected materials in your model.



Modeling Tools

Material listings resemble the following: Material 1 - Steel Type ISOTROPIC Color 55 Layer 1 Density 0.283 Damping 0. STIFFNESS E 3.E+7 G 0. STRENGTH Tension 100000 Compress 100000 THERMAL Alpha 6.5E-6 K 0. Material 3 - Steel-3D Ortho Type 3D ORTHOTROPIC Color 55 Layer 1 Density 0.283 Damping 0. STIFFNESS E1 3.E+7 G12 0. E2 3.E+7 G23 0. E3 3.E+7 G31 0. STRENGTH Tension 100000 Compress 100000 THERMAL Alpha11 6.5E-6 K11 0. Alpha22 6.5E-6 K22 0. Alpha33 6.5E-6 K33 0. Spec Heat 0. Material 4 - Steel-2D Aniso Type 2D ANISOTROPIC Color 55 Layer 1 Density 0.283 Damping 0. STIFFNESS G11 3.2967E+7 G22 3.2967E+7 G12 9.89011E+6 G13 0. STRENGTH Tension 100000 Compress 100000 THERMAL Alpha11 6.5E-6 K11 0. Alpha22 6.5E-6 K22 0. Alpha12 0. K33 0. Spec Heat 0.

#Prop Ref Temp Nu Shear SpecHeat

0 0. 0.3 80000. 0.

#Prop Ref Temp Nu12 Nu23 Nu31 Shear K12 K13 K23

0 0. 0.3 0.3 0.3 80000. 0. 0. 0.

#Prop Ref Temp G33 G23 Shear K12 K13 K23

0 0. 0. 0. 80000. 0. 0. 0.

Similar formats are used for the other material types, and they follow the conventions shown above. The material ID and title are listed first, followed by the type, color, and layer. #Prop is the number of properties that reference this material. Finally, the material values are listed in three major categories - STIFFNESS, STRENGTH and THERMAL. These categories directly correspond to the grouping of the data in the Create Material dialog boxes. Function Dependent Materials If you have defined materials which reference functions in your model, you will see additional lines of data mixed between those shown above. Following each of the lines of properties, and aligned under each of the corresponding values will be a second line listing the function references. Because of space constraints, the full function title will not be listed, but the ID and the beginning of the title will be shown.

7.2.4.6 List, Model, Property... . . . produces a report of selected p[roperties in your model. After selecting the properties you want to list (using the standard entity selection dialog box), you must choose the method of sorting. In addition to the common options available (see Section 7.2.4.1, "Common List Options"), you can also list by property type or material ID, and the position sort (X, Y, and Z) will not be available. If you sort by material ID, properties that do not reference materials, and laminate plates that reference multiple materials, will all sort as if their material ID was zero.

List, Model, Load...



Property listings resemble the following: Property 1 - W8x20 Wide Flange Type BEAM Color 110 Layer 1 Material 6 #Elem 0 End A Area 5.89 ShearF, K1 0. ShearF, K2 0. I1 69.4 I2 9.22 I12 0. NS Mass/Len 0. J 78.6 Recover Stresses At: Y 3.43 Z 1.25 Property 2 - 25# Lumped Mass Type MASS Color 110 Layer 1 CoordSys 0 #Elem 0 Mass, X 25. Mass, Y 25. Mass, Z 25. Inertia, I11 100. I22 100. I33 100. I21 0. I31 0. I32 0. Offset, X 0. Y 0. Z 0. Property 3 - 1" Dia Tube (.1" wall) Type TUBE Color 110 Layer 1 Material 6 #Elem 0 Outer Dia 1. Inner Dia 0.8 NS Mass/Len 0. Property 4 - Composite Plate Type LAMINATE Color 110 Layer 1 Material 6 #Elem 0 Failure Theory NONE Bond Shear Allowable 0. Bottom Surf 0. NS Mass/Area 0. Layer 1 Material 1 Thickness 5.E-2 Angle 45. Layer 2 Material 2 Thickness 5.E-2 Angle 0. Layer 3 Material 3 Thickness 5.E-2 Angle -45. Property 5 - 1/2" Plate Type PLATE Color 110 Layer 1 Material 6 #Elem 0 Thickness 0.5 Top Fiber 0.25 Bot Fiber -0.25 NS Mass/Area 0. 12I/T**3 0. Tshear/T 0.

Similar formats are used for the other property types, and they follow the conventions shown above. The property ID and title are listed first, followed by the type, color, and layer. The material or coordinate system that the property references is listed next. #Elem is the number of elements that reference this property. Finally, the property values are listed. These property values directly correspond to the data in the Model Property dialog boxes.

By default, all load types will be selected. You can turn off certain types by deselecting those options. You may also decide to list all loads of a certain type (the Select All option) or you will be asked to select the entities where loads should be listed. This requires entity selection dialog boxes for each of the types you requested Under Defined On (two for node/ elem). If you only want a specific load type, turn off all other types.

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7.2.4.7 List, Model, Load... . . . produces a report of selected loads in your model. Listing loads is slightly different than listing most other entities in that you must first select the sets to list You will see a dialog box which allows you to select the type of loads that you want to list.



Modeling Tools

If you turn off all of a certain type, the entity selection dialog box for this type will not be displayed. There are no sort options available for load listings. All selected loads for each selected set are grouped together in the report. Load sets are listed in order of their IDs - lowest to highest. If you select a load type, but no loads of that type exist in a set, a header identifying the load type is printed, but no loads are listed. Load listings resemble the following: Load Set 1 - Untitled Body Loads Acceleration - Translational X 2. Y 2. Acceleration - Rotational X 0. Y 0. Origin - for Rotations X 0. Y 0. Default Temperature 75. . . . Load Set 1 - Untitled Nodal Forces and Moments Node Color Layer Def CS Force 2 10 1 0 X 7. Y 0. Z 0. Load Set 1 - Untitled Nodal Enforced Displacements Node Color Layer Def CS Translational 4 10 1 0 X Y 0.1 Z 5.E-2 Load Set 1 - Untitled Nodal Temperatures Node Color Layer Temperature 2 0 0 60. 3 0 0 60. Load Set 1 - Untitled Elemental Pressures Element Color Layer Face ID Pressure 1 10 1 1 4. 4 10 1 1 4. Load Set 1 - Untitled Elemental Temperatures Element Color Layer Temperature 1 0 0 30.

Z 2. Z 0. Z 0.

Moment X 0. Y 0. Z 0. Rotational X Y Z

Phase 0.

Phase 90.

Phase 0. 0.

Any body loads which are not activated for a specific load set are not listed. In the sample above, all body loads are enabled, even though some are zero. The X, Y, and Z components listed for nodal loads are given in the load definition coordinate system (Def CS).

7.2.4.8 List, Model, Constraint... . . . produces a report of selected constraints in your model.



List, Model, Contact Segment...

Listing constraints is similar to listing loads. Since there can be multiple constraint sets in your model, you must first select the sets that you wish to list using the standard entity selection dialog box. You will then see a dialog box which allows you to choose Model Based (Nodal Constraints and/or Constraint Equations) and/or Geometry Based constraints. By default, all types will be selected. If you select Nodal, On Point, On Curve, or On Surface Constraints, and you have not chosen Select All, you will be asked to select the entities where constraints should be listed. All constraint equations will be listed - you cannot limit the report. There are no sort options available for constraint listings. All selected constraints for each selected set are grouped together in the report. Constraint sets are listed in order of their IDs - lowest to highest. If you select a constraint type, but no constraints of that type exist in a set, you will see a header which identifies the type, but no data will be listed. Constraint listings resemble the following:

120 120 120 120 120

Layer Layer Layer Layer Layer

1 1 1 1 1

The DOF numbers (1 to 6) correspond to the TX, TY, TZ, RX, RY and RZ degrees of freedom. In the listing, a number indicates that the degree of freedom is constrained. Unconstrained degrees of freedom are indicated by a dash (-). The CSys is the output coordinate system of the associated node. Since geometry (points, curves, surfaces) does not contain output coordinate systems, this information is not written for these types of constraints.

7.2.4.9 List, Model, Contact Segment... ... produces a report of selected contact segments in the model. A sample list is shown below. The first line of the list will give the number and title of the contact segment. The second line contains the color, layer, reference node, output (node, element, or prop-

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Constraint Set 1 - Sample Constraints Constraints Node ID 1 DOF 123456 CSys 0 Color Node ID 24 DOF 1---56 CSys 0 Color Node ID 30 DOF 1---56 CSys 0 Color Node ID 36 DOF 1---56 CSys 0 Color Node ID 42 DOF 1---56 CSys 0 Color Constraint Equations ID 1 Color 8312 Layer 1 Node 7 DOF 1 Coefficient 1. Node 13 DOF 1 Coefficient 1. Node 19 DOF 1 Coefficient -1.



Modeling Tools

erty), and whether the segment is rigid. The remaining lines simply contain a list of all entities in the contact segment.

7.2.4.10 List, Model, Function... ... produces a report which shows all functions defined in your model. There are no options to specify, other than to select the functions that you want to list using the standard entity selection dialog box. All functions are listed in the following format. Function 1 - Simple Type: Dimensionless X Y 1. 23. 2. 14. 3. 3.3 5. 22. 6.2 1.666 Function 2 - Ramps Type: vs. Time X Y 3. 4. 5. 6. 6. 6. 7. 9.5 8. 13. 9. 16.5 10. 20.

Num Matl:

0

Num Load:

0

Num Matl:

0

Num Load:

0

For each function, the type is reported along with the number of material and load references to the function. Also listed are the XY data points.

7.2.5 List, Output Menu The commands on this submenu allow you to create reports of output data which is defined in your model. The different commands allow you to control the format of those reports.The List, Output, Query command lets you interactively retrieve output for selected nodes and elements. In addition to the other reporting commands, the List, Output, Format command creates a report which lists the output report formats which have been defined in your model. For more information on these commands, see Section 8.6, "Listing Output (List, Output Menu)".

7.2.6 List, Group. . . . . . produces a report of selected groups. After selecting the groups that you want to list using the standard entity selection dialog box, you will see the Group List Options dialog box.

List, View. . .



Here, you can enable or disable certain portions of the report. The Clipping and Rules options are normally selected. These list the things that you have specified to define the group. List All Entities in Group as the name implies, lists all entities that are selected into the group. The selection of these entities is based on all of the rules, clipping and layer options. Group listings resemble the following: Group 1 - Sample Group Limit Selection to Layers 1 thru 1 Clipping___________________________________________________________________ Clip Outside Plane Origin X Origin Y Origin Z Normal X Normal Y Normal Z +1 -0.9135512 -0.3326805 0. 0. -1. 0. +2 -0.9135512 -0.3326805 0. -1. 0. 0. Rules______________________________________________________________________ Node IDs Option Start Stop Increment Add 1 2 1 Selected Entities__________________________________________________________ Nodes 1 thru 2, , Loads on Nodes 1 thru 2, , Nodes Referencing Constraints 1 thru 2, , Nodes Referencing Constraint Equations 1 thru 2, ,

7.2.7 List, View. . . . . . produces a report of selected views from your model. The views do not have to be active to be listed. To list views, you just select the ones that you want using the standard entity selection dialog box. Due to the many view options, listings can be quite long. Therefore, FEMAP asks if you want to list detailed view options. You can choose No to get a quick

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In the Clipping section of the report, up to six planes can be listed, depending upon how many are enabled. In the Rules section, there may be many subsections. There is one subsection for each type of rule that you define. Similarly, there may be many additional selected entities subsections, depending upon your model and the group definition. For large models, this section can become very, very long. It should usually be disabled.



Modeling Tools

list of what views you have defined. If you choose Yes, how the views are defined will also be listed: View 1 - Default XY View Window Left=0. Right=1. Title Bar=On Border=2 Mode=Draw Model Constraint Set Active Output Set 0 thru Output Set 0 Rotation Angles . . . Curve 1 Output Set 0 . . .

Top=0. Erase=On

Deformed=None Load Set Deform Vector by

Bottom=1. Background Color=0 Contour=None Group None Contour Vector 0

Active 0 1

X=0.

Y=0. Vec 0

Z=0.

Entity 0

Option Label Parameters Coordinate System Point . . .

Draw Off On On

Scale 1.

Label 1 1 0

Color Mode 1 0 0

Color 124 60 24

You will see that several sections have been abbreviated by ellipses (. . .) in the sample listing. The options listed, all match the values that you chose in the various View commands.

7.2.8 List, Model Info . . . reports the model file, size, and numerous other model parameters. There is no additional input required for this command. It simply produces a report in the following format: Filenames Model Scratch File Model Size

Untitled P:\~MOD392B.TMP 8192 bytes Min

Coordinate System Point Curve Surface Volume Text Node Element Material Property Load Set Constraint Set View Group Output Set Output Format Workplane Origin

Max

1

X 0. X 0. X 1. X Spacing 1. X -0.5 0.5

Workplane Normal Workplane X Axis Snap Model Extents Active Views 1

Number

1

Next 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1

1

Y 0. Y 0. Y 0. Y Spacing 1. Y -0.5 0.5

Active

Color 60 24 100 2 62 74 46 124 55 110

Z 0. Z 1. Z 0. Angle 0. Z -0.5 0.5

List, Destination. . .



The sample listing was produced from an empty model. The Min, Max, Number and Active fields will be filled in as entities are created. The Active Views section of the report lists the IDs of the views which are active.

7.2.9 List, Destination. . . Unlike the other commands on this menu, this command does not produce any reports. Rather, it controls where the reports will be written. By default, reports are written to the Messages and Lists window. Using the dialog box which this command displays, you can direct reports to your printer, and/or a file by choosing the appropriate options. You will notice that you can choose any one, two or three simultaneous destinations. You must select at least one. If you select a file destination, you must use the Select File command button to choose a file name. If you choose Continuous, listing headers/titles will only be listed at the beginning of the report. One exception is if you select a Printer destination, headers will be written at the top of each page. The number of lines per page is automatically determined from the printer settings you defined in Windows.

Your destination choices remain in effect until you reset them, leave FEMAP, or start a new model. In addition to the listing/report commands on this menu, the destination is also used for many of the commands on the Tools, Check menu that also produce lengthy reports. The model checking commands that do not produce reports, but just report a single dimension or angle, do not use the destination. They simply write their output to the screen. Hint:

If you need to print messages or listings that are already in the Messages and Lists window, you can simply use the File, Print command, and select the Messages option.

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If you choose Lines, you must set the number of lines per page that you want. Headers/ titles will be written at the beginning of every report and again after the specified number of lines to indicate the top of a “page”. Again, if you send reports to your printer, and set the number of lines larger than the number that will fit on a page, the number will be reduced to fit on the page.



Modeling Tools

7.3 Model Style (View, Select command) You can change the model style (View, Select command) to rapidly check your model. This topic includes a brief explanation of the model style options. For detailed information, see Section 6.1.3.1, "View, Select..." and Section 8.1.2, "Selecting Views". The Model Style section on the View Select dialog box has six major types of drawing options: Draw Model, Features, Quick Hidden Line, Full Hidden Line, Free Edge, and Free Face. The Draw Model option provides a good working mode, but is not necessarily the best “checking” mode. Therefore, it will not be discussed in this section. Furthermore, Quick Hidden Line and Full Hidden Line provide similar functions and will be explained together below.

7.3.1 Features This style draws all entities and therefore is a relatively fast drawing method. Lines of the same color, which overlap, alternately draw and erase themselves. The result of this style is a plot which only shows color boundaries. If you have assigned different colors to different properties or materials, this option will provide a quick method of visualizing boundaries between properties/materials.

7.3.2 Hidden Line Modes The hidden line modes sort all elements, and then display them from the back of the view. Only entities which are visible (hidden lines removed) can be seen. This provides a good visualization tool for complex 3-D models to determine the relative position of sections of your model. The hidden line removal options do require substantial calculations, and can be somewhat slower than the other drawing methods. Also, surfaces which share the same space as elements may not be completely hidden. If either the drawing speed or hidden line removal is deemed to be inadequate, change to Render mode (by selecting the Render option at the bottom of the View Style section). Render mode will significantly increase your drawing speed, allow you to dynamically rotate a hidden line plot, and hide a surface below elements which share a common space. Render mode is recommended for all complex 3-D shapes when hidden line is active.

7.3.3 Free Edge The free edge style finds and displays all element edges which do not join to another element. This style can quickly point-out holes or disconnections in your model. It is especially important to use this style when you have formed a complex model from several surface meshes. If nodes were not properly merged from meshes at the intersection of these meshes, gaps will be contained in your model. This style will show you those gaps. This command is often followed by a Tools, Check, Coincident Nodes command to close these gaps. When performing any type of 2-D or 3-D complex meshing, it is best

Free Face



to show the model in free edge mode before running the analysis. This will remove the possibility of having unwanted gaps in your model.

7.3.4 Free Face This style operates similarly to the Free Edge command, except it finds and displays all element faces which do not join to another element. It can quickly point-out disconnections between solid elements. It can also reduce the complexity of solid model plots, and can help find duplicate plate elements. For solid element models, you can also use the free face option to simulate a hidden line view. In fact, you can even use this mode to show hidden lines in a different line style (like dashed), instead of removing them. To remove backfaces, use the Fill, Backfaces, and Hidden option, in the View Options command, and choose one of the “Skip” methods. Choose the Show All Faces method to show hidden lines as a different color/style, then go to the Free Edge and Face option and set the Free Edge Color to Use View Color. Finally, choose the color and line style that you want to use.

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Modeling Tools

8.

Post-Processing This topic provides information related to FEMAP post-processing. Post-Processing does not have its own menu on the FEMAP main menu, but there are specific commands related directly to post-processing. These commands can be separated into five major areas based upon their functionality and menu area. They are: •

type of views (View Select command - deformed, contour, and XY plots)

•

View Options - PostProcessing category

•

specialized post-processing (Advanced Post command)

•

output manipulation (Model, Output menu)

•

output reporting (output listing)

The first section under this topic will be a brief explanation of the overall post-processing procedure. The remaining sections will discuss the post-processing topics above.

8.1 Procedure The post-processing procedure in FEMAP is relatively straightforward. It simply involves obtaining the results from the analysis program, selecting appropriate views, modifying options on these views, and manipulating and/or reporting output.

8.1.1 Reading Results FEMAP can now automatically launch many FEA solver programs, as well as automatically recover results. If your current configuration or solver program does not allow this automatic recovery, you can simply import analysis results into FEMAP. To read results into FEMAP, select the File, Import, Analysis Results command. You will see a dialog box containing the different solver programs from which FEMAP can read results. Select the appropriate format, and press OK. You will then be prompted for the name of the file. You should be careful to choose the correct file that corresponds to your FEMAP current model. You should always read a results file into the same FEMAP file from which it was generated. If you choose an incorrect file, you will most likely get a series of error messages. Once you select the file to read, FEMAP will ask for confirmation to begin reading. FEMAP will read the file, and give you status messages about the information it is reading (i.e. displacements, stresses, etc.). You will also notice that it will list the number of



Post-Processing

output sets created. An output set is created for each analysis or each step of analysis contained in the results file. Once FEMAP is finished reading the file, you can now begin to perform post-processing tasks.

8.1.2 Selecting Views After reading your results you will want to examine results visualizing. FEMAP has a wide array of tools for this capability. The type of view is controlled under the View Select command. When you choose this command, you will see a dialog box containing the type of view available (to see this dialog box, go to Section 8.2, "Types of Views View Select..."). The dialog box controls the type of view. For a typical static stress analysis, your first selection will be to select Deform under Deformed Style and Contour under Contour Style. You can then press the Deformed and Contour Data button to define the specific vectors to show. Under Select PostProcessing Data, you will want to select the Output Set, the Deformation Output Vector (you always want to select the total translation vector when showing a deform plot) and an appropriate stress vector for the Contour Output Vector. After you press OK twice, FEMAP will redraw the current view as a deformed and contour plot. Hint:

At this point, if you have a solid model, you may want to go back into View Select and change the Model Style to a Quick Hidden Line or Full Hidden Line style, and also turn on Render mode. It will be much easier to view your results than when drawing the entire model. You also may want to change to Render mode to allow dynamic rotation of your model while in the deformed and contour state.

