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Core Tutorials
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Contents
Basics............................................................................................................................ 3
HM-1000: Getting Started with HyperMesh ...................................................................... 4
HM-1010: Opening and Saving Files ............................................................................... 8
HM-1020: Working with Panels .................................................................................... 12
HM-1030: Organizing a Model ..................................................................................... 21
HM-1040: Controlling the Display ................................................................................. 33
Geometry .................................................................................................................... 47
HM-2000: Importing and Repairing CAD ....................................................................... 48
HM-2010: Generating a Midsurface .............................................................................. 55
HM-2015: Auto-Midsurfacing with Advanced Extraction Options........................................ 58
HM-2020: Simplifying Geometry .................................................................................. 66
HM-2030: Refining Topology to Achieve a Quality Mesh ................................................... 71
HM-2040: Creating and Editing Line Data ...................................................................... 80
HM-2050: Creating Surfaces from Elements .................................................................. 98
HM-2060: Creating and Editing Solid Geometry............................................................ 107
HM-2070: Geometry and Mesh Editing Using the Quick Edit Panel................................... 121
HM-2080: Modifying Models using solidThinking Inspire ................................................ 130
HM-2090: Dimensioning ........................................................................................... 133
Meshing .................................................................................................................... 143
HM-3000: Creating 1-D Elements............................................................................... 144
HM-3100: AutoMeshing ............................................................................................ 148
HM-3110: Meshing without Surfaces .......................................................................... 161
HM-3120: 2-D Mesh in Curved Surfaces ...................................................................... 170
HM-3130: QI Mesh Creation ...................................................................................... 174
HM-3140: Batch Meshing .......................................................................................... 184
HM-3150: Meshing a Model Using Shrink Wrap ............................................................ 190
HM-3200: Tetrameshing ........................................................................................... 197
HM-3210: Creating a Hex-Penta Mesh using Surfaces ................................................... 205
HM-3220: Creating a Hexahedral Mesh using the Solid Map Function .............................. 220
HM-3270: Using the TetraMesh Process Manager ......................................................... 228
Quality ...................................................................................................................... 237
HM-3300: Checking and Editing Mesh ......................................................................... 238
HM-3320: Penetration .............................................................................................. 265
Assembly .................................................................................................................. 278
HM-3400: Creating Connectors .................................................................................. 279
HM-3410: Creating Area Connectors........................................................................... 297
HM-3420: Creating Bolt Connectors ........................................................................... 303
HM-3430: Part Replacement Through Connectors ......................................................... 308
HM-3440: Model Build and Assembly .......................................................................... 313
HM-3450: Multi-Component Replacement ................................................................... 325
Morph ....................................................................................................................... 330
HM-3510: Freehand Morphing ................................................................................... 331
HM-3520: Sculpting ................................................................................................. 337
HM-3530: Changing a Curvature Using Map to Geometry .............................................. 339
HM-3540: Changing a Profile Using Map to Sections ..................................................... 341
Basics 1
Tools
Feature Description
Title bar The bar across the top of the interface is the title bar. It contains
the version of HyperMesh that you are running and the name of
the file you are working on.
Menu bar Located just under the title bar. Like the pull-down menus in
many graphical user interface applications, these menus "drop
down" a list of options when clicked. Use these options to access
different areas of HyperMesh functionality.
Toolbars Located around the graphics area, these buttons provide quick
access to commonly-used functions, such as changing display
options. They can be dragged and placed at the top or side of the
graphics area.
Tab area The tab area is so named because various specialized tools
display on tabs in this area of the interface. Two such examples
are the Model Browser and the Utility Menu.
• The Model tab contains the Model Browser. This tool
displays the contents of a model in a hierarchical tree
format. It can be used to create and edit many types of
entities, and also to organize them and control their
display status.
• The Utility Menu contains four pages of tools that perform
various functions, accessed via buttons at the bottom of
the menu. The Disp page tools control how a model is
displayed in the graphics area. The other pages available
are QA/Model (element checking tools), Geom/Mesh
(tools for working with a model’s geometry as well as for
creating and editing meshes), and User (custom tools you
create). The content of the Utility tab changes based
upon the selected user profile.
Graphics area The graphics area is the display area for your model. You can
interact with the model in three-dimensional space in real time. In
addition to viewing the model, entities can be selected
interactively from the graphics area.
Main menu The main menu displays the functions available on each page. You
access those functions by clicking on the button corresponding to
the function you wish to use.
Main menu The main menu pages menu divides the main menu into groups
pages of related functions. Only one page of the main menu is displayed
at a time.
The Geom page contains functions for creating and editing
geometry.
The 1D, 2D, and 3D pages contain element creation and editing
tools grouped according to element type.
The Analysis page contains functions to set up analysis problems
and define boundary conditions.
The Tool page contains miscellaneous tools and model checking
functions.
The Post page contains post-processing functions.
Command You can type HyperMesh commands directly into this text box and
window execute them instead of using the HyperMesh graphical user
interface. This window is not displayed by default, but can be
opened via the View menu.
Status bar The status bar is located at the bottom of the screen. The left end
of the status bar displays your current location in the main menu.
By default, Geometry is displayed. The four fields on the right
side of the status bar display the current Include file, current
component collector, current part, and current load collector.
As you work in HyperMesh, any warning or error messages also
display in the status bar. Warning messages appear in green and
error messages appear in red.
Hint: You can hold the left mouse button down on top of a panel
to see a description for it in the status bar.
Starting HyperMesh
To start HyperMesh in Windows 7, go to Start > All Programs > Altair HyperWorks >
HyperMesh Desktop or HyperMesh.
Start Directory
By default, HyperMesh uses a "start directory" for files. HyperMesh reads and writes a
number of files from the start directory:
• At start up, HyperMesh reads configuration files (hm.mac, hmmenu.set, etc.).
• Upon closing, HyperMesh writes out a command history file (command.cmf) and a
menu settings file (hmmenu.set).
• By default, HyperMesh will read from/write to this directory for any open, save, save
as, import, or export functionality.
• Image files (.jpg) created using the F6 key are saved to the start directory.
2. Go to Properties.
3. On the Shortcut tab, view the path in the Start In field.
HyperMesh Help
To obtain help for a particular feature, go to the Help menu and select HyperWorks
Desktop or HyperWorks Help Home. The help is organized by product and contains the
following types of information:
• How to use individual functions
• Notes on interfacing HyperMesh with external data types
• Tutorials
• Reference guides
Model Files
All files referenced in the HyperMesh tutorials are located in the hm.zip file unless otherwise
note
Model Files
Exercise
3. Click .
4. In the Select IGES file dialog, open the bumper_end.iges geometry file.
5. Click Import. HyperMesh imports the IGES geometry file's data.
3. In the File field, navigate to your working directory and save the file as practice.fem.
4. Click Export. HyperMesh exports all of the finite element data (nodes, elements, loads)
loaded in your current session as a .fem file.
Model Files
This exercise uses the bumper.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
Step 2: In the Translate panel, select nodes from the graphics area.
1. To open the Translate panel, click Mesh > Translate > Nodes from the menu bar.
2. Click the entity selector to active it.
Note: The cyan border around the entity selector indicates that it is active.
2. In the graphics area, left-click on the element handles (the dot at the element's center)
to select several elements. HyperMesh highlights the elements you select in white.
3. To unselect the elements, press SHIFT, right-click, and draw a rectangular window
around the selected elements.
4. In the graphics area, press SHIFT and left-click. The Quick window pop-up menu
appears, containing eight icons.
5. Still pressing SHIFT, click , and draw a polygon window around a few unselected
elements.
6. Release the SHIFT key and mouse button. HyperMesh selects all of the element handles
inside of the polygon window.
2. Click elems >> by adjacent. HyperMesh selects the elements that are adjacent to the
selected elements.
Step 6: Shade the elements, reset the selection, and select a few
adjacent elements.
1. On the Visualization toolbar, click . HyperMesh displays the elements in shaded
mode, rather than wireframe mode.
3. Using the entity selector, select a few elements that are adjacent to each other in the
graphics area.
3. In the graphics area, select any node for N1. HyperMesh highlights the selected node in
green, and the active selector advances to N2 in the Translate panel.
4. In the graphics area, select a node near N1 for N2. HyperMesh highlights the selected
node in blue, and the active selector advances to N3 in the Translate panel.
Note: For this tutorial, you do not need to select a node for N3. Selecting N1 and N2
defines a vector for the direction of translation. This vector goes from N1
towards N2. Selecting N3 defines a plane. The direction of translation is the
positive direction of the vector normal to the plane. The positive direction is
determined by the right-hand rule.
4. In the graphics area, select a node near N1 for N2. The distance between N1 and N2
appears in the distance = field.
4. Click translate+. HyperMesh translates the selected elements in the direction from N1
to N2 by the number of units specified in the magnitude = field.
5. Click translate- once. HyperMesh translates the selected elements in the negative N1-
N2 vector direction, and restores them to their initial position.
Step 11: Calculate 5.5 * 10.5 and specify the resulting value for
magnitude =.
1. In the magnitude= field, right-click. The HyperMesh calculator appears.
Step 12: Specify a new vector and translate the elements again.
1. To reset the direction of the translated elements, click on the direction selector.
N1 becomes the active selector.
2. In the graphics area, select three nodes for N1, N2, N3 to define a plane.
Model Files
This exercise uses the bumper.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
It is recommend that you review the general overview before completing this tutorial.
4. Click Create. The Model browser displays the current component collector geometry
in bold.
Step 3: Create two geometry lines and organize them into different
components.
1. To open the Lines panel, click Geometry > Create > Lines > Standard Nodes from
the menu bar.
2. Activate the node list selector.
3. In the graphics area, select two opposite and diagonal nodes of the same element as
illustrated in the image below:
5. In the Model browser, Component folder, right-click on rigid and select Make
Current from the context menu. HyperMesh makes the rigid component the active
component.
6. In the graphics area, select two opposite and diagonal nodes of the same element, but
different than the element selected above.
3. Click on the entity selector, and select surfs from the list of entities that can be
collected. The entity selector is now set to surfs.
4. Click surfs >> all. HyperMesh highlights all of the displayed surfaces in white, which
indicates they are selected.
Note: If there are surfaces that are not displayed, HyperMesh still selects them
because you selected surfs >> all.
7. Click move. Hypermesh moves the selected surfaces into the geometry component,
and colors the geometric entities yellow to match the component color.
Step 5: Move all the model’s shell elements (quads and trias) into
the component, center.
In this step, you should still be in the Organize panel, collectors subpanel.
1. Click on the entity selector, and select elems from the list of entities that can be
collected. The entity selector is now set to elems.
2. Click elems >> by collector.
3. Select the components: mid1, mid2, and end.
4. Optional: To select a component in the graphics area, left-click on it. A check mark
appears in the check box of the component you selected in the panel area.
5. Optional: To unselect a component, right-click its check box in the panel area, or right-
click on it in the graphics area.
2. In the editable field, rename the component shells and then press ENTER.
Step 13: Move the model’s one constraint into the load collector,
constraints.
The existing load collector, loads, contains several forces and one constraint. In this step,
you will use the Organize panel is to move the one constraint in the load collector,
constraints.
1. To open the Organize panel, click Collectors > Organize > Load Collectors from the
menu bar.
2. Go to the collectors subpanel.
3. Set the entity selector to loads.
4. Select loads >> by config.
5. Click config =, and select const.
6. In the center of the panel, toggle from displayed to all.
4. Click Create. HyperMesh creates the component, and appends it to the list.
5. In the Model browser, expand the Components folder to see that component1 is
boldfaced in the list, which indicates that it is the current component.
Step 15: Review the existing assembly elements from the Model
Browser.
1. In the Model browser, expand the Assembly Hierarchy folder and then expand the
elements assembly folder. It contains two components, rigid and shells.
Note: Use can use the Assemblies panel to add components from one assembly to
another assembly. The Model browser does not allow you to do this, but you
can create assemblies from it.
Step 19: Set the current component from the Model Browser.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, right-click on shells and select Make
Current from the context menu.
Note: The shells component name is boldfaced.
When performing finite element modeling and analysis setup, it is important to be able to
view the model from different vantage points and control the visibility of entities. You may
need to rotate the model to understand the shape, zoom in to view details more closely, or
hide specific parts of the model so other parts can be seen. Sometimes a shaded view is
best, while other times, a wireframe view allows you work on details inside the model.
HyperMesh has many functions to help you control the view, visibility, and display of
entities.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to:
• Control the points of view using the mouse and toolbar.
• Control the visibility of entities using the Display panel, Mask panel, and tools on
the Utility menu.
• Control how entities look by using the toolbar and the Model browser.
• Rename components.
• Identify and delete empty components.
• Delete all of the geometry lines.
Model Files
This exercise uses the bumper.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
3. Release the LMB and press it again to rotate the model in a different direction.
4. Press CTRL and quick-click the LMB anywhere on the model. The center of rotation
square appears near where you clicked, and HyperMesh searches for one of the
conditions listed below, in the listed order, and relocates the center of rotation at or
near the first condition identified.
• A nearby node or surface vertex
• A nearby surface edge to project onto
• A nearby geometry surface or shaded element
Note: If none of the conditions are met, the center of rotation is relocated to the
center of the screen.
5. To rotate the model and view the change in rotation behavior, press CTRL + LMB.
6. Press CTRL and quick-click the LMB anywhere in the graphics area, except for on the
model. HyperMesh relocates the center of rotation square to the center of the screen.
7. To rotate the model and observe the change in rotation behavior, press CTRL + LMB.
8. Press CTRL + Middle Mouse Button (MMB) and move the mouse around. HyperMesh
draws a white line along the path of the mouse movement.
9. Release the mouse button. HyperMesh zooms in on the portion of the model where the
line was drawn.
Note: You can also simply draw a line to zoom in on a portion of the model.
10. Press CTRL + quick-click the MMB. Hypermesh fits the model to the graphics area.
11. Press CTRL and spin the Mouse Wheel. Hypermesh zooms in or out on the model,
depending on which direction you spin the mouse wheel.
12. Move the mouse pointer to a different location in the graphics area and repeat step
2.11. HyperMesh zooms zooms in or out on the model from where the mouse handle is
located.
13. To fit the model to the graphics area, press CTRL + quick-click the MMB.
14. Press CTRL + Right Mouse Button (RMB) and move the mouse around. Hypermesh
pans (translates) the model according to the mouse movement.
Step 3: Manipulate the view of the model using the rotate functions
on the toolbar.
1. On the View Controls toolbar, left-click (Dynamic Rotate).
2. Move the mouse pointer into the graphics area. The center of rotation square appears.
3. Press and hold the LMB, and then move the mouse around. The model rotates with the
movement of the mouse, similar to the way the model rotates when you press CTRL +
LMB and move the mouse.
4. Click the MMB on the model. The center of rotation square appears near where you
clicked.
5. To exit the rotation mode, move the mouse pointer out of the graphics area or right-
click.
6. On the View Controls toolbar, right-click (Dynamic Rotate) and move the mouse
pointer into the graphics area. The center of rotation square appears.
7. To change the center of rotation, click the MMB on the model.
8. Click the LMB near the center of rotation square. The model rotates continuously in the
direction of your mouse pointer, relative to the center of rotation.
9. With the LMB still pressed, move the mouse around slowly. The direction and speed of
the rotating model changes.
Note: The farther the mouse pointer is from the center of rotation, the quicker the
model rotates.
10. To rotate the model in a different direction, release the LMB, and then click it again.
11. Click the MMB anywhere in the graphics area, except on the model. The center of
rotation square is relocates to the screen’s center.
12. To exit the rotation mode, move the mouse pointer out of the graphics area or left-
click.
Step 4: Manipulate the view of the model by using the zoom in and
out functions on the toolbar.
1. On the View Controls toolbar, left-click (Circle / Dynamic Zoom). The Status
bar displays the message, "Circle the data to be zoomed in on."
2. Move the mouse pointer into the graphics area.
3. Press the LMB and move the mouse around in the graphics area. HyperMesh draws a
white line along the path of the mouse movement.
4. Release the LMB. HyperMesh zooms in on the portion of the model where the line was
drawn.
Note: You can also simply draw a linear line to zoom in on a portion of the model.
This function is similar to pressing CTRL + MMB to zoom into a portion of the
model.
5. On the Standard Views toolbar, click (Fit). HyperMesh fits the model to the
graphics area.
7. On the View Controls toolbar, right-click (Zoom In / Out). HyperMesh zooms out
on the model by the same factor.
8. To open the Options panel, click Preferences > Meshing Options or Geometry
Options from the menu bar.
9. Go to the geometry or mesh subpanel.
10. In the zoom factor = field, enter 4.
11. To exit the panel, click return.
12. On the View Controls toolbar, left-click (Zoom In / Out). HyperMesh zooms in on
the model by the larger, specified factor.
13. On the View Controls toolbar, right-click (Zoom In / Out). The Status bar
displays the message "Drag up/down to zoom in/out."
14. Move the mouse pointer into the graphics area, press the LMB, and then move the
mouse pointer up and down. HyperMesh zooms in and out on the model according to
how far you move the mouse up or down.
15. To exit the dynamic zoom mode, move the mouse pointer out of the graphics area or
left-click.
Step 5: Manipulate the model view using the arrows and view panel
on the toolbar.
1. On the View Controls toolbar, right-click or left-click any of the Rotate icons ( ,
, ). The model rotates in the direction of the arrow by the rotation angle specified
in the Options panel.
6. On the View Controls toolbar, click any of the Rotate icons ( , , ). The model
rotates by the new specified rotation angle, 90.
7. Change the view of the model to any view.
8. To rotate the model, press CTRL + LMB, or click any of the Rotate icons on the View
Controls toolbar.
9. To zoom in or out on the model, press CTRL + MMB, or click any of the Zoom icons on
the View Controls toolbar.
10. From the Model browser, right-click anywhere and select Create > View from the
context menu.
11. To see the new view name, expand the View folder.
12. Right-click on the view and select Rename from the context menu.
13. In the editable field, enter my_view for the new name.
14. To display a different view of the model, click (XY Plane Top View).
15. To display the view, click my_view in the Model browser.
2. Left-click next to (Shaded Elements and Mesh Lines), and select (Shaded
Elements and Feature Lines). HyperMesh shades the model's elements and displays
the features lines, mesh lines are no longer displayed.
4. To return to the wireframe shading mode, click (Wireframe Elements Skin Only)
on the Visualization toolbar.
1. On the Visualization toolbar, click . HyperMesh shades all of the model's elements,
with no mesh lines.
2. In the Model browser, right-click and select Columns > Show FE Style from the
context menu. A new column appears in the Model browser.
4. From the pop-up menu of displays modes, select (Wireframe Elements Skin
Only). HyperMesh changes only the mid1 components display mode to wireframe.
Wireframe Elements Skin Only – Element edges are displayed with lines for
shell elements only.
2. At the top of the browser, click (Display none). HyperMesh turns off the display of
all the entities in the model.
3. Click (Display all). HyperMesh displays all of the entities in the model.
5. Click (Display none). HyperMesh turns off the display of all the component
collectors.
Note: Display all, Display none, and Display reverse act globally (on all entities)
if you have not selected any of the entities in the Model browser. If a folder is
selected (highlighted), HyperMesh will perform the action only on the entities
within that folder. If an individual entity is selected, HyperMesh will perform
the action only on that entity.
6. Left-click in the white space of the browser. HyperMesh deselects all of the entities in
the browser.
7. Click (Display reverse). HyperMesh reverses the display and only shows the
components, instead of everything but the components.
8. Click (Component View). HyperMesh displays only the component collectors in the
browser.
9. At the top of the browser, click next to (Elements and Geometry Filter), and
select (Elements).
Note: Display all, Display none, and Display reverse will no longer affect the
display of the geometry in the components.
10. Click (Display none). HyperMesh only displays the components geometry.
11. Set the elements and geometry filter to (Elements and Geometry).
12. Click (Display reverse). HyperMesh only displays the component's elements.
2. On your keyboard, press F. HyperMesh fits the displayed components to the graphics
area.
3. Next to the components mid2 and end, click (geometry). HyperMesh displays the
geometry in the mid2 and end components.
Step 10: Control the display of entities using the Mask panel.
1. To open the Mask panel, click (Mask) on the Display toolbar.
2. Go to the mask subpanel.
3. Set the entity selector to elems.
4. Click elems >> by collector.
5. Select the component, mid1.
6. To complete your selection of components, click select.
7. From the graphics area, manually select a few elements in the center (blue)
component.
8. To mask the elements, click mask. The elements in the mid1 component and the
elements you selected from the graphics area are no longer displayed.
Note: In the Model browser, notice that the elements ( ) for the components
center and mid1 are still displayed. Their display icons indicate that they are
activated even though some or all of the elements in these components are
masked (hidden).
9. In the Mask panel, click unmask all, or on the Display toolbar click (unmask all).
HyperMesh displays all of the elements in the components, center and mid1, again.
Note: The elements in the other components are not displayed. This is because these
components are not active in the Display panel.
10. To return to the main menu, click return.
Step 11: Control the display of entities using the Find panel.
1. To open the Find panel, click (Find) on the Display toolbar.
2. Go to the find entities subpanel.
In the Model browser, notice that the elements for the component, end, are now
shown as active ( ). This is because the collector containing the entities that are to be
displayed (found) must be active.
11. On the Display toolbar, click (Unmask All). HyperMesh displays all of the model's
elements.
Note: This is because the Find panel finds the entities it is supposed to find, activates
(displays) the corresponding collectors, and then masks the other entities in
the collectors it activated. In this case, the last find command displayed on the
components, mid2 and rigid, in the Model browser.
Step 12: Change the display of entities using the Mask tab.
1. In the Model browser, click on any of the white space to make sure nothing is selected.
Step 13: Change the color of components using the Model browser.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, click the Color icon next to mid1.
2. From the color pop-up, select a different color.
Geometry 2
Model Files
This exercise uses the clip_repair.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Step 2: View the model in topology display toolbar and shaded mode
to evaluate its integrity.
1. Observe where the model has incorrect connectivity and missing or duplicate surfaces.
2. To open the Auto Geometry Cleanup panel, click Geometry > Autocleanup from
the menu bar. The surface edges are now colored according to their topology status.
3. To display the model's geometry in wire frame mode, click on the Visualization
toolbar.
Note: The Visualization toolbar contains icons that control the display of the
surfaces and surface edges. Surfaces can be shaded with or without edges or
wireframe. Right-click the icons to access the drop-down menu for additional
options. Place your mouse over the cursor to view a description of the button’s
functionality.
4. To open the Visualization browser and access the Topology options, click .
Note: The Topology options control the display of the surfaces and surface edges.
Surfaces can be shaded or wireframe. The check boxes within the
Visualization browser turn the display of the different edge types and fixed
points (surface vertices) on or off.
5. Select only the Free check box. The graphics area displays only the free edges.
6. Observe the free (red) edges and make note of where they are. Free edges show where
there is incorrect connectivity or gaps.
7. Observe the locations where there are closed loops of free edges. These are locations
that probably have missing surfaces.
13. To shade the model's geometry and surface edges, click on the Visualization
toolbar.
14. To locate any errors in the geometry, rotate, zoom, and pan.
15. Note the areas to be worked on:
• A surface that overhangs a round corner
• A missing surface
6. Select one of the red lines bounding one of the gaps (missing surfaces) shown in the
previous image. HyperMesh creates a filler surface to close the hole.
7. Repeat step 4.6 to create a filler surface in the other gap.
8. To exit the panel, click return.
Step 6: Combine multiple free edge pairs at one time with the
equivalence tool.
