Analysis Setup Tutorials

HyperMesh 8.
0 Tutorials
Analysis Setup
HyperWorks
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HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials
Analysis Setup
Formatting Models for Analysis - HM-4000................................................................... 1

Setting up Loading Conditions - HM-4010 ..................................................................12
Obtaining and Assigning Beam Cross-Section Properties using

HyperBeam - HM-4020 ...................................................................................................24
Defining Composites - HM-4030.....................................................................................37
Working with Loads on Geometry - HM-4040.............................................................42
Working with Include Files - HM-4050 ..........................................................................53
Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup i
Proprietary Information of Altair Engineering

Formatting Models for Analysis - HM-4000
In this tutorial, you will learn how to:
• Create a solver input file by using a template
• Review entities in HyperMesh to see how they will appear in the solver input file
• Define materials and properties
• Select solver element types for HyperMesh element configurations
The purpose for using a finite element (FE) pre-processor is to create a model that can be run by a
solver. HyperMesh interfaces with many FE solvers and all of them have unique input file formats.
HyperMesh has a unique template(s) for each solver it supports. A template contains solver specific
formatting instructions, which HyperMesh uses to create an input file for that solver.
Tools
The card editor feature can be accessed in one of the following ways:
• On the toolbar, click the Card Editor icon

• On the Setup menu, click Card Editor
Exercise: OptiStruct Linear Statics Setup for a Shell Assembly

This exercise uses the file channel_brkt_assem.hm. It contains the bracket and channel
assembly pictured below.
Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 1

Step 1: Retrieve and view the file, channel_brkt_assem.hm.
Step 2: Load the OptiStruct template by loading the OptiStruct user profile.
1. From the Preferences menu, click User Profiles…
2. Select OptiStruct and click OK to close the dialog.
Step 3: Review a channel element to identify what type of OptiStruct element it

is and to see how it will be formatted in the OptiStruct input file.
1. Go to the card editor panel.
2. Switch the entity selector to elems.
3. In the graphics area, select an element of the (orange) channel.
4. Click edit.
The card image for the element appears above the panel menu area. It indicates the element is
an OptiStruct CQUAD4 or CTRIA3, depending on whether you selected a quad or tria element.
EID is the element’s ID. PID is the ID of the element’s property. In this case, the property is
defined as a component collector with ID 1. G(X) is the grid (node) ID that makes up the element.
Options specific to the CQUAD4 or CTRIA3 appear in the menu panel area.
5. Return to the card panel.
2 HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup Altair Engineering

Step 4: Review the card image of the channel and bracket using the card
panel.
You should still be in the card panel.
1. Switch the entity selector to comps.
2. Select comps >> channel.
3. Click select to complete the component selection.
4. Click edit.
The card image for the component appears. It indicates it is an OptiStruct PSHELL property. Its
thickness is 3 and its material has the ID 1. In this case, the material is an existing material
collector with ID 1.
5. Return to the card panel.
6. Under the comps selector, click the reset icon to clear the component selection.
7. Select comps >> bracket.
8. Click select to complete the component selection.
9. Click edit.
The header bar displays the following message "Could not find section in template for entity,
aborting." This indicates there is no card image assigned to the bracket component. Later in
this exercise, you will use the collectors panel to assign the PSHELL card image to the
component to define the property for the shell elements’ organized into it.
10. Return to the main menu.
Step 5: Review and edit the existing steel material’s card image by
accessing the card editor from the model browser.
This material is defined for the channel.
1. On the View menu, click Model Browser.
2. Open the materials branch of the model tree to show the material steel.
3. Right click on steel and select Edit Card….
The card image for the material appears. It indicates the material is of OptiStruct type MAT1.
4. Under Poisson’s Ratio [NU], change the value from 0.3 to 0.28.
5. Return to the main menu to accept the change.
Step 6: Define a material collector named aluminum for the bracket using the
model browser.
1. On the Model tab, right-click anywhere in the browser except on an existing entity.
2. Select New >> Material.
The Create Material popup dialog appears.
3. For Name: enter aluminum.
4. For Card image: set to Select type: and choose MAT1.

5. Click Create/Edit to create the material and edit it.
The card image for the new material appears.
6. Click [E] and enter 7.0e4 in the field that appears.
This is the Young’s Modulus.
7. Click [NU] and enter 0.33 in the field that appears.
This is the Poisson Ratio.
Step 7: Update the bracket component to have a PSHELL card image, a

thickness of 2.0, and the aluminum material.
1. Access the collectors panel in one of the following ways:
2. On the Organize menu, click Collectors
3. Click the Collectors icon on the toolbar.

4. Go to the update sub-panel.
5. Switch the entity selector to comps.
6. Select comps >> bracket. (Click comps to select from the component list.)
7. For card image = select PSHELL.
8. For material = select aluminum. (Click the text field to select from the material list.)
9. Click update/edit to load and edit the card image and assign the material.
Notice the material ID MID is 2, which is the ID of the aluminum material you created earlier and
assigned to the bracket component.
10. For the thickness [T] enter 2.0.
11. Return to the collectors panel.
Notice the thickness= field now has a value of 2.0 instead of <blank>. You can also edit the
thickness directly from this field.
Step 8: Create a component for the 1-D rigid link elements (OptiStruct RBE2
or rigid body) to be created.
1. Create a new component collector by:
• Using the collectors panel
• Right clicking in the model browser
2. Enter the name rigids.

3. Verify that:
• If using the collectors panel, the card image is set to no card image.
• If using the Create Component dialog, the Card Image: is set to Select type: none.
This is because an OptiStruct RBE2 does not require any OptiStruct properties to be defined.
4. Optionally, select a color.
5. Create the rigids component.
Step 9: Create a 1-D rigid link element (OptiStruct RBE2) at each of the
bracket’s three holes.
1. On the 1D page, enter the rigids panel.
2. In the create sub-panel, switch dependent: node to multiple nodes.
3. Verify that all degrees of freedom (dof) are active.
4. In the header bar, verify that the current component is rigids.
5. With the independent: node selector active, select the temporary node at the center of one of
the three holes.
6. With the dependent: nodes selector active, select all the nodes on the perimeter of that hole.
7. Create the rigid link element.
Since the OptiStruct template is loaded, the rigid link has the label RBE2 in the graphics area.
You can change the label to RL by toggling from template labels (type) to HM labels (config) in
the options panel, modeling sub-panel.
An RBE2 (rigid body element) at the center of one of the bracket’s holes
8. Create a rigid link element at the other bracket’s two holes by repeating #5 through #7.

Step 10: Create a component for the bar elements (OptiStruct CBEAM or
beam element) to be created.
1. Create a new component collector by:
2. Type bars.
3. Verify that:
• If using the Create Component dialog, the Card Image: is set to Select type: none.
This is because the OptiStruct CBEAM property is defined by creating a property collector
and loading the PBEAM card image for it. (You will do this later in the exercise.)
5. Create the bars component.
Step 11: Create a beam section collector for the beam section properties to be
calculated.
1. Create a new beam section collector by:
2. If you use the collectors panel, switch the collector type: to beamsection collectors.
3. Enter the name Beam_Section_Col.
4. Verify that:
• If using the Create Beamsectioncollector dialog, the Card Image: is set to Select type:
none.
With the OptiStruct template loaded, there are no card images to select from for beam section
collectors.
6. Create the Beam_Section_Col collector.

Step 12: Calculate the section properties for the bar elements (OptiStruct
CBEAM) by using HyperBeam.
1. On the 1D page, enter the HyperBeam panel.
2. Go to the standard section sub-panel.
3. Switch the standard section type: to solid circle.
4. Click create to invoke the HyperBeam module.
The HyperBeam module appears and the HyperMesh session is not visible. (HyperMesh is visible
again upon exiting HyperBeam.)
The solid, red circle represents the cross section. Under the local coordinate system you should
see the number, 10.0000, which is the circle’s diameter.
HyperBeam module with the standard solid circle section
5. Click on the number 10.0000 to activate a number entry field, enter 6, and then press Enter.
In the section property display area, the values are automatically updated to reflect the circle’s
new diameter.
6. In the model tree area, click on the section’s name, auto_standardsection_1.
After a brief moment, the name becomes an editable text entry field.
7. Rename the section to 6mm_Beam_Sect.
8. From the File pull-down menu, select Exit.
9. Answer Yes to the question "save data?".