You can continue to go back into View Select and change the Deformed and Contour Data to show different contours, or to change styles. You may even use the Model Data button to show only a specific group of elements or even change to an XY plot. These features will be explained in Section 8.2, "Types of Views - View Select...". Besides changing view types, you may want to change the colors or levels of contours, or other details about the view itself. This is accomplished with the View Options command.

8.1.3 Changing Options (View Options) The View Options command enables you to control the many different aspects of your views. The View Select command controls the overall type of view and data to be visualized, but the View Options command controls the particular details of each post-processing view. When you select this command, you will have three categories from which to choose. Select PostProcessing, and then select the appropriate Option you want to change. You

Manipulating/Listing Output



can change the Contour/Criteria Levels, the Deformed Style, as well as many other aspects of the view. For more information, see Section 8.3, "View Options - PostProcessing".

8.1.4 Manipulating/Listing Output You may also want to create new output from the results you currently have (such as a safety margin calculation), or just list output above a certain value. The List, Model menu contains functions to list your output in various formats (you can even create your own), while the Model, Output menu contains functions for manipulating and creating new output. For more information on these specific commands, see Section 8.5, "Output Manipulation".

8.2 Types of Views - View Select...

Ctrl+S or F5

... chooses what will be displayed in a view. You can select both the type of display, and the model or post-processing data which will be displayed. This dialog box appears below.

•

2 67 35 2 &( 66 ,1 *



The Model Style and XY Style options comprise the first two sections. These options choose the method for display. You can choose any one option from these two groups of styles. If you choose a model style, your model will be displayed in the view, using all of the other options you choose. If instead you choose an XY style, the view will contain a 2D, XY plot of the selected output data or function. XY styles are only available when you have output data available for post-processing (or functions).

3

The View Select dialog box is divided into several sections.



Post-Processing

This description will concentrate on the application of this command to post-processing. All of the Model Style types (Draw Model, Quick Hidden Line, etc.) also apply to post-processing, but they will not be discussed here. For more information on these styles, see Section 6.1.3.2, "Choosing a Model Style". For information on XY style, see Section 8.2.3, "Choosing an XY Style". •

The second section of the dialog box consists of the Deformed Style and Contour Style option buttons. Here you choose one option from each category to define the type of post-processing display that you want to have. The default settings (NoneModel Only) are used to create a normal model display which does not use any output data for post-processing. The settings of these options are ignored if you choose an XY style. For more information, see Section 8.2.2, "Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles".

•

The final section of the dialog box, located under the previous sections, consists of the XY Data, Model Data, and Deformed and Contour Data command buttons. Each of these buttons displays an additional dialog box that allows you to select the model or output data which will be used in the view. By pushing the Model Data button and selecting a group, you can limit your post-processing view to a single group. This is especially valuable in large models. For more information, see Section 8.2.3, "Choosing an XY Style", Section 8.2.1, "Selecting Data for a Model Style", or Section 8.2.2, "Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles".

8.2.1 Selecting Data for a Model Style You can control what portions of your model are displayed by pressing the Model Data command button. The Select Model Data for View dialog box will then be displayed. You can limit the display of your view to a single group (Select or Active). If you have a large complex model, it can be very useful to examine the results in smaller groups. Also, interpolated results of nodal contours across material boundaries may not be accurate when combined into one view. By separating these materials into different groups, you can examine results for each material separately. You can quickly access this option through the Quick Access menu on the right mouse button (Model Data), and you can change the active group by using the tray in the Status Bar at the right corner of the FEMAP Graphics window for groups.

8.2.2 Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles When you want to graphically post-process model output, you must choose one of the deformed or contour styles, in addition to a model style. Choosing None for either of these options disables that type of post-processing. You will use None any time you just want to display your model. If you want to display a combined post-processing view, for example, a deformed contour, just choose both a deformed and a contour style.

Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles



Even more than the model styles, the appropriate choice of these styles depends on the type of output data you want to post-process and the results you need. The following tables describe the deformed and contour styles. They are described separately, but the same information applies to combined displays. Deformed Style None Deform Animate

Animate MultiSet

Vector

Trace

Will Display Model Only Model, deformed by output data. Same as Deform, but animating. Animation positions based on output data. Same as Animate. Animation positions based on output data from multiple output sets.

Output Data Type None Nodal Nodal

Nodal

Model with vectors repreNodal senting direction and magnitude of output data. Similar to Animate-MultiSet Nodal except will display trace lines connecting historical positions of nodes.

Typical Uses Modelling. Static display of displacements or eigenvectors Animated display of displacements or eigenvectors Animated display of transient analysis results, deployments or other motion with relative positions stored in multiple sets. Visualization of direction and magnitude of displacements, eigenvectors or forces Visualization of deformation history from a transient analysis.

Deformed Style

Vector/Trace Style

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2 67 35 2 &( 66 ,1 *



Output Set: NASTRAN Case 1 Deformed(4.251E-3): Total Translation

Output Set: NASTRAN Case 1 Arrow(4.251E-3): Total Translation



Post-Processing

Contour Style None Contour

Criteria

Beam Diagram

IsoSurface

Section Cut

Vector

Will Display

Output Data Type

Model only None Model, elements will disNodal play contour areas or lines These are areas or lines of constant output value. Elemental Like Contour, except each element is colored based on a single output value for the element.

Model, with contoured diagrams on line elements, much like 3D shear and bending moment diagrams. (Enhanced Render mode does not display beam diagrams.) For models with solid elements - interior surfaces of constant output value. (Enhanced Render mode does not display isosurfaces.) For models with solid elements - enhanced contouring method. Shows contours on any planar cut through your model. (Enhanced Render mode does not display section cuts.) Model with vectors in contour colors at the elemental centroid or nodal position. (Enhanced Render mode does not display vectors.)

Ends of line elements

Nodal

Nodal

Typical Uses Modelling. Contour of elemental loads, elemental stresses, nodal displacements, nodal stresses... Same as Contour. Criteria allows you to limit the display to portions of your model which have output values that meet a specific criterion. Understanding variation of output values along the length of line elements.

Good for understanding output distributions inside your model. Contours show variations on the outer surface Isosurfaces show inside. Understanding output distribution on one or more arbitrary planes inside your model.

Nodal or Ele- Visualization of magnitude mental and direction of stresses/ strains.

Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles



8705.

Contour Style

8307. 7909. 7511. 7113. 6714. 6316. 5918. 5520. 5122. 4724. 4325. 3927. 3529. 3131. 2733.

Output Set: NASTRAN Case 1 Contour: Plate Top VonMises Stress

2335.

8705.

Criteria Style

8307. 7909. 7672.1

2599. 8705.3

7511. 7113.

5903.

5903. 5288.6

3925.4 7225.7

6714.

3925.4 4473.9

4804.

6316.

2599.

5918. 8705.3

7225.7

5520. 5122. 4724. 4325.

4804.

3927.

2334.5

3529. 3131. 2733.

Output Set: NASTRAN Case 1 Criteria: Plate Top VonMises Stress

2335.

-5.374E-15

Beam Diagram

-0.703 -1.406 -2.109 -2.813 -3.516 -4.219 1.125

123456

-5.625 -6.328 -7.031 -7.734 -8.438 -9.141 -9.844

Output Set: LOADING Contour: Beam End A Moment2

-10.55 -11.25



12.2

2 67 35 2 &( 66 ,1 *

3

-4.922 5.



Post-Processing

IsoSurfaces

Section Cut

Multiple Section Planes shown with a Free Edge Style

The tables above list typical uses for the various post-processing styles. In fact, FEMAP does not really limit you in any way. The only restrictions are the obvious ones - you can only do beam diagrams if you have line elements, and you can only do isosurfaces/sec-

Skip Deformation Option



tion cuts if you have solid elements. You can choose any type of output data for any style. The same applies to the listed output data types. The table lists the type of data required for the style, but if you choose data of the opposite type (nodal vs. elemental), FEMAP will automatically convert it prior to completing the display. For more information on this process, see Section 8.5.5, "Model, Output, Process".

8.2.2.1 Skip Deformation Option When you select either Animate, Animate MultiSet, or Trace style along with one of the Contour styles, you have the option of choosing the Skip Deformation option. This is useful for Animate and Animate MultiSet if you really just want to see “animated” contours on your undeformed model. For Trace plots, it enables you to see the historical locations without “interference” from the deforming model. With this option selected you do not need to choose any data for deformation, you simply choose the contour data. 8.2.2.2 Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style When you choose any of the deformed or contour styles, you must also select output data to be used for that style. Unlike the model styles, which use default model data, these post-processing styles do not select any default output data. If you forget to choose the appropriate output data, you will receive a warning when you attempt to press OK. This prevents you from completing the selection until all data is properly specified. To select output data for both the deformed and contour styles, press the Deformed and Contour Data command button. The Select PostProcessing Data dialog box will be displayed. Although this dialog box looks somewhat complex, there are only three or four basic selections required.

3

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Post-Processing

First, choose the Output Set that contains the data that you want to post-process. Then, choose the Output Vectors to be used for the deformation or contour styles. The vectors you choose from these drop-down lists will be used until you select a different vector. Even if you change the deformation style (from Deform to Animate, for example), the same output vector will automatically be used, unless you choose a different one. For combined deformation and contour displays, both output vectors must always be chosen from the same output set. If you are using the Animate-MultiSet deformation style, you should also select a Final Output Set and the Output Set Increment. This additional set is required since this style of animation uses data from multiple sets. The first animation frame uses data from the original output set that you specified, then one animation frame will be generated for each additional output set, up to, and including the final output set that you select. If you select an output set increment other than 1, FEMAP will skip output sets based upon this increment. Frames will only be generated for the sets where the selected output vector exists. If you do not specify a final output set (or if you specify a nonexistent set), FEMAP will generate one frame for every set with an ID greater than the original output set that you select.

Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style



Making it Easier to Select Output Data When you are trying to select output vectors for deformations and contours, you can sometimes become overwhelmed by the amount of output data FEMAP lets you postprocess. By default, the drop-down lists contain all of the output vectors from the output set that you selected. This can result in hundreds of vectors. If you know that you want to select a specific type of output, you can choose a category other than Any Output. When you select a different category, like Stress, the drop-down lists will only show output data of that type. Similarly, if Data at Corners is checked, the lists will show element corner output, otherwise they will not. Since element corner data is normally not directly selected for deformations or contours, it is usually best to leave this option unchecked. If you create output data in FEMAP, you have the opportunity to specify your own categories (up to 255). You can choose Other, and specify the category number to list this type of data.

Working with Complex Output If you are post-processing complex output, you can choose the type that you want to select from the Type option. By default, magnitude data will be shown, but you can review all other types by simply changing this option. Reviewing Your Output As you select output sets or vectors from the drop-down lists, you will notice that the right side of the dialog box is continually updated. The values shown here tell you where the output was generated, and the maximum and minimum values in the vector. By scrolling through the list of available vectors, you can use this feature to quickly review your output data. The maximum and minimum values may also give you a good idea of what to expect before you actually see the data graphically. Quickly Choosing Output Data In addition to using the View Select command, you can also access the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box directly from the Quick Access menu. Just press the right mouse button while you are pointing inside any graphics window and choose Post Data. You can also get to this dialog box by pressing the Shift +F5 keys. 3

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Post-Processing

Contour Options The Contour Options button on the View Select dialog box lets you select the type of contour and data conversion to perform. The Select Contour Options dialog box is separated into five major sections: Contour Type, Data Conversion, Rendered Contours, Element Contour Discontinuities, and Other Options. Each of these areas are discussed more fully below. All of these options can also be accessed through the View Options command (Category - PostProcessing, Option - Contour Type). Contour Type For contour type, you can pick either nodal or elemental contouring. Nodal contouring simply averages all values at the nodes and cannot account for any discontinuities in material or geometry. When you select Nodal, a relatively smooth contour will appear. Nodal contouring, however, should not be used across material boundaries or changes in properties such as plate thickness, since averaging stresses across these areas results in inaccurate results at the interface. If you choose Elemental contouring, you can specify which discontinuities in the model to use in the contouring to obtain an accurate representation of the results. This type of contouring is very useful for multiple material models as well as models with plates with that intersect at large angles or have varying thickness. Stresses will not be averaged across these values. The resulting graphics may not be as “smooth” as nodal contouring, especially at material breaks, but it provides a more accurate representation of the results when discontinuities exist in the model. In addition, element contouring allows you to view both top and bottom stresses of plates on one plot, as well as an additional output vector (see "Other Options" below). Note: Element contouring has the added feature that if you select No Averaging under Element Contour Discontinuities, the pure data at the element centroid and corners is plotted without any manipulation. This provides a graphical representation of the pure data. See "Elemental Contour Discontinuities" below.

Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style



Data Conversion These options control how FEMAP converts the results from data at element centroids, corners, and nodes to the continuous graphical representation. There are three data conversion options for calculating the data value at a node: •

The Average option uses the average value of data at surrounding locations.

•

The Max Value option uses the maximum value of data at surrounding locations.

•

The Min Value option uses the minimum value of data at surrounding locations. You should only use this option to generate contours for vectors where the minimum values are actually the worst case, such as safety factor or large compressive stresses.

In addition: •

The Use Corner Data option lets you use elemental corner data instead of centroidal data. If your solver does not produce elemental corner data or you did not request this data, the results will be based on centroidal data.

The data conversion procedure is used at all nodal locations to get the basis of the plot. Next, FEMAP linearly interpolates the data to produce the corresponding colors between locations. Thus, data conversion can significantly affect the results if there is a large gradient across adjacent elements. If elemental contours are on, FEMAP only averages results at the specific node if there are no discontinuities according to the Elemental Contour Discontinuities settings. FEMAP produces results at each node and element centroid, and then uses this information to generate the display.

A

C

B w

x

y

z

node N

D

The following example illustrates how the data conversion process works. If an interior node N of a continuous mesh (no geometric or material breaks) is attached to four elements, it will have four values associated with it for a given stress vector: . • corner data (w, x, y, and z in the figure), or • if Use Corner Data is off, elemental centroidal data (A,B, C, and D) 3

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Post-Processing

The table shows how, in the example, the stress at node N is calculated for each option. Data Conversion Option Average Max Value Min Value Hint:

Result with Corner Data (w + x + y + z)/4 max (w, x, y, z) min (w, x, y, z)

Result with Element Centroids (no corner data) (A + B + C + D)/4 max (A, B, C, D) min (A, B, C, D)

You can use the difference in Max Value and Average results to make a quick estimate of the fidelity of the model. If there is a large difference between these two contours, especially at locations that do not have sharp corners or breaks in the model, your FEA model may require a finer mesh.

Rendered Contours This section allows you to choose between Continuous Colors and Level Colors for Render mode. When you use Enhanced Render mode, the contour quality will be consistent for either option. If you are using Original Render mode, Level Colors will provide a better quality display. For more information on Render, see Section 2.6.3.3, "Render Graphics Preferences". Elemental Contour Discontinuities This section controls averaging for elemental contouring. It is only available when Contour Type is Elemental. If No Averaging is selected, contours for each element will be created without consideration to any connected elements. This can lead to a very discontinuous plot but is useful for certain models such as variable thickness plate models to speed the data conversion process. It is also useful to obtain a graphical representation of the pure data, both centroidal and corner data, since only this data is plotted. If this option is not checked, you can create averaged elemental contours, and must therefore choose the type of discontinuities across which you do not want to average. Valid discontinuities include property, material, layer, color, or angle. If Angle is selected, you must input a tolerance. This can be very important with plate models that have intersecting edges. For example, you do not want to average stresses of plates that intersect at right angles. If Property is selected, the material option will be grayed since Property is a more discrete choice than Material (a material can be on multiple properties but typically a property can only reference one material). Again, you do not typically want to average across material or property boundaries. If Property is off, you can select to use materials as the break.

Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style



In addition, layers and colors are also available since many users separate their model into specific key areas based upon layer or color, even if they contain the same property. Other Options This section is also only available for elemental contours. If you select a standard top or bottom plate vector for contouring, such as Plate Top Von Mises Stress, FEMAP can automatically contour both top and bottom stresses on the same plot. Simply select the Double-Sided Planar Contours option. When you rotate the model from top to bottom, you will see the stresses change from top to bottom stresses. These are only available for the standard plate output vectors. You may also select an Additional Output Vector to contour. This is very useful if you have a combined plate and solid Model. You could select Plate Top Von Mises Stress for the original contour vector, select double-sided to also view the Bottom Von Mises Stress, and then select Solid Von Mises Stress for the additional output vector to see these values contoured on the solids.

Displaying Section Cuts In addition to selecting the output vector for contouring, when you want to display section cuts, you must also specify the options at the top of the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box.

Note: Enhanced Render mode does not currently support section cuts. To display section cuts, turn Render off or use Original Render mode. For more information, see Section 2.6.3.3, "Render Graphics Preferences".



The other type of section cut, Contour Sections, allows you to pass one or more cutting planes through your model. Rather than showing contours on the rest of your model, this method makes all model elements transparent. The front faces are simply drawn as outlines (or with a transparent fill pattern if you turn on element fill), and backfaces are filled with background. Contours are drawn on the cutting planes only. In this mode, cutting planes do not actually cut, or remove any elements, they simply locate the contours.

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There are two types of section cut plots available. The first, Cut Model, makes a planar cut through your model, removing all elements on the side of the plane toward the positive plane normal. In addition, all elements that cross the plane are cut. Normal contours are displayed over the entire model, including on the cutting plane. To set up this type of section cut, just choose Cut Model, then press the Define Section button to define the cutting plane.



Post-Processing

To setup this type of plot, first choose the Contour Section option, press the Define Section button to define the first cutting plane, and finally define the Number and Spacing for the sections. Spacing is only used if Number is greater than one. It is the perpendicular distance between the planes. If you specify a positive number, the additional planes are located along the positive normal to the first plane that you defined. Choose a negative number if you want them along the negative normal. For other effects, try these options: •

If you just want to see contours on the cutting plane, use View Options and turn off the display of elements. Only the cutting planes will be displayed.

•

If you want to see the element edges on the cutting plane, use View Options, choose the Tools and View Style category, and the Filled Edges option. Then set Section Cut Edges to Show Cut Edge. All cut edges will be displayed in the filled edge view color.

•

Choose Free Edge Style to show just the outlines of your model along with the section cuts.

Displaying IsoSurfaces Unlike section cuts, isosurfaces do not require any additional options to be chosen. The display mode of isosurfaces is much the same as the display of contour section planes all elements are shown in a transparent mode so that you can see the isosurfaces inside. Front faces are transparent, and backfaces are filled. Note: Enhanced Render mode does not currently support isosurfaces. To display isosurfaces, turn Render off or use Original Render mode. For more information, see Section 2.6.3.3, "Render Graphics Preferences". Before using View Select to choose an IsoSurface display, you should use View Options to reduce the number of contours. While 16 or more contour levels are usually appropriate for contour and section cut plots, isosurface plots are rarely meaningful with that many surfaces, and they take a long time to compute. As a general guideline, choose 6 or less levels before computing isosurfaces (use View Options, PostProcessing, Contour/Criteria Levels, and set # of Levels). It is often best to turn on Shading with IsoSurfaces - it helps to visualize the curvature of the surfaces. Alternatively, if you choose line contours (turn off the Filled Contour/Criteria style), FEMAP will display the edges of the polygons that define the surface with no filling. This allows you to see through multiple surfaces, and can sometimes give a better understanding of the shape of the isosurface. You can also choose the Free Edge style to see just the element outlines with the isosurfaces.

Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style



Trace Locations... ... will enable you to select the nodes to use for the deformed style Trace plots. When you push this button, you will see the Trace Locations dialog box. You can choose to select all the nodes, a group of nodes, or a single node to use for the trace. All nodes are chosen by default.

Contour Vectors... ... is used to define the output vector(s) to use for the contour vector plots. You can define the output in any of four different methods - Standard Vectors, Single Value, 2-D Components, or 3-D Components. You can display up to three contour vectors on the same plot.