1. From the menu bar, click Geometry > Edit > Surface Edges > Equivalence.
2. Select the equiv free edges only check box.
3. Select surfs >> all.
4. Verify that the cleanup tol= is set to 0.01. This is the global cleanup tolerance that
you specified in the Options panel.
5. Click equivalence. HyperMesh combines any free edge pairs within the specified
cleanup tolerance. Most of the red free edges are combined into green shared edges.
The few remaining are caused by gaps larger than the cleanup tolerance.
Step 7: Combine free edge pairs, one pair at a time, using the
toggle.
1. Go to the toggle subpanel.
2. In the cleanup tol = field, type 0.1.
3. Click one of the free edges shown in the following image. When you select the edge, it
will change from red to green, indicating that the free edge pair has been equivalenced.
4. Use toggle to equivalence the other edges shown in the previous image.
3. With the moved edge line selector active, click the leftmost free edge.
4. With the retained edge line selector now active, select the rightmost red edge.
5. In the cleanup tol = field, enter 0.1.
6. Click replace. HyperMesh posts a message similar to, "Gap = (.200018). Do you still
wish to replace?".
7. To close the gap, click Yes.
Step 10: Observe the model again to identify any remaining free
edges, or missing or duplicate surfaces.
This exercise uses CAD geometry data for a thin solid clip. Because of the small thickness of
the part, it is assumed that it will be modeled for FEA as shell elements. The elements will
be created on the mid-plane of the part.
Model Files
This exercise uses the clip_midsurface.hm model file, which can be found in the hm.zip
file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
The surfaces in this model have no connectivity errors. This could be because the file was
imported without errors or because the errors were corrected using HyperMesh. In this
case, errors in the topology were repaired in the previous exercise (missing surfaces are re-
created, duplicate surfaces are deleted, gaps are closed, and so on). For this tutorial, you
can continue using the model you created in tutorial HM-2000, or you can open the new,
clip_midsurface.hm, file. Either way, the geometry is at the point where you can use the
Midsurface panel to generate a midsurface.
2. On the Visualization toolbar, click to shade the model's geometry and surface
edges, and click to change the geometry color mode to mixed. The
surfaces displayed in the graphics area represent a solid part.
Note: These visualization techniques will be necessary for viewing the newly created
midsurface.
4. To start the midsurface generation, click extract. HyperMesh creates the midsurface,
and organizes the surfaces into a new Middle Surface component. When HyperMesh
creates the midsurface, transparency is turned on for all of the other components in the
model except the new Middle Surface component.
2. In the Model browser, turn the geometry for the lvl10 component back on.
5. Under transparency, click several times. The surfaces in the lvl10 component
become more and more transparent.
6. Optional: Drag the transparency slider back and forth to control the level of
transparency.
Close-up of the midsurface with the lvl10 component set to full transparency
Summary
You have now created surfaces on the mid-plane of the part. These surfaces can now be
meshed or further modifications can be made to their topology, depending on the
requirements of the analysis.
In this tutorial, you will be using CAD geometry data for a box with thin ribs inside of it.
Because the geometry consists of thin planar sections, it is assumed that it will be modeled
for FEA as shell elements. The elements will be created on the mid-planes of each section.
Model Files
This exercise uses the Insert_planes.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy
the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
4. From the menu bar, click Geometry > Create > Midsurfaces > Auto.
5. In the Auto Midsurface panel, click the toggle and select closed solid.
11. Shade the model's geometry and surface edges by clicking on the Visualization
toolbar.
12. Review the generated midsurface by hiding the Body.1 component in the Model
browser. Some of the plates do not properly cross.
3. From the panel area, select the interim edit tools from the drop-down.
4. From the edit plates subpanel, click show/edit all. HyperMesh populates the Model
browser with plates that were detected by the tool.
Note: If you have not yet extracted the middle surface using either the
offset+planes or offset+planes+sweeps options, then the model will not
have any plate information yet. Plate components will not be populated in this
situation.
5. In the Model browser, hide the components Body.1 and Middle Surface.
6. Verify that the full plate surfs selector is active.
7. Select the green face. HyperMesh selects all of the plates in the ^Planar plate #0
component.
8. Hide all of the plates in the ^Planar plate #0 component by right-clicking on the
green face.
9. Hide the three remaining exterior sides. HyperMesh hides the components ^Planar
plate #2, ^Planar plate #3, and ^Planar plate #4.
10. Select any face from the long interior rib, as shown in the following image. This rib was
split into three groups by the algorithm, and needs to be reunited into one component.
11. Select the two remaining plates from the long interior rib.
12. Merge the three plates into a single planar plate by setting the plate type to planar.
13. Click merge plates or middle-click in the graphics area. HyperMesh combines the three
plates into a single component and displays them in the same color.
14. Using the full plate selector, select the newly created plate.
15. Click the single surface selector. The selected plate is isolated, and one side is
colored blue and the other side is colored green.
16. Review the isolated plate by toggling non-plates off/non-plates on to non-plates off.
17. Notice the long narrow surface that displays with the left-most plate. Select it with the single plate
selector, and set it to plate edge.
18. Click the full plate selector to recover the view you had before isolating and reviewing
the plate, and hide the plate sides shown in blue and green.
19. Merge the two remaining internal ribs.
20. Click update.
21. Click return.
22. Review the generated misdurface by hiding the Body.1 component in the Model
browser. The plates are closer together, but they are still not the full length of the rib
due to the holes that trim the plates.
3. Using the single surface surfs selector, select all four internal surfaces of the two
holes.
Note: Each hole has two internal surfaces.
4. Click not a trim surface. HyperMesh organizes the selected surfaces into a new
component labeled ^Not a trim surface.
5. Click update.
6. Click return.
7. Review the generated misdurface by hiding the Body.1 component in the Model
browser. There is now a yellow edge where the plates meet, which indicates that the
plates are intersected correctly. It would have been possible to reorganize the plates
and create the Not a trim surface component at the same time.
Summary
The model now contains surfaces on the mid-plane of the part. You used insert planes and
plates edit to ensure that there were no erroneous gaps in the generated midsurfaces. You
can now mesh these surfaces, or further modify their topology, depending on the
requirements of the analysis.
This exercise involves changing the shape of a part in order to simplify the geometry.
Certain details of the shape, such as small holes or blends, may simply not be necessary for
the analysis being performed. When these details are removed, the analysis can run more
efficiently. Additionally, mesh quality is often improved as well. Changing the geometry to
match the desired shape can also allow a mesh to be created more quickly.
Model Files
This exercise uses the clip_defeature.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy
the file(s) from this directory to your working directory. This model file contains geometry
that has been midsurfaced. Surfaces have been created on the mid-plane of the part.
Exercise
In this exercise, you will mesh the model using an element size of 2.5. You can assume a
simple structural analysis will be run on the part, and thus does not require much detail.
There are unnecessary features in this model that can also be removed.
Step 2: To easily work with the midsurface, turn off the display of
the lvl10 component.
If the lvl10 component is displayed, it needs to be turned off so that you can easily work on
the midsurface geometry.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, click next to lvl10 to turn off its
geometry display.
4. Click find. HyperMesh identifies all of the pinholes that have a diameter of 3 or less in
the model, and places a white xP symbol in their centers.
5. Click delete. HyperMesh removes the selected pinholes in the model and replaces them
with fixed points located at the center of the original pinholes. The mesh also updates
according to the changes in the geometry.
2. If the model's geometry and surface edges are not shaded, click on the
Visualization toolbar.
3. Under find fillets in selected, click surfs >> displayed.
4. In the min radius field, type 2.0.
5. Click find. HyperMesh identifies all of the surface fillets with a radius of 2 or greater in
the model.
6. Click remove.
6. With the fillets entity selector active, right-click on one of the F fillet markers on the
screen to deselect the fillet.
7. Click remove. HyperMesh deletes all of the selected edge fillets except for the one
which was deselected in step 6.
Summary
The model is now represented in a much simpler form that suits the analysis that will be
performed. Holes, surface fillets, and edge fillets were removed that were considered too
small to be captured by the desired element size of 2.5.
Model Files
This exercise uses the clip_refine.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Tip: If there are no visible fixed points on your model, verify that is selected on
the Display toolbar.
5. Repeat steps 6.2 through 6.4 for the point and line illustrated in the following image.
6. Repeat steps 6.2 through 6.4 for the point and line illustrated in the following image.
7. Repeat steps 6.2 through 6.4 for the point and line illustrated in the following image.
7. Click two points anywhere along the edge. Do not click a third. Hypermesh places nodes
on the line for N1 and N2.
8. To open the Distance panel, press F4.
9. Go to the three nodes subpanel.
10. Press and hold your left mouse button, move it over the edge of the hole as indicated in
the following image, and then release it when the cursor changes to a square with a dot
in the center .
11. Click three points anywhere along the edge. HyperMesh places temporary nodes on the
line representing N1, N2, and N3.
Note: The technique you used to create nodes to select where none existed before
can be used in any place where nodes need to be selected but do not exist in
the model. You can create nodes in this manner on lines, surfaces and
elements. For more details, see the HyperMesh online help. Pick the index and
type, Picking Nodes on Geometry or Elements.
12. Click circle center. HyperMesh creates a node at the center of the hold.
13. To exit the Surface Edit panel, click return.
14. Activate the B selector.
15. Select the node that was just created at the center of the hole.
16. Click trim. HyperMesh trims the surfaces through the center of the hole.
17. To exit the panel, click return.
3. Click suppress. HyperMesh suppresses each line, which in indicated by a blue, dashed
line.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, click next to Middle Surface to display
it's elements.
2. To open the Automesh panel, click Mesh > Create > 2D AutoMesh from the menu
bar, or press F12.
3. Verify that elem size = is set to 2.5 and the mesh type is set to mixed.
4. To select all of the displayed surfaces, click surfs >> displayed.
5. Click mesh.
Sometimes CAE users need to create models from sketches where there is no pre-existing
geometry. The tools in this tutorial will help you accomplish that task.
In this exercise, you will learn how to create lines and surfaces.
3. Enter the following X, Y, and Z coordinates listed in the table below to create five
nodes. Click create for each of the nodes.
Node X Y Z
1 0 0 0
2 0 0 25
3 0 0 37
4 0 5 25
5 0 5 -2
4. Click return.
5. To fit the size of the model to the graphics area, press f.
6. Click return.
4. Click return.
8. Click return.
8. Click return.
Step 14: Split curves by tangent line and delete redundant line.
1. Go to the Split at Line subpanel.
2. Verify that the lines selector is active.
3. Select the semi-circular line (ID 5).
Note: The line IDs may be different.
4. Click cut line.
5. Select the left tangent line (ID 9).
6. Click split. HyperMesh splits the semi-circular line (ID 5) with the selected tangent line
(ID 9).
7. Repeat steps 14.2 through 14.6 to cut the semi-circular line (ID 5) with the right
tangent line (ID 8).
Step 17: Create a line that connects two parallel lines on an X-Y
plane.
1. To open the Intersect panel, click Geometry > Create > Lines > Intersect.
2. To create a line on the X-Y plane, set the orientation vector to z-axis.
9. Click extend-. HyperMesh extends the line to reach one surface edge.
10. To exit the panel, click return. Your model should resemble the following image.
5. Select the vertical line through which the extended line passes indicated in the following
image.
8. Select the top, right X for the fillet quadrant indicated in the following image.
HyperMesh creates a fillet.
Step 21: Trim a line by plane and delete a redundant line segment.
1. To open the Split at Plane panel, click Geometry > Edit > Lines > Split at Plane
from the menu bar.
2. Verify that the lines selector is active.
3. Select the vertical line that does not have a fillet indicated in the following image.
The surfaces created in this process are regular surfaces that can be used for geometry
editing (for changes to a design) and meshing, and to export geometry information (in
reverse engineering applications, for example). This is particularly useful if you are trying to
obtain geometry information (surfaces) from a model containing elements only.
Model Files
This exercise uses the fe_to_surf.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory. The model is the tetrahedral mesh of a
bracket. It is organized into a single component, and does not contain any entities besides
the solid elements.
Exercise
In this tutorial, you will reverse this process by obtaining the shell elements and then the
surfaces. You can then, for example, remesh the surfaces with a different element size, or
export them as an IGES file.
In this step, you have learned how to use the FE surf panel to generate some surfaces that
can later be meshed. You have also seen that when the surface generation engine (From FE
tool) is asked to create surface delineation automatically, the surfaces obtained may not
necessarily have the specific delineation you wish to obtain. In order to obtain specific
delineation, plot elements can be used to define the boundaries of the various surfaces, and
can be supplied to the engine (From FE tool).
Features to be removed
12. Repeat steps 4.10 and 4.11 to remove the remaining plot elements.
5. Rotate, zoom, and pan the model to locate the features created with a zigzag pattern,
as indicated in the following image.
Note: In the following steps, you will delete these features and create new smooth
ones.
9. Repeat steps 5.7 and 5.8 to remove the remaining plot features.
10. Activate the nodes to add features: node path selector.
11. Select the nodes indicated in following image. HyperMesh selects all of the nodes in the
path between these two nodes.
12. Click add. HyperMesh creates a new feature line.
13. Repeat steps 5.11 and 5.12 to select the nodes indicated in the previous image, and
create a new feature line.
14. Repeat the previous cleanup operations to create features to your needs. The following
image shows an example of the final features. Notice that many of the features in the
cylindrical holes have been removed.
You created plot elements that will be used in the surfaces panel to indicate the
boundaries of the surfaces to generate. These plot elements were generated in an
attempt to capture the features of the tria mesh. The number and location of plot
elements generated using this approach is directly dependent on the value that is
chosen for the feature angle. In most situations, a lower feature angle will generate
more plot elements while a higher one will yield fewer plot elements.
It is often useful to experiment with different values for the feature angle as one value
may bring you much closer to the desired set of plot elements than another,
significantly limiting the amount of subsequent editing required.
In this section, you learned how to create and edit plot elements using the features
panel. The creation process was straightforward, but required some editing in order to
obtain a set of plot elements forming closed loops only. Various tools are available to
make the editing process as easy as possible and you used the ones that would allow
you to get to your goal the most effectively.
Now that both the shell elements and the plot elements delineating the surfaces are
available, you will generate surfaces on the entire model.
Surfaces generated
The surfaces generated could now be exported or used for any surface editing or meshing
operation.
This concludes this tutorial. You may discard this model or save it to your working directory
for your own reference. As this tutorial showed, this is a powerful tool in generating surface
data where none is available, but needed. It also provides you with a great deal of control
over the surfaces that are generated through the use of plot elements. Automated and
semi-automated ways let you create and edit plot elements quickly and easily.
In this tutorial, you will learn what solid geometry and topology is, and what 3D topology
looks like.
Solids are geometric entities that define a three-dimensional volume. Geometric entities are
defined as follows:
• Point: 0 dimensional; has only x, y, and z coordinates
• Line: one-dimensional; has length, can be curved through three-dimensional space
• Surface: two-dimensional; has an area
• Solid: three-dimensional; has a volume
The use of solid geometry is helpful when dividing a part into multiple volumes, for
example, to divide a part into simple, mappable regions for hex meshing.
Model Files
This exercise uses the solid_geom.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Step 4: Subtract the cylinder’s volume from the rest of the part.
1. To open the Boolean subpanel, click Geometry > Edit > Solids > Boolean from the
menu bar.
2. Verify that operation type: is set to simple (combine all).
3. Set operation: to A-B (remove B from A).
4. Verify that the A: solids selector is active, and then select the original solid.
5. Activate the B: solids selector, and then select the solid cylinder created in step 3.
6. Click calculate.
7. Click return.
8. To confirm the material has been removed, click on the Visualization toolbar and
rotate the model to inspect the part.
4. Under the with bounding lines selector, activate the lines selector.
5. Select the four lines indicated in the following image.
3. In the Model browser, View folder, right-click on View1 and select Show from the
context menu.
4. Click drag a cut line.
5. To define the end points of a line that roughly divides the tetrahedral solid in half, select
the two locations indicated in the following image.
7. Select the half of the original tetrahedral solid indicated in the following image.
8. To split the solid indicated in the following image, repeat steps 6.4 through 6.6.
10. In the Model browser, View folder, right-click on View2 and select Show from the
context menu.
11. To split the solid indicated in the following image, repeat steps 6.4 through 6.6.
7. Release the mouse button, and left-click in the middle of the edge. A green temp node
appears at the location to indicate the selection for N1.
Note: The plane selector advances to the N2 selection.
8. In the same manner, highlight the other line shown in the previous image.
9. Release the mouse button, and select two nodes along its length.
Note: Your selection should look similar to the following image.
6. Release the mouse button, and left-click anywhere along the edge. A purple temp node
appears at the location to indicate the selection for the base node.
Step 11: Split the solid geometry by creating surfaces inside the
solids.
1. To open the Spline/Filler subpanel, click Geometry > Create > Surfaces >
Spline/Filler from the menu bar.
2. Clear the Auto create (free edges only) and keep tangency check boxes.
3. Select the five lines indicated in the following image.
HM-2070: Geometry and Mesh Editing Using the Quick Edit Panel
This tutorial will explore the geometry and mesh editing functions available in the Quick
Edit panel.
The Quick Edit panel provides easy access to a number of geometry editing mesh editing
tools. More than a dozen functions are presented in this single panel. Many of the functions
can be found in other HyperMesh panels. These tools may be used before creating the
surface mesh to simplify geometry, correct geometry errors, or add additional geometric
features to control the mesh generation. Additionally, if a mesh already exists on the
geometry, you have the option of automatically remeshing the geometry as you modify it.
Model Files
This exercise uses the base_bracket.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy
the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
In the next step, you will start refining the geometry and improving the mesh quality.
HyperMesh has the ability to automatically remesh a surface if any topology changes are
made to the geometry. This function is controlled by a setting in the Preferences >
Meshing Options panel under topology revision. The default option is to remesh the
surface; however, you can opt to keep or delete the mesh instead.
For the base component, your focus will be to improve the mesh quality around the large
holes in the side surface and the mounting holes on the flanges. You will remove the oblong
holes, and improve the mesh quality around the five small holes on the top surface by
trimming in a "washer" surface around the holes.
4. Repeat steps 4.2 through 4.3 to create four more trim lines in the locations indicated in
the following image. At the end, each of the four small holes is isolated in its own
rectangular surface patch.
Surface trim lines isolating small holes onto individual surfaces. Note that element display has been turned off
for clarity.
Step 5: Trim a washer layer into the surface around each of the four
holes.
1. In the offset value field, enter 0.05.
2. Activate the washer split: line(s) selector.
3. Select the free surface edges (red edges) around the four small holes. HyperMesh
creates a washer around each hole.
9. Repeat steps 5.4 through 5.8 to set a target density and apply it to the remaining inner
surface edge's of the other three holes. All of the hole's should have a total inner
element density of 8, with each inner surface edge having an element density of 4.
10. Activate the adjust/set density left line(s) selector.
11. Left-click on one of the hole's outer surface edges indicated in the following image.
HyperMesh adjusts the element density from 3 to 4.
15. Repeat steps 5.10 through 5.14 to set a target density and apply it to the remaining
outer surface edge's of the other three holes. All of the hole's should have a total outer
element density of 8, with each outer surface edge having an element density of 4.
Note: You may not have to adjust the density for every hole's outer surface edge, as
some may already have an element density of 4.
16. Activate the adjust/set density left line(s) selector.
17. Left-click on one of the hole's surface trim lines as indicated in the following image.
HyperMesh adjusts the trim line's element density from 3 to 4.
21. Repeat steps 5.16 through 5.20 to set a target density and apply it to the remaining
surface trim lines that surround the other three holes. Each trim line should an element
density of 4.
Step 6: Adjust the mesh around the large holes on the side surfaces.
In this step, you should still be in the Quick Edit panel.
1. Adjust your view to zoom into the three large holes on one side of the model.
2. Use the split-line function, that you learned in step 4, to trim 12 surfaces patches
around the large holes as indicated in the following image.
Note that element display has been turned off for clarity.
13. To accept the mesh and go back to the Automesh panel, click return.
This completes this tutorial. For more practice using these methods, use the other
components in the model.
The benefit of using solidThinking is that you can apply quick geometry fixes without
going back to the CAD software.
Model Files
This exercise uses the rail_extrusion.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file.
Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
2. From the menu bar, click File > Open > Model.
3. In the File field, navigate to your working directory and save the file as
rail_extrusion.stmod.
4. Click Export.
5. Close HyperMesh.
3. In the Open File dialog, navigate to your working directory and open the
rail_extrusion.stmod file.
2. To reduce the length of the model, click on one end of the rail and push.
3. To increase the height of the model, click on the bottom of the rail and pull it.
4. Your modified geometry might look something like the example below. It is now
ready to be transferred into HyperMesh Desktop.
3. From the File name field, navigate to your working directing and save the file.
2. From the menu bar, click File > Import > Geometry.
4. In the Select Auto Detect file dialog, navigate to your working directory and open
the rail_extrusion.stmod file.
2. In the Save Model As dialog, navigate to your working directory and save the file
as a HyperMesh binary file.
HM-2090: Dimensioning
In this tutorial you will learn how to create and edit dimensions on geometry using the
Dimensioning tool. This tool is used to change one or more dimensions of existing
geometry, thus changing the basic shape of solids and other enclosed volumes. With the
dimensioning tool, you can select dimensions of or between surfaces, and modify those
dimensions as required with the use of dimension manipulators.
Model Files
This exercise uses the 2_holes.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
• Select point1 as indicated in the following image, then click proceed in the
panel.
Tip: If there are no visible fixed points on your model, verify that is
selected on the Display toolbar.
• For Point2, click Unspecified >> Point.
• Select point2 as indicated in the following image, then click proceed in the
panel.
• Click Close.
3. Repeat step 2 to create a second dimension feature for the hole. Select the points
indicated in the following image.
A dimension feature (Dimension2) and an associated parameter (Dimension2) are
created. A dimension manipulator with a value of 0.875 is created between the two
points to represent the diameter of the hole.
4. Repeat step 2 to create a third dimension feature for the other remaining hole.
A dimension feature (Dimension3) and an associated parameter (Dimension3) are
created. A dimension manipulator with a value of 0.75 is created between the two
points to represent the diameter of the hole.
10. Select the handle at the bottom of the dimension manipulator as indicated in the
following image.
The bottom arrow changes to a line, which indicates that the bottom end will remain
fixed.
4. In the Entity Editor, Double value field, change the dimension to 0.25.
The first hole's diameter decreases from 0.5 to 0.25, and the second hole's diameter
becomes 0.25*2=0.5.
3. In the Entity Editor, Value field, change the dimension value from 0.5 to 0.25.
4. Right-click on the Value field and select Select Parameter/Parameterize from
the context menu.
Meshing 3
Model Files
This exercise uses the 1d_elements.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
3. In the ax, ay, and az fields, enter 0. These are the values for the bar offset.
4. Click property = and select property1. HyperMesh assigns a property to the element.
5. In the pins a and pins b fields, enter 0. These are the values for the degrees of
freedom.
6. Click the orientation switch and select components.
7. In the x comp, y comp, and z comp fields, enter 1. These values define the local y-
axis.
8. Activate the node A selector, and select the lower node indicated in the following
image.
9. With the node B selector now active, select the upper node indicated in the previous
image. HyperMesh creates the two-noded bar element.
HM-3100: AutoMeshing
The optimal starting point for creating a shell mesh for a part is to have geometry surfaces
defining the part. The most efficient method for creating a mesh representing the part
includes using the Automesh panel and creating a mesh directly on the part’s surfaces.