Step 13: Create a property collector named bars_prop for the bar elements
(OptiStruct CBEAM).
1. Create a new property collector by:
2. If you use the collectors panel, switch the collector type: to properties.
3. Enter the name bars_prop.
4. Specify the card image.
• For the collectors panel, switch the card image to card image = and select PBEAM.
• For the Create Properties dialog, set Card Image: to Select type: PBEAM.
5. Click create/edit to create the property and edit it.
6. At the top of the card image, select beamsec >> 6mm_Beam_Sect.
The parameter fields in the PBEAM card are automatically populated by the data in the beam
section 6mm_Beam_Sect.
Step 14: Select CBEAM to be the type for the bar2 element configuration.
1. On the 1D page, go to the elem types panel.
2. In the 1D sub-panel, click bar2 and select CBEAM.
All elements created from the bars panel, bars2 sub-panel will be of type CBEAM.
Notice rigid = is set to RBE2 by default. This is why you did not need to go to this panel to select
the RBE2 type before creating the rigid body elements.
Step 15: Create a bar element (OptiStruct CBEAM) at each of the bracket’s
three holes.
1. On the 1D page, enter the bars panel.
2. In the bar2 sub-panel, switch the vector selector from N1N2N3 to x-axis.
This defines the orientation of the beam’s section.
In OptiStruct, CBEAM elements have a local coordinate system as part of the element’s
definition. The X axis of the element’s coordinate system lies along the CBEAM element. The
cross section therefore lies in the Y-Z plane of the element’s coordinate system. The Y axis of
this system must be defined by the user. This sets the orientation of the system’s Y-Z plane
around the X axis. By setting the vector selector in the bars panel to x-axis, we defined the Y
axis of the element’s coordinate system to be oriented along the X axis of the global coordinate
system.
3. For property = select the property collector bars_prop.
4. Click the node A selector to make it active.
5. Select the node at the center of one of the three rigid body elements.
The selector advances to node B.

6. On the channel, in the area directly under the rigid body’s center node, is a fixed point. Select the
node at this fixed point.
The bar element (OptiStruct CBEAM) is created and the combination of the rigid link and bar
elements simulates a bolt.
A CBEAM and an RBE2 connects the bracket to the channel
7. Create a bar element at the other two holes by repeating #8 through #10.
Step 16: Export the model to an OptiStruct input file named

channel_brkt_assem.fem.
1. On the File menu, point to Export, and click Finite Element Model… .
2. For File name:, type channel_brkt_assem.fem.
Note that the extension for an OptiStruct input file is .fem.
3. Click Save to export the model as an Optistruct .fem input file.
This exports the model as an input file for the solver specified by the current user profile.
Step 17: Review the contents of the file, channel_brkt_assem.fem.

1. Using any text editor (Notepad, Wordpad, Vi, etc.), open the file channel_brkt_assem.fem.
The information at the top of the file as shown in the image below.

2. Search for the HyperMesh component collector rigids and notice the following as shown in the
image below.
• The IDs and colors of the component collectors rigids, bars, channel, and bracket.
• The PSHELL cards defined for the components channel and bracket.
• The HMNAME COMP and HMCOLOR COMP lines are read when this file is imported into
HyperMesh. They are used to create the component collectors and assign their color.
Component collector color
Component collector ID
3. Search for RBE2 (HyperMesh 1-D rigid element)

Notice the line HMMOVE. When this file is imported into HyperMesh, the RBE2 entities will be
organized into the component collector with ID 3, which is the component rigids.
4. Search for CBEAM (HyperMesh 1-D bar element).

Notice the line HMMOVE. When this file is imported into HyperMesh, the CBEAM entities will be
organized into the component collector with ID 4 which is the component bars.

5. Search for the HyperMesh property collector bars_prop and notice the following as shown in
the image below.
• The property collector bars_prop has the PBEAM card, which you defined in HyperMesh.
• The HyperMesh material collectors steel and aluminum have their respective MAT1 card on
the next line. You defined the MAT1 card for the material aluminum in HyperMesh.
• The HMNAME PROP and HMNAME MAT lines are read when this file is imported into
HyperMesh. They are used to create the property and material collectors.
6. Close the file, channel_brkt_assem.fem.
Step 18 (Optional): Save your work.

With the exercise completed, you can save the model as a HyperMesh file, if desired.

Setting up Loading Conditions - HM-4010
• Create constraints (OptiStruct SPC) on the channel’s geometry lines
• Create two forces (OptiStruct FORCE) on the bracket to simulate a pressing and twisting load
on it
• Define two load steps (OptiStruct SUBCASE)
• Export the model to an OptiStruct input file
• Submit the OptiStruct input file to OptiStruct
• Review the resulting HTML report file
The purpose for using a finite element (FE) pre-processor is to create a model, which can be run by a
solver.
A finite element solver can solve for responses of parts to loading conditions on them. The loads can
be in the form of boundary constraints, forces, pressures, temperatures, etc.
In this exercise, you will gain an understanding of the basic concepts for creating a solver input file by
using a template. More specifically, learn how to define loading conditions on a model, specify solver
specific controls and submit an input file to a solver from HyperMesh.
Exercise: Setting up Loading Conditions

This exercise uses the model file, channel_brkt_assem_2.hm. It contains the bracket and channel
assembly pictured below.

Step 1: Retrieve and view the HyperMesh model file
channel_brkt_assem_2.hm.
Step 2: Create three load collectors named pressing_load, twisting_load

and constraints.
1. Access the collectors panel in one of the following ways:
• On the Organize main menu, click Collectors.
• Click the collectors icon on the toolbar.

2. Go to the create sub-panel.
3. Set the type of collector to be created to load collectors.
4. For name = enter pressing_load.
5. Switch the creation method to no card image.
6. Create the load collector pressing_load.
7. For name = enter twisting_load.
8. Create the load collector twisting_load.
9. For name = enter constraints.
10. Create the load collector constraints.
Step 3: Prepare to create constraints (OptiStruct SPC) on the channel.
1. Use the model browser to display the geom for the component channel.
2. On the toolbar, click the User Views icon, and click iso1.
3. On the Analysis page, go to the load types panel.
4. For constraint =, select SPC.
All constraints that are created from this point forward will be of the OptiStruct type SPC.
Step 4: Apply constraints (OptiStruct SPC) to the channel’s line geometry.

1. On the Analysis page, go to the constraints panel.
3. Switch the entity selector to lines.

4. Select the six lines on the perimeter of the channel’s bottom surface as shown in the image
below.
Apply constraints to lines
5. Activate degrees of freedom (dof) 1 through 6.

For an OptiStruct linear static analysis, dof 1, 2, and 3 represent translations in the global x, y,
and z directions respectively. Dof 4, 5, and 6 represent rotations about the global x, y and z axis,
respectively.
6. Create the constraints on the lines.
7. For size = specify 5.
The display size of the constraints is reduced.
8. Activate the option label constraints.
A label is displayed for each constraint. The labels identify what dofs are assigned to the
constraints.
Step 5: Map the constraints (OptiStruct SPC) on the geometry lines to the
channel nodes associated to the lines.
1. On the Analysis page, go to the load on geom panel.
2. Select loadcols >> constraints.
3. Click select to complete the selection of load collectors.
4. Click Map loads.
A constraint is at each node associated to the geometry lines.
6. On the model browser, turn off the display of geometry for all component collectors.

Step 6: Prepare to create forces (OptiStruct FORCE) on the bracket for the
pressing load case.
1. On the toolbar, click the Use r Views icon and click restore1.
2. On the model browser, right click on the pressing_load load collector and select Make
Current.
The pressing_load load collector is now the current load collector, and any loads created will be
placed in this collector.
3. On the Analysis page, go to the load types panel.
4. For force =, select FORCE.
All forces that are created from this point forward will be of the OptiStruct type FORCE.
Step 7: Create two forces (OptiStruct FORCE) on the bracket for the pressing
load case.
1. On the Analysis page, go to the forces panel.
3. With the nodes selector active, select the two nodes as indicated in the image below.
4. For magnitude = specify 5.

5. Switch the direction selector from N1, N2, N3 to y-axis.
6. Create the forces.
7. For magnitude % = specify 200.0.
The display size of the force is increased.

8. Activate the option label loads.
Each force displays the label FORCE = 5.00e+00.
The two forces created for the pressing load case
Step 8: Prepare to create forces (OptiStruct FORCE) on the bracket for the
twisting load case.
1. On the model browser, right click on the twisting_load load collector and select Make
Current.
2. Use the model browser to turn off the display of the Elems ___ICON for the load collector
pressing_load.
Step 9: Create two forces (OptiStruct FORCE) on the bracket for the twisting
load case.
You should still be in the forces panel.
1. With the nodes selector active, select one of the two nodes on which you created a force for the
pressing load case.
2. Keep magnitude = set to 5.
3. Keep the direction selector set to y-axis.
4. Create the force.
5. Select the other node on which you created a force for the pressing load case.
6. For magnitude = specify -5.0 (note the negative sign).

7. Create the force.
The two forces created for the twisting load case
Step 10: Define the load step (OptiStruct SUBCASE) for the pressing load
case.
1. On the Analysis page, go to the subcase panel.
Note: The OptiStruct user profile name for this panel is "subcase". In the HyperMesh profile
(default), this panel is called "load steps".
2. For name = enter pressing_step.
3. Activate the SPC and LOAD options.
4. Click the = next to SPC.
5. Switch name to name(id).
This shows the names of the load collectors with their ID numbers in parenthesis.
6. Select the constraints load collector.
Note that the field next to the = now has a value of 3, which is the ID of the constraints load
collector.
7. Click the = next to LOAD and select the pressing_load load collector.
8. Set the type: to linear static.
9. Create the load step pressing_step.
10. In the header message bar appears the message "The load step has been created". Nothing
new is displayed in the graphics area.