3

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 Note: Enhanced Render mode does not currently support contour vectors. To display contour vectors, turn Render off or use Original Render mode. For more information, see Section 2.6.3.3, "Render Graphics Preferences". Typically you will want to select a standard vector since these output vectors contain data that was already calculated based upon their components. Examples of these type



Post-Processing

of vectors include Total Translation or Rotation for nodal data, Plate Top Major Stress for 2-D plate elements, and Solid Major Principal Stress for 3-D solid elements. When Standard Vectors is selected, you only need to select one output for each value. The direction and magnitude of these vectors are automatically calculated by FEMAP to generate the vector contour plot. You can generate up to three vectors for each plot. Thus, for solid principal stresses you could pick Solid Major for Vector 1, Solid Intermediate for Vector 2, and Solid Minor for Vector 3 to see vectors for all three Principal stresses on one plot. If you want to display vectors other than standard, you can simply select the number of components of the vector (single, 2D, or 3D). You will need to select output for that number of components for each vector displayed. If you wish to see three 3D vectors, you will need to select nine output vectors. If you decide to display a single vector, you must also define the vector direction under the Display Direction button. The standard FEMAP Vector Definition dialog box is displayed to enable you to define the direction of this 1D plot. If you select 2D components, and the two associated vectors for the X and Y components for Vector 1 (and Vector 2 and 3 if multiple vectors are required), the data will be displayed in the coordinate directions defined by the Output Relative To portion of the dialog box (discussed below). 3D components works just like 2D, except that you must now choose three vectors for Vector 1 (and Vectors 2 and 3 if required). In either of these cases, the components must be chosen in a top-down fashion. That is, the first vector represents the X component, the second is the Y component, and the third (if necessary) is the Z component. By allowing you to select a standard vector, or any combination of 1D, 2D, or 3D vectors, FEMAP can produce elemental centroidal plots for a wide variety of conditions and vectors. Note: FEMAP does not know nor keep track of the coordinate system where your output is defined. Therefore it is up to you to provide this information prior to making a vector plot. You can choose any one of five different methods, depending on how your results were defined by your analysis program. This is extremely important! If you choose the wrong or inappropriate method, the display will be wrong. You must know how the data was defined by your analysis program before proceeding. Element Edge / Solid CSys or Nodal Output Csys This method is used for output from planar elements if the X output direction is defined relative to the first element edge (the line connecting the first two nodes). It is used for solid elements if output is defined in the solid property coordinate system. Use it for nodal output, if the results are in the nodal output coordinate system. Be aware, however, that for most standard three dimensional nodal output vectors (displacements, constraint forces, applied loads, velocities and accelerations) FEMAP transforms output into global coordinates and this option is not appropriate.

Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style



Element Midside Locations This option is used for output from planar elements when the X output direction is defined as the vector that joins the midsides of the second and final (4th for a quad, 3rd for a triangle) edge. Element Diagonal Bisector This option is used for output from planar elements when the X output direction is defined as the vector that bisects the angle formed by the two element diagonals, in the quadrant that generally points along the first edge. Element Material Direction This option is used for elemental output that is defined in the material direction; for example, along the rotated plies of a laminate. Csys This final method is available if your output is defined in some known coordinate system. You must also choose the appropriate coordinate system along with this option.

Freebody Display... ...enables you to plot freebody information for an entire body or a specific group of elements. The freebody display can be performed at any time, whether you are showing a deformed and contour plot, or a simple undeformed plot. The one exception to this is you must be in hidden line mode when in Render to view these vectors. Note: Enhanced Render mode does not currently support freebody display. To generate a freebody display, turn Render off or use Original Render mode. For more information, see Section 2.6.3.3, "Render Graphics Preferences".

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Post-Processing

When you select the Freebody Display option, the View FreeBody Options dialog box appears.

This dialog box is separated into four major sections: Freebody Style, Group, Options, and Total Load. Each of these areas are discussed more fully below. Freebody Style This section controls whether the freebody display is shown and the loads to use for the freebody display. Show Freebody Display must be checked on to plot the freebody diagram, as well as to activate other options on this dialog box. When you first enter this dialog box, this will be off, and all other options will be grayed. The remaining portion of the Style section allows you to select the loads to consider in the freebody display. A typical freebody diagram will include applied loads, reaction loads, multipoint reaction loads, and external element loads. This option is the default, and can also be obtained by simply pushing the Freebody button. This diagram above shows a freebody display where the elements to the right of the display have been

Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style



included in the group (see "Freebody Group" below) to create the freebody display. The Shrink option under View Options has been used for clarity.

The Internal Element Loads option will also include the internal element loads, which should be equal and opposite to the external element loads. By turning this option on with external elemental loads on, you should see loads at the interface of the freebody that are equal and opposite on each side of the interface as shown in this example. This is simply a greatly magnified display of the above freebody, except that Internal Elemental Loads has been turned on. The Total Summed Load option will take all forces and sum them. Since the summation of all loads in a finite element static model must be zero to satisfy equilibrium conditions, this option can be used to locate any “leaking” of forces in the model and provide warnings of possible problems. This option automatically grays all other load selections in this area since it automatically creates a total sum. Note: The external and internal element loads will only be available if you have recovered grid point force balance from NASTRAN. If you are not using NASTRAN, or have not recovered the grid point force balance, you will only have access to the applied and reaction loads (including multipoint), thereby limiting the overall usefulness of freebody displays.

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3 

Freebody Group This option allows you to select between the entire model (None), the Active group, or to a select a group for which to perform the freebody display. In general, unless you are simply checking reaction forces or multipoint reaction loads, you will want to limit this to a specific group at critical interfaces or areas of concern.



Post-Processing

Freebody Options These options control the details of the freebody display. You can choose to show forces, moments, or both. The vectors can be shown in entity colors (reaction loads in the color of the constraints, applied loads in the color of the loads, etc.). If Entity Colors is turned off, all loads will be displayed in the color selected under the Vector Style option in View Options PostProcessing. Internal and external element loads are always drawn in the vector style color. The Show Load Summation option controls whether you see one total sum vector of all loads at the node (on) or all vectors for the different load types (off). This option also enables the Freebody Total Load section (see below). The Show Freebody on All Internal Nodes option provides results at every node of the elements in the group or entire model. This option can create a rather cluttered display if there are a large number of nodes and should typically be left off. The remaining options in the section are more typical View Options. You can scale vectors based upon their magnitude, including setting maximum and minimum values for the scaling, as well as set a tolerance below which the loads are not displayed. This previous option will remove loads that are not zero just due to numerical round-off. The final options under Display Vector Components simply allow you to display the vectors in component form in any coordinate system, in one, two, or all three directions. Freebody Total Load If the Show Load Summation under Freebody Options is checked, you will have access to the Freebody Total Load section of this dialog box. This section allows you to display the resulting forces and moments due to the total load of the group or model at a specific location. This can be very useful in obtaining the effect of loads on a specific portion of your model to some other location, either in the model, or somewhere off the model, possibly another part of an assembly. Simply select the Show Load on Interface option and define the color and location for the total load. The Location button enables you to input the specific coordinates via the standard Coordinate Definition dialog box. Once you input these values and redraw, FEMAP will display the total forces and moments at the specified location, taking into account the distance between the location and the freebody loads to calculate the moments.

Choosing an XY Style



8.2.3 Choosing an XY Style Unlike the model styles that choose between different ways to display your model, the XY styles choose between different ways to display a two-dimensional XY plot. Whenever you select one of these styles, the XY plot will be displayed in the view, instead of your model. The XY plot styles, other than XY of function, are all post-processing options. They will only be available when you have output data in your model. The following table describes the various XY styles:

XY Style XY vs. ID

XY vs. Set

XY vs. Set Value

XY vs. Position

XY of Function

Will Display Output data values from selected output vector vs. node or element ID. Output data from selected output vector for one node or element vs. all output sets. Same as XY vs. Set, except X axis displays output set values, not the set IDs.

Output Data Type

Typical Uses

Node, Elem

Review output data vector to find peaks.

Node, Elem

Review transient results, or differences in output from multiple sets. Only for transient, modal or other output that sets the output set values. Not for static analysis. Review output near a specified location. Visual interpolation and extrapolation of output data. Reviewing the XY relationships that you defined for a function.

Node, Elem

Node, Output data values from selected output vector vs. X, Elem Y, or Z position in a selected coordinate system. A function curve. N/A

Unlike the post-processing XY styles, XY of function is actually displaying a part of your model. You must therefore select the function to display from the Model Data dialog box, not the XY Data dialog. The XY of Function display style is, however, still con-

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Post-Processing

trolled by the XY PostProcessing View Options, and in particular the options for Curve 1. XY vs. ID Style 9629. 7708. 5787. 3865. 1944. 22.94 -1898. -3819. -5741. -7662. 1

3

5

7

9

11

13

15 Element ID

1: NASTRAN Case 1, Plate Top X Normal Stress 2: NASTRAN Case 1, Plate Top Y Normal Stress

XY vs. Position Style 9629. 7708. 5787. 3865. 1944. 22.94 -1898. -3819. -5741. -7662. 0.375

0.6964

1.018

1.339

1.661

1.982

2.304 2.625 X Coordinate System 0

1: NASTRAN Case 1, Plate Top X Normal Stress 2: NASTRAN Case 1, Plate Top Y Normal Stress

8.2.3.1 Selecting Data for an XY Style Selecting data for the XY styles is very similar to selecting data for the deformed or contour styles. When you press the XY Data command button, FEMAP displays the

Selecting Data for an XY Style



Select XY Curve Data dialog box. This dialog box resembles the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box that is displayed by the Deformed and Contour Data command button.

This dialog box has several differences. For XY-plots, you can select up to nine sets of data. FEMAP refers to these as curves. The Curve Number option buttons (1 to 9) select the curve to define. Before selecting any other options, you should always choose the curve number. Next, choose the Category, Type, Output Set, and Output Vector controls to select the output data that you want to display. For more information on using these controls, see Section 8.2.2, "Choosing Deformed and Contour Styles". The only difference for XY styles is that you can choose a different output set for each curve. To define multiple curves, select the first curve number, choose an output set and output vector for that curve, then repeat the process. Choose a different curve number, and the output set and output vector for that curve. Press OK only when you are done with all of the curves. To delete the selected curve number, press the Delete Curve command button. Only the selected curve will be deleted. All other curves will remain unchanged.

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You can limit the XY plot to a certain portion of your model by choosing a group. Selecting None will display data for your entire model. Active will display data for the nodes or elements in the active group, or for the entire model if no group is active. If



Post-Processing

you choose Select, you must also choose a group from the drop-down list. As stated in the dialog box, the group selections you make apply to all curves. Note: The XY data group selections and the model data group selections both refer to the same option. Changing one automatically changes the other. If you are displaying a portion of your model, and then switch to an XY style, the same group will automatically be used. This feature allows you to simply switch styles and see a model and XY representation of the same data. For the XY vs. Set and XY vs. Set Value styles, you must select an output location. This is the ID of a single node or element. The entity type matches the type of output in the output vector you select. Since this style displays output from all output sets, the set you choose is not really used. It is only specified so that you can have a list of output vectors from which to choose. The only difference between XY vs. Set and XY vs. Set Value is the values used for the X axis. XY vs. Set displays the output set IDs on the X axis, and XY vs. Set Value displays the value (time, frequency, or other value) that is associated with each output set. If you want to limit output to only certain sets rather than all sets, you can also specify a range of output sets to use in Show Output Sets. Data will only be selected from sets in the range you specify. Leave these options blank to get all sets. For the XY vs. Position style, you must select a position or direction. You can choose either an X, Y, or Z coordinate direction, in any coordinate system. When the data is displayed, the horizontal axis of the XY plot will be these coordinate values. If you are displaying nodal output, the location of the node will be transformed into the selected coordinate system. The output value will be plotted on the vertical axis, versus the selected coordinate on the horizontal axis. For elemental output data, the location of the element centroid is used. You can use this method to display variations in data across portions of your model. First, define a group which contains the nodes or elements in that area. Second, define a coordinate system which is aligned with the direction you want to view. Finally, if desired, select a group and coordinate system and choose the output vector. FEMAP will display an XY vs. Position plot that shows how your output varies.

8.2.3.2 Quickly Choosing XY Data In addition to using the View Select command, you can also access the XY Data dialog box directly from the Quick Access menu. Just press the right mouse button while you are pointing inside any graphics window, and choose XY Data. You can also get to this dialog box by pressing the Alt+F5 keys.

View Options - PostProcessing

8.3 View Options - PostProcessing

 Ctrl+O or F6

The View Options command controls how your model (or XY plot) is displayed in a view. This command has three separate categories based upon the type of controls. Labels, Entities and Colors, as well as Tools and View Style (for more information, see Section 6, "Viewing Your Model"). This section will concentrate on graphical post-processing options (Category 3 - PostProcessing).

Choose category to change between option lists

Scroll down for more options

Choose option to display or change settings



To modify an option, simply select it from the list. You can do this either by pointing at it with the cursor and clicking the left mouse button, or by pressing the direction keys. As you select an option, the right side of the dialog box will be updated. It will display various controls which allow you to set the option. The current option settings will always be loaded as the defaults. Each PostProcessing option is explained briefly below.

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3

All of these different options are controlled from the View Options dialog box. There are three basic parts to this dialog box. The Category option buttons choose the type of view options that you want to update. When you choose a category, the Options list is automatically updated. This list displays all of the view options that you can update for each Category. You may have to scroll through the list, using the scroll bar, to see all of the available options.



Post-Processing

8.3.1 Post Titles... ... controls whether an additional legend is displayed for deformed or contour views. This legend contains information about the output set and output vectors which are displayed. You can position the legend in any of the eight locations. Make sure that it does not overlap the view legend or the contour/criteria legend. 6028. -7662.

5173. 4317. 3461. 2606. 1750. 894.5 38.85 -816.8

6028.

-1672. -2528. -3384. -4239.

Post Titles

-5095. -5951. Output Set: NASTRAN Case 1 Deformed(4.251E-3): Total Translation Contour: Plate Top Mean Stress

-6806. -7662.

8.3.2 Deformed Style For all deformed styles, FEMAP uses these settings to determine the on-screen scale of the deformations. If the % of Model option is checked, FEMAP will scale all deformations so that the largest one is equivalent to the percentage of model size you specify as Scale %. If % of Model is not checked, FEMAP will deform your model by the amount of the actual deformations. Since deformations are usually relatively small, you probably want to specify a fairly large scale factor. A factor of 100 will display deformations that are 100 times larger than the actual deformations. A factor of 1 will display the actual deformations. The default Deformed Scale is automatically set based on the output for all nodes in your model. If you are plotting just a portion of your model using a group, you may want to scale based on just the deformations on the nodes in that group. In this case, you can choose Auto-Group. If you are displaying actual deformations (as opposed to % of Model), Auto-Group will not change the size of the deformations on the screen. In any case however, the maximum deformation value that is shown in the legend will be based on the maximum value in the group. Note: When performing large displacement (hyperelastic) contact and/or explicit analyses, it is often best to change the Deformed Style to Actual, and keep the value as 1. These types of analyses typically have large displacements which are visible, and scaling causes distortion.

8.3.2.1 Auto Group Option This option automatically considers output for all nodes referenced by the elements in your group in addition to the nodes that you explicitly include into the group. Therefore, if you have included all model nodes in the group, this option will have no effect.

The Default Direction



Unless you are looking for some special effect, you should not include any nodes other than those connected to elements in the group.

8.3.2.2 The Default Direction This option orients deformations if the output vector you choose is directionless. For example, assume you choose to deform the model by Von Mises stress (for whatever reason). Since this type of output is directionless, FEMAP will use the direction that you select. The deformation magnitude will still be based on the magnitude of the Von Mises stress.

8.3.3 Vector Style For vector style displays, this option controls whether arrowheads will be displayed, color, and labelling options. The selected color is used for both deformed style vector plots and freebody displays. Since the deformed vector plots can be quite complex, you can choose to label just some Top Percent of the arrows. Only arrows that represent output which is closer to the maximum output value than the selected percentage will be labelled. You can also show either the Total Vector or the components of the vector.

8.3.4 Animated Style Many aspects of animation are controlled by the settings for this option. If you choose Single Step, the view will calculate all of the animation frames and then wait. The animation will not begin until you choose the View, Advanced Post, Animation command and press Start. Shape controls the deformations in the frames that are calculated. Full cycle shapes smoothly return to their starting position while half cycle shapes jump back. The choice of color or monochrome animation impacts the speed at which the image will animate. Monochrome is much faster. If on the other hand, you are combining animation with a contour or criteria display, you should probably select color.

3

2 67 35 2 &( 66 ,1 *





Post-Processing

+1

Sine - Full

-1 +1

-1 Sine - Full Absolute

Sine - Half

0

Number of Frames

+1 Linear - Full Absolute

+1

Linear - Half

-1

-1 +1

Linear - Full

0

0 +1

+1

Sine - Half Absolute

+1

Linear - Half Absolute

0

By selecting the number of frames in the animation, you control both the animation quality and speed. More frames take longer to calculate, and produce a slower, but smoother animation. Fewer frames are desirable if you want a quick look, or fast animation. If you are using the Animate setting, for the Contour/Criteria Levels option, best results are obtained with a larger number of frames. The Delay factor specifies the initial speed of the animation. This can be varied using the View, Advanced Post, Animation command. Larger numbers result in slower animations. Here are a few suggestions that can help when you are doing animations: •

FEMAP retains all of the frames that you calculate in memory. You can specify a very large number of frames but you must have enough to hold those images.

•

You can simultaneously animate multiple windows, even at different speeds, but your computer and graphics adapter need to be fairly fast. It takes the combination of a fast computer and a good graphics adapter to adequately handle multiple animations.

•

If animations are not as fast as you would like, check the following:

Deformed Model...



•

Make sure the Delay factor is small or zero.

•

Try using monochrome animation.

•

Make sure you are not running other applications in the background on your computer.

•

Reduce the number of frames.

•

Reduce the size of your graphics window. This may be the biggest savings although at a price. It can dramatically reduce the amount of data needed for an animation, and hence increase the speed.

•

Once an animation has been created, you can control it with the View, Advanced Post, Animation command.

8.3.5 Deformed Model... ... controls the colors that will be used for a deformed style display. Deformed Model Undeformed Model

8.3.6 Undeformed Model... ... allows you to display your undeformed model, along with a deformed or animating style model. This option should not be turned on for filled or hidden line view styles. If you do, the deformed and undeformed models may obscure each other.

8.3.7 Trace Style...

... controls the type of contour to perform (nodal or elemental), or the Render Mode Contours option (Continuous or Levels) and additional options for elemental contouring under Contour Options. For more information, see Section 8.2.2.2, "Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style".



8.3.8 Contour Type...

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3

... enables you to control the labeling and display of trace plots. You may display or label each location along the trace lines, and display full length trace lines or animate them with the model. When used in combination with the Skip Deformation option in View Select, you can independently control whether the model and/or the trace lines are animated.



Post-Processing

8.3.9 Contour/Criteria Style... ... allows you to choose whether solid/filled contours will be drawn or just the contour lines. The same setting also applies to filled or unfilled elements for criteria displays. For more ways to customize the appearance of contour and criteria plots, see Section 6.1.3.3, "View, Options. . .". Filled Contours

-7662.

Line Contours

6028.

Max Min Labels

If you select the Max Min labelling option, the two locations with the maximum and minimum output values will be labelled. Normally this will be the maximum and minimum values in the entire model. If you also set the Auto-Group under Contour/Criteria Levels, Level Mode, FEMAP will display the maximum and minimum values based just on the output at nodes in your plotted group. ID labelling is not used for filled contours. For line contours, the lines are labelled with letters that correspond to those in the Contour Legend. Label Freq controls how many of the lines are labelled. If Label Freq is 5, every fifth contour line will be labelled. You may also specify the number of significant digits to be used in your contour/criteria plot. The data conversion options control how FEMAP will calculate the nodal data that is required for contours when you select an elemental output vector. By default, all elemental data is averaged. If you would rather use the maximum (or minimum) values, choose Maximum Value (or Minimum Value). If you have recovered or calculated elemental corner output but do not want it to be considered in the contour, choose one of the Skip Corner options. For more information on Data Conversion options, see Section 8.2.2.2, "Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style".

8.3.10 Contour/Criteria Levels... ... specifies the number of contour levels that will be displayed. FEMAP supports up to 255 levels. This option is also used to select the output values where contours will be calculated, and the contour colors.