Model Files
This exercise uses the channel.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
Step 2: Mesh all the part’s surfaces at once using an element size of
5 and the mixed element type (quads and trias).
1. To open the AutoMesh panel, click Mesh > Create > 2D AutoMesh from the menu
bar, or press F12.
2. Go to the size and bias subpanel.
3. Verify that the entity selector is set to surfs.
4. Click surfs >> displayed.
5. In the element size= field, enter 5.
6. Set the mesh type: to mixed.
7. Set the active mesh model to interactive.
8. Set the first toggle to elems to current comp.
9. Click mesh. HyperMesh opens the density subpanel in the meshing module. The model
displays node node seeding and a number on each surface edge.
Note: The number displayed in the graphics area is the number of elements that
were created along the edge.
10. To accept the mesh as the final mesh, click return.
At this point, you could be done using the Mesh panel to mesh the part. The mesh quality is
very good. However, you will remain in the meshing module to perform the next steps,
which demonstrate how to use various subpanels to interactively control the creation of the
mesh.
Step 4: Mesh the surface having three fixed points interior to its
surface.
In this step, you should be in the AutoMesh panel, size and bias subpanel.
1. Leave all options in the subpanel as they are.
2. Select the surface that has three fixed points interior to its surface indicated in the
following image.
Step 5: Fit only the surface being meshed to the graphics area.
1. To fit the surface to the graphics area, click f or click local view >> fill in the density
subpanel.
Step 6: From the graphics area, specify a new element density along
surface edges.
1. From the density subpanel, activate the adjust: edge selector.
2. To change the element density number of the edge indicated in the following image
from 24 to 48:
• Left-click on the edge’s element density number to increase it by one, or right-click
on the element's density number to decrease it by one.
or
• Click and hold the mouse pointer on the edge’s element density number and drag
your mouse up to increase the number or down to decrease the number.
3. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
4. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
5. Click set all to. HyperMesh changes all of the edge's densities to 10.
6. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
5. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
6. Click recalc all. HyperMesh calculates and changes all of the edge's densities based on
an element size of 7.
7. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
5. Verify that none of the elements have a jacobian less than 0.7.
Step 12: Change the rib’s mesh pattern by changing the mesh
method used for its surface.
1. Go to the mesh style subpanel. The edge's element density numbers have
disappeared, and there is now a small icon interior to the rib's surface. This icon
indicates that HyperMesh is currently using the free (unmapped) mesh method to mesh
the surface.
Step 13: Check the quality of the rib’s preview mesh again.
1. Go the checks subpanel.
2. Check for elements having an aspect ratio greater than 5.
Highest value reported is _____.
3. Check for elements having a jacobian less than 0.7.
Lowest value reported is _____. In this case, the free (unmapped) mesh has a better
jacobian than the map as rectangle mesh.
4. Check for quad elements having a min angle less than 45.
Smallest value reported is _____.
5. Check for quad elements having a max angle greater than 135.
Highest value reported is _____.
Step 14: Change the rib’s mesh method back to free (unmapped).
1. Go to the mesh style subpanel.
2. Under mesh method, use the switch to select free (unmapped).
3. Under mesh method, click set all.
4. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
5. To accept the mesh as final and go back to the Mesh panel, click return.
Step 16: Change the element type for some surfaces to trias.
1. Go to the mesh style subpanel.
2. Under elem type, click toggle surf. HyperMesh displays interior to each surface,
which indicates that the mixed element type (quads and trias) is currently being used to
mesh the surface.
3. Under elem type, use the switch to change the mesh type to trias.
4. Under elem type, activate the set surf selector.
5. On the two surfaces indicated in the following image, left-click on , to set their
element type to trias ( ).
6. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
4. To change the biasing intensity number of the edge indicated in the following image
from 0.0 to 3.0:
• Left-click on the edge’s biasing intensity number to increase it by 0.1, or right-click
on the edge's biasing intensity number to decrease it by 0.1.
or
• Click and hold the mouse pointer on the edge’s biasing intensity number and drag
your mouse up to increase the number or down to decrease the number.
5. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
Note: Connectivity was maintained with the surrounding, smaller mesh. This is
because the break connectivity option was not used.
7. To exit the panel, click return.
Surfaceless meshing is defined as the creation of mesh using points, lines, and nodes rather
than surfaces. Some parts may have missing surfaces and some parts may not have any
surfaces at all and are instead defined by line data. Either way, a mesh still must be
created. HyperMesh has a number of panels that you can use to create a mesh based on
geometry rather than surfaces.
Model Files
This exercise uses the bracket.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory. The model consists of only line data; no
surfaces are present.
Note: This option creates surfaces based on the selected entities, uses the surfaces
to create a mesh, and then deletes the surfaces.
5. Clear the keep tangency check box.
6. Click create. The meshing module opens, and element edge density numbers appear
on the selected lines.
Note: The numbers on a pair of concentric circular lines must be identical in order to
achieve a radial mesh.
7. In the density subpanel, enter 8 in the elem density= field.
8. Click set all to. HyperMesh changes all of the circular line's element edge densities to
8.
9. Click mesh. HyperMesh updates the preview mesh based on the change.
10. To accept the mesh and go back to the Spline panel, click return.
Step 4: Mesh the rest of the top face using the spline panel.
1. With the entity type set to lines, select the four lines defining the perimeter of the top
face and the three circular lines defining the outside perimeter of the three radial
meshes.
2. Click create. The meshing module opens.
3. To accept the mesh and go back to the main menu, click return twice.
Step 5: Mesh the back face of the bracket using the line drag panel.
1. To open the Line Drag panel, click Mesh > Create > 2D Elements > Line Drag from
the menu bar, or click Line Drag from the 2D page.
2. Go to the drag geoms subpanel.
3. Set the drag selector to line list.
4. Select the line that is on the perimeter of the existing mesh and adjacent to the
bracket’s back face as indicated in the following image.
Step 6: Mesh the bottom face of the bracket using the ruled panel.
1. To open the Ruled panel, click Mesh > Create > 2D Elements > Ruled from the
menu bar, or select Ruled from the 2D page.
2. Verify that the top entity selector is set to node list.
3. Click node list >> by path. The entity selector changes to node path.
4. Select the end nodes located on the back face edge that borders the bottom face, as
indicated in the following image. HyperMesh selects all of the nodes between the two
selected nodes.
5. Click node path >> show node order. HyperMesh highlights and numbers the nodes
to show the order in which they have been selected.
6. Set the bottom entity selector to line list.
7. Select the line defining the opposite edge of the bottom face as indicated in the
following image.
8. Switch the creation method from mesh, keep surf to mesh, w/o surf.
9. Select the auto reverse check box.
Note: When elements are generated, the edges used to create them can be ordered
in different directions. The order of the edges is determined by the order in
which the nodes are selected or the direction of the selected line(s). If the
direction is different for each selection, then a mesh that crosses itself, similar
to a bow tie, will be created. To prevent this, the auto reverse option ensures
elements are generated with a similar order on each side of the mesh.
10. Click create. The meshing module opens.
11. To accept the mesh and return to the main menu, click return twice.
Mesh of rib
Chordal deviation is a meshing algorithm that allows HyperMesh to automatically vary node
densities and biasing along curved surface edges to gain a more accurate representation of
the surface being meshed.
Model Files
This exercise uses the chordal_dev.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
4. Observe the model using the different visual options available in HyperMesh (rotation,
zooming, etc.).
Step 3: Set the chordal deviation parameters and create the mesh.
In this step, you will mesh a set of surfaces using the maximum deviation parameter to
control the element densities and biasing.
1. Go to the edge deviation subpanel.
2. In the min elem size = field, enter 1.000.
Tip: To cycle through the parameter settings, press TAB after typing in a value.
Step 4: Set the chordal deviation parameters and create the mesh.
In this step, you will use the same chordal deviation settings from the previous step, but
reduce the maximum angle parameter to compare the effects.
1. In the max angle = field, enter 20.000.
2. Select surfs >> by collector >> angle ctrl.
3. Click select.
Step 5: Set the chordal deviation parameters and create the mesh.
In this step, you will use the same chordal deviation parameters from the previous step
except for the maximum element size parameter. The maximum element size parameter is
increased to allow the algorithm to create larger and fewer elements along planer and less
curved surface edges.
1. In the max elem size = field, enter 30.000.
2. Select surfs >> by collector >> max size ctrl.
3. Click select.
4. Click mesh. HyperMesh creates the mesh.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create and optimize a 2D mesh based on user-defined
quality criteria.
HyperMesh has a set of features designed to help you achieve good element quality more
efficiently. These features use settings from the qualityindex panel to generate or modify a
mesh. This allows HyperMesh to give results that account for your preferences for which
element quality checks are more or less important than others. The quality index (Q.I.)
optimization features are found in the Automesh, Smooth, and Qualityindex panels. You
can use these functions separately or in unison.
Model Files
This exercise uses the planar.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
4. Observe the model using the different visual options available in HyperMesh (rotation,
zooming, and so on).
3. Click cleanup tools. The QI criteria is replaced by a series of yellow buttons, each
representing a tool for element cleanup.
radial Use this option to alter the radius of a hole (and, optionally, the
washer).
To alter the radius of the hole, click and drag a node in the
graphics area. The element orientation remains constant, but
the hole may become larger or smaller based on the input.
There are additional controls to enable or disable automatic
remeshing when altering the hole dimensions.
radius: (and This field displays the current radius of the hole that the
edit check box) selected node belongs to. By default it is a display-only field.
If you do not want to click and drag a node in the graphics
area, you can select the edit check box and specify a desired
radius. Once you click a node in the desired hole, the radius will
change to the specified value.
angular Use this option to move the nodes around the edges of the hole
without changing the hole diameter or the spacing between
nodes.
angle: (and This field displays the current angle of the hole that the
edit check box) selected node belongs to, relative to its original (unmodified)
starting position. By default it is a a display-only field.
If you do not want to click and drag a node in the graphics
area, you can select the edit check box and specify a desired
angle. Once you click a node in the desired hole, the angle will
change to the specified value.
radial & Use this option to simultaneously change the hole's radius and
angular the orientation of nodes around its edge. Like the angular
option, the node spacing remains proportionally consistent,
though actual spacing will be scaled in accordance with changes
in the hole radius.
radial and These fields display the current angle and radius of the hole
angular: (and that the selected node belongs to. By default they are both a
edit check display-only field.
boxes)
If you do not want to click and drag a node in the graphics
area, you can select both edit check boxes and specify a
desired angle and radius. Once you click a node in the desired
hole, the angle and radius will simultaneously change to the
specified values.
circumferential Used primarily on openings like slots, this option rotates the
nodes along the circumference of the slot without altering the
hole's size or shape/orientation. The capability works on
enclosed slots or holes, it is not designed to work on slots with
an opening.
circumferential This field displays the current arc length of the hole that the
(and edit check selected node belongs to. By default it is a display-only field.
box)
If you do not want to click and drag a node in the graphics
area, you can select the edit check box and specify a desired
arc length. Once you click a node in the desired hole, the arc
length will change to the specified value.
Starting point (no changes Link Washers option Link Washers option
made yet) turned off. turned on.
along Use this toggle to determine which direction the node will move. To
surface / move the node along the plane or curvature of the surface, select
normal to along surface. To move the node directly away from the surface in
surface a normal direction, select normal to surface.
Movement along surface; note that the node cannot normally exceed the edge of the
mesh.
allow To move the nodes past the edges of a mesh boundary, select this
movement check box. This option is only available when along surface is
out of selected.
boundary
move To move the midnodes associated with the node you are moving,
midnodes select this check box. This option is useful when you are working
with second order elements.
Each time you click an edge in the graphics area, it switches to the next valid
configuration. If an edge swap will not improve element quality, a message to that
effect displays in the status bar. To force the swap anyways, click the edge a
second time. Additional clicks will cycle through the possible edge positions. The
number of possible edge positions depends on the types of elements involved.
For a pair of trias, there are two possible positions for their shared edge. For a pair
of quads, there are three possible positions. For a quad and a tria, there are six
possible positions.
Controls Function
target quality The target value you would like the quality index to be
index= after the smoothing operation. This value is not
guaranteed from smoothing. The smooth operation will
attempt to hit this target.
time limit If you are working with large models, select this check box
to ensure the smoothing routine does not take more time
than you want to allow.
feature angle The Smooth panel evaluates the angle between the
normals of two adjacent elements. If this angle is equal to
or greater than the value specified in this field, HyperMesh
will not allow the nodes shared by the elements to move.
use current criteria If use current criteria file is selected, HyperMesh will use
/ criteria file the current criteria file for your Q.I. settings.
If criteria file is selected, you can select and use a
different criteria file for your Q.I. settings. If a criteria file
is specified, leave this option blank.
6. Click smooth. The status bar displays a message that says “result selection
approximate quality index = 0.11”
7. Compare this value to 85.10, which is the quality index value you had after creating the
original mesh. In this case you should see that it is significantly lower, which indicates
that the element quality is much better.
8. To exit the panel, click return.
8. The QI optimize subpanel has several controls that you should understand, but are not
needed for this tutorial
Controls Function
use current criteria If use current criteria file is selected, HyperMesh will
in QI panel use the current criteria file for your Q.I. settings.
If criteria file is selected, you can select and use a
different criteria file for your Q.I. settings. If a criteria file
is specified, leave this option blank.
Smooth across Select this check box if you would like the nodes
common edges generated on a surface edge to be moved off the surface
edge when the algorithm smoothes the mesh.
Batch Mesher is a tool that can perform geometry cleanup and automeshing (in batch
mode) for given CAD files. Batch Mesher performs a variety of geometry cleanup operations
to improve the quality of the mesh created for the selected element size and type. Cleanup
operations include: equivalencing of "red" free edges, fixing small surfaces (relative to the
element size), and detecting features.
Batch Mesher also performs specified surface editing/defeaturing operations such as:
removal of pinholes (less than specified size), removal of edge fillets, and addition of a layer
of washer elements around holes.
All user-defined criteria determines the quality index (QI) of a model. The QI value is used
to assess the potential of each geometry cleanup and meshing tool, and apply them
accordingly. QI optimized meshing and node placement optimization are performed to
obtain the best quality meshing. Final results are stored in a HyperMesh database file.
Tools
Model Files
This exercise uses the following files found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s) from this
directory to your working directory.
• part1.hm
• part2.hm
• bm_housing.hm
• bm_housing.criteria
• bm_housing.param
• bm_housing.tcl
Exercise
5. On the right-hand side of BatchMesher, click . The Select Model Files dialog
appears.
6. From the Type of Geometry list, select the appropriate CAD data type. For this
tutorial, use the geometry already loaded in HyperMesh, therefore select HyperMesh.
Note: A filter will help select applicable HyperMesh models for batch meshing.
8. Click Select.
2. On the right-hand side of BatchMesher, click . BatchMesher adds a new entry to the
table of configurations.
3. Double-click the Mesh Type field, and then enter a name for the mesh type.
2. On the right-hand side of BatchMesher, click . BatchMesher adds a new entry to the
table of user procedures.
Step 4: On the Run Setup tab, begin defining a configuration for the
batch mesh run.
1. For each geometry file, click the Mesh Type field and select the predefined mesh types
as follows:
• bm_housing.hm: use the mesh type you defined in Step 2.
• part1.hm: use Crash 5mm.
• part2.hm: use Crash 5mm.
2. For the Geometry file bm_housing.hm, click the Post-Mesh field and select the
procedure you created in Step 3.
Note: This will run the tetramesher on all available shell elements after batch
meshing.
3. Click Submit to initiate the run, or click Submit At to submit the job at a specified
time. BatchMesher switches to the Run Status tab. As the three jobs run, the Status
changes from Working to Pending to Done.
4. Obtain more details on a single job when its status is Working by selecting the job and
then clicking Show Details. A detailed summary appears with a table containing
information about the model during each step of the batch meshing process, such as
the number of failed elements and the quality index.
5. Once a job's status is Done, click Load Mesh. BatchMesher loads the mesh into
HyperMesh for model interrogation.
6. Obtain an overall run status of all the jobs by clicking Run Details once all of the jobs
have been meshed.
7. While the jobs are running, you can pause or cancel them. If you pause a job, it can be
resumed immediately or you can have it resume at a specific time.
8. Once the BatchMesher session has been setup with file directories and mesh types, you
can save it as a config file and load it at a future time.
9. It is also possible to load an entire set of models that have already been batch meshed
in order to take advantage of the Load Mesh option in the Run Status tab.
10. If you make modifications to your criteria or parameter files, you can submit a run
again. BatchMesher will place the new files in a separate sub-directory.
• From the Criteria tab, you can set the target element size, element criteria, and
the method that is used to calculate the values. You can also select the Advanced
Criteria Table check box to enabled additional options that give you more control
over the intermediate QI values, however, it is usually not necessary to edit these
options in order to obtain a good quality mesh. The Use min length from
timestep calculator check box is also available for explicit solver models. If you
select this check box, the overall minimum element size will be set by this option
and the top element checks will be disabled.
• From the Parameters tab, you can set all of the meshing controls over various
geometric features. Parameters are grouped into sections; you can click the small
downward-arrows next to each section to show and hide that section. The number
of parameters is extensive; for more details, see the Parameters Editor topic in the
BatchMesher help.
In this tutorial you will learn how to mesh a component using the:
• loose shell shrink wrap.
• tight shell shrink wrap.
• tight solid shrink wrap.
You can use the Shrink Wrap tool to generate an enclosed volume or solid mesh. This tools
is typically used to approximate and simplify an existing model.
Model Files
This exercise uses the shrinkwrap.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
In HyperMesh, you can shrink wrap elements, components, surfaces, or solids. The shrink
wrap allows for wrapping of multiple components if they are selected. The selection provides
the option to wrap all nodes, elements, components, surfaces, points, or solids, or only a
certain portion of the model if desired. The input to the shrink wrap (that is, the model parts
that you wish to wrap) can consist of 2D or 3D elements along with surfaces or solids.
The shrink wrap is able to stitch over very bad geometry to generate an enclosed volume
mesh for tetra-meshing. The shrink wrap tool can work from elements (whether 2D or 3D)
or geometry. Thus, in the case of an "unclean" geometry model with many released (free)
edges, you can either generate any arbitrary mesh on the unclean geometry using the
automesh functionality beforehand and then create shrink wrap or you can simply select the
surface or solid without meshing the geometry first; either of these steps will yield good
output mesh. The key in such cases is to ensure that the element size used for the shrink
wrap is large enough to stitch over the unclean surface edge splits so that an enclosed
volume can be created.
The element size affects the ability of the shrink wrap to follow the geometry of the model.
The larger the element size, the more simplified the model will appear. With a smaller
element size, the shrink wrap will more closely follow the model. The jacobian value for the
solid mesh follows the same type of pattern. As the jacobian value gets smaller, the shrink
wrap more closely follows the profile of the model. The smaller the jacobian value, the
longer it takes to generate the mesh.
Shrink wrap mesh can be generated as a surface mesh, or as a full-volume hex mesh, by
use of the Shrink Wrap panel. The distinction between surface or volume mesh is a check
box labeled generate solid mesh.
3. Open the Shrink Wrap panel by clicking Mesh > Create > Shrink Wrap Mesh from
the menu bar.
4. Switch the tight wrap toggle to loose wrap.
5. Verify that the entity selector is active and set to comps.
6. From the graphics area, select the component. HyperMesh highlights the entire
component.
7. In the element size= field, enter 4.
8. Click mesh. HyperMesh generates the shrinkwrap.
9. In the Model browser, Component folder, right-click on surfaces and select Hide
from the context menu.
4. Right-click on the block component and select Hide from the context menu.
3. Click select.
4. In the element size= field, enter 10.
5. Click mesh. HyperMesh generates the shrinkwrap.
The 3D mesh fills the model's volume, rather than only covering its outer surfaces.
HM-3200: Tetrameshing
HyperMesh provides two methods for generating a tetrahedral element mesh. The volume
tetra mesher works directly with surface or solid geometry to automatically generate a
tetrahedral mesh without further interaction with you. Even with complex geometry, this
method can often generate a high quality tetra mesh quickly and easily.
The standard tetra mesher requires a surface mesh of tria or quad elements as input, and
then provides you with a number of options to control the resulting tetrahedral mesh. This
offers a great deal of control over the tetrahedral mesh, and provides the means to
generate a tetrahedral mesh for even the most complex models.
You can use the Tetramesh panel to fill an enclosed volume with first or second order
tetrahedral elements. A region is considered enclosed if it is entirely bounded by a shell
mesh (tria or quad elements), where each element has material on one side and open space
on the other.
Model Files
This exercise uses the housing.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
10. If the model's mesh lines and elements are not shaded, click on the Visualization
toolbar.
11. Inspect the mesh pattern that the volume tetra mesher created.
Tetra mesh created in the volume tetra subpanel using equilateral triangles (2D: trias)
Step 3: Use the volume tetra mesher and right triangles to create a
tetra mesh for the cover.
In this step, you should still be in the Volume tetra subpanel.
Tetra mesh from the volume tetra subpanel and right triangles (2D type: R-trias)
Step 4: Use the volume tetra mesher to create a tetra mesh with
more elements along curved surfaces.
In this step, you should still be in the Volume tetra subpanel.
1. Select one of the surfaces in the model.
2. Select the Use curvature checkbox.
The option causes more elements to be created along areas of high surface curvature.
Thus, curved areas such as fillets will have more and smaller elements, which capture
those features with higher resolution.
3. In the Min elem size field, enter 1.0.
4. Verify that the Feature angle is set to 30.
5. Click mesh. HyperMesh creates the tetra mesh.
6. Inspect the mesh pattern that the volume tetra mesher created and compare it to
the previous meshes you created. You can see that more small elements are created
around the fillets.
Tetra mesh from the volume tetra subpanel with the use curvature check box selected
Step 5: Use the volume tetra mesher to create a tetra mesh with
more elements around small features.
In this step, you should still be in the Volume tetra subpanel.
1. Select one of the surfaces in the model.
2. Select the Use proximity checkbox.
This option causes the mesh to be refined in areas where surfaces are smaller, which
results in a nice transition from small elements on small surfaces to larger elements on
larger, adjacent surfaces.
3. Click mesh. HyperMesh creates the tetra mesh.
4. Inspect the mesh pattern that the volume tetra mesher created and compare it to the
previous meshes you created. You can see that more elements are created around the
surfaces with small angles.
Tetra mesh from the volume tetra subpanel with the Use curvature and Use proximity check boxes
selected.
Step 6: Prepare the display to tetra mesh the hub component using
the standard tetra mesher.
1. In the Model browser, turn off the display of every component's geometry except for
hub.
2. Turn off the display of every component's elements except for hub and tetras.
Note: There are tria shell elements in the hub component, and no elements in the
tetras component.
3. Return to the main menu by clicking return.
6. Open the Check Elements panel by clicking Mesh > Check > Elements > Check
Elements from the menu bar.
7. Verify that you are in the 2-d subpanel.
8. Identify the elements that have an aspect ratio greater than 5.
Aspect ratio is the ratio of the longest edge of an element to its shortest edge. This
check helps you to identify sliver elements. All of the hub’s shell elements pass the
check; all of the elements have an aspect ratio less than 5.
9. Identify the tria elements that have an angle less than 20.
This check helps identify sliver elements. All of the hub’s shell elements pass the check;
all the elements have angles greater than 20. The surface mesh is suitable for creating
a tetra mesh.
10. Return to the main menu by clicking return.
Step 8: Create a tetra mesh for the hub using the standard tetra
mesher.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, right-click on tetras and select Make
Current from the context menu.