Step 11: Display on and off the load step (the load collectors defined in the
load step) by using the disp panel.
1. On the model browser, turn the display of the load step pressing_step off.
2. Notice the load collector’s constraints and pressing_load are no longer displayed.
3. Turn the display of the load step pressing_step back on.
Step 12: Define the load step (OptiStruct SUBCASE) for the twisting load
case.
1. On the Analysis page, go to the load steps panel.
2. For name = enter twisting_step.
3. For the SPC option, verify that it is set to 3 (the ID of the constraints load collector).
4. For the LOAD option, select the twisting_load load collector.
5. Create the load step twisting_step.
Step 13: Define a HyperH3D file to be output from OptiStruct by using the
control cards panel.
1. On the Analysis page, go to the control cards panel.
2. Select the control card FORMAT.
Notice in the card image the one FORMAT line is set to H3D. This specifies OptiStruct to output
results to a Hyper3D (H3D) file, which can be viewed in HyperView Player. Also, an HTML report
file will be output and the H3D file will be embedded in it.
3. For number_of_formats = specify 2.
A second FORMAT line appears in the card image.
4. Click H3D in the second line of the card image and select HM .
This specifies OptiStruct to output the results to a HyperMesh binary results file, allowing the
results to be post-processed within HyperMesh.
5. Return to the control cards panel.
Notice the FORMAT button is green. This indicates the card will be exported to the OptiStruct
input file.

Step 14: Export the model to an OptiStruct input file.
1. On the File menu, point to Export, and click Finite Element Model… .
2. In the File name: field, type channel_brkt_assem2.fem.
Note that the extension for an OptiStruct input file is .fem.
3. Click Save to export the model as an Optistruct .fem input file.
This exports the model as an input file for the solver specified by the current user profile.
Step 15: Review the contents of the file channel_brkt_assem.fem.

1. Using any text editor (Notepad, Wordpad, Vi, etc.), open the file channel_brkt_assem2.fem.
2. Near the top of the file, notice the following as shown in the image below.
• The line FORMAT HM which you specified in HyperMesh
• The load steps (OptiStruct SUBCASE) named pressing_step and twisting_step which you
defined in HyperMesh
• Under each load step, the load collector ids (OptiStruct load and constraint set identification
numbers)
3. Search for "FORCE".

Notice the load set identification number for each force (OptiStruct FORCE). It is either 1 or 2 as
shown in the image below. These numbers correspond to the numbers under the load steps in
the file.

4. Search for "SPC" (HyperMesh constraint).
Notice the constraint set identification number for each constraint (OptiStruct SPC). It is 3 as
shown in the image below, which lists a few of the constraints. This number corresponds to the
number under the load steps in the file.
5. Search for the load collector name "pressing_load".

Notice the load collectors pressing_load, twisting_load and constraints. Also, notice their collector
id and color id. When the model is imported into HyperMesh, the loads are organized into these
load collectors and have these ids and colors.
6. Close the file channel_brkt_assem.fem.
Step 16: Submit the FEM file to OptiStruct using the OptiStruct panel.
1. On the Analysis page, go to the OptiStruct panel.
2. Set run options: to analysis.
3. For input file:, click save as… and browse for the file channel_brkt_assem2.fem.
4. Click OptiStruct to invoke OptiStruct and run the analysis.
A command window appears. When the analysis is complete, the message "Processing
complete" appears in the command window.
The output files are located in the same folder containing the input file.

Step 17: View the results using the contour panel in HyperMesh.
1. On the toolbar, go to the Files panel.
2. Go to the results sub-panel.
3. Note that file: currently specifies channel_brkt_assem_2.res.
This is the HyperMesh results file that was created because of the FORMAT HM card that was
added using the control cards panel.
5. On the Post page, go to the contour panel.
6. For simulation = select SUB1 – pressing_step.
7. For data type = select Von Mises stress.
8. Click contour to view the results.
Step 18: Review the HTML report file and animate its embedded H3D file by
using HyperView Player.
1. From Windows Explorer, open the file channel_brkt_assem2.html. (Double-click on the
filename to open it.)
The report contains summary information for the model and results.
2. In the Results summary section, click the link .
HyperView Player opens and the channel and bracket assembly model is loaded.
3. For Subcases and simulations, select Subcase 1 – pressing_step.
The results for this subcase are loaded.
4. Click play icon to animate the displacements.

5. Take a moment to view the model’s animation. Use the CTRL + mouse buttons to rotate, pan,
and zoom into the model just as you do in HyperMesh.
6. Click play icon again to stop the animation.
7. For Subcases and simulations, select Subcase 2 – twisting_step and review its
displacement result.
8. Obtaining and Assigning Beam Cross-Section Properties using HyperBeam - HM -4020
In this tutorial you will learn how to:
• Obtain beam section properties for various types of beam cross-sections using HyperBeam,
a module within HyperMesh
• Populate the fields of property collectors with these beam properties
• Assign the property collector to a beam element you create
In FEA, beams are typically modeled as 1-D elements. This tutorial is particularly useful for becoming
familiar with the modeling of beam sections for 1-D elements (beam, bar, and rod) in HyperMesh. The
focus is on obtaining and assigning beam-section properties, not on creating beam elements
themselves.

Tools
The HyperBeam panel can be accessed in one of the following ways:
• From the Setup menu, click HyperBeam
• On the 1D page, click HyperBeam
The HyperBeam panel allows you to create beam cross-section entities that you can use to simplify
complex portions of your model into simple bar elements.
HyperBeam is a HyperMesh module that allows you to define and calculate the beam cross-sectional
properties of simple as well as complex models to represent them as simple bar/beam elements.
Modeling beam cross-sections is a three-step process in HyperMesh:
1. Use HyperMesh (HyperBeam panel) to define the beam cross-section. A variety of entities can
be used (lines, elements, or surfaces) unless you want to use a standard section, in which case,
entities are not required.
2. Use the HyperBeam module to complete the definition of your beam section and obtain the
properties.
3. Return to HyperMesh to assign the beam properties calculated in HyperBeam to a property
collector, and to assign this property collector to 1-D elements.
There are four types of beam cross-sections that HyperBeam recognizes, and each is represented by
a sub-panel.
shell A thin-shell cut through one or more separate pieces of sheet metal. When
section HyperBeam calculates their section properties, it uses thin-shell finite element
theory.
solid Cuts through cast or molded parts, or when the sheet metal thicknesses are so
section large that thin-shell theory is inappropriate. When HyperBeam calculates their
section properties, it uses planar solid finite element theory.
standard Used to quickly generate models using a few standard shapes such as boxes
section or tubes. HyperBeam uses the closed-form equations for their section
properties.
generic Included for backward compatibility with older models. For these, you have to
section explicitly enter all of the necessary quantities for the section properties.

The remaining sub-panels allow you to work on existing cross-sections.
edit section Opens the selected cross-section in HyperBeam for review or modification.
review Displays, in three dimensions, either: The section assigned to the selected
sections elements using the centroid and orientation vector of that element. OrA
selected section, oriented using a specified origin and orientation vector.
HyperBeam calculates the section properties with respect to the centroid of the cross-section, and
also with respect to a user-defined system. The properties are saved along with the HyperMesh file
and can be retrieved at any point. If you expect to repeatedly use a user-defined section in different
models, it can be exported for subsequent retrieval in a different HyperMesh model.

Obtaining and Assigning Beam Cross-Section Properties
using HyperBeam - HM-4020
This exercise uses the model file, hyperbeam.hm.
Model geometry
The model geometry represents different types of cross-sections used in this tutorial – standard,
shell, and solid. The model consists of a solid cylinder attached to a hollow trapezoidal structure,
which is further joined to an irregularly shaped solid component (see image below).
Step 1: Retrieve and view the model file.

1. Using the files panel, retrieve the file hyperbeam.hm from the
<install_directory>/tutorials/hm/ directory.
2. From the Preferences menu, click User Profiles… and select OptiStruct.
The model geometry represents different types of cross-sections: standard, shell, and solid. You
will create a standard circular section to represent the cross-section of the cylinder, a shell
section created with lines to represent the cross-section of the hollow trapezoidal feature, and a
solid section created with lines to represent the cross-section of the solid irregular feature.
The model is organized into four collectors: one contains all the surfaces, two contain the lines for
the shell-section and the solid-section, respectively, and the last component stores beam
elements.

Step 2: Model a standard circular section using HyperBeam.
In this step, use the standard section sub-panel of the HyperBeam panel to quickly model a solid
circular section.
To define a circular cross-section, HyperBeam requires the diameter of the cross-section as input.
Measure the diameter of the section before invoking HyperBeam using the distance panel from the
Geom page.
1. Create three nodes on the circle defining the base of the solid cylinder using the create nodes
panel from the Geom page by doing the following:
- From the Geom page, select the nodes panel.
- Select the on line sub-panel.
- With the lines selector active, select the circular line defining the base of the cylinder.
- Set number of nodes = to 3.
- Click create.
This generates three nodes on the line, two of which are located at the same location (since
the circular line is a line that closes upon itself). With the two independent locations left, you
can measure the diameter.
Nodes on circle to measure diameter
2. Use the distance panel from the Geom page to measure the distance between the two nodes
diametrically opposed by doing the following:
- From the Geom page, select the distance panel.
- Select the two nodes sub-panel.
- For N1 and N2, pick the two nodes that are diametrically opposed.
The distance between the two nodes, which is the diameter of the circle, is displayed in the
distance = field and reads 110 units.