Palette



8.3.10.1 Palette You can choose either the Standard or User-Defined contour palette. Instructions for defining a user-defined palette can be found later in this section, but the palette must be activated here - even after it is defined. The #of Levels option is only used with the standard palette, and specifies the number of contour levels to be drawn. The number of levels for the user-defined palette always matches the number of colors in the palette. 8.3.10.2 Animate If you want the contour display to vary with the deformations during an animation, you can check the Animate box. This can represent the effects of loading and unloading a structure. When this is turned off, the deformations will animate, but the contours will not change. Animate is only used for contour displays, not for criteria displays. When you are animating contours, you will usually need to increase the number of animation frames to make the contour animation look smoother. 8.3.10.3 Level Modes If you choose the Automatic or Auto-Group level modes, FEMAP will determine the maximum and minimum contour values (and the intermediate ones) from the maximum and minimum output values in the output vector you select. Automatic considers data from the entire output vector. Auto-Group is identical, unless you have selected a group, then, it will determine the maximum and minimum values from just the portion of your model that is in the group. Note: The Auto-Group option automatically considers output for all nodes referenced by the elements in your group in addition to the nodes that you explicitly include into the group. Therefore, if you have included all model nodes in the group, this option will have no effect. Unless you are looking for some special effect, you should not include any nodes other than those connected to elements in the group.

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3

If you choose Max Min, you must specify the maximum and minimum contour values. FEMAP will interpolate between them to determine all intermediate values. User Defined is similar to Max Min. You must first specify the maximum and minimum values, then press Set Levels. You will see the Contour/Criteria Levels dialog box. In the text boxes on the left side, you can specify up to 10 additional intermediate contour levels.





Post-Processing

For each contour level that you want to set, you must specify two values - the contour level number and the value. The maximum value is level 1, the minimum value is equal to one more than the number of contour levels that you selected. Therefore, the level numbers you specify should be between 2 and the number of contour levels. If you specify more than one level, the associated output values must be in decreasing order. For example, if the maximum value is 1000.0, and you specify that level 5 is 500.0, then level 6 must be less than 500.0, and level 7 must be less than whatever you specified for level 6. Similarly, all of values must be greater than the minimum value. If you leave gaps between the levels you specify, FEMAP will automatically interpolate to find the other levels. For example, if you set level 5 to 100.0, and level 10 to 50.0, then FEMAP will set level 6 to 90.0, level 7 to 80.0, level 8 to 70.0 and level 9 to 60.0 - automatically. If you specify level numbers that are greater than the number of levels that you have selected, those entries will be ignored. Regardless of which level mode you choose, you can use the Contour/Criteria Levels dialog box to change the colors associated with your contour levels. FEMAP’s default colors provide a full spectrum of color ranging from red for the maximum value to violet for the minimum. To choose new colors, enter the six color values that you want. If you choose six contour levels, these six colors will be used. If you choose more than six levels, FEMAP will interpolate between the six colors that you choose to calculate one color for each level. Interpolating in this fashion tends to provide a smoother spectrum of color for the contours. You may also want to choose different line styles, since FEMAP will also interpolate the line styles for line contours. If you make changes and want to get back to the original FEMAP default colors, press Reset Color. If you want to change to monochrome contouring, press Reset Mono. You may want to do this prior to choosing the File, Print command if you are printing to a monochrome printer. Pressing Reverse will simply swap the order of the six colors whether they are the defaults or colors that you have specified. Use this option when you want violet for the maximum output value and red for the minimum.

User-Defined Contour Palette



8.3.10.4 User-Defined Contour Palette If you press the User Palette button, you will see the standard palette with options to add or delete colors to the user palette.

As described above, you can control the standard contour palette by specifying up to six colors, and FEMAP will interpolate between them to produce the entire contour spectrum. This method produces very smooth transitions between colors in the spectrum, but does not allow very precise color control, and often results in dithered (rather than solid) colors being used. The User Palette option gives you precise control, with no interpolation of colors.

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3 

In addition to the normal palette options, the dialog box has additional boxes that show the defined contour palette. To add to the palette, choose the color (and linestyle and pattern) from the top of the box, then press Add. The selected color will be added to the palette. To remove a color from the contour palette, select it and press Delete. Press Reset to delete all of the selected colors. Press Reverse to swap the order of the colors in the palette. Press Save to save the selected contour palette in a file, which you can retrieve later with the Load button. In either option the standard file access dialog box is used to access the contour palette files. The file extension .CNT is always used for these files. The default user defined contour palette file is selected in the File, Preferences command, and is loaded every time you start FEMAP.



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To use the contour palette that you have defined, you must return to Contour/Criteria Levels in the View Options dialog box, and switch the Contour Palette option to User Palette. When you select the user palette, all contour and criteria plots will be done with the number of levels in the user palette, the # of Levels option is simply ignored. To change the number of levels, you must change the user palette, or switch back to the standard palette. Note: This version of FEMAP includes several predefined contour palette files. These files have been defined to access solid colors when used with most Windows 256-color drivers. You can use them as a starting point for your own palettes by loading and modifying them.

8.3.11 Contour/Criteria Legend... ... controls the visibility, position, and labelling of the contour (or criteria) legend. This legend consists of a series of colored lines or boxes. Numeric labels are located beside the colored area. These labels show you the output values associated with each contour color. You can control the number of digits of the output values on the contour legend by entering a number in the digits area. You can also choose to make these labels the same color as the contour they represent (contour colors), or a single view color. The legend border is always drawn using the view color. If you specify 0 for the Label Freq, FEMAP will automatically determine the number of labels to place on the legend so they will not overwrite each other based on the label size. If you want to label a specific number of contour levels, just specify a non-zero Label Freq. For example, if you specify 4, FEMAP will label every fourth level. The maximum level is always labelled. If you specify a Label Freq that is larger than the number of contour levels, FEMAP will label just the maximum and minimum levels. Contour Legend in Top Center Position

6028.

4317.

2606.

894.5

-816.8

-2528.

-4239.

-5951.

-7662.

This legend, like all others, is drawn vertically, unless you position it at the top center or bottom center of the view. In those positions, the legend is drawn horizontally. Be careful not to position the legend at the same location as the view legend or the post titles.

Criteria Limits/Beam Diagrams



8.3.12 Criteria Limits/Beam Diagrams Although criteria displays can be used simply as an alternative to contours, where each element is colored based on its output value, their primary purpose is to limit the display based on a selected criteria. This option selects the criteria. You select the type of criteria from the Limits Mode list. Then specify the appropriate values in Minimum and Maximum. The following table lists the available modes and their uses: Limits Mode No Limits Above Maximum Below Minimum Between Outside

Minimum Maximum -

Yes

Yes

-

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Result No Criteria. All elements pass. Elements with output values greater than Maximum pass. Elements with output values less than Minimum pass. Elements with output values between Minimum and Maximum pass. Elements with output values less than Minimum or greater than Maximum pass.

If you choose Abs Value, the absolute value of the output data is compared to your selected criteria. The Criteria - Elements that Pass, and Criteria - Elements that Fail options control how elements that pass or fail the criteria will be displayed. 6028.

4317.

2606.

894.5

-816.8

-2528.

-4239.

-5951.

-7662.

Elements that failed criteria

6028.3

Elements that passed criteria

6028.3

4823.1 4823.1 2974.7

2974.7 1741.9

3

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Beam diagrams are also controlled through this option. The Default Direction option sets the elemental or global plane where the beam diagram will be drawn. FEMAP always draws the diagram in the plane that you choose, even if the output is actually based on forces/stresses in a different plane. The FEMAP translators should automatically setup the proper information in your model to draw the correct beam diagram as you read the output from one of the supported programs. If you create output through some other means, or if sign conventions



Post-Processing

change in the analysis programs, the RevB default directions can be used. If you see a beam diagram where End A and End B have reversed signs, when they should be of the same sign, choose one of these options - otherwise use the regular options. The Beam Diagram Color sets the color that will be drawn around the outer edges, and between elements along the diagram.

8.3.13 Criteria - Elements that Pass/Fail... ... are both used for criteria style displays. The settings for the first option are used for all elements that pass your selected criteria, or for all elements when you do not specify any criteria. The second option settings are used only for elements that fail the criteria. You can skip displaying either category of elements by turning off the appropriate option. If you select Output Value labelling, the output values will be displayed as a label near the center of the elements. For criteria displays, element colors are also determined by this option. By default, elements that pass the criteria will be colored using contour colors. For this setting, FEMAP compares the elemental output value to the specified contour levels. The element color is then set to the color for the appropriate contour level. By default, elements that fail the criteria are not displayed. If you simply turn them on, the default view color will cause them to be displayed as dashed/phantom lines. Elements that fail the selected criteria will never be filled, no matter how you set the other filling or criteria options. This distinguishes them from the “elements that pass”. When you choose the filled criteria options, the colors for “elements that pass” control the filling color, but the colors for “elements that fail” control the edge colors - since there is no filling color.

8.3.14 IsoSurface... ... controls the display of isosurfaces. You can control whether a single isosurface is displayed, or to use the contour colors for the isosurfaces. You can also decide to deform the model, set the isosurface color for the Single IsoSurface option, and to set a level for the single isosurface. When using the View, Advanced Post, Dynamic IsoSurface command, this option will automatically be turned to a single color if both the deformed and contour output vectors are the same. For more information, see Section 8.4.3, "View, Advanced Post, Dynamic IsoSurface...".

8.3.15 Contour Vector Style... ... allows you to choose whether the length and/or color of the vectors will be adjusted based on their magnitude. You can also choose how the vectors are located and whether or not they have arrowheads. If you choose to center the vectors, they will either be centered at the node or element centroid as appropriate. Otherwise, the start of the vector will be placed at that location. If you choose a single arrow style, the direction of the vector (toward the arrowhead) will imply whether the value is positive or negative. For

XY Titles...



dual arrow styles, outward pointing arrowheads are used for positive values, inward pointing arrowheads are used for negative values.

8.3.16 XY Titles... ... specifies a title and subtitle for an XY display, and the location of these titles. You can choose any of the standard eight locations for the titles. In general, Center Left and Center Right are not good choices. Unless you use very short titles, these positions will significantly reduce the size of the graph. The titles are always displayed in the view color. The title view color is also used for all axis labels. When you press Titles, FEMAP will display the XY Titles dialog box. You can specify a title and subtitle, each up to 25 characters in length.

8.3.17 XY Legend... ... controls the location, and format of the XY legend. This legend contains one line for each active curve. It defines the output data which is selected for the curve. The format of the lines in the legend is: Curve Number: Output Set, Output Vector (Curve Scale Factor)

Output Set and Output Vector are either the IDs or titles, depending on the labelling option you choose. Each line of the legend is drawn in the same color as the curve that it defines. 9629. 7708. 5787. 3865. 1944. 22.94 -1898. -3819. -5741.

Legend

-7662. 1

3

5

7

9

11

13

15 Element ID

8.3.18 XY Axes Style... ... defines the colors of the X and Y axes, and the number of axis divisions (tics). This option controls the color of the axis lines. If you want to change the colors of the axis labels, see Section 8.3.16, "XY Titles...".



You can position this legend in any of the eight standard locations. Make certain you do not locate it at the same position as the XY titles or they will overwrite each other.

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3

1: NASTRAN Case 1, Plate Top X Normal Stress 2: NASTRAN Case 1, Plate Top Y Normal Stress



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You can also change the plot type between Rectilinear (the normal default), SemiLog (YAxis), Log-Log, and SemiLog (X-Axis) which are often used for dynamic analyses. When you specify zero X tics or Y tics, FEMAP will automatically calculate the number of axis divisions. The number will be chosen so the labels do not overwrite one another. If you want a specific number of divisions, specify that number plus one. You must add one because there is always one more tic than division, for the end of the axis.

8.3.19 XY X Range/Grid... ... controls the minimum and maximum X axis values, and the display of the vertical grid lines. If you choose Automatic, FEMAP will set the minimum and maximum axis values equal to the smallest and largest X values from your entire model. The nature of these values depends on the type of XY plot (vs. ID, vs. Set...). Auto-Group is similar, but only considers values which are in the group you chose in the View Select command. If you pick Max Min, you must manually set the minimum and maximum axis values. Your Axis Range choices can be automatically updated by the View Autoscale, Pan, Zoom, or Magnify commands. You can use these commands for XY-plots just like they are used for model displays.

8.3.20 XY Y Range/Grid... ... is identical to XY X Range/Grid, except that it controls the Y axis and the horizontal grid lines.

8.3.21 XY Curve 1 through XY Curve 9... ... controls the visibility, style, color, and labelling of the data curves for an XY-plot. By default, any curve that you select in the View Select command will be drawn. You can selectively skip curves, by turning off these options. ID and output value labels will be drawn at every data point on the curve. Only two labels will be drawn for Max/Min ID and Max/Min value labelling. These labels will be drawn at the data point with the minimum and maximum output values. The Curve Style setting controls the type of curve or points that will be drawn. The Scale factor multiplies the actual output values. You can use this factor to display several curves, that have very different magnitudes, in the same Y range. When you specify a scale factor other than one, the position of the curve will be updated appropriately. The output value labels however, will still show the actual, unscaled output values. In addition, any scale factors, other than 1.0, will be shown in the XY legend.

8.4 Specialized Post-processing There are three commands contained under the View, Advanced Post menu that allow you to control certain types of post-processing: Animation, Dynamic Cutting Plane, and Dynamic IsoSurface. Each of these commands are explained more fully below.

View, Advanced Post, Animation...



8.4.1 View, Advanced Post, Animation... ... is only available when you have one or more views animating on your screen. It controls the speed and form of the animation. It can also stop the animation and step through individual animation frames.

When you choose this command, the Animation Control dialog box is displayed. The buttons in this dialog are used just like the controls for a VCR or tape player. Press Pause if you want to stop the current animation, then press Play to resume it. Pressing either Prev or Next will also pause ongoing animations. Pressing these buttons will also change the frame that is displayed. Next advances forward to the next animation frame. Prev goes backward to the previous frame. The buttons in the center of the dialog box change the speed of the animation, by changing the Delay value. You can also change speed manually by typing a new Delay value. Larger numbers mean longer delays and slower animation. Pressing Faster reduces the delay value while Slower increases it. Press Fast to reset the Delay to 1. You can also change the order in which the animation frames will be displayed by choosing Half or Full. Half animations go from the first frame to the last and then jump back to the first. Full animations go from the first to the last, and then back to the first in reverse order. When you are animating deformations, half animations deform and snap back. Full animations repeatedly deform and undeform. Full animations are smoother while half animations are faster.

8.4.1.1 Controlling Animation in Multiple Windows The View Animation command either updates one window or all windows depending on the All Views setting. By adjusting the delay values in different windows, you can simultaneously show animation at different speeds. You can also control this by using a different number of frames in each different windows. 3

2 67 35 2 &( 66 ,1 *





Post-Processing

8.4.1.2 Getting Faster Animations FEMAP creates animations by drawing multiple frames, each with slightly different displacements or positions. Each frame is retained in memory as a bitmap. Then, at intervals specified by the delay, each bitmap is redrawn to the window. As you can imagine, this can take a lot of memory, and a lot of computing power. Multiple animating windows just increases those requirements. To work successfully with these animations you need a fast computer, and a graphics board that can transfer bitmaps to the screen very quickly. If you are not satisfied with the speed of your animation, and you have specified a small delay, try using less frames, a smaller graphics window, or monochrome animation. Each of these can make the animation significantly faster. Also, make certain you do not have other applications running in the background while you are trying to animate. Here are some important things to remember when working with animations: •

If you move the graphics cursor over an animating window, the cursor may become invisible (or blink) because animating windows constantly redraw the entire window and hide the cursor. If you “lose” the cursor, keep moving the mouse in a single direction until it moves outside of the animating window. The cursor will be visible again.

•

Whenever you choose a command from the menu, either with the keyboard or mouse, FEMAP will pause any ongoing animations. This gives you much better interactive response time during the command you choose. To restart the animation, you must choose the View, Advanced Post, Animation, the View, Redraw, or the View, Regenerate command. The advantage of View, Advanced Post, Animation is that it does not require FEMAP to recalculate the animation frames.

•

Running a program file also stops all animations.

•

You cannot make graphical selections in animating windows. Animations are just a series of bitmaps with no direct connection to the entities in the FEMAP database.

•

The delay factor controls animation speed by pausing between frames. The appropriate delay factor depends on the computer speed, graphics board, size of the window, whether you are doing color, or monochrome animation, and many more factors. If you are only animating one window, you may have to increase this number substantially to slow down an animation. With multiple windows, you may have to decrease it to speed up animations. If you are trying to make multiple windows animate at different speeds, adjust the delay factors relative to each other. For example, if you have two windows, setting one delay equal to twice the delay in the other window will animate at half the speed of the other window. The ratio of the smallest to largest delay in the active animating windows should always be less than 20 or 25 for best performance (preferably less than 10). If you exceed these recommendations, the slower animating window will appear choppy, and in some cases, may not

View, Advanced Post, Dynamic Cutting Plane...



animate at all. If you are experiencing this problem, you must increase the delays in all windows (you can keep the ratios the same), so that your computer can keep up with all of the animations.

8.4.2 View, Advanced Post, Dynamic Cutting Plane... ... allows you to dynamically view section cuts in the model. This command is only available when you are in Render mode. This is very convenient when displaying a contoured solid. When you select this command, you will see the Dynamic Section Cut Control box. This dialog box allows you to dynamically move a plane through your model, displaying the contour on this plane.

Note: Enhanced Render mode does not currently support cutting plane display. To generate a cutting plane display, turn Render off or use Original Render mode. For more information, see Section 2.6.3.3, "Render Graphics Preferences".

Plane... ...allows you to locate the cutting plane using the FEMAP standard plane definition dialog box. Once you select the plane, you can use the Windows scrollbar to move this plane through the solid, and FEMAP will automatically move the contoured plane through the model from lowest value (position) to highest value. Value... ... options allow you to specify a specific location to view for the section cut. The value represent distances normal to the section cut. You can therefore start at one end of the model and move through the entire model to the other end. If you stop scrolling, FEMAP will automatically fill-in the position in the Value box. You can also specify a specific value to move to an exact location. Delta...

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3

... defines the value when you click on the scrollbar to move it. By specifying a Delta, and then clicking in the Windows scrollbar to move it, you can change the value, and thereby the position of the section cut by the Delta value. This is a convenient method to move through the section cuts at specified increments.



8.4.3 View, Advanced Post, Dynamic IsoSurface... ... This command allows you to move dynamically through isosurfaces in the model. Just as with the dynamic cutting plane, you can also define a specific value (the value of the isosurface) as well as a delta. You must be in Render mode to use this command. This command lets you move through only isosurfaces, or to move through isosurfaces while showing the contour of another vector on the isosurface. These options are con-



Post-Processing

trolled by the vectors chosen under Deformed and Contour Data (under View Select). If both the deformed and contour vectors are the same, FEMAP will just move through the isosurfaces. However, if they are different, FEMAP will use the deformation vector you have chosen for the isosurfaces, and will contour using the contour vector. Therefore, you can see one vector contoured on a constant section of another vector. Hint:

This is an extremely valuable tool when performing thermal stress analysis. You can define the temperature vector as the deformation vector to use for the isosurfaces, and then select a stress value for the contour vector. You can then visualize the stress values at a given temperature.

The specific options related to these displays can be found under View Options (Category PostProcessing, Option IsoSurfaces).

8.5 Output Manipulation The Model, Output submenu allows you to manage output sets and loads, as well as create new output. The menu is divided into four areas: •

Output set/vector: On the first segment of the menu, the Set and Vector commands let you create and/or activate the current output set and output vector.

•

Active vector commands: The Define and Fill commands let you create output for the current output vector.

•

Output set/vector commands: These commands let you manipulate entire output sets, as well as individual vectors. Commands include Process, Calculate, From Load, Transform, and Extrapolate.

•

Complex output commands: The Convert Complex and Expand Complex commands are only applicable to complex output results (such as results from a frequency response analysis). You must have either magnitude/phase results, or real/imaginary pairs. You can convert between these types of complex output, or expand the results using phase information into the real domain.

Each of these commands is described in the following sections.

Model, Output, Set...



8.5.1 Model, Output, Set... ...creates a new output set or activates an existing output set. An output set is a collection of output vectors (results data). When you run an analysis, the software generates an output set for: each combination of loads and constraints that you specify (cases); each frequency of a modal analysis; or each time step of a transient or nonlinear analysis. If you define multiple cases with the analysis set manager, you will have multiple output sets. • To create a new output set, enter a new ID, then a descriptive Title. •

To activate an existing output set, select it from the list or enter its ID. Some commands, such as Define and Fill, work with the active output set.