2. Open the Tetra Mesh panel.
3. Go to the Tetra mesh subpanel.
4. Verify that the Float trias/quads to tetra mesh entity selector is set to comps.
Note: By using this entity selector, HyperMesh will swap the diagonal for any pair of
surface trias, which will result in a better tetra mesh quality. If you would
rather keep the diagonal, see step 8.6.
5. Select a shell element on the hub component. HyperMesh highlights the entire
component.
6. Optional: Keep the diagonal as is by activating the Fixed trias/quads to tetra mesh
entity selector and setting it to comps.
7. Click mesh. HyperMesh generates the tetrahedral elements.
Step 10: Isolate the element with the tetra collapse smaller than 0.2
and find the elements surrounding it.
In this step, you should still be in the Check Elements panel.
1. With 0.3 still specified in the tet collapse< field, click tet collapse.
2. Click save failed. HyperMesh saves the elements that failed the tetra collapse check in
the user mark.
Note: You can retrieve the saved elements that failed the check from any panel by
selecting retrieve in the extended selection menu.
3. Return to the main menu by clicking return.
4. Open the Mask panel by pressing F5.
10. On the Display toolbar, click . HyperMesh identifies and displays the layer of
elements that are attached to the three displayed element.
11. Click two more times. HyperMesh identifies and displays the layers of elements that
are attached to the displayed elements.
Note: You can duplicate the functionality of unmask adjacent using the Find panel,
find attached subpanel in the Tool page.
12. In the Model browser, turn off the display of the hub elements that were unmasked.
Summary
You have created a tetra mesh for both parts in the model using different tetra meshing
procedures. Either method can be used to mesh parts, depending on the needs of the
analysis. The tetra remesh function was used in this tutorial to show how to quickly fix the
quality of tetra elements.
Model Files
This exercise uses the arm_bracket.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
The objective of this exercise is to introduce you to a number of HyperMesh functions that
are used to create hexa-penta meshes. The arm_bracket.hm model is organized into four
IGES layers, consisting of 1) the base, 2) the first section of the arm, with a constant cross
section and curvature, 3) the second section of the arm, with a tapered cross section, and
4) the boss.
Step 2: Mesh the top surface of the base, including the L-shaped
surface.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, right-click on base and select Make
Current from the context menu.
2. Right-click on base again and select Isolate from the from the context menu.
HyperMesh hides all of the components except for base.
3. Open the AutoMesh panel by clicking Mesh > Create > 2D AutoMesh from the menu
bar.
4. Go to the size and bias subpanel.
5. Shade the model's geometry and surface edges by clicking on the Visualization
toolbar.
6. Verify that the entity selector is set to surfs.
7. Select the surfaces on the top of the base, including the L-shaped surface at the
intersection of the base and the arm.
Step 4: Prepare the display for meshing the arm’s curved segment.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, right-click on arm_curve and select Show
from the context menu.
2. Open the Mask panel by pressing F5.
3. Click elems >> by config.
4. Click config= and select the hex8 configuration.
5. Click select entities. HyperMesh selects all of the elements with a configuration of
hex8 in the model.
6. Click mask. HyperMesh masks the elements.
7. Return to the main menu by clicking return.
5. Click three locations along the selected line. The active selector advances from N1 to
N2 to N3, and HyperMesh create the temporary nodes on the selected curved line of
the arm.
6. Click circle center . HyperMesh creates the node at the center.
Note: You will use this node in the next step when you mesh the arm.
Step 6: Create hexa elements in the curved portion of the arm using
spin.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, right-click on arm_curve and select Make
Current from the context menu.
2. Open the Spin panel by clicking Mesh > Create > 3D Elements > Spin from the
menu bar.
3. Go to the spin elems subpanel.
4. Click 2d elems: elems >> by window.
5. Select the plate elements within the L-shaped cross section of the arm as indicated in
the following image.
6. Shade the model's elements and mesh lines by clicking on the Visualization
toolbar. The graphics area now displays the elements in the ^faces component.
Step 8: Prepare the display for meshing the second arm segment.
1. From the Model browser, turn on the display of the arm_straight and ^faces
components.
Step 10: Use linear solid to build the mesh between the two sets of
shell elements.
1. Open the Linear Solid panel by clicking Mesh > Create > 3D Elements > Linear 3D
from the menu bar.
2. Activate the from: elems selector.
3. Select the ^faces elements lying on the intersection between the first and second arm
segments as indicated in the following image.
Tip: Quickly select all of the necessary elements by selecting one of the elements
and then clicking from: elems >> by face.
9. Select three nodes on the "to element" that corresponds to the "from element" with the
three "from nodes" as indicated in the following image.
5. Adjust the density of each edge to obtain a mesh that matches the following image.
Step 14: Generate hexas for the boss using the Solid Map panel.
1. Open the Solid Map panel by clicking Mesh > Create > Solid Map Mesh from the
menu bar.
2. Go to the general subpanel.
3. Click the source geom switch and select none.
4. Activate the dest geom: surf selector.
5. Select the top surface of the boss as indicated in the following image.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a hexahedral mesh using the Solid map function
by one volume and multisolid method.
Solids are geometric entities that define a three-dimensional volume. The use of solid
geometry is helpful when dividing a part into multiple volumes. For example, divide a part
into simple, mappable regions to hex mesh the part. Use the Solid Map panel to create a
mesh of solid elements in a solid geometric volume.
Model Files
This exercise uses the solid_map.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
1. Shade the model's geometry and surface edges by clicking on the Visualization
toolbar.
2. Open the Solid Map Mesh panel by clicking Mesh > Create > Solid Map Mesh from
the menu bar.
3. Go to the one volume subpanel.
4. Under along parameters, enter 1 in the elem size= field.
5. Activate the volume to mesh: solid entity selector.
6. Select the small cube-shaped solid, as indicated in the following image.
7. Click mesh.
8. Shade the model's elements and mesh lines by clicking on the Visualization
toolbar.
9. Select the solid as indicated in the following image.
Step 4: Mesh the solid volume on which the surface mesh was
created in Step 3.
1. Open the Solid Map Mesh panel.
2. Go to the one volume subpanel.
3. Select the volume shown in the following image.
Once in the mappable visualization mode, it is clear that there is one 3-directional mappable
solid and the rest are 1-directional mappable.
9. Accept the solid element mesh and return to the Solid Map Mesh panel by clicking
return.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the TetraMesh Process Manager to:
The Process Manager contains a step-by-step checklist of procedures that allow you to
quickly organize and tetramesh a geometric model. Each step is formatted in a
hierarchical list that provides the order in which the process must be performed.
Specialized tools are also provided at each step to simplify the process. You can perform
these steps manually, but it is generally faster to perform them in the Tetramesh
Process Manager.
Model Files
This exercise uses the tetmesh_pm.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy
the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
2. In the Create New Session dialog, enter a name for the session in the New
Session Name field.
Note: Creating a session name and saving the session allows you to stop the
process before completion and then load it again at a later time, picking up
the process at the point it was left off.
3. In the Working Folder field, navigate to the location of your working directory.
2: Import geometry.
At this point, the TetraMesh Process Manger automatically assembles the TetraMesh
process flow. The first step, Geometry Import, is highlighted in the tab area, and the
panel area has been configured with specific panels for aiding the Tetramesh Process
Manager template. If you need to access standard HyperMesh panels, undock the
Process Manager panels to a separate dialog by clicking in the panel area. To re-dock
the Process Manager panels, click in the Process Manager dialog.
Note: A green checkmark appears next to the Geometry Import step in the
Process Manager tab, which indicates that the step is complete.
3. Click Isolate. HyperMesh isolates the surfaces with free edges on them.
Tip: If this did not correct all of the free edges, increase the Tolerance value
until all of the free edges are equivalenced.
7. Click Isolate. A dialog appears with a message that reads, "No edges found..."
Note: This confirms that all of the edges have been fixed.
9. Click ACCEPT.
1. In the Hole Parameters Table, D< column, enter 5 in the first row and 10 in the
second row.
Note: This will organize the holes into two collectors that will include holes ranging
from 0 - 5 units and 5 - 10 units collectively.
2. Click Auto Organize. HyperMesh organizes all of the holes in the model less than
10 units into two component collectors, each with a different color.
Note: Two new component collectors, with the name solidholes followed by the
numerical average of the diameter range of the holes, are created.
Note: The Num Circumference Elems field governs the number of elements
that will be meshed around the hole.
Note: The Longitudinal Elem Size field dictates the unit size of the elements
through the length of the hole.
7. Click ACCEPT.
2. Click Mesh All. HyperMesh creates a perfectly straight tria mesh down the length of
the holes with no twisting.
3. Click ACCEPT.
3. Click OK.
4. Select all five of the flat faces around the circumference of the part as indicated in
the following image.
5. Click proceed. The Organize panel opens with the surfaces pre-selected and ready
to move into a new component called grp_Faces.
6. Click move.
7. Click return.
8. Click .
11. Rotate the model so you are looking at it from underneath into the center.
12. Select the five surfaces that are shaded gray, as indicated the following image.
Note: You only need to select one of the two surfaces that make up a cylinder;
when you click proceed HyperMesh automatically selects the other
surfaces.
Note: Your model should look similar to the following image, with the faces in one
collector and the top hole in another. Your colors may vary slightly.
1. Click Components.
2. Select the part in an area that has not been organized into a new component so that
the large purple part is selected.
3. Click proceed.
6. Click Cleanup.
Note: Many of the fillets now have an edge running down the center and the
original edges are suppressed.
7. Click ACCEPT.
1. In the Feature Parameters Table, set the Mesh Type for Faces to trias.
Note: Notice the distinctive Union Jack mesh pattern ( ) in the top hole area
and the connectivity of the mesh to the previously meshed holes.
5. Click ACCEPT.
1. Click ACCEPT.
3. Click Mesh.
4. Click ACCEPT.
2. Click comps.
4. Click select.
5. Click proceed.
6. Leave all of the values at their default (Min Size = 0.25, Max FeatureAngle =
60.0, and Normals Angle = 150.0).
7. Click AutoCleanup. A dialog appears with a message that reads, "Cleanup process
performed on 32 failed elements. No failed elements remain."
Note: This confirms that all failed edges have been fixed and there are no further
errors in the model.
8. Optional: Use the Manual tab to manually check the model for free edges and t-
junctions, and fix any that are found. There is also an option to display normals. Use
these options to find and fix any errors.
9. Click ACCEPT.
Note: The Tetramesh Process Manager automatically places any elements that fail
the AutoCleanup procedure in the user mark. This allows for easy retrieval
of problem elements. You can employ the tools from the standard
HyperMesh panels to fix these remaining elements.
1. Under Float trias/quads to tetra mesh, click elems. HyperMesh selects the
surface elements under the general mesh selection option.
Note: This option defines the selected elements as “floatable”, meaning that the
diagonals of the underlying tetra elements can be flipped from the
generated shell elements if HyperMesh determines a better element quality
will result.
2. Under Fixed trias/quads to tetra mesh, click elems. HyperMesh selects the
elements that represent the interior of holes and bores.
Note: The option defines the selected elements as “fixed”, meaning HyperMesh
will always adhere to the shell mesh pattern when generating the tetra
elements.
3. Click mesh.
5. Right-click on tetmesh, and select Isolate Only from the context menu.
Hypermesh displays the tetra mesh.
7. Press Shift + left-click, and then drag a box to include roughly half of the model.
8. Click mask.
Note: Your tetra mesh should look similar to the following image.
1. From the menu bar, click File > Save > Model.
Quality 4
Model Files
This exercise uses the cover.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
5. Observe the red, 1D elements (free edges), and try to identify gaps in the continuity of
the mesh.
Tip: Look closely at the free edges interior to the model.
6. In the Model browser, Component folder, click next to shells to turn off its
element display.
7. Continue to identify which red, free edges do not belong in the model.
All of the red, free edges in the model Red, free edges that belong in the model
Step 4: Review the model’s free edges again to confirm that all of
the shell element connectivity problems have been corrected.
In this step, you should still be in the Edges panel.
1. Click find edges. HyperMesh creates a red, 1D element along each shell element edge
that is free.
2. Observe the red, 1D elements (free edges). Are there any red, free edges that should
not belong if the mesh was continuous, or if all of the elements were connected?
Note: Red, free edges should only exist on the perimeter of the part and on the
periphery of the internal holes.
3. In the Model browser, turn off the element display of the shells component.
4. Verify that all of the free, red edges belong in the model.
Step 5: Display the element normals and adjust them to point in the
same direction.
1. To open the Normals panel, do one of the following:
• From the menu bar, click Mesh > Check > Elements > Normals.
5. In the graphics area, select any element. HyperMesh selects the component containing
the element you selected.
6. Click display. HyperMesh draws vectors from the element centroids, which indicate the
direction of the element normals.
Note: The arrows do not all point from the same side of the part. For some analyses,
the element normals should point from the same side.
7. In the size = field, enter the size which the normal should be in model units.
Note: When size = is set to 0, the vector will be 10% of the screen.
8. Click display.
13. Click adjust. All of the elements on both sides of the part are the same color, red or
blue.
Note: The Status bar reads: "[X] elements have been adjusted."
14. Optional: If after adjusting the normals there are still elements on one side of the part
which are of different color, set the switch to elem under Orientation, select the
elements that are of a different color, and then click reverse.
15. Click return.
Step 6: Review the quality of the elements using the check elems
panel.
1. To open the Check Elems panel, do one of the following:
• From the menu bar, click Mesh > Check > Elements > Check Elements.
5. In the graphics area, click an element. A window appears that lists each quality check
result for the element.
9. Under quads, verify that the min angle < is set to 45.
10. Click min angle to determine if any quad elements have an angle of less than 45.
Note: A couple of the elements on the rib have an angle of less than 45.
11. Under quads, verify that the max angle > field is set to 135.
12. Click max angle.
Note: Several elements on the rib have an angle greater than 135.
Step 7: Remesh the elements on the rib using the Automesh panel.
1. To open the Automesh panel, do one of the following:
• From the menu bar, click Mesh > Create > 2D AutoMesh.
• From the main menu, go to the 2D page and click automesh.
• Press F12.
2. Go to the size and bias subpanel.
3. Set the entity selector to elems.
4. At the bottom of the panel, set the toggle to interactive.
5. In the element size= field, enter 3.5.
6. In the graphics area, select one rib element as indicated in the following image.
7. Select one element on the plane of elements perpendicular to the rib and in the same
plane as the rib’s shortest edge as indicated in the following image..
10. In the density subpanel, left-click on the rib’s hypotenuse edge density number to
increase it to 9 as indicated in the following image.
11. Left-click on the rib’s shortest edge density number to increase it to 5 as indicated in
the following image.
12. Keep all of the other element edge densities the same.
13. Go to the mesh style subpanel.
14. Under mesh method, set the last option to free (unmapped).
15. Under mesh method, click set all.
16. Preview the mesh by clicking mesh.
19. Accept the mesh and return to the main menu by clicking return.
Step 8: Use the Smooth panel to adjust the node placement on the
rectangular plane of the remeshed elements.
1. Open the Smooth panel by clicking Mesh > Cleanup Elements > Smooth.
2. Go to the plates subpanel.
3. Activate the smooth: elems selector.
4. Select an element on the rectangular plane of the remeshed elements.
5. Click elems >> by face.
Step 9: Remove tria elements from another area of the model using
the edit element panel, split and combine subpanels.
1. Go to the 2D page.
2. Click edit element.
3. Go to the split subpanel.
4. Verify that the splitting line: points selector is active.
5. Click the four screen points as indicated in the following image. HyperMesh draws
temporary line segments to connect the points.
Tip: Right-click to undo the last line segment drawn, or click delete line to start
over and reselect points.
6. Click split. HyperMesh splits the elements that have a line passing through them.
Note: The resulting mesh should look like the mesh in the following image, with two
pairs of adjacent tria elements.
9. Select the two adjacent tria elements as indicated in the following image.
10. Click combine. HyperMesh combines the two tria elements into one quad element.
11. Repeat 11.9 and 11.10 to combine the other two tria elements into one quad element.
10. Select a node on the washer as indicated in the previous image. HyperMesh changes
the washer's radius to 7.
Note: Because you selected the link washers checkbox, the hole's radius will change
accordingly (approx. 4.68). Due to the change in the hole's and washer's
dimensions, elements around the washer will be distorted and will fail in
quality. You can correct all of the failed elements in the model using the node
optimize and element optimize cleanup tools.
Step 11: Add a ring of radial elements around the smaller of the two
holes.
1. Open the Utility tab by clicking View > Browsers > HyperMesh > Utility from the
menu bar.
2. Click Geom/Mesh.
3. Click Add Washer.
4. In the Add Washer along Circular Holes dialog, double-click Nodes.
5. Select one of the nodes on the edge of the smaller hole as indicated in the following
image.
5. Verify that the source selector is set to comps, and then select the IMPRINT1
component.
6. Verify that the destination selector is set to comps, and then select the shells
component.
7. From the remain drop-down list, select destination.
Note: This option takes existing elements/components that can be imprinted into
destination elements/components, and changes their direction and destination.
Violet source elements are imprinted in destination (yellow), element organized into yellow component.
Yellow destination elements are imprinted to Violet elements, and elements are organized into the yellow
component.
6. On the EXTEND component, select the source nodes indicated in the following image.
7. Verify that the destination selector is set to comps, and then select the shells
component.
8. From the projection list, select along vector.
9. Activate the N1 selector.
10. Select N1 and N2, as indicated in the following image, to define the direction.
12. Click create. HyperMesh connects the two parts with one element along the projection,
because the remesh extension checkbox was clear.
HM-3320: Penetration
Tools
• From the menu bar, click Mesh > Check > Components > Penetration.
• From the Tool page, select penetration.
Use the Penetration panel to check the integrity of your model, visualize problem
areas, and fix problem areas. You can check elements, components and groups.
Typically you would use the group check to check contact definitions (for example,
Abaqus/LS-DYNA).
You can also use this panel to check components for element penetration and
intersection. Penetration and intersection can be used individually or collectively.
Penetration is defined as the overlap of the material thickness of shell elements, while
intersection is defined as elements passing completely through one another.
Strategy
When the penetration check is invoked, a new penetration tab opens in the browser
area.
The results are split into intersections and penetrations with the number of components
that are clashing in brackets. In the example below, two components are intersecting
and eleven components have material penetration. Expand each section for more detail
as to which components have failed. The ID, Elems, Depth, and Comps columns
provide information on which components' IDs are involved, the number of failed
elements, the depth of penetration (not applicable for intersections), and the number of
components affected in the penetration/intersection. Each of the columns can be sorted
by clicking the column header. At the bottom of the tab area there is a message bar
which will detail the status of the check, the number of failed elements, and any
warnings and errors as the checks are invoked.
Access additional options and tools within the penetration and intersection check by
right-clicking in the Penetration tab. A context menu will appear and provide additional
options to fix either penetrations or intersections, depending on whether the penetration
parent/child folder or intersection folder has been highlighted.
Click Options to configure the display of the tab, fix intersections and penetrations, and
change the display of depenetration vector.
The fixing of penetrations and intersections falls into two categories: automatic and
manual. These capabilities will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial.
Model Files
This exercise uses the penetration_check.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip
file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
3. Click OK.
4. From the menu bar, click File > Open > Model.
5. In the Open Model dialog, open the penetration_check.hm file. A model appears
in the graphics area.
6. On the Visualization toolbar, click to shade the model's elements and mesh
lines.
2. Click comps.
4. Click select.
5. Click check. Once the check is complete, the Penetration tab populates with two
intersections and 11 penetrations.
Note: Based on which mode is chosen, certain components are displayed on the
screen.
Mod Description
e
3. Under Intersections, in the Rocker Fwd Top Panel RH folder, select the Rocker
Inner Panel RH component. HyperMesh automatically fits the screen to the failed
intersecting elements.
1. Under Intersections, in the Rocker Inner Panel RH folder, select the Rocker
Fwd Top Panel RH component.
2. Ensure that the intersecting entities can be fixed by clicking (Manual Fix Tools).
6. Click twice. HyperMesh moves the selected elements in the chosen direction.
Note: After the elements have been moved by a value of 4, they no longer
intersect.
7. Click (Recheck).
8. In the dialog that appears, which reads "Current intersection/penetration results will
be lost by rechecking the model. Would you like to continue?", click Yes.
3. Click comps.
5. Click select.
6. Click check. Once the check is complete, the Penetration tab populates with two
intersections and 11 penetrations.
8. In the dialog that appears asking if you would like to continue, click Yes.
Note: Automatic Recursive Intersection Fix automatically runs through all of the
passes, whereas the Automatic Intersection Fix runs through one pass at a
time. Most fixes require multiple passes.
2. Select the component, C-Pillar Bot Inner Panel RH. The penetration results will
look as follows:
3. View different types of display results for penetration by clicking the following
visualization options: .
contour
vectors
Remember that the columns can be sorted. For example, if you were only interested
in the worst offending penetrations then sorting by the depth column will reorganize
the tree structure, while still retaining the parent/child relationship.
In this particular example, for component C-Pillar Bot Inner Panel RH, there are
18 elements that have failed (parent and child), the maximum penetration depth is
0.159, and there is only one component penetrating.
automatically repeating the automatic fix until it reaches a point at which no further
improvements can be made. You also have the option to either fix individual
penetrations by clicking on a single parent branch of the tree, or fix all penetrations at
once by clicking and highlighting the complete Penetrations tree.
In some circumstances, there may be the need to lock or freeze a component that
cannot be adjusted or moved by the fixing tool. To achieve this, right-click on the
component and select Lock Component from the context menu. Once a component is
locked, a symbol will appear by the folder indicating that the component is locked.
In the previous example, you locked the component, C-Pillar Bot Inner Panel RH. The
lock symbol appears multiple times to correspond with the multiple references to the
same component. To unlock the component, right-click again on the locked component
and select Unlock Component from the context menu. For the purpose of this tutorial
you will not be using the lock functionality.
To fix the penetrations in the model you will use the Iterative Fix:
2. In the dialog that appears, asking if you would like to continue, click Yes.
Note: After the process has finished, a majority of the penetrations have been
fixed. Three penetrations remain which require manual editing to fix.
Assembly 5
Model Files
This exercise uses the frame_assembly.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy
the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
Weld the two front trusses by creating connectors between geometry surfaces at pre-
defined weld points.
4. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or click on
the Standard toolbar.
5. In the Open Model dialog, open the frame_assembly.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
6. On the Visualization toolbar, click to shade your model's geometry and surface
edges.
7. Observe the model using various visualization options available in HyperMesh (rotation,
zooming, and so on).
Step 4: Create welds between the geometry for the two front
trusses at the pre-defined weld points.
Connectors can be created automatically or manually. The automatic approach creates and
realizes connectors automatically. The manual approach allows you to create and realize
connectors manually. Realization is the process in which the connector creates the weld
entity.
Use the Spot, Bolt, Seam, and Area panels to create connectors automatically within the
Connector browser, and use the create and realize subpanels to create connectors
manually.
1. Verify that the current component is Con_Frt_Truss.
Note: The current component is always boldfaced in the Model browser, Component
folder.
2. Open the Spot panel by right-clicking in the Connector Entity browser and selecting
Create > Spot from the context menu.
3. Go to the spot subpanel.
4. Set the location selector to points.
5. Select the six pre-defined weld points by clicking points >> by collector.
6. Select the component Con_Frt_Truss.
7. Click select.
8. Set the connect what selector to comps.
9. Click comps.
10. Select the components Front_Truss_1 and Front_Truss_2.
11. Click select.
12. In the tolerance = field, enter 5.
Note: The connector will connect any selected entities within this distance of itself.