3. Create a solid circle standard section in the HyperBeam panel by doing the following:
- Select the HyperBeam panel from the 1D page.
- Select the standard section sub-panel.
- Click the switch and select the solid circle option from the pop-up menu.
- Click create.
The HyperBeam window is launched with a solid circle cross-section displayed in the center
pane. The left pane (Section Browser) lists the cross-sections defined in the model and the
right pane (Results Window) displays the results for the various beam properties computed
for the dimensions displayed.
HyperBeam window (standard section)
Note: For detailed information on HyperBeam, see the HyperBeam section in the HyperMesh
User's Guide / Building Models / Calculating Beam Properties on-line help.
4. Modify the diameter of the cross-section and assign the value measured earlier by doing the
following:
- Click the value shown in the figure to highlight it.
- Type in 110 and press ENTER.
The value of the diameter and the quantities computed for the cross-section are updated and
displayed in the Results Window. These properties are calculated based on the dimensions
that were input. The formulae for calculating these properties can be found in the Cross-
sectional Properties as Calculated by HyperBeam section in the HyperMesh User's Guide /
Building Models / Calculating Beam Properties / HyperBeam on-line help.
HyperBeam calculates, for example, the area of this cross-section, its moments of inertia and
its torsional constant.
Note: Alternatively, you could drag the graphical handles that represent the diameter of
the cross-section until the diameter changes to the desired value.

5. Assign the name Solid Circle to this cross-section in the Section Browser by doing the following:
- In the Section Browser, click the name of the cross-section under the auto1 folder.
- Type in Solid Circle and press ENTER.
6. Save the properties computed in HyperBeam for the solid circle.
- From the toolbar, select the Save icon.
7. Use the File menu to Exit HyperBeam and return to HyperMesh. Click Yes in the confi rmation
box.
The information that was computed is automatically stored in a beamsect collector with the name
you specified for the section. This beamsect collector is later used to populate the fields of a
property card.
Note: Since geometry information was available, this cross-section could have been defined
as a solid section using the solid section sub-panel. A standard section was used
instead because it did not require selection, although it required a diameter
measurement.
You may save your HyperMesh model to your working directory at this point.
In this step, a beam cross-section for standard sections was created using HyperBeam. You also
learned how to specify the dimensions for the standard section, and how to save this section for
subsequent use.
Step 3: Model a shell section.

In this step, the shell section sub-panel of the HyperBeam panel is used to model a beam section
for the trapezoidal feature of the geometry.
Use the lines in the pre-defined component shell_section to define the section. Note that these lines
are located at the mid-plane of the trapezoidal geometry. In addition to these lines, HyperBeam also
requires the thickness of the feature as input to calculate the shell section properties.
Shell section lines

You can use various panels, such as the distance panel, to find the thickness of this feature. The
thickness of the feature is equal to 2 units.
1. Create a shell section using the lines in the shell_section component by doing the following:
- From the 1D page, select the HyperBeam panel.
- Select the shell section sub-panel.
- Set the entity selector to lines.
- Click lines and select by collector.
- Select the shell_section collector from the list and click select.
- Set cross section plane: to fit to entities.
- Set plane based node to specify node to make this option active.
- In the graphics region, hold the left mouse button down and move the mouse on top of one of
the mid-plane lines.
- Release the left mouse button when the line is highlighted and click anywhere on the
highlighted line to define the base node.
- Set part generation: to auto.
- Click create to bring up the HyperBeam window.
Note: The cross section plane: option allows the software to define the plane for calculating
beam cross-sectional properties based on the entity (lines/element) selection. A user-
controlled plane can also be defined by changing the cross-section plane using the
toggle.
When using the fit to entities: option you can select a reference node for the plane if you
want properties about a point other than the section centroid. This is done using the
plane base node: option. This node defines the origin of the coordinate system that
serves as the reference when computing the various beam cross-section properties. All
the properties are calculated both about the centroid and about the node you select.
Shell section
The coordinates of the centroid are calculated with respect to the user-defined coordinate system
appearing at the node location specified earlier. The coordinates of the shear center are
calculated both from the centroid and from the origin of the section. Local Ys and Zs are the
coordinates of the shear center with respect to the origin of the section, while principal Vs and
Ws are the coordinates of the shear center from the centroid of the section.

2. Modify the thickness of the cross-section and assign the value of 2 units by doing the following:
- Click on the value shown in the figure to highlight it.
- Type in 2 and press ENTER.
The values for the beam properties computed in the Results Window are updated.
3. Rename the section to Trapezoidal Section.
4. Save your data using the Save icon.
5. Exit from HyperBeam panel using the File menu.
In this step, a beam cross-section representing a shell section was created using HyperBeam, and
the thickness for the shell section was assigned. Note that the shell section is defined with only one
thickness as it is defined as one part. For shell sections comprised of multiple parts, each part is
assigned an independent thickness.
You may save your model to your working directory.
Step 4: Edit a shell section in HyperBeam.

In this step, experiment with some of the HyperBeam editing tools on the shell section. Use the edit
section sub-panel to load the shell section back into HyperBeam and modify its dimensions and
geometry.
HyperMesh saves the geometry and property data of a shell section in beamsect collectors. This data
is used to restore the section in HyperBeam and hence modify it.
1. Load the Trapezoidal Section cross-section back into HyperBeam using the edit section sub-
panel by doing the following:
- Select the edit section sub-panel.
- Click beamsect and select Trapezoidal Section from the list of beam section collectors.
- Click edit.
HyperBeam is displayed with the selected cross-section. Note that the state of the cross-
section is retained and shows the dimensions used when the section was last saved.
Some of the typical changes to a section involve:
• Modifying the thickness of the section
• Changing the orientation of the section
• Modifying or adding new geometry to the existing section
• Moving the origin of the user coordinate system to a new location
The previous section showed how to change the thickness – just click on the displayed thickness,
enter the new value, and save.

The options in the Tools menu of the HyperBeam window allow you to perform advanced
modifications such as breaking segments, joining segments, creating parts, moving vertices, etc.
Detailed information on these tools can be found in the , HyperBeam section of the HyperMesh
User's Guide / Building Models / Calculating Beam Properties on-line help. You can also click
Help on the HyperBeam menu bar to directly access this information.
HyperBeam tools for shell sections

These options can be invoked using either the Tools menu or the icons on the right of the
toolbar.
Use the Break a Segment option to divide the segment 1-4 (defined by vertices 1 and 4) and use
the Move Vertices option to move the new vertex formed to make the section look like a
pentagon.
2. Break segment 1-4 adding a new vertex using the Break a Segment tool by doing the following:
- From the Tools menu select Break a Segment.
The corresponding icon on the toolbar is depressed. The section turns blue indicating that
you are about to break a segment.
- Click anywhere between vertices 1 and 4.
This adds a new vertex with ID 5 indicating that segment 1-4 is broken into two segments, 1-
5 and 5-4.
Breaking a segment
Note: Breaking a segment amounts to adding a vertex, which can be useful in changing the
geometry and properties of a cross-section. Since this does not break a part, it will not
affect the thickness that is applied to the current part.
To turn on and off vertices, use the Vertex IDs option from the View menu.

3. Move vertex 5 to form a pentagon using the Move Vertices tool by doing the following:
- From the Tools menu select Move Vertices.
- Move the mouse cursor on top of vertex 5 until it turns blue.
You can now grab the vertex and drag it to a new location.
- Drag the vertex vertically upward so that a pentagon is formed.
Moving a vertex
This operation moves vertex 5 to a new location and the section now resembles a pentagon.
Note how the centroid and shear center change as well as the beam properties. A new cross-
section has been created, a new design for which the properties could be closer or further
from intended values. This tool can be used in the initial stages of design to achieve the
functional requirement of a component.
When beams have the same cross-section, but are rotated by an angle, it is possible to easily
re-calculate the properties of a shell section at a new position. Use the Reorient Shell
Section… option from the Tools menu to:
• Move the origin of the cross-section to the desired location.
• Specify the new y-axis or to re-orient the section.
4. Move the origin of the cross-section (user-defined system) to the location of the centroid by doing
the following:
- From the Tools menu, select Reorient Shell Section….
A dialog opens.
- Under Specify Origin choose at current centroid.
- Click OK.
The origin of the user-defined coordinate system is now at the centroid of the cross-section,
and all the properties calculated with respect to this system and the centroid system are
identical.
The properties calculated with respect to the user-defined system are the ones that can be
automatically passed to property collectors. This allows you to obtain the properties at the
centroid of the cross-section.

Moving the origin to the centroid
In a similar way, the origin can be moved to a particular vertex, to the current shear center, or
it can be offset from its current location.
5. Specify the y-axis as pointing from the origin to vertex 2 using the Reorient Shell Section dialog
- From the Tools menu, select Reorient Shell Section….
- Under Specify y-axis choose origin to vertex and enter 2 in the field.
- Click OK.
The orientation of the shell section is changed such that the y-axis is now aligned with the
origin and vertex 2. All the properties are updated as well as the definition of the centroid and
shear center.
Specifying a new y-axis

6. Exit HyperBeam without saving the changes you made to the shell section.
In this step, you learned how to edit an existing section. You have also learned about some of the
advanced options of HyperBeam used in modifying a shell section such as break a segment, move
vertex, and re-orient shell section.