•

Use Reset to deactivate all output sets.

•

The Set Value is defined by certain analysis types. For example, for a modal analysis it is the modal frequency, and for a transient analysis it is the the time value. To change this value, make the set active, then enter the new value in the Set Value field. Since the set value can be used for X-Y plotting, you can effectively change the scale of your X-Y plot by changing the set values for each output set.

•

Use the Notes feature to record detailed information about the output set. You can enter up to 256 characters, on multiple lines. FEMAP also automatically reads some information from output files (date, time of run, file name) and stores it in notes. Notes are not plotted to the screen, but the List, Output, Unformatted command will list them with the other output set information. By turning off all the vector information, you can obtain a listing of your sets and notes. 3

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8.5.2 Model, Output, Vector... ... creates a new output vector or activates an existing output vector. An output vector is a collection of single data values for each node or element. For example, the T1 Translation output vector contains the X translation values for each node. Each vector contains a single value per node or element, but some vectors refer to other vectors for additional data. For example, Total Translation internally references the T1, T2, and T3 translation vectors. Many of the elemental output vectors such as stress or strain reference corner output vectors. •

To create a new output vector, enter a new ID and a descriptive Title.

•

To activate an existing vector, pick the vector from the list.

The dialog box includes the following fields: •

ID: Choose an ID between 300000 and 999999. For phase output, the ID must be between 1300000 and 1999999. For real complex output, choose between 2300000 and 2999999. For imaginary complex output, choose between 3300000 and 3999999. FEMAP reserves vectors 1 to 299999 for use by the analysis program output translators to ensure that the translators will not overwrite any of your output data.

•

Title: Make sure that you specify a descriptive title for new output vectors, since you will probably have many vectors.

•

Data Selection: The Category and Type fields in this area limit the vectors that FEMAP lists when you are selecting an output vector. You can choose one of the standard categories, or make your own by choosing Other. If you choose Other, you must also enter a category number less than 255. If you don’t want to limit the category and type, choose Any Output.

•

Type: This area determines whether the data in the output vector will be On Node or On Element. FEMAP will not use the vector correctly if you do not specify the proper type.

Hint:

If you select a specific output vector but the numeric values does not appear under ID, it is probably because the output set is not active. To activate the output set, use Model, Output, Set, then use Model, Output, Vector to pick the active vector.

Model, Output ,Define...



8.5.3 Model, Output ,Define... ... creates or modifies output data for the active output set and vector.

To selectively update existing output data: 1. Pick the node or element to modify, or enter the node/element ID. 2. Enter a new output Data Value for this entity. 3. Press More to create this data entry and additional entries, or press Last One to create this data entry and return to the FEMAP menu.

8.5.4 Model, Output, Fill... ... creates output data for the active output set and vector. You can specify an equation or a constant value that defines the output for selected nodes or elements. To use this command, first select the nodes or elements where you want to create output. Next, specify the equation or value that you want to use for the selected entities. The fields on the Calculate/Fill Output Data dialog box include: ID Enter a variable, or use the default ID Variable of i. Remember to use the variable in the equation.

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Note: The Fill command will overwrite any existing values for a variable. If you defined the variable previously and want to preserve its value, you must choose a different variable, even if you do not use the variable in your equation.



Equation Enter a constant value or equation. •

To define a constant value for selected nodes or elements, enter the value in the Equation field, and press OK.

•

You can also use a real equation to define the output value.



Post-Processing

Unlike other FEMAP equations, this equation has a special feature: the ID Variable is automatically defined as equal to the ID of the entity (node or element) where the output will be created. You can use this variable in your equation to vary the output value for each entity. For example, if you have selected a number of nodes and the ID Variable is i, you could use the equation: XND(!i)

to use the X coordinate of each node as the output value. Similarly, you could use: SQRT(SQR(VEC(1;2;!i))+SQR(VEC(1;3;!i))+SQR(VEC(1;4;!i)))

to define output values in the current vector which are the vector magnitude of the data in Vectors 2, 3 and 4 from Output Set 1. For information on how to enter equations and functions, see Section C, "Function Reference" in the FEMAP User Guide.

8.5.5 Model, Output, Process Use the Process Output Data dialog box to manipulate output sets and individual vectors. This dialog box lets you perform several types of operations on output sets and vectors:

•

copy (duplicate) output sets/vectors. For details, see Section 8.5.5.1, "Copying Output Sets and Vectors".

Copying Output Sets and Vectors



•

combine output sets/vectors. For details, see Section 8.5.5.2, "Combining Output Sets and Vectors".

•

combine output sets/vectors using linear combination. For details, see Section 8.5.5.3, "Creating Linear Combinations".

•

combine output sets and vectors using the RSS (root sum square) technique. For details, see Section 8.5.5.4, "Calculating RSS for Output Sets and Vectors".

•

convert nodal output to elemental output, and vice versa. For details, see Section 8.5.5.5, "Converting Nodal and Elemental Data".

•

generate output sets/vectors using the envelope technique. For details, see Section 8.5.5.6, "Generating Output Data Using an Envelope".

•

generate output set/vector error estimates. For details, see Section 8.5.5.7, "Generating Error Estimates for Output Data".

Performing Operations on Output Sets and Vectors The general process for performing an operation on output sets or vectors is as follows: 1. Under Options, pick the operation, such as Copy. For some operations, you may be able to select additional options. 2. Under From, choose the input to the operation: Output Set or Output Vector. Use the pull-down menus to identify the specific output sets/vectors. For some operations, you may be able to select additional options such as Scale Factor or Overwrite. (To perform an operation on multiple output sets, use the Multi-Set button.) 3. Under To, pick the output set that will be the result of the operation. Some operations will automatically create a new output set for you. Some operations let you specify a group instead of an output set. 4. Pick Add Operation. The operation is now listed under Operations to Process. 5. You can continue to add operations of the same type to the list. When you are finished, pick OK to process the operations and generate the new/modified output sets or vectors.



Using this Option To use this option, following the general steps in "Performing Operations on Output Sets and Vectors".

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8.5.5.1 Copying Output Sets and Vectors Use the Copy operation on the Process Output Data dialog box to duplicate output vectors or entire output sets. An output set is always copied to a new output set. You can copy output vectors to an existing output set or to a new output set.



Post-Processing

8.5.5.2 Combining Output Sets and Vectors Use the Combine option on the Process Output Data dialog box to copy an output vector to another output set, or to combine two entire output sets. For example, you could use this option to combine the Total Translation output vectors from two different element types into the same output set. •

When output sets/vectors are combined, duplicate output vectors and data values are skipped. The resulting output set (the To set) contains one copy of the duplicate data. If Overwrite is on, the output vectors in the From set will overwrite any existing output vectors or data values. If Overwrite is off, data in the From set will be skipped if it already exists in the To set.

•

If output vectors in the From output set are different from those in the To output set, those vectors will be added to the list of output vectors for the To output set.

Using this Option To use this option, follow the general steps in "Performing Operations on Output Sets and Vectors". 8.5.5.3 Creating Linear Combinations Use the Linear option on the Process Output Data dialog box to combine output vectors based on the following formula: { V out } = A 1 { V 1 } + A 2 { V 2 } + ... + An { V n }

where Vout is the vector that is created Vi are the vectors to combine, and Ai are the scale factors You can create linear combinations of single output vectors or of entire output sets. Some vectors cannot be linearly combined by this option. When FEMAP reads output from your analysis, certain vectors are identified as being not “linearly combinable”. Examples of these are Principal Stresses, Von Mises Stress, and Total Displacement. Instead of combining these vectors, FEMAP recalculates them based on their linearly combined components (if all necessary components exist). This recalculation is only possible when you combine entire output sets.

Using this Option To use this option, follow the general steps in "Performing Operations on Output Sets and Vectors".

Calculating RSS for Output Sets and Vectors



8.5.5.4 Calculating RSS for Output Sets and Vectors Use the RSS (root sum square) option on the Process Output Data dialog box to calculate output vectors based on the following formula: { V out } =

2

2

A 1 { V 1 } + A 2 { V 2 } + ... + A n { V n }

2

where Vout is the vector that was created Vi are the vectors to combine, and Ai are the scale factors You can calculate the root sum square for output vectors or for entire output sets. Some vectors cannot be combined by this option. When FEMAP reads output from your analysis, certain vectors are identified as being not “linearly combinable”. Examples of these are Principal Stresses, Von Mises Stress, and Total Displacement. Instead of combining these vectors, FEMAP recalculates them based on their linearly combined components (if all necessary components exist). This recalculation is only possible when you combine entire output sets.

Using this Option To use this option, follow the general steps in "Performing Operations on Output Sets and Vectors". 8.5.5.5 Converting Nodal and Elemental Data Use the Convert option on the Process Output Data dialog box to convert nodal output data to elemental data, and vice-versa. Data is simply converted from the selected output vector into a new vector of the opposite type. The title of the new vector will indicate that it is a converted vector, and will also show the ID of the original vector.

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Some FEMAP post-processing options (contours, displacements, animations) use nodal data, while others (criteria plots) use elemental data. No matter what post-processing option you choose, you can also choose any output vector - whether it contains nodal or elemental data. If the type of output you choose does not match the type required, FEMAP automatically converts the data every time it needs to display your model.

 When the display is updated, the converted data is discarded. Obviously, for large models, this can take some time. In these cases, you can manually convert the vector, and then select the new, converted vector for post-processing. In either case, the results will be displayed identically; however, the converted vector will plot much more rapidly.

Using this Option To use this option, follow the general steps in "Performing Operations on Output Sets and Vectors".



Post-Processing

•

For details on the Max/Avg options, see "How Convert Works".

•

For details on selecting a group for this option, see "When to Use a Group".

How Convert Works Whenever you are using FEMAP to interpret output values, it is important to understand how your data is being manipulated, especially when you look at contour plots. It is easy to draw incorrect conclusions if you do not properly understand what is being displayed. For more information on contour plots, see Section 8.2.2.2, "Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style". Converting Nodal Data to Elemental Data The conversion process in this case is straightforward. Output values from all of the nodes referenced by an element are simply averaged (or max value is used) to compute the elemental output value. If data does not exist at one or more nodes, that node is skipped. It is not considered as a zero value; it is simply not considered in the average. Converting Elemental Data to Nodal Data This conversion process is somewhat more complex. In general, FEMAP calculates the nodal output value by averaging the output values for all elements that reference that node. If you are converting an output vector that defines data at element centroids, and there is no similar data available at the element corners, the centroidal data will be used as the value at the node for that element. If you do have element corner data, however, the corner values at the node will be used in place of the centroidal value. In either case, you can choose to average the values from all elements or take the maximum value. When to Use a Group If you do not specify a group, the conversion process will use data from every node or element in your model. This is fine for many data types. For example, stresses in solid elements can often be converted this way. In other cases, however, this type of conversion can lead to problems. For instance, suppose that you have a model of a box-shaped structure that is made of plate elements. Also, suppose that you need to convert elemental stresses to nodal stresses so that you can do a contour display. If you let FEMAP convert output from the entire model, discrepancies will be introduced along the edges and at the corners of the box. At these locations, elements from different faces of the box join. If you convert the entire model, in-plane stresses from perpendicular faces will be averaged together. These stresses are, in fact, located in different planes, and should never be averaged. Instead, you should define a group that contains only the elements that make up a single side of the box. If you then select that group, FEMAP will only use the stresses on the elements in that face. No errors will be introduced at the edges or corners. As in this example, you should always use a group when the conversion process would combine output from different directions or planes. You may also want to use groups to

Generating Output Data Using an Envelope



isolate elements that reference particular properties or materials. Depending on the type of data you are converting, combining data across cross-section or material boundaries may or may not be accurate. It depends on whether the data you are converting must satisfy equilibrium conditions across the boundary.

8.5.5.6 Generating Output Data Using an Envelope Use the Envelope option on the Process Output Data dialog box to choose a method for combining data. For each term (each vector or set that you want to envelope), you will select one of the three available methods: Min, Max, or Max Abs. The resulting envelope is based on the following formula: { V env } = F({ V n }, F({ V n – 1 }, F(..., { V 1 })))

where Venv is the vector that is created Vi are the vectors to envelope, and F() is the max, min, or absmax function You can choose to envelope entire output sets or individual output vectors.

Using this Option To use this option, follow the general steps in "Performing Operations on Output Sets and Vectors". •

For details on the envelope options (Max, Min, or Max Abs), see "How Envelope Works".

•

For details on the Set Info option, see "Requesting Set Info".

•

For details on the Ply Summary option, see "Using Ply Summary".

Max enveloping: This method compares the envelope and added vector, and uses the maximum value of the node/element.

•

Min enveloping: This method compares the envelope and the added vector, and uses the minimum value of the node/element.



•

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How Envelope Works The first set or vector that you select is copied directly to the set or vector that will receive the enveloped data. If you specify additional vectors, the data from those vectors is combined with the existing enveloped data. There are three methods that you can use for the combination:

 •

Post-Processing

Max Abs: This method compares the envelope and added vector, and uses the maximum absolute value of the node/element. The enveloped data will still contain both positive and negative values. The absolute value of the data is not saved; it is just used for the comparison.

For any method, if data does not exist for a node or element, in either the envelope or the additional vector, the result will simply be the value of the data that did exist. You can specify a single enveloping method, such as Max, and then select a series of vectors or sets using the Multi-Set button. This will create a new output vector or set that contains the maximum (or minimum, or absolute maximum) output values at all nodes or elements in the original data. You can also create much more complex envelopes where you vary the enveloping method to find the maximum value of some output vectors, enveloped with the minimum values of other output vectors. The possible combinations are limitless.

Requesting Set Info The Set Info option creates an additional output set with the same vectors as the enveloped data. In this output set, the output values will be the ID of the output set where the enveloped data value originated. This provides an easy way to determine the worst case conditions for each output vector. Using Ply Summary If you are working with laminated plates with ply-by-ply results, or even with homogeneous plates with top, middle and bottom data, you can choose to compute ply summaries. If you turn on Ply Summary, you can choose any “layered” plate output vector and compute a summary envelope for that output type. The ply summary will include the same type of output for all layers/plies in your model. This is the same as picking each of the ply output vectors, but is done automatically. Typically, you will want to set the output set (the To set) to match the From set: the resulting envelope will then be placed in the same set as the original output. 8.5.5.7 Generating Error Estimates for Output Data Use the Error Estimate option on the Process Output Data dialog box to estimate the accuracy of the data in a selected output vector. This operation creates a new vector containing the estimate data. You can use any of the post-processing methods to display and evaluate the error estimate vector. All finite element models and finite element analyses are engineering approximations. Depending upon how many elements you create, the shape of those elements, loading, boundary conditions, and many other factors, the accuracy of your model/approximation can be very good or very bad. One of the main problems in using finite element results is that it is difficult to tell when the results truly represent reality. One historical method of verifying accuracy is to build a second model that is more refined (has more elements), and check to see if you get the same or similar answers. If you do, the origi-

Generating Error Estimates for Output Data



nal approximation was reasonable. Unfortunately, this method takes a lot of work, and a lot of computer resources to run the additional analyses. The error estimation operation attempts to quantify the validity of your approximations, without doing any additional analysis or modeling. Even if the error estimations do not give you a definitive answer concerning the accuracy of your model, they will certainly point out the portions of your model which need the most careful consideration. Typically, these will be areas where there are large gradients or localized changes in stress, displacement or other output quantities. These areas are usually critical in your design, and unless you properly refine the mesh, they can be poorly approximated. The error estimates are based on these variations in output values. Ideally, within an element, or between elements connected to a common node, the variations in output should be relatively small. To the degree that these quantities vary, your model may not properly represent the true output state in that region. Error estimates show you how much variation is present throughout your model.

Using this Option To use this option, follow the general steps in "Performing Operations on Output Sets and Vectors". Additional options for this operation include: •

Error estimate method options. For details, see "How Error Estimate Works" and "Error Estimate Examples".

•

Skip if Below, which lets you specify a lower limit error value. At any node or element where the error estimate is smaller than the value you specify, it will be set to zero. You can use this feature to highlight areas of your model which have the most significant errors.

•

Use Output From, which lets you select the full model or a group. For details on selecting a group for this option, see "When to Use a Group" under the Convert topic. While this topic does not specifically address error estimates, it uses output vectors and groups in a similar manner.

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How Error Estimate Works Error estimates of nodal output data are calculated at the element centroids. Similarly, error estimates of elemental, centroidal output data are calculated at the nodes. The error estimates need to look at the variations in output data. An error estimate of nodal output data will be based on the gradients that data causes in each element. Hence the estimate is actually calculated for the element. An error estimate of elemental, centroidal output data is based on the differences that occur at the elemental boundaries. Specifically, FEMAP bases the calculations on the output values from all elements connected to a specific node. That is why the error estimates are formulated at the nodes for elemental data.



Post-Processing

The calculation of error estimates for nodal output is fairly straightforward. The values at each node connected to an element are simply compared. Error estimates for elemental data are more complicated. They follow the same rules that FEMAP uses for the Convert option. Since this calculation is also done at nodes (element corners), FEMAP needs to use the output value at the appropriate element corner for each node. If you recover elemental corner output, FEMAP automatically uses these output values at each corner, even though you must select a centroidal output vector. If you do not recover corner output, FEMAP simply uses the centroidal value from the output vector that you selected. You can choose any of six error estimation methods. All of them follow the procedures described above. The only difference between them is the formula to calculate the estimate. Max Difference Method ValueMax – ValueMin

Difference from Average Method MAX ( Value Max – Value Avg , Value Min – Value Avg )

Generating Error Estimates for Output Data



% Max Difference Method Value Max – Value Min ------------------------------------------------------- × 100% ValueAvg

% Difference from Average Method MAX ( Value Max – Value Avg , Value Min – Value Avg ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- × 100% ValueAvg

Normalized % Max Difference Method Value Max – Value Min ------------------------------------------------------- × 100% Value VectorMax

Normalized % Difference from Average Method MAX ( Value Max – Value Avg , Value Min – Value Avg ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- × 100% Value VectorMax

In each of these calculations, the Min, Max and Avg values refer to the minimum, maximum, and average output values at the node or element where the error estimate is being calculated. The Vector Max values refer to the maximum value for all nodes or elements in the output vector. You will notice that all error estimates are either zero or positive, since they all use the absolute value of the various factors.

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The choice of an appropriate error estimation method largely depends on the conditions in your model. FEMAP will allow you to calculate as many error estimates as you want. You just have to use the Error Estimate option multiple times.





Post-Processing

The following table lists the uses for each method.. Method Max Difference

Uses •

Identifies largest gradients in portions of the model with largest output values. • Identifies steepest gradients in the most critical portions of the model. Difference from Average • Identifies areas with largest output values. Areas where only one or a few values are different are accentuated. • Identifies only steepest non-uniform gradients (those that vary in a single direction). % Max Difference Identifies same gradients as Max Difference, but does not distinguish between large and small output values. Use only if magnitude of the output is less important than the changes in output. % Difference from Average Identifies same gradients as Difference from Average, but does not distinguish between large and small output values. Use only if magnitude of the output is less important than the changes in output Normalized % Max Differ- Best at quantifying overall errors in areas with peak output valence ues. Normalized % Difference Best at quantifying overall errors in areas with peak output valfrom Average ues.

Error Estimate Examples A few brief examples with hypothetical data will help to illustrate the various error estimates: Suppose that you have output values surrounding some location (a node or element) that are 100, 100, 300, 300, and at another location you have 100, 100, 100, 500, and at a third location you have 1, 1, 3, 3. The following error estimates would be calculated:

Model, Output, Calculate...

Values

100,100, 300,300 100,100, 100,500 1, 1, 3, 3

Min

Max

Avg

Max Diff

Max Diff from Avg

% Max Diff

% Diff from Avg

Nrm % Max Diff



Nrm % Diff from Avg

100

300

200

200

100

100% 50%

40%

20%

100

500

200

400

300

200% 150% 80%

60%

1

3

2

2

1

100% 50%

0.2%

0.4%

You will notice that the two unnormalized percentage methods make no distinction between the first location with 100 and 300 output values and the last with 1 and 3. Also note how the Max Difference from Average method (and the corresponding normalized percentage method) highlights the middle position where all values are constant (100) except for the single 500 value. You will notice that the average values for the first and second output positions are identical (200), even though they represent very different conditions. If you just look at contour or overall data, you will only see these averages.