13. Click type= and select weld.
14. Under connect what, switch the toggle from elems to geom.
15. Click create. HyperMesh automatically creates and realizes six connectors (Status bar
reads, "6 spot connectors created, 6 realized."), and organizes them as geometry (not
elements) in the current component collector, Con_Frt_Truss.
Note: Green connectors indicate that the creation of the weld entity was successful.
HyperMesh also adds fixed points to the surfaces at the ends of the weld elements to
guarantee connectivity between the weld elements and the shell mesh that will be
created on the surfaces.
2. In the Link Entity browser, right-click on Front_Truss_1 and select Find from the
context menu. HyperMesh isolates the component in the graphics area and highlights
the six connectors in the Connector Entity browser to indicate that these connectors
have Front_Truss_1 as a link.
3. Right-click on Front_Truss_1 and select Find Attached from the context menu.
HyperMesh finds the components that are attached to Front_Truss_1 through the
connectors.
Note: Front_Truss_1 and Front_Truss_2 are now both highlighted in the Link Entity
browser, which indicates that they are displayed in the graphics area.
1. In the Model browser, set the entity selection to (Elements and Geometry).
2. Right-click on assem_2 and select Isolate from the context menu.
6. In the Connector Entity browser, right-click on the unrealized connectors and select
Rerealize from the context menu. HyperMesh realizes the selected connectors, and
remeshes the mesh to connect the two components.
The two front trusses welded to the reinforcement plate with weld elements at the connectors
Step 10: Display only the assembly assem_3 for elements and
geometry.
1. In the Model browser, set the entity selection to (Elements and Geometry).
2. On the Visualization toolbar, click to shade your model's elements and mesh
lines.
3. Right-click on assem_3 and select Isolate from the context menu.
Weld the two right rails to each other and to the two front trusses by creating connectors from a master
connectors file.
Step 11: Create connectors to connect the right rails to each other
and to the front trusses by importing a master connectors file.
1. From the menu bar, click File > Import > Connectors.
4. In the Connector Entity browser, right-click on the selected connectors and select
Rerealize from the context menu.
Right rails welded to each other and to the front trusses with weld elements at the connectors
Step 13: Display only the assembly assem_4 for elements and
geometry.
1. In the Model browser, set the entity selection to (Elements and Geometry).
2. Right-click on assem_4 and select Isolate from the context menu.
Weld to the two front trusses by duplicating and reflecting selected connectors created from the master
connectors file
Step 16: Update the connectors for the left rails to link them to the
left rail components.
1. In the Connector Entity browser, expand the RBAR folder.
2. Sort the connectors by their state by clicking State. HyperMesh organizes all of the
realized connectors at the top of the list.
Tip: You may need to increase the size of the tab area to see the State column.
3. Click State again. HyperMesh organizes all of the unrealized connectors at the top of
the list.
4. In the Link1 and Link2 columns, review the the unrealized connectors.
Note: Some of the connectors are linked to the components, Right_Rail_1 and
Right_Rail_2. This data is from the rails_frt_truss.mwf file that you
imported. These links need to be updated to reflect the components,
Left_Rail_1 and Left_Rail_2.
5. Select all of the unrealized connectors in the list.
6. In the Entities column, right-click on the selected connectors and select Update Link
from the context menu.
7. In the Update window, Search column, set the Link Type to comps.
8. In the Search column, click the Link Select field.
9. In the panel area, click component.
10. Select the component, Right_Rail_1.
11. Click proceed. HyperMesh inserts Right_Rail_1 into the Link Select field.
12. In the Replace column, set the Link Type to comps.
13. In the Replace column, click the Link Select field.
Step 18: Verify that all connectors are realized and identify the pairs
of adjacent connectors.
1. In the Connector Entity browser, expand the RBAR folder.
2. From the State column, verify that all of the connectors are realized.
3. Zoom into one of the two areas where the front trusses are connected to the rail
components.
Note: At these two areas, there are pairs of adjacent connectors.
Step 23: Display only the assembly assem_5 for elements and
geometry.
1. In the Model browser, set the entity selection to (Elements and Geometry).
2. Right-click on assem_5 and select Isolate from the context menu.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to apply an adhesive connection to the left rails.
S
Model Files
This exercise uses the frame_assembly_1.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file.
Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
Area connectors must be meshed in order to work properly. When the connector’s location
is existing FE mesh elems, the connector automatically gets meshed to match the elements
chosen. However, after creating an area connector on surfs, lines, or along nodes, you must
use the automesh options (which display when you select one of these locations types) to
create a mesh on the connector area.
4. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
5. In the Open Model dialog, open the frame_assembly_1.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
6. Observe the model using various visualization options available in HyperMesh (rotation,
zooming, and so on).
2. Review the layout of the Connector browser. Currently there are no components or
connectors listed because there are no connectors in the model.
Note: You can use the Connector browser to view and manage the connectors in
your model. The top portion of the browser is referred to as the Link Entity
browser, and it displays information about the linked entities in your model.
The middle portion is referred to as the Connector Entity browser, and it
contains a list of the connectors in your model. The bottom portion of the
browser is referred to as the Connector Entity Editor, and it displays
attributes assigned to the connector(s) selected in the Connector Entity
browser. HyperMesh groups the connectors based on their connection type.
5. Open the Area panel by right-clicking in the Connector Entity browser and selecting
Create > Area from the context menu.
6. Set the location selector to elems.
7. Select one element on the top flange of the Left_Rail_1 component as indicated in the
following image.
21. In the Connector Entity browser, right-click on the unrealized adhesive connector and
select Rerealize from the context menu.
For the other set of flanges you will manually create an area connector and mesh it accordingly.
9. Click select.
10. Click create.
Note: The default mesh size for these mesh independent area connectors (when
choosing by nodes/lines/surfs) is 10. However, you can specify a different
elem size if needed.
11. Go to the edit subpanel.
12. Select remesh.
13. Use the location: connectors selector to select the area connector you just created in
step 4.10.
14. In the element size= field, enter 3.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to apply a bolted connection to two rear trusses.
Model Files
This exercise uses the frame_assembly_2.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file.
Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
The Bolt panel creates connectors based on holes within the connected components, using
spiders or washers at each end of an RBE connector. When the Bolt panel is active, only
bolt-type connectors display in the graphics area; graphics for other connector types are
suppressed until you exit the panel. The Bolt panel contains three subpanels:
4. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
5. In the Open Model dialog, open the frame_assembly_2.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
6. Observe the model using various visualization options available in HyperMesh (rotation,
zooming, and so on).
7. Click select.
8. In the tolerance= field, enter 50.
Note: The connector will connect any selected entities within this distance of itself.
9. Click type= and select bolt (general).
Note: Re-realizing the connector will allow you to see the different bolt types.
10. Click realize & hole detect details.
11. In the max dimension = field, enter 60 to ensure that the diameter of the picked hole
will be captured.
12. Click return.
Bolted connection
After the modeling of the assembly is complete, a design change might be made to any one
of the parts. When this occurs, you must replace the current part(s) in the model with the
new, similar one(s) and update the affected connections (welds).
Model Files
This exercise uses the frame_assembly_3.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file.
Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
A new part is needed in the assembly. In this tutorial you will learn how to delete the
original component, import a new part, and update the connections. You will also export the
connector information to a single file, and then export the entire FE input deck and observe
how the connector information is preserved.
4. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
5. In the Open Model dialog, open the frame_assembly_3.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
6. Observe the model using various visualization options available in HyperMesh (rotation,
zooming, and so on).
2. Review the layout of the Connector browser. Currently there are no components or
connectors listed because there are no connectors in the model.
Note: You can use the Connector browser to view and manage the connectors in
your model. The top portion of the browser is referred to as the Link Entity
browser, and it displays information about the linked entities in your model.
The middle portion is referred to as the Connector Entity browser, and it
contains a list of the connectors in your model. The bottom portion of the
browser is referred to as the Connector Entity Editor, and it displays
attributes assigned to the connector(s) selected in the Connector Entity
browser. HyperMesh groups the connectors based on their connection type.
2. From the menu bar, click File > Import > Model.
Step 7: Export the finite element deck and observe how the
connector information is preserved.
1. From the menu bar, click File > Export > Solver Deck.
2. From the File type list, select OptiStruct.
3. From the Template list, select standard format.
Model Files
This exercise uses the files located in the HM-3440 folder, which can be found in the hm.zip
file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
3. Click Import. Part assemblies and parts are imported into the session.
2. In the Part browser, right-click and on one of the column headers and enable the
following columns from the context menu: PDM PID, PDM MID, PDM Material, PDM
Thickness, and PDM MeshFlag.
These columns show the PDM metadata that is parsed upon importation of the PLMXML
file. This information is also shown in the Entity Editor, PDM Data pane.
5. Click OK. All available CAD representations are imported into the session.
8. Click OK. Available CAD representations are sent to the BatchMesher for processing.
Note: In the case of sheet metal parts, the BatchMesher extracts the midsurface from
the solid CAD representation. You can choose a Midsurface method, include
Skin, Offset, Offset + Planes, Offset + Planes + Sweeps.
9. In the BatchMesh dialog, click Yes to load the new representations for the eight parts.
10. Repeat steps 3.7 - 3.10 to create NVH10 and NVH15 representations.
3. Click OK. Connectors are loaded, and the Representation column shows the Connector
representation loaded.
3. Select PID 103 and 104. The EntityEditor opens and displays the two properties
common corresponding attributes.
3. In the Part Set view, right-click and select Create > Configuration from the context
menu.
4. Name the configurations Var1 and Var2.
5. Group part sets that are unique by dragging-and-dropping part sets from the Part Set
view onto the configuration.
a. Group the Var1 part set into the Var 1 configuration.
b. Group the Var2 part set into the Var 2 configuration.
3. For the Master Model, enter 1,000,000 in the Min field and 1,500,000 in the Max field.
4. Correct ID overflow by right-clicking on the Master Model and selecting Correct >
Overflow from the context menu.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to simultaneously replace multiple components in your
current model using the Part Replacement tool. You will be replacing six related
components (bumper, front frame, and radiator frame) in the Pr_Inc.k Include file with
components that contain a finer mesh.
Model Files
This exercise uses the files located in the hm-3450 folder, which can be found in the
hm.zip file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
3. Click OK.
3. Click Import.
2. Set the Replace using field to Comp in File, then open the Incoming_idclash.k
file, which contains the target, replacement parts.
3. In the Tolerance field, field, enter a tolerance to search for closest nodes and
elements to re-establish the connections and other references between the target
part and the model. For this tutorial, you can leave the default tolerance of 0.01.
5. Click Preview.
a. In the second row, note that there is one –two mapping. If it does not come up
display, click on the second row to add the new pairing.
b. Click OK.
Note: When performing Manual part replacement, you have the flexibility to
modify the component pairing using add/remove pairing option in
component pairing window; whereas, when performing Automatic part
replacement, you cannot modify component pairing.
External entities are shared with other components, along with the selected
components that are being replaced (example: sets, groups, output blocks, and so
on). Internal entities are specific to the components being replaced (example: sets,
groups, output blocks, and so on).
• Merge existing and incoming entities (no entities deleted) retains both
existing and incoming entities on accept.
Note: All internal entities are deleted, and all external entities are updated.
3. Click Close.
Morph 6
Model Files
This exercise uses the propeller.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
In this tutorial, you will increase the length of a propeller blade by 100 units, using freehand
morphing.
2. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
3. In the Open Model dialog, open the propeller.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
6. Use the affected elements selector to select the elements between the fixed nodes
and moving nodes.
7. In the mv bias and fx bias fields, keep the default values (1.00).
11. Leave the other parameters and options set to their default values.
12. In the Model browser, View folder, right-click on View1 and select Show from the
context menu.
13. Use the moving nodes and fixed nodes selectors to select the nodes indicated in the
following image.
14. Use the affected elements selector to select the elements between the fixed nodes
and moving nodes. A manipulator appears.
15. Optional: Move the manipulator to a different location by activating the origin: nodes
selector and selecting another node as the origin.
17. Translate the nodes by clicking and dragging one of the three yellow arrows of the
manipulator.
18. Rotate the nodes about the center of the manipulator by clicking and dragging one of
the three yellow arcs of the manipulator.
21. Create more than one manipulator at a time by setting the single
manipulator/multiple toggle to multiple.
22. Create a new manipulator by clicking new manip and selecting one or more moving
nodes.
Note: The different manipulators may have different selected entities and different
parameters, and can be moved independently of one another.
23. Move a manipulator by clicking a manipulator or simply moving your mouse over a
manipulator. HyperMesh updates the panel to the parameters associated to that
manipulator. You can change the parameters or the entities associated with them if you
desire.
24. Make manipulators active or inactive by switching the manip:active/manip:inactive
toggle. When active, the manipulators morph the model when you move them. When
inactive, the manipulators will only change their own position and orientation when you
move them.
Summary
Method 1: The length of the propeller blade increased by 100. The fixed nodes did not
move. The affected elements were stretched evenly to maintain element quality. The
stretching of the elements took place between the moving nodes and the fixed nodes.
Method 2: The length of the propeller blade increased depending on how you dragged the
handles along the three arrows, arcs, or right angles of the manipulator to respectively
translate, rotate, or move the nodes. The fixed nodes did not move. The affected
elements were stretched evenly to maintain element quality. The stretching of the
elements took place between the moving nodes and the fixed nodes.
HM-3520: Sculpting
Model Files
This exercise uses the dummy_position_solid.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip
file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
The objective of this exercise is to take a dummy pelvis profile and imprint it onto a seat.
Summary
Using just a few steps you have been able to take a fairly complicated profile and impose it
on to another mesh.
Model Files
This exercise uses the bumper_morphing.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file.
Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
In this exercise, you will use the line difference approach to morph a bumper to conform
to a new section line.
7. Use map by line axis morphing with a 1.0 mvbias and fxbias (column 3).
8. Click map.
Summary
The profile of the bumper is changed to follow the new section line.
Model Files
This exercise uses the car_section.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
In this tutorial, you will use map to sections to change the profile of the car roof.
14. Click the XZ Right Plane View ( ) icon to set the view
15. For fixed nodes use Shift + Left Mouse Button to select all the nodes as shown in
figure 2.
Summary
The roof of the car has been morphed while the mesh quality has been maintained.
Model Files
This exercise uses the body_side.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise: Changing the Shape of the B-pillar with the Help of Morph
Volume
This exercise shows how to smoothly change the shape of a B-pillar via morph volumes.
2. To open a model file, click File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or click on
the Standard toolbar.
3. In the Open Model dialog, open the body_side.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
8. Click morph.
12. Leave the other parameters and options set to their default values.
15. Optional: You can select another node as the origin to set the manipulator in a
different position.
17. To translate the nodes, click and drag, graphically, one of the three yellow arrows of the
manipulator.
24. To create a new manipulator, click new manip and then graphically select one or more
moving nodes.
Note: The different manipulators may have different selected entities and different
parameters, and can be moved independently of one another.
25. To move a manipulator, click a manipulator or simply move your mouse over a
manipulator. HyperMesh updates the panel to the parameters associated to that
manipulator. You can change the parameters or the entities associated with them if you
desire.
26. To make manipulators active or inactive, switch the manip:active/manip:inactive
toggle. When active, the manipulators morph the model when you move them. When
inactive, the manipulators will only change their own position and orientation when you
move them.
Summary
In both methods, you morphed the b-pillar in a smooth fashion with minimum distortion to
the elements.
Model Files
This exercise uses the morphing_1.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
In this exercise you will create domains and handles, and morph the model.
Step 4: Split the edge domain of the radius to have more control
when morphing.
1. Click the edit edges subpanel in the Morphing > Domains panel.
2. Verify that the split option is selected.
3. With the domain selector active, select the edge domain of the part’s radius as
indicated in the Figure 2.
The node selector automatically becomes active once the edge domain is selected.
Click the domain selector to make it active and see that you selected the desired edge
domain.
5. Select the node on the positive Y-axis end of the radius, as indicated in the image
Figure 3.
Figure 4: Node selection to further split the edge domain of the radius
Step 5: Add local handles to the 2-D domain on the part’s left side.
1. Click the Morphing menu, and pick Create > Handles.
2. For name=, enter local.
3. Click the attached to: domain selector to make it active.
4. Select the 2-D domain on the part’s left side by selecting its red icon, as indicated in
the following image.
9. Click on and drag one of the selected handles to morph the part.
As you drag the handle, the mesh’s size and shape is adjusted. Notice that the
following occurs as the selected local handle is moved:
• The handles selected in step 6.2 above follow the handle you are dragging.
• All of the elements belonging to the selected local handle’s 2-D domain are affected
by moving that local handle.
• The 2-D domain’s non-selected local handles act like anchors (they do not move).
• The nodes on the edge domains and between any two non-selected local domains
do not move.
• None of the elements in the other 2-D domain are affected.
10. Release the mouse button to complete the morphing operation.
Summary
• All of the elements, local handles and edge domains are affected.
Model Files
This exercise uses the spring.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
6. Click the Morphing menu and pick Morph. Enter the alter dimensions subpanel if
not already there.
7. Change the morphing method to radius.
8. Change the center calculation to by normals.
9. Keep all the other settings.
10. For domains (under edge and 2D) select the 2D domain and the two edge
domains as shown in Figure 2.
When the circular edge domain is selected, the radius box populates with the current
radius value.
11. In the radius field, type 12.
12. Click morph.
Summary
The gauge thickness of the spring wire is changed from 7.5 to 12.0.
Model Files
This exercise uses the spring.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
In this exercise, you will increase the radius of the spring coil.
Figure 2: Domains and base node to select for altering the coil radius
10. For domains (under edge and 2D) select the 2-D domain and the two edge domains.
11. For the base node for the z-axis select the node as shown in Figure 2.
12. Keep the default settings for the remaining options.
13. Activate add to current.
14. In the radius field, type 20.
15. Click morph.
Summary
Objective
Use morphing to change the thickness of the middle layers of a four-layered solid, while
maintaining the thickness of the outer layers.
Model Files
This exercise uses the Morph_Adhesive_Layers.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip
file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Tools
Domains will be created using 3D domains > by component. Thickness will be altered
using alter dimensions.
3. To reduce the number of domains and handles shown on the screen, click the Mask
tab.
4. Click the + next to Morphing to expand it.
5. Click the + in the Show column for Local Domains/Handles to display the domains
and handles for only the displayed elements.
6. Hide the ^morphface component in the Model Browser.
Objective
Model Files
This exercise uses the tube.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
Tools
Domains, morph
6. Click create.
3. Using the Mask panel ( ), display only the outer elements of the component
^morphfaces.
HINT: Select a couple of elements on the face you want to keep. Select elements
>> by face, and then select elements >> reverse. This will reverse the
selection to the elements you do not want and will allow you to mask those
elements with the mask button.
4. Click return to return to the Domains panel.
5. To reduce the number of domains and handles shown on the screen, click the Mask
tab.
6. Click the + next to Morphing to expand it.
7. Click the + in the Show column for the Local Domains/Handles to display the
domains and handles for only the displayed elements.
8. Change your view to a left view.
9. Change the domain type to 2D domains.
10. Change the elements selector from all elements to elems.
11. Select the elements as displayed in the following picture.
Summary
Using morphing operations, dimension changes have been successfully performed on a
tubular mesh.
Model Files
This exercise uses the bottle.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
In this exercise you will create a dome shape at the bottom of the bottle using morph
volumes.
3. Set:
• x density = 3
• y density = 8
• z density = 5
• buffer % = 5
4. Select elems >> displayed.
5. Toggle global system to local system.
6. For syst, select the system located at the top of the bottle.
7. Use the default values for the remaining settings.
8. Click create to create the morph volumes.
Note: Morph volumes are created, encompassing the bottle, with red colored handles
created at the corners of each morph volume.
9. Click return to exit the panel.
4. Verify that the options by edges and free are selected (see image below).
5. Using the image below as reference, select the line to the left of the tangency at the top
of the center circle.
Notice that after selecting the tangency, the two arrows are replaced with a single
arrow.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 on the three other tangencies shown in the image below:
15. To reduce the number of domains and handles shown on the screen, click the Mask
tab. If this isn’t displayed, select View > Browsers > HyperMesh > Mask.
16. Click the - in the Hide column to turn off the display of all morphing entities.
17. Rotate the model to view the changes made.
Summary
Using morph volumes with appropriate tangencies, and by creating symmetries you are able
to create a dome-shaped feature at the bottom of the bottle.
Remarks
There are four different methods to define the continuity between the morph volumes.
• Free makes morph volume edges independent of other edges.
• Fixed connectivity allows you to prescribe the angle at the end of an edge.
• Master-slave maintains tangency between two morph volume edges while keeping
the master edge independent of the slave edge. (When the master edge moves, the
slave edge follows, but when the slave edge moves, the master edge does not have
to follow.)
• Continuous maintains tangency between two morph volume edges while allowing
both edges to affect each other.
The default setting in morph volume is always set to tangent which is continuous edge
connectivity. This definition can always be changed in the update edges subpanel, based
upon the morphing needs.
Model Files
This exercise uses the bottle.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
In this exercise you will first create a bead using the default continuous edge connectivity.
You will then update the edges to free and see how it affects the bead creation.
7. Click morph.
As the bead is created, the upper and lower portions of the bottle deform too (figure 4).
This is not the intention, as you want to create a bead without affecting the other parts
of the bottle.
Summary
Using morph volumes with appropriate tangencies and symmetries you were able to create
a bead on the given bottle.
Objective
Model Files
This exercise uses the fe_only.hm and new_design.igs files, which can be found in the
hm.zip file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Tools
As the handles are moved, you will see that the mesh starts conforming to the new
geometry.
Summary
Notice how each cog on the gear is updated. Taking advantage of the symmetry in this
part, you are able to morph it much quicker.
Model Files
This exercise uses the yoke.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
In this exercise you will increase the diameter of one of the prongs of a yoke using morph
volumes. You will reflect the shape on to the other prong and finally position the combined
shapes from one yoke to the other.
Note: All the seven hexa elements are converted into morph volumes.
7. Click return.
Note: A reflected shape has been created and applied on the other prong.
The name of the shape, created by reflecting, has the same name as the original shape
with a suffix “1.”
Note: The two or more shapes have been created and applied to the other yoke. The
name of the first new shape (on the other yoke) will have a suffix “2” because
it is the second copy of the first shape and the second shape will have a suffix
of “11” as it is the first copy of the reflected shape.
Model Files
This exercise uses the s_bend_tube.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
Shapes are one of the most versatile types of the morphing entities. Loads can be converted
into shapes and vice versa. When you position shapes, they act on a volume equivalent to
the initial volume, but at the new location. In this regard, shapes can be used to interpolate
loads on a mesh given the loading at the boundaries of a volume.
In this exercise you are given a temperature distribution at points defined by a cube (hexa
element). You will use shapes to interpolate the temperatures to the tube lying inside the
cube.
Figure 1: Model
Note: The temperature loads have been converted into shape vectors.
The shape vectors are proportional to the temperature loads on the corners of the cube
and the distances from those corners.
The name of the converted shape is the same as the temperature load collector.
Figure 3: The base and the node for translating the shape
4. Click select.
5. Click convert.
The shape has been converted into temperature load.
Summary
Using shapes you have been able to interpolate temperatures from the corners of a volume
on to an object located in that volume.
Model Files
This exercise uses the floor.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
The Record panel gives you the flexibility of making changes to the mesh using panels
outside the HyperMorph module and saving them as shapes.