Step 5: Create a solid section using lines.
In this step, model the irregular solid feature of the geometry as a solid section using the solid
section sub-panel of the HyperBeam panel.
The input for a solid section can be 2-D elements, surfaces, or a set of lines that form a closed area.
Use the lines in the solid_section collectors to define the solid section.
1. Create a solid section using the lines in the solid_section component by doing the following:
- Select the solid section sub-panel.
- Click lines and select by collector.
- Select the solid_section collector from the list and click select.
- Set cross section plane: to fit to entities.
- Click specify node to make it active.
- Select a node within the area formed by the lines by holding the left mouse button down
until a line or the surface highlights and then click anywhere on the highlighted entity.
Defining the solid section
- Set analysis type: to first order.

st
This option tells HyperBeam to use 1 order (linear) elements to calculate the properties of
the section.
- Click create to launch HyperBeam.
HyperBeam meshes the area enclosed by the selected curves with quadrilateral elements,
and the properties are calculated using these elements.

Solid section
The properties of sections are stored in beamsect collectors and in the current model database
file. Additionally, they can be exported to a text file using a right mouse click in the Results
Window. Finally, when a beam section is to be used in different HyperMesh models, the
properties can also be exported as a Beam Section File (.bm)using the File menu, Export
Selection… option. This file can be loaded in any HyperMesh model using the import sub-panel
of the files panel.
2. Export the properties to a text file using the right mouse button in the Results Window by doing
the following:
- Position the mouse cursor in the Results Window.
- Click the right mouse button, and select Save Results to File….
A Save As file browser displays to allow you to select an output location and name for the
text file.
- Save the file to your working directory using any name.
A file is saved with the information displayed as it appears in the Results Window. You can
open this file with any text editor to review the information it contains.
3. Rename the section Solid Section and save your data.
4. Exit from HyperBeam.
In this step, you learned how to model a solid section using HyperBeam. You also experimented with
the export function for the beam properties. Now that the cross-sections are defined, you can assign
the properties to property collectors.

Step 6: Assign beam properties to a property collector and a beam element.
In HyperMesh, you can easily assign the beam properties computed in HyperBeam and stored in a
beamsect collector to your solver beam property card. To achieve this, simply create a property
collector with the solver beam property card of interest, and assign the beamsect collector to the
property collector.
When creating an actual beam element, simply assign the property collector to the element itself.
1. Create a property collector with a PBEAM card and assign the Solid Circle beamsect collector to
it by doing the following:
- Create/edit a props collector with name = standard_section, card image = PBEAM, and
material = steel.
- In the card previewer, click beamsec twice and select Solid Circle from the list of beamsect
collectors defined in the model.
The properties calculated using HyperBeam are automatically assigned to the PBEAM card.
Observe that the values of the parameters (A, I1a, I2a, I12a, J, etc.) are extracted from the
properties of the selected section.
2. Create a beam element in the bars panel with a direction vector set to the global x-axis and
using the standard_section property by doing the following:
- From the 1D page, select the bars panel.
- Click property = and select standard_section.
- Click the lower left switch and select vectors as the option to define the orientation of the
beam.
- Set the direction to x-axis.
- Click node A to make it active.
- In the graphics region, hold the left mouse button down and place the cursor on top of the line
that runs though the cylinder until it is highlighted.
- Release the left mouse button and select two nodes at the ends of the line for node A and
node B.
Creating a beam element

The beam element is created and placed into the beam component.

Note: When creating beam elements, the z-axis is defined by the two nodes selected as
node A and node B. The direction of the cross-section (x or y axis) is defined either
by using components, vectors, or a direction node. Due to the nature of this solid
circle, how you define the x or y axis is unimportant.
Changes made to a beamsect collector (for example, through editing of a cross-section) are also
automatically applied to any property collector referencing this beamsect collector.
Summary
In this tutorial, you experimented with the tools and techniques for modeling beam cross-section and
obtaining their properties using HyperBeam. You learned how to edit cross-sections and assign their
properties to property collectors, which can then be assigned to 1-D elements.
For more details on how to create 1-D elements, review the tutorials, Creating 1-D Elements and
Connecting Components with 1-D Elements . Additional techniques for creating 1-D elements from
connector entities are discussed in the tutorial, Creating Connectors .

Defining Composites - HM-4030
• Assign element material orientation using the following:
- System ID
- Vector
- Angle
Tools
The composites panel can be accessed in one of the following ways:
• On the Setup menu, click Composites
• On the 2D page, click composites
The composites panel aligns the element material coordinate system of a mesh of shell elements
with a selected vector direction or coordinate system axis. The material coordinate system of an
element is used in different analysis codes to define composites, or other non-isotropic materials, or
stress output request directions. You can also review the material coordinate directions to verify that
they have been set correctly. You can choose to have the material angles displayed either as vectors
or as continuous lines that follow the 0-degree direction within each element.
The composites panel is supported for OptiStruct, Nastran, and ANSYS user profiles only.
Step 1: Retrieve the model file, composites.hm.

1. Retrieve the file, composites.hm.
2. On the Preferences menu, click User Profiles. Select OptiStruct.
3. Click the Shaded Element and Mesh Lines icon .
Step 2: Update all the elements to the correct element types for OptiStruct.
1. On the 2D page, go to the elem types panel.
2. Click on the elem s button and select all.
All element types (1D, 2D, and 3D) are selected.
3. Click update to update the element types.

Step 3: Assign element material coordinate direction using system ID.
1. Go to the composites panel.
2. Go to the material orientation sub-panel.
3. Select elems, all.
4. Under Material orientation method, toggle to by system ID.
5. Select system and select the rectangular system on top of ball (system ID = 1).
6. Click color and select the display color of the review vectors or lines.
7. Set size = 2,0, this value specifies, in model units, how large the review vectors are when
displayed.
8. Click assign.
9. On the toolbar, click the Card Editor icon .

10. Set the entity selector to elems.
11. Select any element in the model.
12. Click edit.
13. Review the card.
Note: This function assigns the ID of the coordinate system to the selected elements. This
can be verified by reviewing the MCID field of the CQUAD4 card populated with System
ID 1 for the currently loaded OptiStruct user profile. How each analysis code interprets
this information varies. For OptiStruct, refer to the CQUAD4 and PCOMP(G) bulk data
cards in the Bulk Data Section of the OptiStruct Reference Manual. For visualization
purposes HyperMesh also projects the x-axis of the selected coordinate system onto
the face of the shell elements to define the x-axis of the material coordinate system. If
you later modify the system, the element material coordinate directions change
implicitly.
14. Click return to exit out of the Card Previewer
15. Click return to exit out of the Card Editor panel and return to the Composites Panel
Step 4: Assign element material coordinate direction using a system axis.

1. If not already there, go to the composites panel, material orientation sub-panel.
2. Select elems, all
3. Under Material orientation method, toggle to by system axis:
4. Select system and select the rectangular system on top of ball (system ID = 1)
5. Set the switch under system to local 2--axis.
displayed.
8. Click project.

12. Click edit.
Note: This function assigns a material angle to the selected elements, which for OptiStruct is
defined as the angle between the vector direction connecting node1 and node2 of the
shell element (i.e the element coordinate system x-axis) and the projection of the
selected local axis onto the surface of the shell element. This can be verified by
reviewing the THETA field of the CQUAD4 card populated with an angle (in degrees)
for the currently loaded OptiStruct user profile. Each element in this case will have a
unique THETA value as defined by the projection. How each analysis code interprets
this information varies. For OptiStruct, refer to the CQUAD4 and PCOMP(G) bulk data
purposes HyperMesh also projects the local axis of the selected coordinate system onto
the face of the shell elements to define the x-axis of the material coordinate system.
14. Click return to exit out of the Card Previewer
15. Click return to exit out of the Card Editor panel and return to the Composites Panel
Step 5: Assign element material coordinate direction using a vector.

3. Under Material orientation method, toggle to by vector.
4. Set the switch to vector.
5. Select the radial r vector from the spherical coordinate system on the bottom of the ball; the r axis
will flash once when you click on it.
6. Select the origin of the local spherical system as the base.
displayed.
8. Click color and select the display color of the review vectors or lines
9. Click project

13. Click edit.

Note: This function assigns a material angle to the selected elements, which for OptiStruct is
efined as the angle between the vector direction connecting node1 and node2 of the
shell element (i.e the element coordinate system x-axis) and the projection of the
selected vector onto the surface of the shell element. This can be verified by reviewing
the THETA field of the CQUAD4 card populated with an angle (in degrees) for the
currently loaded OptiStruct user profile. Each element in this case will have a unique
THETA value as defined by the projection. How each analysis code interprets this
information varies. For OptiStruct, refer to the CQUAD4 and PCOMP(G) bulk data
purposes HyperMesh also projects the selected vector onto the face of the shell
elements to define the x-axis of the material coordinate system.
15. Click return to exit out of the Card Previewer.
16. Click return to exit out of the Card Editor panel and return to the Composites panel.
Step 6: Assign element material coordinate direction using an angle.