8.5.6 Model, Output, Calculate... ... creates output based on an equation or constant value that you supply. (This command is similar to Model, Output, Fill.) For this command, you will follow these steps: 1. Select the output sets where the calculations will be done. FEMAP will automatically find a vector that does not exist in any of the selected output sets, and use that vector. The active vector is not used. 2. Enter data on the Calculate/ Fill Output Data dialog box. The fields include:

ID Variable: This variable is automatically defined and incremented with the ID of all of the nodes or elements where the output will be created. For details on this field, see Section 8.5.4, "Model, Output, Fill...". Set Variable: This variable is automatically defined and incremented with the ID of all of the output sets where the output is created.



Nodal Data and Elemental Data: Select the type of output data to be calculated.

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Title: Enter the name for the new vectors



Post-Processing

Equation: Enter a constant value or an equation. For details on this field, see Section 8.5.4, "Model, Output, Fill...". 3. After you define the output calculations, select the nodes or elements where the output is to be calculated.

8.5.7 Model, Output, From Load... ... creates new output vectors based on loads in the active load set. You can use this command to convert your load data to output data so that you can produce contour or other post-processing displays. When you pick this command, FEMAP displays a dialog box that lets you to choose the type of load to convert. After you make a selection and press OK, you will see the standard entity selection dialog box. You can limit the output that will be created to some portion of your model, or select your entire model. In most cases, selecting the entire model is most appropriate. In general, output is only created on the selected nodes/elements where loads of the appropriate type have been defined in the active load set. The only exceptions to this are nodal and elemental temperatures. In these cases, if you have defined a default temperature with the Model, Load, Body command, output data will be created for all selected nodes or elements. For those nodes or elements where temperatures have been defined in the active load set, those temperatures will be used directly. For any node or element that does not have a temperature assigned, the default temperature for the load set will be used. If no default temperature has been defined, no output data will be created for any node or element that does not have a temperature assigned. When you convert temperature data, one new output vector will be created in the active output set. For pressures, up to six vectors will be created, one for each element face where pressures are located. For plate elements, which only have pressures on one face, there will only be one vector. When you convert the other load types, eight new vectors will be created. Six of these will contain the six load components: three translation (X, Y and Z) and three rotation (XR, YR and ZR). The final two vectors will contain the magnitudes of the translation and rotation components.

Model, Output, Transform...



8.5.8 Model, Output, Transform... ... allows you to transform output that references global X, Y, Z components (like Total Translation, Reaction Forces, etc.) into any coordinate system that you choose. You may also convert element stresses, strains, and forces into the material direction from the standard output direction. When you choose this command, you will see the Transform Output Data dialog box. There are two transform options available: • Vector Output (displacements, forces, etc.) • Plate Forces, Stresses and Strains

Vector Output Once you choose the Vector Output option: 1. Use the Into CSys field to choose the coordinate system that you want to transform into. 2. Select the output set and output vector that you want to transform. Typically you will want to pick the “Total” vector, (like Total Translation), not a component vector (like X Translation). If you want to transform just the vector that you select, make certain that All Sets is not checked. If you want to transform that vector in every output set, turn on All Sets.

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What You Get - Vector Output This command creates 12 new output vectors from the single vector that you select. These vectors are the three transformed components of the original global data, and nine additional vectors that are the global X, Y, Z components of the transformed components. FEMAP needs these additional nine vectors so that you can use the transformed component vectors for deformed plots, arrow plots, or other post-processing options that really work with global components.





Post-Processing

Original Vector

Total Translation X Translation (CSys 0) Y Translation (CSys 0) Z Translation (CSys 0)

You Get:

Transform into CSys 1

Radial Translation (CSys 1) X Component of Radial Translation Y Component of Radial Translation Z Component of Radial Translation Theta Translation (CSys 1) X Component of Theta Translation Y Component of Theta Translation Z Component of Theta Translation Z Translation (CSys 1) X Component of Z Translation Y Component of Z Translation Z Component of Z Translation

Plate Forces, Stresses, and Strains This option allows you to transform standard component plate forces, stresses, and strains from the output coordinate system to the material angle coordinate system. If you want to see component stresses output in a specific coordinate system, change the material angle for the elements by using the Modify, Update Elements, Material Angle command. You can use this command to align the material angle of each element to a coordinate system. FEMAP automatically uses the material angle for each output and the standard output vectors in the selected output set (unless you select All Sets) to transform the components into the material angle coordinate system for each element. The only other input required is the definition of the original component data, which must be selected in the Transform dialog box. This dialog box will appear one time for each type of data to transform (Stress, Strain, and Force), for each type of plane element in the model (Tria3, Quad4, Tria6, and Quad8). Therefore, as many as 12 questions could be asked, but a more typical number would be four to six. Consult your analysis program’s documentation concerning the original coordinate system definition. The new component forces, stresses, and strains will be placed in the user defined output vector numbers (300000+).

Model, Output, Extrapolate...



8.5.9 Model, Output, Extrapolate... ... allows you to linearly extrapolate output from the center of planar or solid elements to the element corners. By extrapolating output to the element corners, you can often get a better understanding of the output distributions near the surface of your model. Note: This technique cannot match or improve upon the corner stresses that are generated by your analysis program. If possible, you should recover corner stresses directly from the analysis program, since they are typically based on the underlying element formulations. In some cases, however, analysis programs do not produce corner values, and this command can be used to get a reasonable approximation. It simply uses a linear interpolation scheme based on the centroidal output provided by your analysis program. It is not based on any element representations. When you choose Model, Output, Extrapolate, you will see the Calculate Output at Element Corners dialog box. To extrapolate a single vector to the element corners, specify the Output Set and Output Vector that you want. You can also use multiple vectors by selecting All Sets or All Vectors. If you choose both, all output will be extrapolated. If you choose just All Sets, the selected vector will be extrapolated in all output sets. Choosing All Vectors will extrapolate all output in the selected set.

Choosing Calculation Options Calculation Options provide control over how FEMAP will extrapolate your output.



If you choose to segment your model, you will see an additional dialog box where you can specify segmentation options. This technique is identical to that used in the Group,

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Segmenting Your Model When doing the extrapolation, FEMAP can either consider all elements in your model as one continuous group, or it can segment your model based on discontinuities in geometry, properties or materials. While the Extrapolate across all Elements method is faster, it ignores the fact that output values can be discontinuous at material or geometric boundaries. It is usually best, therefore, to allow FEMAP to segment your model. If you already know that there are no discontinuities in your model, however, you can choose the other method to save some time.



Post-Processing

Operations, Generate command. For details, see "Group, Operations, Generate..." under Section 6.2.3.2, "Group, Operations Menu". Projection Method 21

22

23

By choosing a projection method, you can decide how FEMAP should extrapolate your output. The methods are best described by examples.

25

16

15

14

13

24

20 19 18 17 16 12 11 15

10 9

FEMAP will always (no matter which projection method you choose) compute the corner values at the interior nodes (7,8,9,12,13,14,17,18, and 19) as a geometric average of the centroidal values for the surrounding elements.

14 13 8

12 11

10

7 6 5

9 8

4 5

7

3

6

4 2 3

1

2

1

Geometric average means that the distance from the centroid to the node is used as a weighting factor in the average. Closer centroids get a higher weighting factor than more distant ones. At these interior nodes, the corresponding corner values in all adjoining elements will be equal. After computing values at the interior nodes, we are left with boundary nodes(1-5, 6, 10, 11, 15, 16, 20, and 21-25). To determine values at these corners, we must extrapolate the existing output distribution. You will examine what happens at element 2: Project onto Edge

Use at Centroid

6 5

5

8

8 7

7

2

2 3

1

2

3

3

3

1

2

Consider the corner at node 3. If you choose the Project onto Edge method, the centroidal value is first projected normal to the element edge (8-3), and then along the edge to node 3. In this case, the first projection did not fall at the edge center, and the value at the corner will be weighted based on relative distances between the projected location and nodes 3 and 8. If you choose the Use at Centroid method, the centroidal value is simply considered to be the value at the midpoint of every edge. Regardless of the element shape/skew, the midpoint is always set to the centroidal value. In this example, the value at corner node 3 would just be the centroidal value plus the difference between the value at corner node 8 and the centroidal value. If you look at a corner node, like node 1, multiple extrapolations along the edges are computed.

Model, Output, Convert Complex...



For perfectly rectangular elements, both methods give the same result. In general, however, the Use at Centroid method seems to give the most reasonable overall results. If you have a highly skewed mesh, especially in an area of a relatively steep gradient, the Projection method can often result in extremely large variations due to the projection. This occurs if the projected location falls very near to the node that you are projecting from. In that case, the length ratios become very large and the accuracy of the projection becomes suspect. You should therefore only choose this alternate method if you know that your mesh is not highly skewed. If you also look at what happens in element 3, you would see a similar extrapolation toward node 3. However, in general, the corner values at node 3 will be different in the two elements, just as they normally would from your analysis program. If you later do a contour plot of this output, how this situation is handled depends upon the view options that you choose. You can either choose to average the values, or to display the maximum. This example showed a simple case where the entire model consisted of one plane of continuous elements. The nodes on the boundary were simply the free edges of the model. In a real model, the same technique is used, but you would normally choose the option to let FEMAP segment the model. FEMAP then considers each segment independently. The free boundaries are the free edges of the segment, not of the entire model. If you are working with solid elements, the process is identical, just a little harder to visualize. Interior corner values are computed from geometric averages of the surrounding centroidal values. Values at the corners on free boundaries/faces are computed by projections along the element edges. It is again usually best to choose the Use at Centroid method, since relatively skewed solid elements are fairly common.

8.5.10 Model, Output, Convert Complex... ... enables you to create real/imaginary pairs from magnitude/phase data read from frequency response results, and vice versa.

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Newly converted real/imaginary pairs are located in their respective 2000000/3000000 output positions in the output set from which they were created. Newly converted magnitude/phase pairs go into the 0/1000000 positions. For this command to complete successfully, both of the vectors that form the complex components must exist, and neither of the converted vectors can exist (to prevent converting and reconverting of the same output).

3

You can choose to convert a single output vector, an Entire Set of output vectors, or convert All Sets. All Sets can be performed with Entire Set to convert all data in all sets, or without Entire Set, which converts only the chosen output vector in all sets.



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8.5.11 Model, Output, Expand Complex... ... creates new output at specified phase intervals based upon selected magnitude/ phase data. This has the effect of converting complex output into one or more sets of real output at specific phase values. When you choose this command, you will create new output sets for each phase value where you expand the complex output. If you choose Single Phase, you will only get one set, at that value. With Phase Range, however, you can expand the complex output through a range of phases. Typically you will want to choose the entire phase range: 0 to 360. This will generate output sets that you can use with MultiSet animation to visualize phase relationships in your results. You can choose the number of sets/frames by setting the Increment. When you choose the Phase Range option, no output is generated for the Last Phase value. This prevents duplication of the phase data at 0 and 360 degrees.

Listing Output (List, Output Menu)



8.6 Listing Output (List, Output Menu) The commands on this submenu allow you to create reports of output data contained in your model. The different commands allow you to control the format of those reports. The List, Output, Query command lets you interactively retrieve output for selected nodes and elements, while List, Output, Compare obtains differences between outputs. In addition to the other reporting commands, the List, Output, Format command creates a report which lists the output report formats which have been defined in your model.

8.6.1 List, Output, Query... ... interactively retrieves output for selected nodes or elements. When you need to quickly retrieve the output for one or more nodes or elements, this is the command to use.

The Output Query dialog box lets you select the output set that contains the output data of interest. If you want to recover data from all available output sets, instead of just one, choose the All Sets option. The output that is reported is limited to the type of output you select. For example, if you only want stress output, select the stress category. Select Any Output if you want to report all available output from the set or sets that you select. In addition to choosing the output set and data category you want, you must choose to recover data for either a node, or an element and then specify its ID. As always, you can select the ID graphically, but you must first identify whether you want a node or an element. Hint:



To produce the report, press either More or OK. If you press More, you will be able to recover additional data without choosing the command again. If you choose OK, you will be returned to the FEMAP menu. Unlike most commands, you will notice that More is the default command button for this dialog box. This enables you to easily query multiple output entries just by pressing Enter. Also, after you choose More, the input cursor will jump back to the ID field, so you can choose a new node or element.

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When selecting entities graphically, make certain the focus is in the ID box (i.e. the ID box must be active) by clicking in the ID box. If you do not, and the focus of the window is not in the ID input area, you will not be able to select items graphically.



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Since More is the default command button, you can simply double-click a node or element to select it and automatically press More. Using this technique, you can query the output for multiple entities simply by repeatedly double-clicking on each one with the left mouse button. The amount of output that is reported, depends on the types of output that are present in your model. The format of the report looks like the following: Element 1 Output Set 1 - PAL2 Case 2 Output Vector 5097 - MAJOR SHELL STRESS Output Vector 5098 - MINOR SHELL STRESS Output Vector 5099 - SHEAR SHELL STRESS Output Vector 5099 - VON MISES STRESS Output Vector 5099 - VONM % YLD STRESS

= = = = =

23680. -23680. 15920. 28640. 23.

The sample shown above lists only a few items. If you have elemental corner stresses, or stresses on top or bottom faces of an element, they will all be listed. If you choose All Sets, all data types for each set are listed before the next set begins. This report, just like all others, is written to all destinations which you specify in the List Destination command. This command can be used very effectively when you are doing detailed analysis. With it, you can often replace voluminous printouts or reports of model output, that have usually been required to “look-up” data for further calculations. Instead, have FEMAP display the appropriate portion of your model. Then choose the List Output Query command. Whenever you need output for a given node or element, pick the type of output you want, choose the Node or Element option, and double click on the entity you want to query. FEMAP will immediately report the output you need in the Messages and Lists window. You can even make the display a contour or criteria plot, to visually lead you to critical areas where you can then query. Hint:

If you want to query the model quickly for a specific stress and/or displacement at given nodes or elements, it is often easier to use the Dynamic Query option in FEMAP. Simply display the deformed and contour plot of the desired results, change the dynamic query from Off (lower right hand corner of status bar/tray) to either Node or Element, and then hold the cursor at a given node or element location. FEMAP will then provide a box listing the displayed output information for that node or element. You can then quickly move to other entities to obtain their results. When the box information is visible, you can even left click in the area to send the information to the list destination, or right click to annotate the model with this text at that location. For more information, see Section 5.9.3, "Reporting Results".

List, Output, Compare...



8.6.2 List, Output, Compare... ... can be used to compare output from individual vectors or entire output sets. When you invoke this command, the Compare Output Data dialog box is displayed. With this dialog box, you can choose whether to compare the entire set of output data, or just one pair of vectors. If you choose List Details, the output at any individual nodes or elements which differs will be reported. Whether the output differs depends on the Max Difference you choose. Any values which differ by a smaller (or equal) percentage than you specify will be considered as identical and will not be listed. The final entries in this dialog box let you choose the output sets and vectors that are to be compared. If you are comparing entire sets, only the output sets can be specified; otherwise both sets and vectors are required. A report similar to the following is written to the active List Destination. Set 1 ID ID ID ID ID ID ID

Vector 100000 1 Vec1 0.996195 2 Vec1 0.984808 3 Vec1 0.965926 4 Vec1 0.939693 5 Vec1 0.906308 6 Vec1 0.866025 1 MxDiff 0.909039 ID

vs. Set 1 Vector 100001 Vec2 8.71557E-2 Diff 0.909039 Vec2 0.173648 Diff 0.81116 Vec2 0.258819 Diff 0.707107 Vec2 0.34202 Diff 0.597672 Vec2 0.422618 Diff 0.48369 Vec2 0. Diff 0.866025 6 MxPct 100. Dot 0.82837

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This sample report includes the detailed differences between the two vectors. For each node where data differs, the data values from both vectors are listed along with the difference. The final line also shows the ID and value of the maximum difference (MxDiff), and the ID and value of the maximum percentage difference (MxPct). Finally, the dot product (Dot) of the two vectors is given.



Hint:

If you compare data that is identical, you will not see the header information for each vector as it is compared. If you want to see this information, redo the command, but set the maximum difference to zero (make sure List Details is off). This will list all header information and the last line summary for each vector.



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Other Uses for this Command In addition to simply comparing data to find similarities, you can use this command to do a quick check on the orthogonality of output vectors. This can be important when looking at eigenvectors from a modal analysis. All you have to do is select the two vectors you want to check, turn off the detailed report, and look at the dot product. If the vectors are orthogonal the dot product will be zero.

8.6.3 List, Output, Unformatted... ... produces an “unformatted” report of selected output data. Actually, the report is not “unformatted”; rather, it is just presented in a very simple one or three-column format without elaborate headers or labels. After selecting the output sets to list, using the entity selection dialog box, you will see a dialog box which allows you to customize this report. The full report consists of five sections: output set data, output vector data, output vector statistics, detailed output data, and summary data, at each node or element. Each of these sections can independently be enabled or disabled. You can also choose to list data on all vectors in each of the selected sets, or simply select a single vector to be listed from each set. If you are listing the detailed output data, you can choose either a three-column or one-column format. The three column format produces a shorter listing; the one column format is often better for transferring data to other applications.

List, Output, Standard...



Unformatted output reports resemble this sample: Output Set 1 - NASTRAN Case 1 From = MSC/NASTRAN Analysis Type = Frequency Value = 0. Output Vector 1 - Total Translation (Model Vector 211) Maximum Node ID = 505 Value = 1.88076E-4 Minimum Node ID = 1 Value = 0. Type = Displacement Calc = N Component Dir = Y Centroid = Y Component 0 2 - T1 Translation Component 1 3 - T2 Translation Component 2 4 - T3 Translation 1 0. 2 2.54372E-5 3 4.84297E-5 4 7.3678E-5 6 0. 7 1.3588E-5 8 3.39865E-5 9 5.78703E-5 11 0. 514 1.53592E-4 515 1.78255E-4 516 7.80235E-5 517 1.03069E-4 518 1.28337E-4 519 1.53788E-4 520 1.78729E-4 521 8.52864E-5 522 1.08748E-4 523 1.32872E-4 524 1.57369E-4 525 1.83125E-4 Sum = 3.86823E-3 Number of Entries = 45 Average = 8.59606E-5 Sum of Squares = 4.98776E-7 Standard Deviation = 6.14709E-5 Displacement Summary Maximum Value 1.88076E-4 Output Vector 1 - Total Translation Minimum Value 0. Output Vector 1 - Total Translation

Obviously, many variations on this format are also available by choosing other options. The sample shows all four sections enabled in the three column format. The output vector statistics are shown after the data columns. The Calc flag indicates whether this vector can be linearly combined. The Component Dir flag indicates whether there are additional vectors of data in your model which represent the XYZ components of this vector. This flag will also be true for vectors which contain elemental centroidal data if elemental corner data is present in your model. Whenever the Component Dir flag is true, several additional lines will be added to the report (as shown) to identify the other “component” vectors. The summary data, shown at the bottom of the listing, provides a quick way to find overall peak displacements, forces, or stresses. Depending on the vectors you list, these values may compare dissimilar values, but they will always list the peaks. For example, the stress summary considers all types of stress. No distinction is made between normal, principal or calculated values (such as Von Mises).

8.6.4 List, Output, Standard... ... produces reports of your output data in formats which resemble those used by the various analysis programs, or which you have added to the format library. 3

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To produce a standard output report, you first select the output sets that you want to report. The report format and other customization options are then specified on the List Formatted Output dialog box.

The Format ID list box will contain a list of all of the formats which are in the format library. You can choose a different format library using the File, Preferences, Libraries command. The format you choose from this list will be used to create your report.