In this exercise you will change a bead using the Node Edit > align node subpanel and
record the shape function. You will then reflect the shape to the other side of the mesh to
complete the mesh update.
2. Select the nodes shown below for the 1st end and 2nd end.
3. Select the nodes between the selected nodes to align the nodes to the 1st end: and 2nd
end: nodes.
4. Repeat the same process to align the next row of nodes (figure 3).
5. Select the nodes between the selected nodes to align the nodes to the 1st end and 2nd
end nodes.
6. Repeat the same process to align the next row of nodes (figure 4).
5. Click undo all to bring the model to its original position before morphing.
Summary
The shape (Morph1) is reflected to the other side. Also, the reflected shape has the same
name with the suffix 1. The changes that you made on one side are thus transferred to the
other side.
Model Files
This exercise uses the windshield.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
In this exercise will change the shape of the windshield while keeping its area constant.
5. Click select.
6. Under fixed nodes: click nodes >> by sets and select fix_node.
7. Click select.
8. Under affected elements: click elems >> displayed.
9. Click morph.
10. Go to the save shape subpanel.
11. For name =, enter Shape1.
12. Toggle the save option to as node perturbations.
13. Click save.
14. Click undo all to bring the model to its original position before morphing.
This initial shape defines the direction in which the nodes have the freedom to move, as the
shape of the windshield is changing, thus enabling us to keep the area at a constant.
Note: The constraint is created. The symbol for the constraint is a matching-mesh.
9. Right-click Shape and select Hide in the Model Browser.
10. Right-click MorphingConstraint and select Hide in the Model Browser.
Summary
Using morph constraints, you able to change the shape of the windshield, while keeping its
area constant.
Model Files
This exercise uses the dummy.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
In this exercise, you will learn to position the H-point of the dummy on a seat cushion.
This helps to reduce design and remeshing of the seat based on the pre-stress analysis. To
do this exercise you will be using a limiting constraint and freehand morphing.
5. Set project along: to N1,N2 along negative z (choose from side of cushion).
6. Set distance= 2.
This will ensure that there is a distance of 2 units between the dummy and the seat
after the morphing is complete.
7. Use nodes >> by collector and select cushion.
8. Click select.
9. Use elems >> by collector and select dummy.
10. Click select.
11. Click create.
Constraints with a diamond shape are created.
6. For fixed nodes, use nodes >> by collector and select dummy.
7. Click select.
8. For affected elements, use elems >> by collector and select cushion.
9. Click select.
10. For the translate magnitude, set
• x=0
• y=0
• z = 80
11. Click morph.
The top surface of the cushion has conformed to the shape of the dummy.
The distance between the dummy and the seat-cushion is 2 mm.
Summary
Using limiting constraints, you are able to move a mesh such that it moves an adjoining
mesh along with it, thus preventing penetration between the two of them.
Model Files
This exercise uses the truck.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
When circular features are stretched, they become elliptical in shape. In some cases as in
the wheels of a truck, this effect is not desirable. In such cases, using cluster constraints
will allow you to translate the features, along with the morph, while maintaining its circular
shape.
In the exercise you will be changing the length of the cab while preserving the shape of the
wheel. To facilitate the morphing process you will be employing constraint and symmetry.
The front end is stretched 500 units. Since the front wheels are also the part of the
morph volumes they became elliptical after morphing. This is not desirable. You will
undo this morphing, constrain the wheels and re-do it.
Figure 4
Summary
Using cluster constraints and morph volumes you are able to stretch the cab of the pickup
without distorting the wheels.
Model Files
This exercise uses the arm2D.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s) from this
directory to your working directory.
Depending on the morphing being performed, there is a possibility that the mesh can get distorted. For
such cases, HyperMorph provides a remeshing capability. The advantage of this remeshing is that the
newly created elements are automatically a part of the original domain. This provides continuity to the
morphing process along with proper element quality.
Figure 1: Model
5. Click select.
8. Click select.
The elements outside the washer get compressed as the washer moves. Also, as the elements fail
(jacobian < 0.7) they are highlighted (figure 3).
Summary
Using this technique, you can update the mesh in regions that might have undergone excessive
elemental deformation during morphing. Since the domains and handles are maintained, it allows you
to conduct further morphing if need be.
Analysis Setup 7
The purpose of 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, and so on.
In this tutorial, you will gain an understanding of the basic concepts for creating a solver
input file by using a template. More specifically, you will learn how to define loading
conditions on a model, specify solver specific controls, and submit an input file to a solver
from HyperMesh.
Model Files
This exercise uses the channel_brkt_assem_loading.hm file, which can be found in the
hm.zip file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
The model contains the bracket and channel assembly in the following image.
1. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
2. In the Open Model dialog, open the channel_brkt_assem_loading.hm file. A model
appears in the graphics area.
3. Repeat steps 3.1 and 3.2 to create second load collector labeled constraints.
2. In the Load Collector folder, click next to pressing_load and constraints to turn
on the display of their geometry.
3. In the Component folder, click next to channel to turn on the display of its
geometry.
4. Open the Constraints panel by clicking BCs > Create > Constraints from the menu
bar.
5. Go to the create subpanel.
6. Set the entity selector to lines.
7. Select the six lines on the perimeter of the channel’s bottom surface as indicated in the
following image.
11. In the size = field, enter 5. HyperMesh reduces the display size of the constraints.
12. Select the label constraints checkbox. HyperMesh displays a label for each constraint.
Note: The labels identify what dofs are assigned to the constraints.
13. Exit the main menu by clicking return.
4. Click select.
5. Click map loads. HyperMesh creates a constraint at each node associated to the
geometry lines.
6. Click return.
7. In the Model browser, Component folder, turn off the display of geometry for all
component collectors.
10. Select the label loads checkbox. Each force displays the label FORCE = 5.00e+00.
Step 8: Define the load step for the pressing load case.
1. Create a Load Step by right-clicking in the Model browser and selecting Create >
Load Step from the context menu. HyperMesh creates and opens a load step in the
Entity Editor.
2. In the Entity Editor:
• For Name, enter pressing_step.
• In the Select Loadcol dialog, select constraints and then click OK.
Step 9: Display and mask the load step (the load collectors defined
in the load step).
1. In the Model browser, Load Step folder, right-click on pressing_step and select Hide
from the context menu. HyperMesh hides the pressing_load and constraints load
collector
2. Right-click on pressing_step again and select Show from the context menu.
The purpose of 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.
Model Files
This exercise uses the channel_brkt_assem_analysis.hm file, which can be found in the
hm.zip file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
The model contains the bracket and channel assembly in the following image.
1. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
2. In the Open Model dialog, open the channel_brkt_assem_analysis.hm file. A model
appears in the graphics area.
Step 4: 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. In the Model browser, Material folder, click steel. The Entity Editor opens and
displays the material's corresponding data.
Note: The card image indicates the material is of OptiStruct type MAT1.
2. In the Entity Editor, NU (Poisson's Ratio) field, change the value from 0.3 to 0.28.
5. In the Select Material dialog, select steel and then click OK. HyperMesh assigns the
material.
3. In the Select Property dialog, select channel and then click OK. HyperMesh assigns
the property channel to the component channel.
6. Under Parameter Definition, click the Value field next to Radius (r) and change the
value from 10 to 3. HyperMesh updates the values in the Data pane to reflect the
circle's new diameter.
7. In the Model browser, right-click on circle_section.1 and select Rename from the
context menu.
8. In the editable field, rename the section 6mm_Beam_Sect.
9. Close the HyperBeam module and return to your HyperMesh session by clicking File >
Exit from the menu bar.
10. Return to the main menu by clicking return.
Step 10: Create a property collector named bars_prop for the bar
elements (OptiStruct).
1. In the Model browser, right-click and select Create > Property from the context
menu. HyperMesh creates and opens a property in the Entity Editor.
7. In the Select Beam Section dialog, select 6mm_Beam_Sect and then click OK.
HyperMesh assigns the beam section, and populates the parameter fields in the PBEAM
card with the data in the 6mm_Beam_Sect beam section.
Step 11: Update the CBEAM elements in the bolts component to use
the PBEAM Property.
1. In the Model browser, Component folder, click bolts. The Entity Editor opens and
displays the component's corresponding data.
3. In the Select Property dialog, select bars_prop and then click OK. HyperMesh
assigns the property bars_prop to the component bolts.
Step 12: Define a H3D file to be output from OptiStruct by using the
control cards panel.
1. Open the Control Cards panel by clicking Setup > Create > Control Cards from the
menu bar.
2. In the Card Image, select the control card FORMAT.
Note: In the card image, the FORMAT line is set to H3D. This specifies OptiStruct to
output results to a Hyper3D (H3D) file, which can be viewed in the HyperView
Player. A HTML report file will be output and the H3D file will be embedded in
it.
4. In the second FORMAT line, click H3D and then select HM.
Note: This option specifies OptiStruct to output the results to a HyperMesh binary
results file, allowing the results to be post-processed within HyperMesh.
In FEA, beams are typically modeled as 1D elements. In this tutorial you will become
familiar with the modeling of beam sections for 1D elements (beam, bar, and rod) in
HyperMesh. The focus is on obtaining and assigning beam-section properties, not on
creating beam elements themselves.
Model Files
This exercise uses the hyperbeam.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
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
previous image).
1. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
2. In the Open Model dialog, open the hyperbeam.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
Note: This model's geometry represents different types of cross-sections: standard,
shell, and solid. In the following step you will create a standard circular section
to represent the cross-section of the cylinder, a shell section with lines to
represent the cross-section of the hollow trapezoidal feature, and a solid
section with lines to represent the cross-section of the solid irregular feature.
This model is organized into four collectors: one contains all of the surfaces,
two contain the lines for the shell-section and the solid-section, respectively,
and the last component stores beam elements.
2. Use the Distance panel to measure the distance between the two nodes diametrically
opposed.
• From the menu bar, click Geometry > Check > Nodes > Distance.
• Go to the two nodes subpanel.
• Use the N1 and N2 selectors to select the two nodes, which are diametrically
opposed, on the circular line that defines the base of the cylinder. The distance=
field reads 110 units, which indicates the distance between the two nodes and the
diameter of the circle.
• Click return.
3. Use the HyperBeam panel to create a solid circle standard section.
• From the menu bar, click Properties > HyperBeam.
• Go to the the standard section subpanel.
• Set the standard section library to HYPERBEAM.
• Set the standard section type to solid circle.
• Click create. The HyperBeam module opens with a solid circle cross-section
displayed in the center panel. The left pane (HyperBeam view) 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.
Note: Since geometry information was available, this cross-section could have been
defined as a solid section using the solid section subpanel. 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.
Use the 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.
• From the menu bar, click Properties > HyperBeam.
• Go to the shell section subpanel.
• Set the entity selector to lines.
• Click lines >> by collector.
• Select the collector, shell_section.
• Click select.
• Set cross section plane to fit to entities.
• Set section based node to plane base. HyperMesh activates the base node
selector.
• While left-clicking, move the mouse on top of one of the mid-plane lines as shown
in the image above. Click anywhere on the highlighted line to define the base node.
• Set part gen to auto.
• Click create. The HyperBeam module opens.
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 section 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.
• In the Part thickness field, enter 2. HyperMesh updates the values for the beam
properties computed in the Results window.
• Click Update.
• Click Exit to close the dialog.
3. Rename the section, “Trapezoidal Section.”
4. Exit the HyperBeam module by clicking File > Exit from the menu bar.
In this step, a beam cross-section representing a shell section was created using
HyperBeam, and the thickness for the shell section was assigned. 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.
Solid section
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 tutorial, Creating 1-D Elements.
Additional techniques for creating 1-D elements from connector entities are discussed in the
tutorial, Creating Connectors.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to assign element material orientation using the
following:
• System ID
• Vector
• Angle
Model Files
This exercise uses the composites.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
1. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
2. In the Open Model dialog, open the composites.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
Step 3: Update all of the elements to the correct element types for
OptiStruct.
1. Open the Element Type panel by clicking Mesh > Assign > Element Type from the
menu bar.
2. Click elems >> all. HyperMesh selects all of the element types (1D, 2D, and 3D).
3. Click update.
4. Return to the main menu by clicking return.
8. Click color and select a display color for the review vectors or lines.
9. In the size = field, enter 2.0.
Note: This value specifies, in model units, how large the review vectors are when
displayed.
11. Open the Card Edit panel by clicking on the Collectors toolbar.
12. Set the entity selector to elems.
13. Select any element in the model.
14. Click edit.
15. In the Card Previewer dialog, 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.
16. Exit the Card Previewer by clicking return.
17. Exit the Card Edit panel and return to the Composites panel by clicking return.
6. Select the radial r vector from the spherical coordinate system on the bottom of the
ball.
Note: The r-axis will flash once when you click on it.
7. Click B.
8. Select the origin of the local spherical system as the base.
9. In the size = field, enter 2.0.
Note: This value specifies, in model units, how large the review vectors are when
displayed.
10. Click color and select a display color for the review vectors or lines.
11. Click project.
12. Open the Card Edit panel.
13. Set the entity selector to elems.
14. Select any element in the model.
15. Click edit.
16. In the Card Previewer dialog, review the card.
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 (that is, 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 cards in
the Bulk Data Section of the OptiStruct Reference Manual. For visualization
purposes HyperMesh also projects the selected vector onto the face of the shell
elements to define the x-axis of the material coordinate system.
17. Exit the Card Previewer.
18. Exit the Card Edit panel and return to the Composites panel.
6. Click color and select a display color for the review vectors or lines.
7. Click set.
8. Open the Card Edit panel.
9. Set the entity selector to elems.
10. Select any element in the model.
11. Click edit.
12. In the Card Previewer dialog, review the card.
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 (that is, 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.
13. Exit the Card Previewer.
14. Exit the Card Edit panel and return to the Composites panel.
Model Files
This exercise uses the c-channel0.hm file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the
file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
4. Open a model file by clicking File > Open > Model from the menu bar, or clicking
on the Standard toolbar.
5. In the Open Model dialog, open the c-channel0.hm file. A model appears in the
graphics area.
Note: The model's geometry is of a C-channel with two reinforcement ribs. The
various surfaces are organized into several component collectors.
3. Repeat steps 2.1 and 2.2 to create two more load collectors named pressure and
forces.
Note: Different boundary conditions can now be created.
Step 3: Fully constrain the bottom eight lines of the c-channel using
the Constraints panel.
1. In the Model browser, Load Collector folder, right-click on constraints and select
Make Current from the context menu.
2. Open the Constraints panel by clicking BCs > Create > Constraints from the menu
bar.
3. Go to the create subpanel.
4. Set the entity selector to lines.
5. Select the eight lines defining the bottom portion of the c-channel as indicated in the
following image.
Lines to constrain
11. Optional: Display the degrees of freedom labels by selecting the label constraints
checkbox.
Step 5: Create forces at the eight corners of the three top surfaces.
1. In the Model browser, Load Collector folder, right-click on forces and select Make
Current from the context menu.
2. Open the Forces panel by clicking BCs > Create > Forces from the menu bar.
3. Go to the create subpanel.
4. Set the entity selector to points.
5. Select the eight fixed points defining the corners of the c-channel’s top surfaces as
indicated in the following image.
Loads on geometry
Tip: If you organized some loads in the wrong load collector, use the Organize panel to
move the loads into the right collector.
In the previous steps you created various types of loads on various geometric entities: lines,
surfaces, and fixed points. The ultimate goal is to apply these loading conditions to finite
elements. In the following steps you will create the elements to apply the loading conditions
to.
Meshed c-channel
In this step, you created a shell mesh on the surfaces. In the following step you will map
the loads that were applied to geometric entities to these finite elements.
6. Repeat steps 7.1 through 7.5 to map the pressure loadcol to the mesh. HyperMesh
maps the pressure loads previously applied to the surfaces to the nodes of the mesh
associated to these surfaces
Note: These pressure loads are placed in the same load collector as the ones applied
to the geometry.
1. In the Model browser, Load Collector folder, click next to all of the loads to turn
off the display of their geometry.
2. From the menu bar, click File > Export > Solver Deck.
Note: Because you turned off the geometry display of the load collectors in your
model, HyperMesh only exports the loads mapped previously. 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 you experimented with exporting loads applied to geometric entities and
elements in the Export tab. You learned that with different combinations of the
all/displayed options and loads displayed in the Model browser, you can control what
information gets exported.
Step 9: Modify the mesh and remap the loads to the new mesh.
When loads are applied to geometry, you can re-applying them to different meshes as many
times as you want. This functionality is particularly useful when you want to remesh a
model without having to delete complicated loads or boundary conditions. After remeshing,
you can easily remap loads or boundary conditions that have been applied to geometric
entities to the new mesh, while loads applied to elements are automatically deleted when
the elements themselves are deleted.
Note: If you delete geometric entities to which loads are applied to, the loads will be
deleted. The deletion of geometric entities will not affect any loads applied to the
mesh.
In this step, you will remesh the surfaces.
1. Go to the Automesh panel.
2. Click surfs >> displayed.
3. In the element size = field, enter 0.5.
4. Leave all other options used earlier unchanged.
5. Click mesh. The automesher deletes the existing elements, and creates a completely
new set based on the new element size.
Note: HyperMesh removes the loads that were applied to the initial mesh since the
elements are no longer there.
6. Click return.
New mesh
Step 10: Map all the loads on geometry to the new mesh using the
Load on Geom panel.
In this step you will remap the loads applied to the geometry to the new mesh.
1. Open the Loads on Geometry panel by clicking BCs > Loads on Geometry from the
menu bar.
2. Click loadcols.
3. Select the following load collectors: constraints, pressure, and forces.
4. Click select.
5. Click map loads. HyperMesh applies the loading conditions initially defined for the
geometric entities to the new mesh, and places the various loading conditions into the
same load collector as the corresponding ones applied to the geometry.
Note: You did not have to display these loads to map them.
In this step, you experimented with the remapping of loads applied to geometric entities to
a new mesh. Loads applied to geometric entities can be mapped several times to the
different finite element entities attached to these geometric entities. For example, this
functionality is useful in a situation where a mesh had to be changed, and it saved you from
having to recreate loads on the elements.
Summary
In this tutorial, you used several boundary condition creation panels to generate constraints
and various loading conditions on geometric entities. You then experimented with the
mapping of these loads on the geometry to finite elements. You also familiarized yourself
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.
While HyperMesh supports include formulations for several other solvers, you will use LS-
DYNA 970 input decks 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 view in the Model browser is
available to manipulate these includes. The Include view lets you 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.
Model Files
This exercise uses the master.k file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
Step 1: Load the LS-DYNA user profile and import the model.
In this step you will load the LS-DYNA user profile, import the LS-DYNA decks (master file
and include files) defining the model, and preserve the organization of the data into the
various include files.
1. Start HyperMesh Desktop.
2. In the User Profile dialog, select LsDyna, Keyword970.
Note: 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 also tailored to
this solver with panel names and options renamed or removed to match its
terminology as much as possible.
3. Click OK.
4. From the menu bar, click File > Import > Solver Deck.
Note: The Import - Solver Deck tab contains the following advanced options for
importing include files:
• Merge: merges all of the data in the individual includes into a master model, and
then imports the master model into HyperMesh as a single model. HyperMesh has
no knowledge regarding individual include files with this option.
• Skip: reads INCLUDE statements as control cards and ignores the data within the
include files. None of the contents of the include files are processed.
• Preserve: preserves the INCLUDE statements, and processes the contents of the
include files. 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 of its include files)
are rewritten from the HyperMesh database.
5. In the File field, open the master.k file.
6. Next to Import options, click .
7. From the Include files drop-down list, select Preserve.
8. Click Import. HyperMesh imports the master.k deck, and the wheels.key, frame.key
and engine.key include files, which are also present in the same directory. The truck
model defined with a master deck and several include files were imported into
HyperMesh while preserving the organization of the data between the various files.
Truck model
Step 2: Review the model organization using the Include view in the
Model browser.
You can access the Include view ( ) in the Model browser. In this view you can create,
review, edit, organize, and update the contents of a model into various include files. From
the right-click context menu you can access additional Include view functions. For a
complete description of the options available, refer to Model Browser's include view.
In this section, you will launch the Include view, review the structure of the model and its
organization into the various includes, and experiment with some of the display and
configuration options available.
5. Review the contents of the other includes as well as the contents 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.
6. In the Model browser, right-click and select Collapse All from the context menu. All of
the folders collapse.
7. Right-click on Master Model and experiment with the Show and Hide display options
in the context menu.
8. Visually review the components that each include contains by isolating the include you
wish to review using the Isolate only option in the context menu.
In this section, you launched the Include view and reviewed the structure of the model
and its organization into the various includes. You also customized the Include view and
used some of the display options to modify the display of the model in the graphics area.
3. In the Model browser, right-click and select Configure Browser from the context
menu.
4. In the Browser Configuration dialog, select the Columns tab.
Note: From the Columns tab you can can define which columns are displayed in the
Model browser when you are in the Include View.
2. In the editable field, enter the name doors.key for the new include.
Note: You can rename or make current a new include using the right-click context
menu.
3. Open the Organize panel by clicking organize from the Tool page.
4. Go to the includes subpanel.
5. Set the entity selector to comps.
6. Click dest = and select doors.key as the destination for the components.
7. Click comps.
8. Select the components: SHELL: DOOR-LEFT, SHELL: DOOR-RIGHT, and SHELL:
DOOR-WINDOWG-LEFT.
9. Click select.
10. Click move. HyperMesh moves the selected components into the doors.key include.
Note: An expand/collapse icon is added next to the doors.key include, which
indicates that data has been placed under it.
11. Expand the doors.key include, Component folder to review the components that you
moved.
12. Hide all of the includes except doors.key. HyperMesh displays the elements organized
in this include in the graphics area.
Step 5: Import new data into an include and export the model.
By default, the Master Model is always the current file (displayed in bold in the Include
view) and any new entities you create or import into HyperMesh will be automatically
placed in it. You can use the Make Current option from the Include view context menu to
make any include the current include. When you create a new include, this include will
automatically become the current include.
You can use the Include File Options function in the Include view context menu to
define export options for individual include files. Using this option, you can define whether
the include file should get exported, when the export function is used, and where the file
should be exported.
The Export - Solver Deck tab contains the following advanced options for exporting
models that contain include files:
• Merge: merges all of the data in individual include files into a single master model
during export. The exported file does not contain references to any include files.
• Preserve: exports all the data in individual include files separately to their
corresponding files. The references to these includes in the master model file are
also maintained.
In this section, you will create a new include in the master model labeled barrier.dyn, and
then import a barrier model into it. You will then review the include file options for each one
of the includes in the model and modify them as needed. Lastly, you will export the model,
while also preserving the includes.
1. In the Include view, right-click on Master Model and select Create > Include File
from the context menu.
2. In the editable field, enter the name barrier.dyn for the new include.
Note: The new include is displayed in bold, which indicates that it is now the current
include and any new data created or imported into HyperMesh will be placed in it.
3. From the menu bar, click File > Import > Solver Deck. The Import tab opens.
4. In the File field, open the barrier.dyn file.
5. Click Import. Hypermesh imports the barrier.
8. For the engine.key, frame.key and wheels.key includes, clear the Do not export
check box and then click Set.
9. Right-click on an include and select Export All Includes from the context menu. The
Export all includes dialog opens.
10. In the File name field, enter the location and name of the master model and click OK.
HyperMesh exports all of the include files as individual files.
Note: This option is equivalent to exporting the master model from the Export -
Solver Deck tab ( ) with the preserve includes check box selected. When
you want to export a single file, use the export subpanel and set export
option to merge includes.
11. Go to the directory you selected in the previous step and verify that all of the includes
have been exported with the names set in the Include view.