3. Under Material orientation method, toggle to by angle.
4. Enter angle = 45.00.
displayed.
6. Click color and select the display color of the review vectors or lines
7. Click set.

9. Set the entity selector to elems
11. Click edit
Note: This function assigns a material angle of 45 degrees to the selected elements, which for
OptiStruct is defined as the angle 45 degrees from the vector direction connecting
node1 and node2 of the shell element (i.e the element coordinate system x-axis) using
right hand rule. In order to use right hand rule, the normal direction of the element must
be known and can be determined from the tools page, normals panel. This can be
verified by reviewing the THETA field of the CQUAD4 card populated with a 45 degree
angle for the currently loaded OptiStruct user profile. Each element in this case will
have a THETA of 45 degrees. How each analysis code interprets this information
varies. For OptiStruct, refer to the CQUAD4 and PCOMP(G) bulk data cards in the
Bulk Data Section of the OptiStruct Reference Manual. For visualization purposes
HyperMesh defines a vector using OptiStruct convention on the face of the shell
elements to define the x-axis of the material coordinate system. This option should be
used only in situations where great care has been taken to assure that the node1-
node2 direction of the shell elements are initially aligned properly.

Step 7: Review ply directions.
1. Go to ply directions sub-panel within the composites panel.
2. Select the elems, by collector, select yellow_sample collector, and click select
3. Set ply = 1 , this defines the ply number to review.
Note: The yellow_sample collector has a PCOMP card image assigned to it with the following
laminate definition (45/60/90)s. The PCOMP definition assigned to the yellow_sample
collector can be reviewed through the card editor as shown next,

5. Set the entity selector to comps
6. Click comps and select yellow_sample and click select.
7. Click edit
8. Review the card.
Note: he first ply defined on the PCOMP card is the most negative z-axis ply as determined
from the element normal. All ply angles on the PCOMP card are relative to the material
coordinate direction set in the above exercises using right hand rule. In order to use
right hand rule, the normal direction of the element must also be known and can be
determined from the tools page, normals panel. For OptiStruct, refer to the PCOMP(G)
bulk data cards in the Bulk Data Section of the OptiStruct Reference Manual.
displayed.
13. Click review.
14. Additional ply angles can be reviewed by reselecting elements, entering a ply id, and clicking
review.
Note: Elements that do not have ply angles assigned will not be displayed. Ply directions are
set through card images in solver template, example is PCOMP card for OptiStruct.

Working with Loads on Geometry - HM-4040
• Create loads and boundary conditions on geometry
• Map the loads from geometry to elements
• Export to a solver deck
• Modify the mesh and re-mapping the loads to the new mesh
Tools
The pressure panel can be accessed in one of the following ways:
• On the BCs menu, click Pressure
• On the Analysis page, go to pressures
The pressures panel allows you to create concentrated pressures. This is accomplished by
applying a load, representing pressures, to an element, component, surface, or set.
The forces panel can be accessed in one of the following ways:

• On the BCs menu, click Forces
• On the Analysis page, go to forces
The forces panel allows you to create concentrated forces. This is accomplished by applying a load,
representing forces, to a node, point, set, or component.
The constraints panel can be accessed in one of the following ways:

• On the BCs menu, click Constraints
• On the Analysis page, go to constraints

The constraints panel allows you to place constraints or enforced displacements on a model.
This is accomplished by assigning a degree of freedom (dof) constraint to the node.
Exercise: Working with Loads on Geometry

This exercise uses the model file, c-channel0.hm.
C-channel model in shaded mode
Step 1: Retrieve the model file, c-channel0.hm.

In this tutorial, we will experiment with the export of the loads applied to geometry entities. Therefore,
we will need to have a template loaded. In this section, retrieve the c-channel model and load the
OptiStruct user profile. By loading this user profile, the template will be automatically loaded. We will
also apply some constraints, forces and pressure load to our model, and we will need load collectors
to organize them.
1. From the Files menu, click Open.
2. Browse to the file <install_directory>/tutorials/hm/c-channel0.hm.
The model geometry is of a C channel with two reinforcement ribs. The various surfaces are
organized into several component collectors.
3. From the Preferences menu, click User Profiles. Select OptiStruct.
The model does not contain any load collectors to store the loading conditions we will create.
Create three load collectors for constraints, forces and pressure loads.
4. On the toolbar, click the collectors icon .

5. Toggle to no card image.

6. In the name= field, type constraints.
7. Select desired color.
8. Click create.
9. Similarly, create two more loadcols with names pressure and forces, assign colors 10 and 15
respectively, and no card images.
Different boundary conditions can now be created.
Step 2: Define loads and boundary conditions on geometry.

You can apply loads to geometric entities in a way similar to the manner in which loads are applied to
mesh by using the following panels from the Analysis page: forces, moments, constraints,
pressures, temperatures, flux, velocities, and accels.
In this step, you will apply constraints, pressure, and forces to geometric entities in the model.
Constrain the bottom portion of the c-channel using line data. Then create pressure loads on the top
surfaces. Finally add forces at the eight corners of the surfaces defining the top of the c-channel (see
image below).
Constraints on lines, pressures on surfaces and forces on fixed points
1. Click comp: on the toolbar, and click loadcol.

2. Set the current loadcol to constraints.

3. Fully constrain the bottom eight lines of the c-channel using the constraints panel from the
Analysis page by doing the following:
- From the Analysis page, select the constraints panel.
- Select the create sub-panel.
- Select the eight lines defining the bottom portion of the c-channel.
Lines to constrain
- After size=, enter the value 1.

This is the size of the icons that will be used to represent the constraints in the graphics area.
- Clear the label constraints check box.
- Constrain dof1, dof2, dof3, dof4, dof5, and dof6 by checking their respective boxes.
Dofs with a check will be constrained, while dofs without a check will be free. Dofs 1, 2, and 3
are x, y, and z translation degrees of freedom. Dofs 4, 5, and 6 are x, y, and z rotational
degrees of freedom.
- Click create.
This applies these constraints to the selected lines. They display as a triangular icon and
checking the box for label constraints would display what degrees of freedom are
constrained.
4. Go to the toolbar, and set the current load collector to pressure .

5. Apply a pressure of 25 units normal to the top three surfaces using the pressures panel by doing
the following:
- From the Analysis page, select the pressures panel.
- Set the entity selector to surfs and pick the three surfaces defining the top of the c-channel.
Surfaces to apply pressure to
- Click magnitude = and enter the value –25 for the pressure.
Specifying a negative magnitude ensures that the pressure load is pushing down on the
surfaces. By default the pressure load is created normal to the surfaces.
- Toggle the display of the pressures from magnitude % = to uniform size =.
An arrow is used for the graphical display of pressure loads. The size of the arrow can be
input as a value or as a percentage of the actual pressure load applied. We choose to specify
its length as a certain number.
- Click uniform size = and enter the value 1.
This is the size the arrows will have in the graphics area.
- Clear the label loads check box.
We choose not to display the actual value of the pressure load in the graphics area.
- Click create.
This applies the pressure loads to the selected surfaces. They are represented with an arrow
as well as a label. This label can be template based (PLOAD4 here) or follow the HyperMesh
terminology (P) as specified in the modeling sub-panel of the options panel.
6. Go to the toolbar, and set the current load collector to forces.

7. Creates forces at the 8 corners of the three top surfaces with a magnitude of 15 units in the
negative z direction using the forces panel by doing the following:
- From the Analysis page select the forces panel.
- Set the entity selector to points and select the eight fixed points defining the corners of the c-
channel’s top surfaces.
Fixed points to apply forces to
- Set the coordinate system toggle to global system.

- Click the vector definition switch and select uniform size =.
- Click uniform size = and enter the value 1.
- Clear the label loads check box.
- Click magnitude = and enter the value –15.
The minus sign is used to specify a direction opposite to the one we will select in the next
step.
- Click the direction definition switch below magnitude =, and select z-axis.

- Click create.
This creates a number of point forces, with the given magnitude in the z-direction, to be
applied to the fixed points selected.
Loads on geometry
Note: If you sent some loads into the wrong load collector, use the organize panel on loads to
move them into the right collector.
In this section we created various types of loads on various geometric entities: lines, surfaces and
fixed point. The ultimate goal is to have these loading conditions applied to finite elements. We will
now create these elements.
Step 3: Generate elements on the surfaces.
Use the automesh panel to create a quad dominant (mixed) mesh. The elements generated will be
organized into their surfaces’ component collectors to avoid the need of setting current component
collectors.
1. Create a mixed mesh with an element size of 0.25 units on the surfaces displayed using the
automesh panel.
- Press F12 to go to the automesh panel.
- Set the entity selector to surfs.
- Click surfs and select displayed.
- After element size =, enter the value 0.25.
- Set the element type to mixed.
- Click the toggle to switch from elems to current comp to elems to surf comp.
This ensures that the elements created go into the surface’s component collector.