8.6.4.1 Customizing Your Output Report The additional options on the List Formatted Output dialog box allow you to customize the content of your report. You can select what data to report and the order that it will be reported. Title: The text that you type in this field will be added to the top of each page of your report. This provides a quick way of adding a description to the report, without changing the report format. For example, you could add a description of the entities that you selected to produce the report. Sorting: The Sort Field option in this section of the dialog box lets you select an output vector for sorting. If you select a vector, it will be sorted in the order you choose. If you choose ascending order it will be sorted with the minimum values first. Otherwise, it will be

Customizing Your Output Report



sorted with the maximum values first. If you choose Absolute Value, the sorting will be based on the absolute value of the values in the Sort Field. When you choose a Sort Field, the report is listed based on the sorted order of the data in the sort vector. The sort vector does not actually have to be listed in the report. If you do not choose a sort vector, data is simply listed in order of the node/element IDs. Even with no sort vector, the Ascending option still controls the order in which the report will be listed. Top N: These options control whether the data from All nodes/elements will be reported. You can also limit the report to output from only the top or bottom entities. If you choose one of the limiting options, you must also specify the Number of Nodes/Elements you want listed. Top really lists the final entries in the report. These entries will be the maximum entries if the report is sorted in ascending order. It will be the minimum entries however, if the report is not in ascending order. Similarly, Bottom selects the first entries in the report. Limits: Like Top N, these options limit the data that will be reported. Unlike Top N, however, these options are based on the values of the output in the sort field. If you do not choose a sort vector, these limits will have no effect. To set limits, you must first choose a selection method. For example, Above Maximum will only report output which is above the value that you select. Then specify the minimum and/or maximum limit values, whichever is required. You can also choose Absolute Value to base the limit checking comparison on the absolute value of the output data. The default option, None, disables limit checking.

Report Header: If you turn on this option, an additional header is added to the top of the report which simply lists all of the options that you selected to make the report.



Choosing Skip Empty will skip detailed data lines for nodes/elements which do not have any output data of the types requested. If data exists for any of the output vectors selected in the report, this option has no effect. In any report, fields which are undefined (no data exists) are listed as asterisks (*******).

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Options: There are two sections to every report - Details and Summaries. The Details section contains the actual report of data for each selected node/element. It is listed in the format you choose. The Summaries section contains summary information (maximum/ minimum values) for each vector in your report. These summaries are listed at the end of each output set, and at the end of the report. You cannot control the format of the summaries. The default option, Full Report, enables both sections of the report. The other options enable only one section of the report.



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The following is a sample header: FEMAP Version 4.00 Wed Jan 13 09:53:08 1993 Model : s:\c\animate.mod Report : Node Format : NASTRAN Displacement Sort By : 2..X Translation in Ascending Order (Absolute Value) Includes: Top 10 Limit To: Above 1.E-4 (Absolute Value)

Entity List: If you turn on this option, a list of the IDs of all selected nodes or elements is added to the top of the report. This list can be quite long if you have a large model, but it can be invaluable if you are limiting the actual output with the Top N or Limits options. It can also be helpful when you use more complicated selection techniques like box picking or groups. The following is a sample entity list: Selected Entities: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26, 27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49, 50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70

8.6.4.2 Finishing the Report After you select all report options and press OK, you must select the nodes or elements that you want to be included in the report. You will use the standard entity selection dialog box for this selection.

8.6.5 List, Output, Use Format... ... allows you to produce custom reports in formats that you define. To produce an output report, you first select the output sets that you want to report. The report format and other customization options are then specified on the List Formatted Output dialog box which was described in List Output Standard. In this case however, the Format ID list box will contain a list of all of the formats which have been defined in your current model (not the format library). You can choose one of these (if there are any), or use the New Format command button to define a new format. The format you choose from this list will be used to create your report.

Defining New Formats



8.6.5.1 Defining New Formats When you choose New Format, you will see the Define Output Format dialog box which gives you the option to define Titles for the format, as well as the specific data to be reported.

Titles There are three types of titles available: format title, page titles, and column title. The format title is not part of the report, but it will be used later to select this format. You should always specify a descriptive title. You can also specify two page title formats. These formats are listed at the top of every page of your report. If you choose to have these titles horizontally centered, the final position depends on the width of the longest format line. You can also insert a blank line after each title.

< VectorID, Digits, EFormat, LeftJustify >



Specifying Data Fields for Your Report The various format lines which you specify can contain either text/labels or can identify data vectors to be listed. Most data fields will be found in the data format lines, but some special cases can be used in any format line. A data field is specified in the following manner:

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The column title format is actually a third title line which will be written at the top of the detailed data. It is usually used to place a title over each column of data. The four data format lines are used to specify the data to be written for each node/element in the report. Any of these format lines which are blank will be skipped when the report is written.



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where: •

< > characters define the width (and location) of the data field.

•

VectorID contains the ID of the output vector to be selected.

•

Digits specifies the number of significant digits which are to be written.

•

The EFormat controls exponential output of values (Y or N).

•

LeftJustify controls whether the numeric values are left or right justified or aligned within the field width (also Y or N).

If the EFormat is Y, the field will always be written in exponential format. Otherwise, it will be in floating point format or exponential format based on the value and field width. In either case, output values that are zero will simply be written as 0., not 0.0000E+00I. If this option is skipped the default value is Y. The default value for LeftJustify is N if the option is skipped. If you skip this field a default will be assumed based on the width of the field. Several special VectorID values can be used, such as: VectorID 0 (or blank) -1 -2 1 thru 99999999

Interpretation Node/Element ID Output Set ID Output Set value (frequency...) Output Data value from selected VectorID

The special values, -1 and -2 are often used in the page titles. If VectorID is 0 or -1, the Digits and EFormat options are ignored since the selected values are integers.

Limitations The following limitations must be met for all formats: •

Formats can be up to 132 characters wide.

•

You can define up to 40 data fields per format. Each field can be up to 80 characters wide. The fields can be placed all on one line (assuming the maximum format width is not exceeded) or spread across all lines.

•

The number of significant digits must always be less than the field width and should be a relatively small number. Choosing more than 7 or 8 significant digits is relatively meaningless. The output data that FEMAP reads from your analysis program is probably not that accurate.

•

You must have at least one data field in a format. Blank formats, or formats with all text are not allowed.

Copying Formats



•

In general, you can place any text anywhere between data fields in a format. You should never use the characters < or > however. These characters indicate data fields, not text.

•

The number of < and > must always be equal on every format line. Data fields can not extend across lines.

•

All data vectors which are referenced in a format must have the same type. Nodal output data cannot be mixed with elemental output. Elemental centroidal and elemental corner data can be mixed.

8.6.5.2 Copying Formats If you need to create a format that is similar to another in your model, you do not have to enter the format data manually. Pressing the Copy button will display a list of all existing formats. When you choose an entry from the list, the format data will be copied and displayed in the current dialog box. You can then modify this data in any way you want, or even change your mind and copy a different format, before pressing OK. 8.6.5.3 Working with Format Libraries Format libraries allow you to create formats that you can use over and over again in many different models. The default or standard format library contains formats which mimic those from various analysis programs. When you press Save, the current format is added to the format library file. Pressing Load will display a list of the formats in the library and let you choose one to be loaded into the dialog box. Just like Copy, you can then modify the values before pressing OK. The name of the format library file is specified by the File, Preferences, Libraries command. You can work with multiple libraries simply by choosing a new filename.

8.6.5.4 Modifying Existing Formats Just as you can choose the New Format command button to define a new report format, you can also choose Modify Format to update an existing format. Before choosing this button, you must first select the format to be updated from the list box.

8.6.6 List, Output, Force Balance

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...allows you to list all of the forces acting on a node. This data is only available if you have requested, and recovered grid point force data from NASTRAN.



8.6.7 List, Output, XY Plot... ...simply lists the XY values for the active XY plot to the List Destination (typically the Messages and Lists window). No other input is required. The active window must contain an XY plot for this command to be available. You can set the List Destination option to a file to have this information exported directly to a file.



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8.6.8 List, Output, Format... ... will list selected report formats. These are the formats which are defined and used with the List Output Use Format command. Only formats which are defined in your model can be listed. Formats which are in the format library cannot be listed unless they are first loaded into a model format. There are no options with this command. You simply select the formats to be listed using the standard entity selection dialog box and the report is produced. The format resembles the following: Output Format 3 - Loaded Displacements Page Title 1 AutoCenter N DblSpace Y STATIC ANALYSIS Column Title Format NODE X TRANS Data Formats < 0> < 2,4 >






Output Format 4 - Loaded Solid Stresses Page Title 1 AutoCenter N DblSpace Y Page Title 2 AutoCenter N DblSpace N S T R E S S E S I N S O L I D E L E M E N T S (H E X A) -CENTER AND CORNER POINT STRESSESMEAN Column Title Format NORMAL SHEAR PRINCIPAL PRESSURE Data Formats < 0 > CENTER X < 9025,6 > XY < 9028,6 > A < 9022,6 > < 9021,6 > Y < 9026,6 > YZ < 9029,6 > B < 9023,6 > Z < 9027,6 > ZX < 9030,6 > C < 9024,6 >

You will notice that the listing simply duplicates the fields described above for defining the format. This includes blank lines for any titles/format lines which are blank.

8.7 Deleting Output (Delete, Output Menu) The Delete, Output menu provides the capability to remove output from your model. This can be very useful for removing results which are no longer applicable, and reduce the size of your FEMAP model. The Delete Output menu is partitioned into two segments. The commands on the top portion delete actual output in your model. The command on the second segment, Delete Output Format, does not delete any output. It simply removes a reporting format from your model. Note:

One of the major reasons to delete output is to reduce the size of your model. Output can require a significant amount of disk space, especially in comparison to the size of a FEMAP model which does not contain output. When you delete output, however, you will not see a change in the model size until you do a File, Rebuild (see Section 2.6.2, "File, Rebuild..."). FEMAP does not compact the database, and therefore recover the additional space used by the output until you compact the database using File, Rebuild.

Delete, Output Set...



8.7.1 Delete, Output Set... ... removes entire output sets from your model. You simply select the output sets using the standard entity selection dialog box. FEMAP will then ask if it is OK to delete the output set(s). This is the only input required for this command.

8.7.2 Delete, Output Vector... ...allows you to delete output vectors from an output set. When you select this command, you will see the Delete Output Vectors dialog box.

You can select an individual output vector, or an entire category to delete. Stress and strain have the added capability to delete only the components (leaving the invariants such as Von Mises stress) or all vectors in that category.

8.7.3 Delete, Output, Entry...

... removes a specific output format from the FEMAP model. Once again, you are simply prompted for the ID of the output format to remove, and then asked to confirm that you wish to delete the chosen formats. No other input is required for this command.



8.7.4 Delete, Output, Format...

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... enables you to remove output on specific nodes or elements in your model from the active output vector (in the active output set). When you choose this command, FEMAP will ask you to select the nodes or elements from which to remove the output. If the active output vector contains nodal output, you will be prompted for nodes. If it contains elemental output, it will prompt for elements. This command is a useful method of removing output from specific entities, without removing or changing the entire output vector.



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9.

Help and Non-Menu

9.1 Help Menu Commands The Help commands let you find out more about using FEMAP without referring to the printed documentation.

Context Sensitive Help FEMAP can access the help information in a context-sensitive manner. The context-sensitive help system provides several different levels of information. As you move your mouse over the FEMAP menu, toolbars, or toolbox, you will see a one-line description of the command that you are pointing at appear either in the status bar or the title bar of the FEMAP main window. If you need more information, just press Shift+F1. The cursor will change to the pointer and question mark shape. In this mode, if you select a command, FEMAP displays the help information for that command, rather than executing the command. If you change your mind, press Esc, to cancel the help mode. Context-sensitive help can also be accessed while you are in the middle of any command. At any time a dialog box is displayed, simply press the F1 key to jump to the help information for the current command.

9.1.1 Help Topics ... opens a browser window containing the FEMAP online help. You can also access the online help through the context-sensitive help (F1). The HTML-based FEMAP online help system is displayed in browser such as Netscape 4.x or later, or Internet Explorer 5.x or later. If you don’t have one of these browsers, you will need to install one.



Help and Non-Menu

The left pane of the browser window is the navigation pane. You can access the help in several different ways: •

Contents: click on a plus (+) sign to expand the view of the table of contents. Click on a minus (-) sign to close the item. Click on a topic to display it in the right pane.

•

Index: pick a topic, then pick Display.

•

Search: enter an item in the search field. You can search through one or more books. Pick Go to begin the search. If you enter more than one item in the search field, the search finds documents that contain every word entered. Click the drop-down arrow next to the search field to see a history of the words you’ve searched for. You can then select one of the words to perform the same search again.

•

Favorites lets you create a shortcut to a specific location in the online help. Once the topic is displayed in the right pane, pick Add to save the location.

To save favorites information on your hard drive, the Java implementation in the online help requires you to grant special permission. When the security dialog box is displayed, click Yes to permanently grant the permissions needed to store favorites on your help system. If you click No, the applet fails to load, and the left frame of the help system appears blank.

9.1.2 Help, What’s New ...opens an HTML window that describes the new features for this release of FEMAP.

9.1.3 Help, Examples ...opens the HTML-based FEMAP Examples. These examples teach new users the basics of working with FEMAP.

9.1.4 Help, Using Help... ... describes how to use the FEMAP Online Help.

9.1.5 Help, About... ... tells you more information about your FEMAP software, and your current FEMAP session. You can use this command to determine your FEMAP software revision level and serial number. About also provides general information about your computer, and Windows environment. This includes: system and math coprocessor type, the current Windows operating mode, and the amount of free/contiguous memory that is available. For systems that require a security device, you can also access that device through the Security button in the About dialog box. This capability allows us to upgrade your FEMAP license over the phone. It is especially important if you have a timed, or lim-

Non-Menu Commands



ited-node license for FEMAP, or if you are leasing FEMAP. If you need to update your license, give us a call for more information on using this capability. For network systems, the Security option provides a method to define the path to the network license file.

9.2 Non-Menu Commands This section describes commands that are not shown on the FEMAP menus. You can only execute these commands using the assigned keystrokes.

9.2.1 Previous Menu

Ctrl+F10

FEMAP always remembers the last menu command that you execute. Pressing Ctrl+F10 will redisplay the menu where that command is located. This is often faster than choosing the menus manually, and will help if you want to execute another command on the same menu. If you want FEMAP to automatically display the previous menu after every command, you can set the Autopopup feature in the File, Preferences command. The FEMAP menu must not be active when you use this command. If you have already chosen a menu, press and release the Alt key to deactivate it, before you press Ctrl+F10. Alternatively, you can just press Ctrl+F10 twice. The first press will deactivate the current menu, and the second will choose the previous menu.

9.2.2 Previous Command...

Alt+F10

... is similar to Previous Menu. It uses the information that FEMAP remembers to automatically execute the last command that you chose from the menu. You can use this command to bypass the FEMAP menu any time that you want to repeat the previous command.

9.2.3 View, Quick Options...

Ctrl+Q or Shift+F6

... displays a dialog box so you can quickly control the display of various entities. This is the same as choosing the View Options command and pressing the Quick Options button.

9.2.4 Top to Bottom...

Ctrl+F6

... moves the top graphics window under all other graphics windows. This command lets you keep the active window on the screen, but behind all other windows. By choosing the command repetitively, you can cycle through all of your active graphics windows. This command has no effect if you only have one active graphics window.

(/ 3

+

You can also check the options that are currently enabled for your license by selecting the Options button.



Help and Non-Menu

9.2.5 Bottom to Top...

Ctrl+Shift+F6 ... is the opposite of the Top to Bottom command. It moves the bottom window to the top - in front of all other graphics windows.

Hint:

This command is useful if an active dialog box gets hidden behind a graphics Window. If you can access commands on the View toolbar, but you cannot access commands on the FEMAP Main window, an active dialog box may have been hidden. By repetitively performing this command, you can bring the dialog box to the front, and then perform the command or cancel the operation.

10

Index A ABAQUS contact 4-12, 4-37, 4-38, 4-82 abort listing 7-32 redraw 6-2 acceleration 4-44, 6-26 accuracy 6-35, 8-54 ACIS 2-5, 2-7, 2-41, 3-59, 7-7 activate view 6-5 active constraint set 4-70 group 6-56 load set 4-40 output set 8-45 set 7-9 add to group 6-58 align 3-93, 4-101 align view to coordinate system 6-45 to vector 6-45 to workplane 6-45 all views 6-2, 6-4 analysis set 4-78 analysis set manager 4-76 analysis sets 4-72 analyze 2-8 angle 7-17 animation 6-11, 8-3, 8-5, 8-28, 8-29, 8-31, 8-41 anisotropic 4-13, 4-17 ANSYS contact 4-82 anti-symmetry 4-70 arc 3-11 angle-center-start 3-13 angle-start-end 3-13 center-points 3-15 center-start-end 3-11 chord-center-start 3-14 points 3-14 radius-start-end 3-12 start-end-direction 3-15 area of element 7-20 arrow 8-29 aspect ratio 6-35, 7-25 automatic meshing

hexahedral 5-7, 5-29 line elements 5-21, 5-70 planar elements 5-22 tetrahedral 5-37 autoscale 6-45 AVI 2-19 axes view 6-33 XY plot 8-39 axisymmetric 4-34

B backfaces 6-29 background color 6-8 bar 4-9, 4-26 beam 4-9, 4-27 offsets 4-9 orientation 4-9 section property generator 4-27 shapes 4-27 viewing shape 6-23 beam diagram 8-5, 8-37 beam releases 4-10 bending element 4-32 bias 5-48 blend 3-27 body load 4-41 border 6-8 bottom to top 9-4 boundary conditions analysis set manager 4-79 boundary mesh 5-22 boundary surface 3-35, 3-63 map to surface 3-96 multi-surface 3-37 break 3-81

C cache 2-38 calculate output 8-47, 8-50, 8-51, 8-53 cascade 6-8 cases analysis set manager 4-81

, CATIA 2-5 center of gravity 7-18 center view 6-45, 6-50, 6-52 centroidal smoothing 5-72 chamfer 3-65, 3-85 check free edge 7-50 free face 7-51 chord 3-14 circle center 3-17 center and points 3-21 concentric 3-20 diameter 3-17 points on arc 3-20 point-tangent 3-18 radius 3-16 tangent to curves 3-19 two points 3-18 cleanup 3-72 clipboard 2-18, 2-23, 2-26 clipping 6-64, 6-67 coordinate 6-65 screen 6-65 clipping planes 6-34 coincident curves 7-22 elements 7-25 load 7-30 nodes 7-22 points 7-21 color 2-26, 2-45, 3-95, 4-103, 7-9 background 6-8 contours 8-32 command toolbars position 2-34 compare output 8-69 complex output 8-65, 8-66 compressing your model 2-25 concentric 3-20 condense group 6-58 cone 3-47, 3-59 connection 5-54 constraint check 7-29 copy 4-75 curve 4-74 draw 6-14, 6-27, 8-4 equation 4-72 expand 4-75 geometry 4-73

group 6-72 list 7-44 nodal 4-70 on face 4-72 permanent 4-115 point 4-74 set 4-70 surface 4-74 contact element 4-12 pair 4-86 property 4-35, 4-86 segment/surface 4-82, 7-45 context sensitive help 9-1 continuous lines 3-9 contour 6-11, 8-3, 8-5, 8-6, 8-32, 8-36 data 8-9 data conversion 8-13 levels 8-16 options 8-12 palette 8-35 vector plot 8-17, 8-38 conversion factors 7-12 convert analysis models 2-8 element type 5-87, 5-94 geometry 2-5 loads to output 8-60 output 8-65 output to loads 8-51 units 7-10 coordinate system 4-115 align 3-93, 4-101 creating 4-1 draw 6-21 group 6-70 list 7-39 move 3-88, 3-90, 4-94, 4-96 rotate 3-91, 3-92, 4-99, 4-100 coordinates 3-10 copies 2-16 copy 3-76 constraint 4-75 element 5-76 geometry 3-73 group 6-58 loads 4-67 materials 4-14 node 5-74 picture 2-18

,

D damping 4-64 default mesh size 5-2

defaults 2-26 define output 8-47 definition coordinate system 4-115 deformed 6-11, 8-3, 8-5, 8-31 scale 8-28 deformed data 8-9 delete 3-97 FEA entities 4-117 group 6-72 nondeletable entities 3-97, 4-117 output 8-78 views 6-53 design optimization 4-87 destination 2-15, 7-49 diameter 3-17 difference from average 8-56 dimetric 6-37 displacement 4-44, 6-26 display options 6-15, 8-27 distance 7-17 distance from plane 7-24 distortion 7-25 distributed load 4-45 divisions 3-96 DOF 4-70 DOF sets analysis set manager 4-80 DOF spring 4-9, 4-31 draw 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 DXF 2-5, 2-7 dynamic analysis 4-63 dynamic cutting plane 8-43 dynamic isosurface 8-43 dynamic query 8-68 dynamic rotation 2-31, 6-39