In this tutorial you used the include browser to manage the use of includes in your truck
model. Several options for import, display, organization, and export were used.
HM-4070: OptiView
Model Files
This exercise uses the cclip.fem file, which can be found in the hm.zip file. Copy the file(s)
from this directory to your working directory.
Exercise
Figure 1
3. Right-click the Optimization Problems folder and click Create > Optimization
Problem. HyperMesh creates an optimization problem and opens it in the Entity
Editor.
4. In the Entity Editor, name this problem Topology.
5. Drag and drop all the entities from the repository into the newly created problem.
Note: You can drag and drop entities from the repository into problems or problems
into problems. Any combination of selected entities can be dragged and
dropped.
4. In the Free Size folder, right-click on the shell design variable and select Remove
from Problem from the context menu.
Note: This will not delete the problem from the repository.
Customization 8
In this tutorial you will create a new button on the User page of the Utility menu.
Tools
The User page is available on the Utility menu. To access the User page:
1. From the menu bar, click View > Browsers > HyperMesh > Utility.
2. At the bottom of the Utility menu, click the User button
Command files and Tcl/Tk scripts can be added to the userpage.mac file. When HyperMesh
starts, it first looks for the userpage.mac file in the directory from which it launches, and
then in the installation directory. UNIX users also have the option of putting the
userpage.mac file in their home directory.
The userpage.mac file controls the display and available operations on the User page of the
HyperMesh Utility menu. In order to invoke a command file or Tcl/Tk script from the User
page, a button must be defined inside the userpage.mac file. The *createbutton command
is used to define the button and its characteristics. The syntax for this command is:
*createbutton(page, name, row, column, width, COLOR, helpString, macroName [
, arg1 … ])
where:
page
The page number on which the button is to appear. For the User
page, this value is 5.
name
The text to display on the button, enclosed in quotes: " ".
row
The row in which to place the button. The number of visible rows
depends on your monitor’s graphics resolution. A positive value
indicates an absolute row number. A 0 indicates the next highest
available row. A negative value indicates the number of rows to
skip. Rows begin at the bottom of the menu.
column
The column where the button starts (0-10). Columns begin to the
right of the menu.
width
The width of the button (max = 10).
COLOR
The color of the button. The available button colors are: RED,
BLUE, GREEN, CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, GRAY, and BUTTON
(background). The color name must appear in capital letters.
helpString
The string to be displayed in the menu bar when the middle mouse
button is pressed and the button is clicked, enclosed in quotes: " ".
macroName
The command to run when the button is pressed, enclosed in
quotes: " ".
arg1…
A list of optional arguments passed to the script.
Exercise
In this exercise, you will create a button on the User page that will launch the
lighting.tcl dialog from the HyperMesh installation.
2. Click the User button on the Utility Menu. You will see Lighting, the button defined in
Step 2. Compare this button to its definition. It is yellow in color, begins in column 5
of row 10, and extends half way across the Utility Menu.
Tools
In order to execute command file commands or Tcl scripts from a button on any of the
HyperMesh Utility Menu pages, a Utility Menu macro must first be defined. A Utility
Menu macro contains valid command file or templex commands that execute the
appropriate operations, and is defined using the *beginmacro and *endmacro commands.
Macros may accept data passed to them using the arguments $1, $2, etc. Each argument
specifies where the values should be substituted. These macros are defined within the
.mac files, including the userpage.mac file.
The following skeleton code shows the format of a Utility Menu macro:
*beginmacro(macroname)
command statements go here
*endmacro()
Utility Menu macros consist of HyperMesh Tcl modify commands.
Exercise
Create a Utility Menu macro from a command file that saves the model and add a button
on the User page that will launch the macro:
1. Define the task.
2. Delete the existing command.cmf file. This file is located in either the start-in directory
or the current working directory.
3. Perform the operations in HyperMesh that the script should run.
4. Extract the commands from the command.cmf file.
5. Add the commands to the userpage.mac file.
6. Modify as necessary and add macro wrapper commands *beginmacro and *endmacro.
7. Add macro button using *createbutton that calls the new macro defined in Step 6.
8. Reload the current .mac file into HyperMesh to load the modified userpage.mac.
9. Test the macro.
*beginmacro(macroSave)
*writefile("temp.hm",0)
*endmacro()
The macro name macroSave will be used to connect the button with the macro via the
macroName field in the *createbutton command.
3. Add the command *answer(yes) after the *writefile command.
The command *answer(yes) automatically answers “yes” if prompted to overwrite the
file in the event temp.hm already exists.
4. Save the userpage.mac file.
Step 8: Reload the current .mac file into HyperMesh to load the
modified userpage.mac.
To reload the current macro menu .mac file while HyperMesh is open, select Preferences
> Menu Config from the menu bar and click on retrieve next to macro file. Make sure to
load the proper .mac file from the hm\scripts\<profile name> directory based on the
current user profile, or load the default hm.mac in the hm\bin\<platform> directory if no
user profile is loaded.
Tools
In order to execute command file commands or Tcl scripts from a button on any of the
HyperMesh Utility Menu pages, a Utility Menu macro must first be defined. A Utility
Menu macro contains valid command file or templex commands that execute the
appropriate operations, and is defined using the *beginmacro and *endmacro commands.
Macros may accept data passed to them using the arguments $1, $2, etc. Each argument
specifies where the values should be substituted. These macros are defined within the
.mac files, including the userpage.mac file.
The following skeleton code shows the format of a Utility Menu macro:
*beginmacro(macroname)
command statements go here
*endmacro()
Utility Menu macros consist of HyperMesh Tcl modify commands.
Load collectors can be created and edited using the Model Browser. Simply right-click in
the Model Browser and select Create > Load Collector to create one. To edit the name,
color, or card image of a load collector, right click on the load collector name in the Model
Browser and select Edit
The Constraints panel can be accessed from the menu bar by selecting BCs > Create >
Constraints
The Constraints panel allows you to create and update constraints.
Exercise
In this exercise you will create a Utility Menu macro from a command file that creates
constraints on a plane and add a button on the User page that will launch the macro:
1. Define the task.
2. Delete the existing command.cmf file. This file is located in either the start-in directory
or the current working directory.
3. Perform the operations in HyperMesh that the script should run.
*beginmacro(macroEdge_Const)
*collectorcreate(loadcols,"constraints","",11)
*createmark(nodes,1) 3358-3360 3296 3297 3142 etc …
*loadcreateonentity_curve(nodes,1,3,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0)
*endmacro()
The macro name macroEdge_Const will be used to connect the button with the macro
via the macroName field in the *createbutton command.
2. Change the *createmark(nodes,1) command to *createmark(nodes,1) "on plane"
0 0 0 1 0 0 0.5 1 0
"on plane" is one of many selection methods available. This method allows the
selection of only entities that lie within a tolerance (in this case, 0.5) of the plane
defined at the point (0,0,0) with normal vector (1,0,0). In this exercise, this is the YZ
plane. See the Entity Selector online help topic for further details.
The final macro should look like:
*beginmacro(macroEdge_Const)
*collectorcreate(loadcols,"constraints","",11)
This creates a button on page 5 (User page), names it, places it in the 20th row, starts
it at column 0, makes it 10 columns wide, gives it the color green, provides a help
string and references the macro macroSave defined in Step 6.
2. Save the userpage.mac file.
Step 8: Reload the current .mac file into HyperMesh to load the
modified userpage.mac.
To reload the current macro menu .mac file while HyperMesh is open, select Preferences
> Menu Config from the menu bar and click on retrieve next to macro file. Make sure to
load the proper .mac file from the hm\scripts\<profile name> directory based on the
current user profile, or load the default hm.mac in hm\bin\<platform> if no user profile is
loaded.
specified. For this macro, the *createmarkpanel command could be used to allow the
user to select the appropriate nodes.
Additionally, this Utility Menu macro could be converted to a Tcl script that allows for
additional logic and error checking controls. This way, the user could also be prompted
to enter a name for the load collector using hm_getstring. An error check could then
be performed to determine if that load collector already exists, and appropriate action
would then be taken.
Tools
In order to execute command file commands or Tcl scripts from a button on any of the
HyperMesh Utility Menu pages, a Utility Menu macro must first be defined. A Utility
Menu macro contains valid command file or templex commands that execute the
appropriate operations, and is defined using the *beginmacro and *endmacro commands.
Macros may accept data passed to them using the arguments $1, $2, etc. Each argument
specifies where the values should be substituted. These macros are defined within the
.mac files, including the userpage.mac file.
The following skeleton code shows the format of a Utility Menu macro:
*beginmacro(macroname)
command statements go here
*endmacro()
Utility Menu macros consist of HyperMesh Tcl modify commands.
Exercise
In this exercise you will create a Tcl script from the command file commands, create a
Utility Menu macro that runs the Tcl script and add a button on the User page that will
launch the macro:
1. Define the task.
2. Delete the existing command.cmf file. This file is located in either the start-in directory
or the current working directory.
3. Perform the operations in HyperMesh that the script should run.
4. Extract the commands from the command.cmf file.
5. Create a Tcl script by converting the commands to Tcl format and modifying as
necessary.
6. Create a new Utility Menu macro that runs a Tcl script.
7. Add macro button using *createbutton that calls the macro created in Step 6 with the
appropriate Tcl script filename.
8. Reload the current .mac file into HyperMesh to load the modified userpage.mac.
9. Test the macro.
3. Remove all () and , and replace them with spaces. Also remove the “ “. The
command should look like:
*writefile temp.hm 0
4. Add the command *answer yes after the *writefile command.
The command *answer yes automatically answers “yes” if prompted to overwrite the
file in the event temp.hm already exists. Notice that there are no parentheses.
5. Save the savefile.tcl script in the current working directory.
*beginmacro("EvalTcl")
*evaltclscript($1,0)
*endmacro()
The macro name EvalTcl will be used to connect the button with the macro via the
macroName field in the *createbutton command.
2. Save the userpage.mac file.
Step 8: Reload the current .mac file into HyperMesh to load the
modified userpage.mac.
To reload the current macro menu .mac file while HyperMesh is open, select Preferences >
Menu Config from the menu bar and click on retrieve next to macro file. Make sure to
load the proper .mac file from the hm\scripts\<profile name> directory based on the
current user profile, or load the default hm.mac in hm\bin\<platform> if no user profile is
loaded.
HM-8050: Create Forces on Nodes and Add a Button on the User Page
Tools
In order to execute command file commands or Tcl scripts from a button on any of the
HyperMesh Utility Menu pages, a Utility Menu macro must first be defined. A Utility
Menu macro contains valid command file or templex commands that execute the
appropriate operations, and is defined using the *beginmacro and *endmacro commands.
Macros may accept data passed to them using the arguments $1, $2, etc. Each argument
specifies where the values should be substituted. These macros are defined within the
.mac files, including the userpage.mac file.
The following skeleton code shows the format of a Utility menu macro:
*beginmacro(macroname)
command statements go here
*endmacro()
Utility menu macros consist of HyperMesh Tcl modify commands.
Load collectors can be created and edited using the Model Browser. Simply right click in
the Model Browser and select Create > Load Collector to create one. To edit the name,
color, or card image of a load collector, right click on the load collector name in the Model
Browser and select Edit
The Forces panel can be accessed from the menu bar by selecting BCs > Create >
Forces.
The Forces panel allows you to create and update forces.
Exercise
In this exercise you will create a Tcl script from the command file commands, create a
Utility Menu macro that runs the Tcl script and add a button on the User page that will
launch the macro:
1. Define the task.
2. Delete the existing command.cmf file. This file is located in either the start-in directory
or the current working directory.
3. Perform the operations in HyperMesh that the script should run.
*beginmacro("EvalTcl")
*evaltclscript($1,0)
*endmacro()
The macro name EvalTcl will be used to connect the button with the macro via the
macroName field in the *createbutton command.
2. Save the userpage.mac file.
Notice that the full path is not used to reference the create_force.tcl script. A full
path can be specified if the file is not located in one of the predefined paths that
HyperMesh searches to find scripts. Users can add additional search paths using the
TCL_INCLUDE environment variable. Relative paths can also be used from these search
paths.
2. Save the userpage.mac file.
Step 8: Reload the current .mac file into HyperMesh to load the
modified userpage.mac.
To reload the current macro menu .mac file while HyperMesh is open from the menu bar
select Preferences > Menu Config and click on retrieve next to macro file. Make sure
to load the proper .mac file from the hm\scripts\<profile name> directory based on the
current user profile, or load the default hm.mac in hm\bin\<platform> if no user profile is
loaded.
Tools
The Tcl commands if, foreach and expr will be used to add logic and mathematical
functions to the script. The command hm_getentityvalue is used to extract information
from HyperMesh entities, based on data names.
Data names are generic references to the information that physically define an entity in the
HyperMesh environment. An example of this is the x, y, and z coordinates that define a
node location in three-dimensional space. The available data names for each entity can be
found in the HyperMesh Reference Guide Data Names topic.
Data names are accessed using the hm_getentityvalue command. This command uses the
data names available for an entity to return the particular value of interest. The command
will return a value that is either a string or a numeric value, depending on the command
syntax and the value stored in that particular data name field. The basic syntax of the
command is:
hm_getentityvalue entity_type id data_name flag
where entity_type is the requested entity type (elements, loads, nodes, etc.), id is the
entity ID, the data_name is the data field name of interest, and flag is either 0 or 1
depending on whether the command should return a numeric value (0) or a string (1).
To retrieve the x-component of a force with ID 12, the following command can be used:
set force_x [hm_getentityvalue loads 12 "comp1" 0]
Note: To assign the value from the command to a variable, the command is placed within
square brackets.
Exercise
Create a Tcl script to compute the resultant sum of a given selection of forces. This
requires that the script read data from the force entities and manipulate the data to
calculate the resultant. To calculate the resultant of the forces, retrieve the x, y, and z
components of the forces and compute a vector sum.
1. Define the process.
2. Determine the data names to use to extract the force components.
3. Create the Tcl script and add logic as necessary.
4. Test the script.
Steps 3-9: Create the Tcl script and add logic as necessary.
Step 4: Select the desired loads and then add those loads to a list.
The *createmarkpanel command is used to allow the user to graphically select the loads
from the HyperMesh interface and add them to the mark. The command below adds the
loads to mark 1. Once the loads have been added to mark 1, the load ids are assigned to a
list called loads_list, using the TCL command set. Add the following 2 lines to the file
HM8060.tcl:
*createmarkpanel loads 1 "Select forces to compute resultant";
set loads_list [hm_getmark loads 1];
Step 7: Use a foreach loop to iterate through each load in the list
loads_list and extract the x, y, and z components using the
hm_getentityvalue command and the appropriate data name.
Using a foreach loop, each load in the list loads_list will be iterated through. Within the
foreach loop, each load is referenced by load_id and then the component value is added to
the previous loads component’s value. For example, let’s look at the x component. Using
the set command, the variable x_comp_sum is defined as the previous value of x_comp_sum,
plus the x component of the current load. The x component of the current load is retrieved
by using the hm_getentityvalue command and the data name comp1 (all the available data
names for loads are shown in the table above). This process is done for the y and z
components as well. Add the following 4 lines to the TCL file:
foreach load_id $loads_list {
set x_comp_sum [expr $x_comp_sum + [hm_getentityvalue
If any of these assumptions are not true, the values returned by the script may be
invalid. Additional conditional logic can be programmed to check for each of these
situations and an error message can be returned or they can be handled appropriately.
5. The result of the macro is shown in the status bar. Either a message with the resultant
force is shown or else there is a note saying that no loads were selected.
In this tutorial you will create a Tcl script that creates spline surfaces from the nodes of
selected tria elements.
Tools
The Tcl commands if, foreach, and incr will be used to add logic to the script. The
command hm_getentityvalue is used to extract information from HyperMesh entities,
based on data names.
Data names are generic references to the information that physically define an entity in the
HyperMesh environment. An example of this is the x-, y-, and z-coordinates that define a
node location in three-dimensional space. The available data names for each can be found in
the HyperMesh Reference Guide Data Names topic.
Data names are accessed using the hm_getentityvalue command. This command uses the
data names available for an entity to return the particular value of interest. The command
will return a value that is either a string or a numeric value, depending on the command
syntax and the value stored in that particular data name field. The basic syntax of the
command is:
hm_getentityvalue entity_type id data_name flag
where entity_type is the requested entity type (elements, loads, nodes, etc…), id is the
entity ID, the data_name is the data field name of interest, and flag is either 0 or 1
depending on whether the command should return a numeric value (0) or a string (1).
To retrieve the x-component of a force with ID 12, the following command can be used:
set force_x [hm_getentityvalue loads 12 "comp1" 0]
Note that to assign the value from the command to a variable, the command is placed
within square brackets.
Exercise
Create a Tcl script that creates spline surfaces from the nodes of selected tria elements.
This requires that the script read data from the element entities. To create the spline
surfaces, retrieve the 3-node IDs of the tria elements.
1. Define the process.
2. Determine the data names to use to extract the element type and node IDs.
3. Create the Tcl script and add logic as necessary.
4. Test the script.
node1
first node (node pointer)
node2
second node (node pointer)
node3
third node (node pointer)
Steps 3-14: Create the Tcl script and add logic as necessary.
A Tcl script to perform this function might be similar to the following:
Step 4: Allow the user to select the desired elements and then add
those loads to a list
The *createmarkpanel command is used to allow the user to graphically select the
elements from the HyperMesh interface and add them to the mark. The command below
adds the elements to mark 1. Once the elements have been added to mark 1, the element
ids are assigned to a list called elems_list, using the TCL command set. Add the following
2 lines to the file HM8070.tcl:
if {$elems_list != ""} {
set success_count 0;
Step 7: Use a foreach loop to iterate through each element in the list
elems_list and then set a variable config which stores the element
configuration. This is extracted using the hm_getentityvalue
command and the appropriate data name.
Using a foreach loop, each element in the list elems_list will be iterated through. Within
the foreach loop, each load is referenced by elem_id and then the variable config is
defined. This variable is set to the result of the hm_getentityvalue which uses the element
data name config to report the configuration of the element. A tria element will have an
element configuration of 103 while a quad element will have a configuration of 104. Add
the following 2 lines to the TCL file:
*surfacemode 4;
Step 11: Create a node mark which contains the 3 nodes defined in
Step 9 and then use the *splinesurface command to create a spline
surface using the nodes in the mark.
Using the *createmark, mark 1 for nodes is created and it contains the 3 nodes defined in
the variables node1, node2, and node3.
Using the incr command, the variable success_count is increased. Following this
command, a } is used to close the foreach loop. Add the following 2 lines to the TCL
script:
incr success_count;
}
Step 13: Clear the node and element marks, and then use the
hm_usermessage command to report the number of spline surfaces
created.
Using the command *clearmark, mark 1 for the nodes and elements is cleared. Following
these commands, the hm_usermessage command is used to report the number of spline
surfaces created. The variable success_count is used to do this. Because this variable was
increased each time the foreach loop was entered and the element configuration was 103,
this variable kept a count of the number of spline surfaces that were created. Add the
following 3 lines to the TCL script:
*clearmark nodes 1;
*clearmark elems 1;
hm_usermessage "$success_count splines created."
It is often necessary to debug Tcl scripts using the Command Window. This allows you
to run the Tcl script and easily review error messages, as well as print out debug
information. Additional details can be found in the Creating Tcl Scripts and Running Tcl
Scripts sections.
5. Select a few of the tria elements and observe the spline surfaces that are created.
In this tutorial you will create a Tcl script that determines the radius of an arc.
Tools
The Tcl commands if and expr will be used to add logic and mathematical functions to the
script. The command hm_getentityvalue is used to extract information from HyperMesh
entities, based on data names.
Data names are generic references to the information that physically define an entity in the
HyperMesh environment. An example of this is the x, y, and z coordinates that define a
node location in three-dimensional space. The available data names for each entity can be
found in the HyperMesh Reference Guide Data Names topic.
Data names are accessed using the hm_getentityvalue command. This command uses the
data names available for an entity to return the particular value of interest. The command
will return a value that is either a string or a numeric value, depending on the command
syntax and the value stored in that particular data name field. The basic syntax of the
command is:
hm_getentityvalue entity_type id data_name flag
where entity_type is the requested entity type (elements, loads, nodes, etc…), id is the
entity ID, the data_name is the data field name of interest, and flag is either 0 or 1
depending on whether the command should return a numeric value (0) or a string (1).
To retrieve the x-component of a force with ID 12, the following command can be used:
set force_x [hm_getentityvalue loads 12 "comp1" 0]
Note that to assign the value from the command to a variable, the command is placed
within square brackets.
Exercise
Create a Tcl script that determines the radius of a user selected arc. One point on the line
and the center of the arc will need to be calculated.
1. Define the process.
2. Determine the data names to use to extract the node coordinates.
3. Create the Tcl script and add logic as necessary.
4. Test the script.
Steps 3-12: Create the Tcl script and add logic as necessary.
A Tcl script to perform this function might be similar to the following:
Step 4: Allow the user to select the desired line which defines a
circle or an arc and then add that line to a variable
The *createmarkpanel command is used to allow the user to graphically select the line
which defines a circle or an arc from the HyperMesh interface and add it to the mark. The
command below adds the line to mark 1. Once the line has been added to mark 1, the line
id is assigned to a variable called line_list, using the TCL command set. Add the
following 2 lines to the file HM8080.tcl:
if {$line_list == ""} {
hm_errormessage "No lines selected";
} elseif {[llength $line_list] != 1} {
hm_errormessage "Only one line may be selected";
} else {
Step 6: Create 3 nodes on the line selected and then create a node
at the circle center of the 3 nodes. Add those nodes to a variable.
Use the *nodecreateonlines command to create 3 nodes on the line which is in mark 1.
This is done with the first command below. Then, use the *createcenternode to create a
node at the center of a circle formed by the three nodes that were just created in the
*nodecreateonlines command. These three nodes are referenced by using -1. -2, and -
3 which reference the last node created, the second to last node created, and the third to
last node created. Then, the nodes are added to the nodes mark 1 using the *createmark
command. Again, the nodes are referenced using -1, -2, -3, and -4 to add the last 4
nodes created to the mark. Finally, the nodes in mark 1 are added to the variable
node_list. Add the following 4 lines to the TCL script:
*nodecreateonlines lines 1 3 0 0;
*createcenternode -1 -2 -3;
*createmark nodes 1 -1 -2 -3 -4;
set node_list [hm_getmark nodes 1];
Step 7: Use the lindex command to get the node id of the first node
in the list node_list. Then get the x, y, and z coordinates for the
node.
Set a variable called id which contains the node id for the first node in the list node_list.
The id for the first node is retrieved using the lindex command which takes the variable
node_list and using the index 0, retrieves the first node id in the list. Then, using the
variable id and the hm_getentityvalue command with the node data names x, y, and z,
the x, y, and z coordinates for the node are set to the variables x1, y1, and z1. Add the
following 4 lines to the TCL script:
Step 8: Use the lindex command to get the node id of the last node
in the list node_list. Then get the x, y, and z coordinates for the
node.
Set a variable called id which contains the node id for the last node in the list node_list.
The id for the first node is retrieved using the lindex command which takes the variable
node_list and using the index 3, retrieves the first node id in the list. Then, using the
variable id and the hm_getentityvalue command with the node data names x, y, and z,
the x, y, and z coordinates for the node are set to the variables x2, y2, and z2. Add the
following 4 lines to the TCL script:
Step 10: Define a variable called radius which uses the variables dx,
dy, and dz to calculate the radius of the line which is a circle or an
arc.