- Set the meshing mode to automatic.
In this mode HyperMesh will automatically generate a mesh on the surfaces based on the
element size and the type of elements selected. No further user input is required or can be
supplied.
- Click mesh.
2. Click the Shaded Elements and Mesh Lines icon .
Meshed c-channel
In this step, you quickly created a shell mesh on the surfaces. You can now try to map the loads that
were applied to geometric entities onto these fi nite elements.
Step 4: Map the loads from geometry to elements.
A load collector, just like component collectors, can store both loads on geometry and loads on finite
elements. These two types of loads are separate and independent, and can therefore be manipulated
independently. At this time, our load collectors contain loads only in their geom side. By mapping
these loads on geometry onto finite elements and using our existing loadcols, we will also populate
their elems side.
In this step, use the load on geom panel to map the loads from the geometric entities (to which the
geometric loads are applied) to the mesh associated with these geometric entities for the constraints
and pressure load collectors.
1. Map the constraints in the constraints loadcol to the mesh using the load on geom panel by
doing the following:
- From the Analysis page, select the load on geom panel.
- Click loadcols and check the box next to constraints from the list of load collectors.
- Click select.

- Click Map loads.
The constraints previously applied to the lines are now also applied to the nodes of the mesh
associated to these lines. These constraints are placed in the same load collector as the
ones applied to the geometry, only in the elems portion.
Constraints mapped to the elements
2. Repeat the steps above to map the pressure loadcol to the mesh.
The pressure loads previously applied to the surfaces are now mapped to the nodes associated
to these surfaces. These pressure loads are placed in the same load collector as the ones
applied to the geometry.
Step 5: Export the model to a solver deck.

When exporting the model using an export template, only the loads on mesh are exported. These
loads on mesh may have been applied directly to the mesh, mapped from geometry to the mesh, or
both. The export sub-panel of the files panel allows you to export loads to an ASCII solver-specific
file (according to the loaded export template). The loads are exported as mesh loads.
The all/displayed toggle allows you to determine which loads are exported.
If all is selected, all the loads on geometry that have not been mapped (if any), are mapped to loads
on mesh and all the loads on mesh are exported.
If displayed is selected, all the displayed loads on mesh (if any) are exported. All the loads on mesh
associated with the displayed loads on geometry (if any) are exported as well. If any loads on
geometry are displayed and have not been mapped, they will automatically be mapped to loads on
mesh and exported as well.
In this step, use the Display panel, to ensure that only the already mapped loading conditions are
exported. One load collector stores both loads on geometry and loads on mesh. The mesh (or
multiple meshes) is associated with the geometrical entities to which the loads on geometry have
been applied. Each load type is stored in a dedicated section of the same load collector.

The display panel allows separate or simultaneous visualization of loads on mesh and loads on
geometry. Turn off the display of loads applied to the geometric entities to display only the loads
applied to the mesh.
1. Use the Model Browser to turn off the display of the loads applied to geometric entities.
- Right mouse click to uncheck the boxes for constraints, pressure, and forces.
2. From the files panel select export sub-panel.
3. Set the toggle to displayed, and export the model to your working directory as an OptiStruct
deck.
Since loads applied to geometry were turned off in the Display panel in the previous step, only
the loads mapped previously will be exported using the displayed option in the export sub-panel.
You may open the exported deck in any text editor to verify that no OptiStruct FORCE card has
been exported in the deck.
In this section we experimented with the behavior of the export sub-panel when it comes to loads
applied to geometry and elements. We learned that with different combinations of the all/displayed
option and loads displayed in the disp panel, we can control what information gets exported.
Step 6: Modify the mesh and re-map the loads to the new mesh.
Besides the convenience they offer, loads applied to geometry give you the flexibility of re-applying
them as many times as you want to different meshes. This feature is particularly useful when
remeshing a model without deleting complicated loads or boundary conditions. After remeshing,
loads or boundary conditions that have been applied to geometrical entities can be easily remapped
to the new mesh, while loads applied to elements are automatically deleted when the elements
themselves are deleted.
In this step, remesh the surfaces and re-map the loads on geometry to the new mesh.
1. Use the automesh panel to remesh all the surfaces using an element size of 0.5 units by doing
the following:
- Go to the automesh panel.
- Click surfs and select displayed.
- After element size =, enter the value 0.5.
- Leave all other options used earlier unchanged.
- Click mesh.
The automesher deletes the existing elements before creating a completely new set based
on the new element size. As you exit the automesh panel, the loads that were applied to the
initial mesh are removed since the elements are no longer there.

New mesh
2. Map all the loads on geometry to the new mesh using the load on geom panel.
- From the Analysis page, select the load on geom panel.
- Click loadcols and check the boxes next to constraints , pressure, and forces.
- Click select.
- Click Map loads.
The loading conditions initially defined for the geometric entities are now applied to the new
mesh. The various loading conditions are placed into the same load collector as the
corresponding ones applied to the geometry. Note that you did not have to display these
loads to map them.
Note: Deleting geometric entities to which loads are applied will also result in the deletion of
these loads. It will not affect any loads applied to the mesh, though.
In this step, you experimented with the re-mapping of loads applied to geometry onto a new mesh.
Loads applied on geometric entities can be mapped several times onto the different finite element
entities attached to these geometric entities. You took advantage of this in a situation where a mesh
had to be changed, and it saved you from having to re-create loads on the elements.

With all of the exercise complete, you can save the model if desired.
Summary
In this tutorial, you used several boundary condition creation panels to generate constraints and
various loading conditions on geometric entities. We then experimented with the mapping of these
loads on geometry onto finite elements. We also familiarized ourselves with the rules that govern the
export of loads on geometric entities.
No consideration to the creation of specific card images that need to accompany the various loading
conditions was given. For more information on how to generate the various loading conditions for
different solvers, refer to the Modeling / Solver Specific section of the HyperMesh tutorials.

Working with Include Files - HM-4050
• Import include files
• Review and manipulate includes
• Create includes and re-organize the database
• Locate entities in includes
• Import new data into includes
• Export options
While HyperMesh supports include formulations for several other solvers, LS-DYNA 970 input decks
will be used for the purpose of this tutorial.
Many FEA solvers allow you to organize your input deck into separate files and provide a mechanism
to read all files linked to a single input deck. This capability is commonly known as "includes".
HyperMesh provides several options for importing such models, one of which preserves the include
structure upon import. The include browser is available to manipulate these includes. The include
browser lets you, for example, create, review, edit, organize, and update the contents of any
HyperMesh model into various include files. Every entity in HyperMesh then belongs to either the
master model or one of its include files.
To load the LS-DYNA user profile and import the model:

In the files panel, import sub-panel, the following options are available for importing include files:
• merge include files: with this option, all the data in the individual includes are merged into
the master model and imported in HyperMesh as a single model. HyperMesh has no
knowledge regarding individual include files with this option.
• skip include files: with this option, the INCLUDE statements are simply read as control
cards and none of the contents of the include files are processed. The data within the include
files is therefore ignored.
• preserve include files: when you select this option, the INCLUDE statements are preserved
and the contents of the include files are processed. In addition, the contents of the include
files are "marked" to remember which include file they belong to. When the deck is exported
from HyperMesh, if desired, all of the entities that are marked as belonging to include files get
written back to that include file. The entire file structure (the master file and all its include
files) are re-written from the HyperMesh database.
In this section, load the LS-DYNA user profile, then import the LS -DYNA decks (master file and
include files) defining the model. Preserve the organization of the data into the various include files.
1. From the Preferences menu, click User Profiles. Select LsDyna.
Selecting a solver user profile sets the FE input reader to this solver and loads the solver’s FE
output template. It also loads a macro menu with numerous tools specific to this interface. The
graphical user interface is tailored to this solver with panel names and options renamed or
removed to match its terminology as much as possible.
2. From the files panel, select the import sub-panel.

3. From the import sub-panel, select the preserve include files option and import the file
<install_directory>/tutorials/hm/master.k.
This loads the master.k deck into HyperMesh as well as the include files wheels.key,
frame.key and engine.key, which are also present in the same directory.
Truck model
Note: For more details on the options available in the import sub-panel, click help while in
the panel to bring up its context sensitive help.
In this section, the truck model defined with a master deck and several include files was imported into
HyperMesh while preserving the organization of the data between the various files.
To review the model organization using the include browser:

The include browser is accessed from the View menu. It allows you to create, review, edit, organize,
and update the contents of a model into various include files. A context sensitive pop-up menu
provides many other include browser functionalities. For a complete description of the options
available, refer to the Include Browser topic from the on-line help.
In this section, launch the include browser, review the structure of the model and its organization into
the various includes, and experiment with some of the display and configuration options available.
1. From the View menu, select Include Browser to launch the include browser.
This is a tree-like organization of the database structure. The Master Model is at the top level of
the include browser. Data, which does not have any references to an include file, is stored in the
master model. Each include file is represented with an icon along with its name (file name).
Each folder and include can be expanded to reveal its contents. The contents of each include is
organized (grouped) into folders containing each type, next to which appears the total number of
entities of that type. Each of the folders can be expanded to revi ew the individual entities in that
folder. The browser can be configured to show only specific entities of interest.
2. Expand the engine.key include to review its content.
This include contains three folders: Components, Materials, and Properties.