E edge members 5-70 edges 6-29 edit 3-94, 4-103 element adjust plate 4-114 align 4-101 coincident 7-25 contact 4-12, 4-86 copy 5-76 creating 4-6 directions 6-22 distortion 7-25

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property 4-25 radial 3-74 report format 8-77 rotate 3-76 scale 3-75 copying messages 2-23 corners 8-63 creating a view 6-6 criteria 6-11, 8-3, 8-5, 8-6, 8-32, 8-36, 8-37, 8-38 cursor position 7-8 curve accuracy 6-35 align 3-93 boundary 3-35 break 3-81 chamfer 3-85 coincident 7-22 combine 3-29 creating 3-1 custom mesh size 5-9 draw 6-21, 6-22 extend 3-80 fillet 3-83 from surface 3-29 group 6-69 join 3-82 length 7-18 list 7-35 mesh 5-21 mesh size 5-2 move 3-90 rotate 3-91, 3-92 trim 3-78 curve from surface intersect 3-30 parametric 3-31 project 3-30 project along vector 3-31 curved beam 4-9, 4-31 curved tube 4-26 customizing FEMAP 2-13 cut 8-15 cutting plane 8-15 cylinder 3-47, 3-59 cylindrical coordinates 5-51

, draw 6-22 draw beam Y-axis 6-25 formulation 4-7 group 6-71 line 4-9 list 7-41 material angle 4-6, 4-109 midside node 4-113 modify material 4-108 modify property 4-108 modify type 4-108 move 4-96 normals 7-28 offsets 4-9, 4-110, 6-23 order 4-112 orientation 4-9, 4-110, 6-23

bar 4-26 other 4-11 output 8-51 plane 4-10 reflect 5-82 releases 4-10, 4-111, 6-23 reverse 4-111 rotate 4-99, 4-100 scale 4-103 shrink 6-28 split quad 4-113 type 4-6 element fill 6-29 element type 4-108 elemental contours 8-12 elemental loads 4-45 ellipse 3-23 embed face 3-71 enhanced render mode 2-31 envelope 8-53 error estimates 8-54 evaluate group 6-57 exit 2-46 expand output 8-66 explode 3-64 extend 3-80, 3-82 extrapolate output 6-59, 8-63 extrude 3-43, 3-57 curve 5-83 element 5-87

F facets 5-65

fail criteria 8-38 feature suppression 5-18 features 6-11, 6-59, 8-3 FEMAP neutral 2-7, 2-8 FEMAP Structural preferences 2-44 file export 2-7 import 2-5 new 2-1 notes 2-8 open 2-2 page setup 2-9 print 2-13 save 2-3 save as 2-4 timed save 2-4 fill 6-29 fill output 8-47 filled edges 6-29 fillet 3-65, 3-83 finding entities 6-3 fluid 4-13 fonts 6-21 footers 2-9, 2-14 force 4-44, 6-26 format 8-74, 8-78 free DOF 4-70 free edge 6-11, 6-28, 7-50, 8-3 free face 6-11, 6-28, 7-51, 8-3 freebody display 8-19 convert to load 4-69 frequency response 4-63, 8-65, 8-66 function 4-88 list 7-46

G gap 4-9, 4-31 generate groups 6-59 geometric loading 4-52 expand 4-60 FEA attachment 4-53, 4-57, 4-107 midside node adjustment 2-41, 4-57, 4-59 non-constant 4-55, 4-59 on curve 4-53 on point 4-53 on surface 4-57 geometry 7-7

, H hardware problems 2-26 headers 2-9, 2-14 heat transfer 6-26 heat transfer analysis 4-67 help 9-1 hidden line 6-11, 6-29, 7-50, 8-3 horizontal lines 3-3 hyperbola 3-25 hyperelastic 4-13, 4-17

I icon menu 7-8 I-DEAS 2-5 IDI 2-5 IGES 2-5 included angle 3-13 increment 7-9 inertia 7-18 interfaces 2-41, 2-42 ACIS 2-7 analysis 2-6, 2-7 analysis results 2-6 DXF 2-7 FEMAP neutral 2-7, 2-8 notes 2-8 Parasolid 2-7 STEP 2-7 VRML 2-7 internal angles 7-25 isometric 6-37 isosurface 8-5, 8-16, 8-38 dynamic 8-43 isotropic 4-13, 4-14

J join 3-82 JPEG 2-19 justification 7-16

L labels 6-21 laminate 4-33 laplacian smoothing 5-72 layer 3-95, 4-104, 6-10, 6-53, 6-68 commands 6-54 create 7-14

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constraint 4-73 copy 3-73 curve 3-1 delete 3-97 import 2-5 line 3-2 list 7-34 meshing attributes 5-13 modify break 3-81 modify chamfer 3-85 modify extend 3-80 modify fillet 3-83 modify join 3-82 modify trim 3-78 move 3-85 point 3-1 project 3-86 radial copy 3-74 rotate to 3-90 global axes 6-33 global origin 6-33 graphics boards 2-26 grid 6-34 group 6-53, 6-62 add 6-58 clipping 6-64 commands 6-56 condense 6-58 converting output 8-52 copy 6-58 delete 6-72 draw 6-14, 8-4 generate 6-59 layer 6-68 list 7-46 rules 6-63, 6-70 group operations boolean and 6-59 boolean exclusive or 6-59 boolean not 6-59 boolean or 6-59 element type 6-62 evaluate 6-57 generate 6-59 material 6-62 peel 6-62 property 6-62 select model 6-63

, list 7-33 layout 2-14 leaving FEMAP 2-46 legend 6-33, 8-28 contour 8-36 contour/criteria plot 8-36 XY plot 8-39 length 7-17 levels 8-32 library 2-26, 2-44 material 4-14 property 4-25 report 8-71, 8-77 view 2-28 light source 6-31 limits 8-37 line 3-2 angle to curve 3-5 at angle 3-5 continuous 3-9 coordinates 3-10 horizontal 3-3 midline 3-5 offset 3-10 parallel 3-4 perpendicular 3-3 point and tangent 3-7 points 3-10 project points 3-2 rectangle 3-8 tangent 3-8 vectored 3-11 vertical 3-3 line elements 4-9, 5-52 linear combinations 8-50, 8-51 linear elements 4-112 link 4-9 link element 4-30 list 7-32 constraint 7-44 coordinate system 7-39 curve 7-35 destination 7-49 element 7-41 formats 8-78 formatted output 8-74 function 7-46 geometry 7-34 group 7-46 layer 7-33

load 7-43 material 7-41 model info 7-48 node 7-40 output 7-46, 8-67 point 7-34 property 7-42 query 8-67 solid 7-38 standard output 8-71 surface 7-36 text 7-33 unformatted output 8-70 variable 7-33 view 7-47 volume 7-37 xy data 8-77 load 4-40, 4-116 analysis options 4-61 body 4-41 check 7-30 coincident 7-30 combine 4-68 copy 4-67 create output 8-60 distributed 4-45 draw 6-14, 6-26, 6-34, 8-4 dynamic 4-63 element 4-45 expand 4-60 from freebody 4-69 from output 4-68 geometry 4-52 group 6-71 heat transfer 4-47 heat transfer analysis 4-67 list 7-43 nodal 4-41, 4-44 non-constant 4-43, 4-55, 4-59 nonlinear 4-61 nonlinear force 4-51 on curve 4-53 on face 4-44, 4-46 on point 4-53 on surface 4-57 phase 4-116 pressure 4-46 temperature 4-47 logarithmic plots 8-39 LS-DYNA3D contact 4-12, 4-35, 4-82

, M

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magnify 6-45, 6-47, 6-48 Main window 2-2 MARC contact 4-12, 4-38, 4-82 margins 2-10 mass element 4-11, 4-34 mass matrix 4-34 mass properties 7-18 master requests and conditions 4-79 material 4-13, 4-108 angle 4-109 anisotropic 4-17 copy 4-14 creep 4-22 fluid 4-18 function dependent 4-20 group 6-71 hyperelastic 4-17 isotropic 4-14 list 7-41 nonlinear 4-20 orientation 4-6, 4-109 orthotropic 4-16 other types 2-44, 4-18 phase change 4-23 thermo-optical 4-23 max difference 8-56 measure 7-17, 7-18 angle 7-17 membrane 4-32 memory management 2-38 menu user 2-37 merge curves 7-22 nodes 7-22 points 7-21 mesh attributes 5-13 between 5-45 bias 5-48 boundary surface 3-35, 3-37 build remeshing regions 5-67 cleanup slivers 5-65 connection 5-54 control 5-2 convert facets 5-65 copy 5-74 corners 5-45

edge members 5-70 edge removal 5-66 edit remeshing regions 5-68 extrude 5-83 feature suppression 5-18 generation options 5-64 geometry 5-20 hard points 5-9, 5-12 hexahedral 5-7, 5-29 interactive editing 5-60 length spacing 5-4 matching 5-8 mesh remeshing regions 5-69 modify 5-61 multi-surface 3-37 nongeometry 5-45 project onto solid 4-93 radial copy 5-78 refine 5-61, 5-62 reflect 5-81 region 5-52 revolve 5-92 rotate 5-80 scale 5-79 smoothing 5-72 splitting 5-60 surface 5-22 surface meshing performance 3-37 surface method 5-15 sweep 5-95 tetrahedral 5-37 transition 5-57 unrefine 5-61, 5-63 update 5-61 update/remesh 5-63 mesh size 5-2, 5-83, 5-92 curve 5-2 draw 6-22 on solid 5-7 on surface 5-4 point 5-2 surface matching 5-8 messages 2-15, 2-22, 2-23 metafiles 2-9 midline 3-5 midplane 3-51 midside nodes 4-113 midsurface 3-51 assign mesh attributes 3-52 automatic 3-52

, cleanup 3-52 generate 3-52 intersect 3-52 single 3-51 single in solid 3-51 trim to solid 3-51 trim with curve 3-51 model accuracy 8-54 model colors 2-45 model data 6-14, 8-4 model information 7-48 modify 3-94, 4-103 associativity 4-107 element type 4-108 renumber 4-104 moment 4-44, 6-26 move 3-93, 4-101 move by 3-89, 4-95 move to 3-88, 4-94 MPC 4-72 multiple windows 6-2, 6-4, 6-6, 6-7, 6-8, 9-3, 9-4

N NE/NASTRAN contact 4-82 neutral file 2-8 new windows 6-6 next ID 7-9 nodal constraint 4-70 nodal contours 8-12 nodal load 4-41 nodal output 8-51 node align 4-101 coincident 7-22 creating 4-4 draw 6-22 group 6-70 list 7-40 move 4-95, 4-96 permanent constraints 4-115 project onto curve 4-92 project onto surface 4-92 rotate 4-99, 4-100 scale 4-102 nondeletable 3-97, 4-117 nonisotropic material 4-109 nonlinear analysis 4-61 nonlinear force 6-26 normal 7-28

O offset 3-50 offset curves 3-10, 3-28 offsets 4-9, 4-110 on-line help 9-1 open window 6-5 optical 4-23 optimization 4-87 options 6-15, 6-18, 8-27 analysis set manager 4-78 orientation 4-9, 4-110 orientation angle 4-109 origin 6-33 original render mode 2-31 orthotropic 4-13, 4-16 output 4-68, 8-44 active vector commands 8-44 combine 8-50, 8-51 compare 8-69 complex 8-65, 8-66 convert 8-65 define 8-47 error estimates 8-54 expand 8-66 extrapolate 6-59, 8-63 from loads 8-60 list 7-46, 8-67 process data 8-48 transform 8-61 worst-case 8-53 output coordinate system 4-115 output format 8-74 output requests analysis set manager 4-80 output sets 8-45 output vector 8-46

P page setup 2-9 palette for contour 8-35 pan 6-52 dynamic 6-39 parabola 3-24 parabolic elements 4-10, 4-112, 4-113 parallel lines 3-4 parameters 3-34, 3-54, 7-9 node 4-5 Parasolid 2-5, 2-7, 2-41, 3-59, 7-7 pass criteria 8-38

, Pro/E 2-5 process output data 8-48 program files 2-23, 2-24, 2-40 project 3-86, 4-92 onto plane 7-24 property 4-24, 4-108 axisymmetric 4-34 bar 4-26 beam 4-27 bending 4-32 contact 4-35, 4-86 copy 4-25 curved beam 4-31 curved tube 4-26 DOF spring 4-31 gap 4-31 group 6-71 laminate 4-33 line 4-26 link 4-30 list 7-42 mass 4-34 mass element 4-34 membrane 4-32 other elements 4-34 plane 4-32 plane strain 4-32 plate 4-32 plot only 4-39 rigid 4-39 rod 4-26 shear 4-32 slide line 4-35 solid 4-34 spring 4-31 stiffness matrix 4-34 tube 4-26 volume 4-34

Q quad 4-113 quad meshing 5-50 query 8-67 quick options 6-18, 9-3

R radius 3-12, 3-16, 3-65 random analysis 4-63

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peel 6-62 permanent constraints 4-115, 6-22 perpendicular 3-3 perspective 6-32 phase 4-116 phase change 4-23 pictures 2-18, 2-19, 2-21 pinned 4-70 planarity 7-23 plane 3-47, 6-67 plane element 4-32 plane strain 4-32 plate 4-10, 4-32 plot 6-1, 6-2 plot only element 4-9, 4-39 plot style 6-11, 8-3 point align 3-93 coincident 7-21 creating 3-1 draw 6-21 group 6-69 list 7-34 mesh 5-21 mesh size 5-2 move 3-89, 3-90 project onto curve 3-86 project onto surface 3-87 rotate 3-91, 3-92 pointer 7-16 post overview 8-1 preferences 2-26 interfaces 2-42 user menu 2-37 pressure 4-46, 6-26 previous command 9-3 previous menu 9-3 previous zoom 6-50 primitives cylinder,cone,tube 3-47, 3-59 ellipse 3-23 hyperbola 3-25 parabola 3-24 plane 3-47 rectangle 3-8 solid 3-63 sphere 3-49, 3-59 print 2-9, 2-13 listings 2-15, 7-49 printer setup 2-17

, rebuild 2-25 recording 2-24 recovering data 2-25 rectangle 3-8 rectangular coordinates 5-51 redraw 6-1, 6-2 refine mesh 5-61 reflect 3-76 element 5-82 geometry 3-76 node 5-81 regenerate 6-2 region 5-52 releases 4-10 remesh 5-61 render 2-31 render mode 6-11, 6-14 renumber 4-104, 6-72 replaying pictures 2-21 report format 8-78 report output 8-70 reports 2-23, 7-32 resolution 2-15 reverse 4-111 revolve 3-44, 3-58 curve 5-92 element 5-94 rigid element 4-11, 4-39 rod 4-9, 4-26 rotate 3-93, 4-101 dynamic 2-30, 6-39 element 5-81 geometry 3-76 node 5-80 view 2-26, 2-30, 6-37 rotate by 3-91, 4-99 rotate to 3-90, 4-98 ruled surfaces 3-43 ruler 7-6 rules 6-63

S SAT 2-5 saving messages 2-23 saving pictures 2-19 saving your model 2-3, 2-4 scale 3-93, 4-102 deformed plot 8-28 geometry 3-75

load 4-116 view 6-45 scratch files 2-2, 2-38, 2-39 scripting language 2-25 section cut 6-29, 8-5, 8-15, 8-43 section property generator 4-27, 7-20 security device 9-2 select 6-11, 8-3 selecting an engine 7-7 selecting messages 2-22 set 4-40 setup 2-26 printer 2-17 shading 6-31 shape 6-23 shear panel 4-32 shell 3-66 shortcut keys 2-36 show 6-3 shrink 6-28 size 3-93, 4-102 sketch 3-35 skip deformation 8-9 slice 3-69 slice along face 3-70 slice match 3-69 slide line 4-35 smoothing 5-72 snap to 7-5 solid activate 3-59 align 3-93 booleans 3-66 chamfer 3-65 cleanup 3-72 draw 6-30 embed 3-68 embed face 3-71 explode 3-64 extrude 3-60 fillet 3-65 intersect 3-68 list 7-38 mass properties 7-18 mesh 5-29, 5-37 mesh size 5-7 move 3-90 pattern 3-61 primitives 3-61, 3-63 revolve 3-63

, divisions 3-96 draw 6-21 edge curves 3-41 extrude 3-43 fill 6-29 group 6-69 imprinting 3-29 list 7-36 measure area 7-18 mesh 5-22 mesh divisions 5-11 mesh hard points 5-12 mesh size 5-4 midsurface 3-51 move 3-90 offset 3-50 parameters 3-34 plane 3-47 revolve 3-44 rotate 3-91, 3-92 ruled 3-43 single 3-51 single in solid 3-51 sphere 3-49 sweep 3-45 trim to solid 3-51 trim with curve 3-51 sweep 3-45 mesh 5-95 symbols 6-34 symmetry 4-70

T tangent 3-7, 3-8, 3-15, 3-18, 3-19, 3-26 taper 7-25 temperature 4-47, 4-69, 6-26 text 7-15 draw 6-22 group 6-69 list 7-33 thermo-optical 4-23 thickness 6-23 tile 6-7 timed save 2-4 title group 6-56 load set 4-40 output 8-45, 8-46 postprocessing 8-28

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rotate 3-91, 3-92 shell 3-66 slice 3-69 slice along face 3-70 slice match 3-69 stitch 3-64 surface 3-63 Solid Edge 2-5 solid elements 4-34, 6-62 solid modeling 3-59 solver preferences 2-44 sphere 3-49, 3-59 spherical coordinates 5-52 spline blend 3-27 drawing 3-22 ellipse 3-23 equation 3-26 hyperbola 3-25 midway 3-28 multiple curves 3-29 offset 3-28 parabola 3-24 points 3-26 project 3-22 tangent 3-26 split curve 3-81 split quad 4-113 spring 4-9, 4-31 standard reports 8-71 Status bar 2-34 STEP 2-5, 2-7 stereo 6-32 Stereolithography 2-5 stiffness matrix 4-11, 4-34 stitch 3-64 stored views 6-5 stress transformations 8-61 style 6-11, 8-3 sum forces 7-30 surface 5-8 accuracy 6-35 align 3-93 aligned curves 3-41 background 3-33 boundary 3-35, 3-63 convert 3-51 corner 3-40 creating 3-33 cylinder 3-47

, window 6-8 XY plot 8-39 toolbar 2-24, 2-30 toolbox 7-8 tools 7-8, 7-9 top to bottom 9-3 trace plots 8-17, 8-31 transform output 8-61 transient analysis 4-63 transition meshing 5-57 translate 2-5, 2-8 trim 3-78, 3-82 trimetric 6-37 tube 3-47, 3-59, 4-9, 4-26

U undeformed model 8-31 undo 2-39, 7-1 unformatted output 8-70 Unigraphics 2-5 unit conversion 7-10 unzoom 6-50 update 3-94, 4-103 user menu preferences 2-37 user-defined contour palette 8-35

V variable 7-13 list 7-33 VDA 2-5 vector 6-11, 8-3, 8-29 vectored lines 3-11 velocity 4-44 vertical lines 3-3 view 6-1 align 6-45 autoscale 6-45 axes 6-33 center 6-50 default 2-28 delete 6-53 free edge 7-50 free face 7-51 hidden line 7-50 library 2-28 list 7-47 magnify 6-47 new 6-6 options 6-15, 8-27

pan 6-52 quick options 6-18, 9-3 rotate 6-37 style 8-3 zoom 6-48, 6-50 view toolbar position 2-34 viewing layers 6-10 visible layers 6-10 volume align 3-93 background 3-53 between 3-57 corners 3-54 cylinder 3-59 draw 6-21 extrude 3-57 group 6-69 list 7-37 mesh 5-36 move 3-90 parameters 3-54 revolve 3-58 rotate 3-91, 3-92 sphere 3-59 surfaces 3-55 volume clipping 6-68 volume elements 4-11 volume of element 7-20 VRML 2-7

W warping 7-25 workplane 6-34, 7-2 worst-case output 8-53

X X_T 2-5 XY data 8-24 XY Plot 6-11 XY plot 8-3, 8-23, 8-39, 8-40 list data 8-77 log-log 8-39 semi-log 8-39

Z zoom 6-48, 6-50 dynamic 6-39