Using the three variables which were defined in the previous step (dx, dy, and dz) the
magnitude of the distance is calculated. This distance corresponds to the radius of the
arc/circle which is defined by the line selected. To calculate the radius, the expr command
is used. Add the following line to the TCL script:
*nodecleartempmark;
Step 12: Report to the user the radius of the selected line.
Using the hm_usermessage command, the value of the variable radius is reported to the
user. Also, close the if loop which was started back in Step 5. Add the following two lines
to the TCL script:
hm_markclear lines 1;
hm_markclear nodes 1;
Tools
The Tcl command if will be used to add logic to the script. The commands
*dictionaryload and *attributeupdatedouble are used to assign information to the
property collector.
Solver-specific data created from the HyperMesh template system is stored in card images.
Each piece of data that defines a card image has a text string (data name) and a numeric
attribute ID. An example is the Young’s Modulus for a material.
Templates exist for each solver supported by HyperMesh and are located in sub-folders
under the <altair_home>\templates\feoutput directory. These templates define every
solver-specific attribute including data names, attribute IDs, card image formats, and the
format of the data upon export. The *defineattribute command is used to define
attribute data names and IDs in a template file.
In order to determine the commands required to create template-specific data, it is best to
run through the process in HyperMesh and to review the commands that are written to the
command.cmf file.
Property collectors can be created and edited using the Model Browser. Simply right click
in the Model Browser and select Create > Property to create one. To change the name,
color, or card image of a property collector, right click on the property name in the Model
Browser and select Edit
Exercise
Create a Tcl script to create a property collector and assign a thickness. This requires that
the script prompt the user for a name and a thickness value.
1. Define the process.
2. Delete the existing command.cmf file. This file is located in either the start-in directory
or the current working directory.
3. Perform the operations in HyperMesh that the script should run.
4. Extract the commands from the command.cmf file.
5. Create a Tcl script by converting the commands to Tcl format and modifying as
necessary.
6. Test the script.
3. Remove all () and , and replace them with spaces. Also place semi-colons (;) at the
end of each line. The commands should look something like:
*collectorcreateonly properties "my_prop" "" 11;
*createmark properties 2 "my_prop";
*dictionaryload properties 2
"C:/Altair/hw12.0/templates/feoutput/optistruct/optistruct" "PSHELL";
*initializeattributes properties “my_prop”;
*attributeupdatedouble properties 1 95 1 1 0 0.25;
These commands can now be run to duplicate the creation of the PSHELL property.
However, simply running these commands as-is is not very flexible. The property ID, name
and values are all hard coded. The template file location in the *dictionaryload command
is also hard coded. Finally, there are a lot of extra commands that set unnecessary
attributes.
4. In the *attributeupdatedouble command, the ID of the property is hard coded. In
order to make this flexible, you need to replace the hard coded ID with the ID of the
new property collector: (Changes to the above commands are shown below in bold
print).
*collectorcreateonly properties "my_prop" "" 11;
*createmark properties 2 -1
set prop_id [hm_getmark props 2];
*dictionaryload properties 2
"C:/Altair/hw12.0/templates/feoutput/optistruct/optistruct" "PSHELL";
*attributeupdatedouble properties $prop_id 95 1 1 0 0.25;
Supplying an ID of -1 to the *createmark command can be used to select the most
recently created entity.
5. The template file path is also hard coded. You can make this flexible using the hm_info
command:
*collectorcreateonly properties "my_prop" "" 11;
*createmark properties 2 "my_prop";
set prop_id [hm_getmark props 2];
*dictionaryload properties 2 "[hm_info -appinfo SPECIFIEDPATH
TEMPLATES_DIR]/feoutput/optistruct/optistruct" "PSHELL";
*attributeupdatedouble properties $prop_id 95 1 1 0 0.25;
The user also needs to be prompted to enter a property name and thickness value. You
can then substitute those variables in the relevant commands:
set prop_name [hm_getstring "Name="];
set prop_thick [hm_getfloat "Thickness="];
*collectorcreateonly properties "$prop_name" "" 11;
*createmark properties 2 "$prop_name";
6. Finally, You need to add logic to test in order to make sure that the property name and
thickness values are valid:
set prop_name [hm_getstring "Name="];
if {$prop_name == ""} {
hm_errormessage "No name specified.";
return;
} elseif {[hm_entityinfo exist properties $prop_name –byname] == 1} {
hm_errormessage "Property already exists.";
return;
}
set prop_thick [hm_getfloat "Thickness="];
if {$prop_thick == "" || $prop_thick <= 0.0} {
hm_errormessage "Invalid thickness value specified.";
return;
}
*collectorcreateonly properties "$prop_name" "" 11;
*createmark properties 2 "$prop_name";
set prop_id [hm_getmark props 2];
*dictionaryload properties 2 "[hm_info -appinfo SPECIFIEDPATH
TEMPLATES_DIR]/feoutput/optistruct/optistruct" "PSHELL";
*attributeupdatedouble properties $prop_id 95 1 1 0 $prop_thick;
Post-Processing 9
This tutorial demonstrates how to write an input file for a given fatigue solver using the
options available on the Fatigue panel.
Model Files
This exercise uses the keyhole.hm and keyhole.res files, which can be found in the hm.zip
file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
4. Click browse… and locate the file folder you want store the file in, then enter a name
for the output file.
Note: This output file is the input file for the fatigue solver.
5. Click data group = and select any of the data groups that you want to write to the
output file.
Data groups are organized based on whether nodal or elemental results are available in
the results file.
6. Set select simulation to all.
This specifies the data in the results file that is written to the output file. In this case,
selecting all writes the stress/strain data for the selected nodes or elements for all
loadcases represented in keyhole.res.
Note: You can write out stress/strain information for all of the time steps, or you can
choose a range from a starting time step to an ending time step, or you can
choose a selection of time steps manually from the available list.
The next sub-step is to select the entities for which the finite element analysis results
file is written.
Note: The type of entity you select is based upon the data group you selected.
Select nodes if the data group you selected refers to nodal results. Similarly,
select elements if the data group you selected refers to elemental results.
Select sets to choose a predefined entity set comprised of nodes or elements
corresponding to a data group with nodal/elemental results, respectively. If the
data group results and the entity type are not the same, HyperMesh displays
the error message, "Results file doesn’t contain nodal values."
7. Set the selector to elems.
8. Click elems >> by window.
9. Draw the window as shown in the following image.
Spar2 element set from the global loads model (middle Spar) with free body loads extracted.
Detailed model of Spar2 with free body loads applied as BCs from global loads model.
Model Files
This tutorial uses the icw_ex1.hm and icw_ex2.hm files, which can be found in the
hm.zip file. Copy the file(s) from this directory to your working directory.
7. Open the Nodes panel by clicking Geometry > Create > Nodes > Interpolate
Nodes from the menu bar.
8. Using the node list selector, select the nodes on the top and bottom of the left side.
on one side or the other, need to be included in the element set. However,
additional elements can be included for visualization purposes with no effect on
the calculations.
• A node set that defines the cross-section geometry.
• A summation node that can be any node in the model or that can be
automatically set to the calculated centroid of the defined cross-section.
Centroidal calculations are performed using nodal coordinates that make up the
cross-section only, hence element thicknesses associated with the elements
attached to the section are not considered. As such, there could be slight
differences in the calculated centroid and the "true" centroid of the section if
thicknesses vary throughout the section or the section is overly idealized.
• (Optional) A result system that defines the coordinate system for which the
resultant force and moment vectors are transformed into and output for the
selected cross-section(s).
2. In the FDB Cross-section Manager tab, click the arrow next to Advanced
options to display the Auto create cross-section form.
Use this form to create cross-sections along the length of Spar2.
Resultant force and moment extractions will be performed on these cross-sections to
obtain the necessary data to generate shear moment diagrams and potato plots.
There are two options to define cross-sections: a manual method and an advanced
method. The advanced method automates the creation of "continuous" cross-
sections. The advanced method will be used in this tutorial. See the online help for
details about the manual method.
7. Click proceed.
15. Select the Display sections checkbox, and then select any section in the
spreadsheet to review the selected cross-section.
The graphics area will be updated with the element set, node set, sum node, and
result system that define the selected cross-section. Optionally, if you select the
Show model checkbox, the entire model will be visible in the graphics area with the
selected cross-section highlighted in red and the remainder of the model
transparent.
16. Select the first cross-section in the spreadsheet (Spar2_E1; Spar2_N1), hold SHIFT,
and select the last cross-section (Spar2_E8; Spar2_N9) to select the cross-sections
for updating their result system.
17. Update any single or multiple cross-sections by selecting the cross-sections from the
spreadsheet using CTRL/SHIFT and then selecting Summation Node or Result
System to update these definitions for all selected cross-sections.
Step 3: Extract resultant force and moment data for all cross-
sections of Spar2 for all load cases.
1. Open the Resultant Force and Moment tab by clicking Post > Free Body >
Resultant Force and Moment from the menu bar.
2. In the .op2/xdb field, open the icw.op2. The selected .op2 file loads into the
HyperMesh database for use with all FBD utilities until another .op2 file is selected.
It also populates the Subcases list box with all subcases in the selected .op2 file that
contain Grid Point Force (GPFORCE) data. See the FBD documentation in the
HyperMesh User's Guide for more details.
3. From the Loadsteps list, select all of the loadsteps using the filter buttons on the
top of the list box or with CTRL/SHIFT.
4. From the Cross-sections list, select all of the Spar2 cross-sections previously
defined using the filter buttons on the top of the list box or with CTRL/SHIFT.
5. Review the following table for a description of the Output options for the resultant
force and moment utility.
Function Description
Coordinate System Defines the coordinate system used for output of node
locations (x,y,z) only. The coordinate system does not
affect the transformation of the resultant force and
Zero tolerance Defines any number less than this number is set to zero
for numerical issues.
Create .csv file Creates a .csv file with the results of the resultant force
and moment calculations, which can be opened directly
within standard spreadsheet applications.
Create .fbd file Creates an .fbd file with the results of the resultant
force and moment calculations, which can be directly
read into HyperGraph to create shear moment diagrams
and potato plots.
13. Select the Create .fbd file checkbox, and open an existing .fbd file (append data)
or enter a new file name; in this case, enter icw_res_force_moment.fbd.
By default, files are put into the HyperMesh start directory unless you specify
another directory or enter a file name.
14. Click Accept. Resultant force and moment calculations are executed on all of the
selected cross-sections for all selected subcases.
The Resultant Force and Moment Output Summary tab displays the resultant
force and moment calculations (see the following image). For each cross-section,
there is a separate data block grouped by loadstep. The data block contains cross-
section nodal forces, moments, and the sum of those nodal forces and moments
about the defined sum node, in this case the calculated centroid of the cross-
section. Note that the sum of the moment components (Mx, My, Mz) for each node
is not the direct sum, as the (rXF) terms for the force resultant vector about the
sum node must also be added to each moment component appropriately. The sum
of the forces components (Fx, Fy, Fz) for each node is, however, the simple sum.
15. Optional. Open the .csv (comma separated) file directly with Microsoft Excel by
using Windows Explorer and double-clicking the file, icw_res_force_moment.csv.
This file contains the same results as the summary table in the previous image, but
is available for import into standard spreadsheet or text editor programs.
16. Optional. Open the .fbd file, icw_res_force_moment.fbd, in any standard text
editor program.
By default, files are put into the HyperMesh start directory unless you specify
another directory or enter a file name.
This file contains the same results as the summary table in the previous image, but
in a compact format for use with HyperGraph in generating shear moment diagrams
and potato plots of resultant force and moment data for various cross-sections.
17. Close the Resultant Force and Moment tab.
Vector review of the Resultant Force and Moment results in the graphics area is
covered in the next step.
5. In the FDB Results Manager window, activate the Show model check box to
display the entire model with the selected element set highlighted in red and all
other elements transparent. This feature will help you easily locate the element set
within the model.
6. For Results type, select Resultant Force and Moment.
This operation scans the database for available loadsteps with resultant force and
moment results and populates the Loadsteps: list box.
7. For Loadsteps, select SUBCASE1.
This operation scans the database for available node sets with resultant force and
moment results and populates the Node sets: list box.
8. For Node sets, select Spar2_N3.
This operation will scan the database for available force and moment vector results
and will enable the check boxes for those force and moment vectors which are
available.
9. For Display options, select Fy (shear—the results coordinate system had y-axis in
the plane of the web) and Mz (principal bending moment—the results coordinate
system had z-axis perpendicular to the plane of the web).
To determine the result coordinate system applied to a given cross-section of
interest, use the FBD Cross-Section Manager to review the defined cross-section.
This operation will show the element set, node set, results system, and sum node
defined for the selected cross-section. Optionally, select other force components to
review their magnitude and direction in the graphics area. Single or multiple force
and moment vector results can be displayed in the graphics area to facilitate data
mining and reporting.
10. (Optional) Select Update load collector color and select color to change the color
of the selected load vectors.
The new color setting applies only to the load components selected and is saved in
the database. Therefore, this option can be used to recolor any single or multiple
load vectors for any FBD result.
11. Click Accept to visualize the resultant force and moment vectors in the graphics
area.
12. (Optional) Continue to review resultant force and moment vectors following Steps
4.2-4.14 for additional cross-sections.
13. Click Reset to clear the display and reset the form.
6. On the VMT Plots tab, for X component select X. The (X) X component is selected
because the resultant force and moment extraction coordinate system was
performed with coordinate system 102 which has the x-axis along the length of the
Spar.
Options for X component include X, Y, or Z coordinates as defined from the
coordinate system selected to perform the resultant force and moment extraction
(Step 3, part 6).
7. On the VMT Plots tab, for Y component select Fy and Mz to plot the shear and
principal bending moment for Spar2.
To determine the result coordinate system applied to a given cross-section of
interest, use FBD Cross-Section Manager to review the defined cross-section.
This operation will show the element set, node set, results system, and sum node
defined for the selected cross-section and can help in identifying which components
of force or moment are required for the desired plot.
8. (Optional) On the Plot Titles tab, type a Title and Subtitle.
9. On the Plot Options tab, for Reverse sign select cross-section
Spar2_E1_Spar2_N1 in the top drop-down list.
10. Select Reverse selected section in the bottom drop-down list.
The option allows for methods to reverse the sign of the results from any single or
multiple cross-sections. The option is useful since, for this particular plot, all cross-
sections were defined coming from the right. However the first section
[Spar2_E1_Spar2_N1], since it has no elements to the left of this cross-section, can
only be defined from the left. Cross-sections, defined by the nodes and elements
within their respective sets, can be defined coming from the left or right depending
on the elements chosen for any given nodal cross-section definition. Therefore any
given cross-section can be defined from the left or from the right. The only
difference in the results defined either way is that the results will be opposite in sign
but equal in magnitude. Either way, for a shear moment diagram, it is important
that all selected cross-sections be defined coming from the same direction so that
the resulting plot is valid.
11. Verify that the Envelop results check box is deactivated.
If you only want the maximum/minimum selected Y components to be plotted from
all selected loadsteps for each cross-section, activate the envelop check box. For
this tutorial, do not activate this check box.
12. For Layout, select the layout of plots desired.
This option affects the number of resulting plots that will be generated. The options
are: One plot per loadstep, One plot per Y Component, and One curve per
plot. The total number of curves that are generated is always (Curves = number or
loadsteps * number of Y components). In this example, since you selected four
loadsteps and two Y components, there are a total of eight curves that will be
extracted. The number of plots that these eight curves will be displayed on depends
on the layout selection. With the option One Plot per loadstep, there are four
plots since there are four loadsteps; each plot with both selected Y components, or
in this case shear and moment on a single plot for each loadstep. The results of this
layout option are shown in first picture, following. With the option, One Plot per Y
component, there are two plots since there are two Y components, each plot with
all four selected loadsteps, or in this case shear on one plot and moment on another
plot for all four selected loadsteps. The results of this layout option are shown in the
second picture, following. Try both options.
13. Click Apply to generate the shear moment plots.
These plots can be used with traditional mechanics of materials calculations such as
S = My/I and T = VQ/IT to calculate stresses for various cross-sections. The plots
provide the M (bending or Mz) and V (shear or Fy) values to these equations which
when coupled with cross-section properties which can be calculated using
HyperBeam (from the main menu, select the1D page, then select HyperBeam),
allows for the calculation of the cross-section stresses.
Step 1: Extract free body diagrams for Spar2 using FBD Forces
utility.
1. If continuing from Exercise 1, proceed; otherwise open HyperMesh and load the
model file, icw_ex2.hm.
2. From the menu bar select Post > Free Body > Force to open the FBD Forces tab.
3. If the icw.op2 file is currently loaded, proceed; otherwise, from the .op2 file:
browser, select icw.op2.
The selected .op2 file loads into the HyperMesh database for use with all FBD
utilities until another .op2 file is selected. It also populates the Subcases list box
with all subcases in the selected .op2 file that contain Grid Point Force (GPFORCE)
data. See the FBD documentation in the HyperMesh User's Guide for more details.
4. In the Loadsteps list, select SUBCASE 9, SUBCASE 11, SUBCASE 14, and
SUBCASE 16, the critical subcases determined in Exercise 1, Step 5.
5. In the Entity selection area, click Element Set twice.
6. Click set, then select the Spar2 element set.
7. Click proceed.
Elements that represent Spar2 are now displayed in the graphics area. To turn on
element shading, click Shaded Elements and Mesh Lines ( ).
8. Click Result System twice.
The graphic area is updated with all systems in the model.
9. Select the system located at the left-middle end of Spar2 (system 102 created in
Exercise 1, Step 1), and click proceed.
Note: You may have to display the Longeron2 system collector from the Model
Browser to display system 102.
The result system is the system for which all free body force and moment result
vectors will be transformed into and output.
10. Click Summation Node twice, select the left-bottom node, and then click proceed.
This summation node is the node for which all free body force and moment vector
results will be summed about to generate a single equivalent resultant force and
moment vector. Note that for a free body (all loads), the summation about any
point must be zero. Therefore, this feature is typically used to verify that the
extraction produced a free body with zero summation. However, if a free body other
than (all loads) is performed, the selection of the summation node can be used to
determine the equivalent resultant force and moment vector for the extracted free
body (applied load only or reaction loads only) which in general will not be zero and
can be of interest.
Review the following table for a description of the Output options for the FBD
Forces utility.
Zero tolerance Defines any number less than this number is set to zero
for numerical issues.
Create load Creates load collectors containing the results of the FBD
collectors force calculations so that the results can be visualized in
the graphics area as force and moment vectors.
Create .csv file Creates a .csv file with the results of the resultant force
and moment calculations, which can be opened directly
within any standard spreadsheet applications.
17. (Optional) Open the icw_fbd_forces.csv file directly with Microsoft Excel by
double-clicking the file in Windows Explorer. This file contains the same results as
the summary table in the previous image, but is available for import into standard
spreadsheet or text editor programs.
18. Click Close to exit the FBD Forces utility.
Vector review of the FBD forces results in the graphics area is covered in the next
step.
9. For Display options, select Fy (shear—the results coordinate system had y-axis in
the plane of the web).
To determine the result coordinate system applied to a given cross-section of
interest, use FBD Cross-Section Manager to review the defined cross-section.
This operation will show the element set, node set, results system, and sum node
defined for the selected cross-section. Optionally, select other force components to
review their magnitude and direction in the graphics area. Single or multiple force
and moment vector results can be displayed in the graphics area to facilitate data
mining and reporting.
10. (Optional) Select Update load collector color and select color to change the color
of the selected load vectors.
The new color setting applies only to the load components selected and are saved in
the database. Therefore, this option can be used to recolor any single or multiple
load vectors for any FBD result.
11. Click Accept to make visible the FBD force vectors in the graphics area.
12. (Optional) Continue to review FBD Forces – All Load vector results following
steps 2.6 – 2.13 for additional loadsteps and force/moment components.
13. Click Reset to clear the display and reset the form.
14. Click Close to exit the FBD Results Manager utility.
Step 3: Use FBD Export Manager to export FBD Forces to .fem file.
1. From the menu bar, select Post, then Free Body Export Manager to open the
FBD Export Manger tab.
2. Click Element Set twice.
3. Click set, then select Spar2.
4. Click proceed.
5. For Results type, select FBD Forces – All Loads.
This operation scans the database for available loadsteps with FBD Forces – All
Loads results and populates the Loadsteps list box.
6. For Loadsteps, Select SUBCASE 9, SUBCASE 11, SUBCASE 14, SUBCASE 16.
7. Check the options for Create appropriate loadsteps, and for Output file, browse
to the desired location and enter spar2_fbd_forces.fem.
Step 4: Import FBD forces from .fem file into detailed model and
solve.
1. Load the model file, spar2_ex2.hm.
2. From the menu bar, select File > Import > Solver Deck to open the Import tab.
3. Select File type: OptiStruct, and browse for file: spar2_fbd_forces.fem.
4. Click Import.
This operation imports the free body loads from the global model into the detailed
model of Spar2. The next process is to "attach" the free body loads to the detailed
model, perform some clean-up operations, define new loadsteps with the free body
loads and a rigid body constraint, and solve the detailed model. This process will be
accomplished in the remainder of this step.
5. From the menu bar, select Mesh, then Check, then Nodes, then Equivalence to
go to the Edges panel.
The nodes of the imported loads are equivalenced with those of the detailed model
which are overlaying each other as a consequence of importing the free body loads.
6. Toggle the selector from comps to elems.
7. Click elems >> displayed.
8. Click preview equiv.
Eighteen nodes should be found, one at each load.
9. Click equivalence to combine nodes that were imported and attached to the loads
with those that are a part of the detailed mesh of Spar2.
Note: When the detailed Spar2 mesh was constructed, attention to where these
interface nodes were located was taken into account by placing fixed points
on the surfaces at these locations. The fixed points maintain a node at that
location from the automesher and thus guarantee that a node will exist
where a load is located. This method is only one of several potential
methods. Other options could include importing the loads which do not line
up with any other nodes in the detailed mesh and then connecting the loads
to the detailed mesh with R-type elements (RBE2 or RBE3). Several other
possibilities could also exist and best methods and practices should be
considered depending on the problem type.
10. Click return to exit the Edges panel.
• Assign a constraint to left-bottom node. From the menu bar, select BCs, then
Create, then Constraints to go to the Constraints panel.
• Select the left-bottom node.
• Select dof1, dof2, and dof3.
Make sure all other dofs are unselected.
• Click create.
• Select the left-top node.
• Select dof1 and dof3.
Make sure all other dofs are unselected.
• Click create.
• Select the right-bottom node.
• Select dof3.
Make sure all other dofs are unselected.
• Click create.
• Click return to exit the Constraints panel.
19. To update the loadsteps for all four free body load cases, perform the following:
• From the menu bar, select Setup, then Edit, then LoadSteps to go to the
LoadSteps panel.
• Click name = and select SUBCASE 9.
• Toggle type to linear static.
• Select SPC, click =, and select Const load collector.
• Click update.
• Repeat steps for SUBCASE 11, SUBCASE 14, and SUBCASE 16.
20. From the menu bar, select Setup > Create > Control Cards to go to the Control
Cards panel.
21. Click FORMAT.
22. For number_of_formats enter 2, and then hit ENTER on the keyboard.
There are now two FORMAT buttons.
23. Click each FORMAT button and set them to HM and OUTPUT2, respectively.
24. Click return to specify output file formats for HyperMesh .res (HM) and .op2 which
can be used in HyperView to post-process the results.
25. Click GLOBAL_OUTPUT_REQUEST
49. From the menu bar, select File, then Exit to exit HyperMesh.