3. Expand the Components directory from the engine include.
This folder contains 6 component collectors as indicated next to its name.
Components content of the engine.key include
4. Similarly review the content of the other includes as well as the content of the folders belonging to
the Master Model.
The wheels.key include contains, for example, components, control volumes, groups,
materials, properties, and sets.
Note: While most entities are presented in this tree, elements and nodes are not listed, as this
would not be practical for larger models.
5. Right -mouse click an empty area of the browser and select Collapse include from the context
menu to collapse all the trees that you expanded.
6. Right -mouse click anywhere in the include browser and select Configure Browser….
This launches the Browser Configuration dialog that lets you customize what entities are
displayed in the browser.
7. Select the Entity types option to activate the list of entities to display.
8. Uncheck the box for Components and click OK.
This turns off all the component folders in the tree. Verify this for the includes as well.

9. Display the Browser Configuration dialog again and specify Select all entity types in the
current model to revert the browser back to listing all the entities present in the model.
10. Click OK to confirm your selection.
11. Right -mouse click Master Model and experiment with the display options Show, Hide, and Show
Only.
Note: For a detailed description of these options, review the topic Include Browser from the
on-line help.
12. Use the Show Onl y option on each one of the includes to visually review the components they
contain.
Displaying only the frame.key include
13. Use the display options from the include browser to turn on the display of the entire model.
In this section, the include browser was launched and the organization of the model into the various
includes reviewed. The include browser was customized and some of the display options were used
to modify the display of the model in the graphics region.
To create new includes, re-organize the model and locate entities in includes:
Whether you import includes or are simply starting from a ‘flat’ HyperMesh model, you can create
new includes in your database using the include browser, and organize entities into them using the
organize panel. You can also select entities (using the standard SHIFT and CONTROL keys) from the
include browser and drag them between two includes or between the master model and an include.
To determine which include a specific entity belongs to, you can use the organize panel’s locate
function.
In this section, create a new include for the doors and organize the corresponding collectors into it
using the organize panel. Finally, determine which include a certain material belongs to using the
locate function.
1. Right -mouse click Master Model and select New.
This adds a new include under the master model with an editable name.
Note: You can add includes under the master model or under includes themselves.
2. Type in the name doors.key for this new include.
This include is now displayed in bold, signifying that it is the current include.
Note: You can rename or make current an include using the context menu displayed when
you right -mouse click the include.

3. From the Tool page, select the organize panel.
4. Select the includes sub-panel and set the entity selector to comps.
5. Click dest = and select the doors.key include as the destination for the components.
6. From the graphics area, pick the two doors and their windows, or click comps to access the list of
components and select the components SHELL: DOOR-LEFT, SHELL: DOOR-RIGHT, and
SHELL: DOOR-WINDOWG-LEFT.
7. Click move to place these components into the include.
An expand/collapse icon is added next to the doors.key include, signifying that data has been
placed under it.
8. Review the components that were placed in the doors.key include.
9. Right -mouse click doors.key and select Show Only.
Notice how the graphics area empties completely. This is because assigning components to an
include is independent from assigning the actual elements to it. For LS-DYNA, assigning a
component is equivalent to moving the *PART card to the corresponding include. The actual
elements are defined using a separate card.
10. Use the organize panel, includes sub-panel to select elements by collector according to the
components named above, and move them to the doors.key include.
11. Right -mouse click doors.key and select Show Only.
The elements are now displayed in the graphics area.
Door and window elements in doors.key.

12. Change the display back to Display All.
13. In the organize panel, includes sub-panel, set the type of entities to mats.
14. Click locate.
This brings up the list of materials available in this model.
15. Select MATL1_38.
The dest = field is updated to show which include (or master) file this particular material belongs
to. In this case, it belongs to the wheels.key include.
In this section, a new include was created in the include browser, and some components from the
master model, as well as their corresponding elements, were moved into it. Finally, the locate function
was used to quickly identify which include a material belonged to.
To import new data into an include and export the model:

Initially, the Master Model is always the current file (displayed in bold in the include browser) and any
new entity you create or bring in HyperMesh is automatically placed in it. You can use the Make
Current option from the include browser context menu to make any include the current include. As
you create a new include, this include automatically becomes the current include.
The Include File Options… function from the include browser context menu lets you define export
options for each individual include file: whether the include file should get exported when the export
function is used, as well as where the file should be exported.
In the export sub-panel of the files panel, you have two options for exporting models that contain
includes:
• merge includes: in this case, all the data in individual include files is merged into a single
master model during export. The exported file does not contain references to any include
files.
• preserve includes: with this option, all the data in individual include files are exported
separately to their corresponding files. The references to these includes in the master model
file are also maintained.
In this section, create a new include in the master model called barrier.dyn and import a barrier
model into it. Review the include file options for each one of the includes in the model and modify
them as needed. Finally, export the model preserving the includes.
1. In the include browser, right-mouse click Master Model and select New.
2. Name the new include barrier.dyn.
Notice how this new include is displayed in bold, signifying that it is now the current include and
any new data created or brought into HyperMesh will be placed in it.
3. Right -mouse click barrier.dyn and select Import Include….
This posts the files panel, import sub-panel in the HyperMesh panel area.

4. Import the file <install_directory>/tutorials/hm/barrier.dyn.
The barrier is imported into HyperMesh
Truck and barrier
5. Review the content of the barrier.dyn include.

Note how both the barrier.dyn and doors.key includes have their names displayed as bold
and non-italicized, while engine.key, frame.key and wheels.key are all italicized. This is a
visual representation of the export option that is set for each of these three includes.
6. Right -mouse click engine.key and select Include File Options….
This displays the Include File Options dialog:
The File path: option lets you type in or browse for the directory in which the include is to be
exported. The Do not export option let’s you specify whether the include should get exported or
not when the model is exported out of HyperMesh.
This box is automatically checked when you read includes into HyperMesh that have their
permission set to read only, as well as includes that are referenced by the master file using
absolute paths.
The three files frame.key, wheels.key and engine.key are referenced by the file
master.k that we imported initially using relative paths (edit the master.k file to verify this), but
had their permissions set to read only. In order to export these includes, the Do not export box
should be unchecked.

7. Uncheck the Do not export box and click Set for the includes engine.key, frame.key and
wheels.key.
Exporting all includes
8. Right -click on an include and select Export All Includes.

This displays the Export all includes dialog.
9. Type in a location and name for the master model and click OK. Or, use the open file icon to
browse for a location, type in the name of the master file and click Save.
10. Go to the directory you selected and verify that all the includes have been exported with the
names set in the include browser.
Note: Using this option, all the include files are exported as individual files. This is equivalent
to using the export sub-panel of the files panel and using the preserve includes
option when writing out the master model.
When you want to export a single ‘flat’ file, use the export sub-panel and set the export
option to merge includes.
In this section, export options were modified for the various includes and the model was exported
respecting the organization of the data into the various includes.
This concludes this tutorial. You may discard this model or save it to your working directory for your
reference.
In this tutorial we used the include browser to manage the use of includes in our truck model. Several
options for import, display, organization, and export were used. For more details on the support of
includes in HyperMesh, you can refer to Support of Includes.

Analysis Setup Tutorials

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HyperMesh 8.

Web site www.altair.com

FTP site Address: ftp.altair.com or ftp2.altair.com or http://ftp.altair.com/ftp

Location Telephone e-mail

Trademark and Registered Trademark Acknowledgments

Formatting Models for Analysis - HM-4000................................................................... 1

Obtaining and Assigning Beam Cross-Section Properties using

Working with Loads on Geometry - HM-4040.............................................................42

Working with Include Files - HM-4050 ..........................................................................53

Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup i

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• On the toolbar, click the Card Editor icon

Exercise: OptiStruct Linear Statics Setup for a Shell Assembly

Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 1

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Step 3: Review a channel element to identify what type of OptiStruct element it

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Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 3

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Step 7: Update the bracket component to have a PSHELL card image, a

3. Click the Collectors icon on the toolbar.

4 HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup Altair Engineering

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Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 5

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6 HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup Altair Engineering

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HyperBeam module with the standard solid circle section

Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 7

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8 HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup Altair Engineering

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A CBEAM and an RBE2 connects the bracket to the channel

Step 16: Export the model to an OptiStruct input file named

Step 17: Review the contents of the file, channel_brkt_assem.fem.

Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 9

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3. Search for RBE2 (HyperMesh 1-D rigid element)

4. Search for CBEAM (HyperMesh 1-D bar element).

10 HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup Altair Engineering

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6. Close the file, channel_brkt_assem.fem.

Step 18 (Optional): Save your work.

Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 11

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Exercise: Setting up Loading Conditions

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Step 2: Create three load collectors named pressing_load, twisting_load

• Click the collectors icon on the toolbar.

Step 3: Prepare to create constraints (OptiStruct SPC) on the channel.

Step 4: Apply constraints (OptiStruct SPC) to the channel’s line geometry.

Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 13

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Apply constraints to lines

5. Activate degrees of freedom (dof) 1 through 6.

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4. For magnitude = specify 5.

Altair Engineering HyperMesh 8.0 Tutorials – Analysis Setup 15

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The two forces created for the pressing load case