femap 11.1 new features

Whats New in FEMAP

FEMAP 11.1 includes enhancements and new features, which are detailed below:

User Interface

Model Merge

Geometry

Meshing

Elements

Materials

Properties

Loads and Constraints

Connections (Region, Properties, and Connectors)

Groups and Layers

Views

Output and Post-Processing

Geometry Interfaces

Analysis Program Interfaces

Tools

OLE/COM API

Preferences

FEMAP 11.0 includes enhancements and new features, which are detailed below:

User Interface

Geometry

Meshing

Elements

Materials

Properties

Aeroelasticity

Loads and Constraints

Connections (Region, Properties, and Connectors)

Views

Output and Post-Processing

Geometry Interfaces

Analysis Program InterfacesTools

11.1-2 Finite Element Modeling

OLE/COM API

Preferences

Whats New for version 11.1 11.1-3

Whats New for version 11.1

User InterfaceGeneral, Menu, Toolbars, Model Info tree, Meshing Toolbox, PostProcessing Toolbox, Charting pane, Data Sur-face Editor, Data Table

General Added Performance Graphics mode to improve performance of dynamic rotation and regeneration of large

models. Performance Graphics may be turned on in File, Preferences on the Graphics tab. See Preferences for more information.

Added Layers/Groups in Tooltips option to include Layer and Group information in Tooltips and Rotate View About submenu to specify View Center options from the quick access menu (right-mouse click menu).

Enhanced Modify, Renumber... commands which allow Coordinate renumbering to allow the user to specify the Order using the +/- X, Y, or Z locations of each entity.

Enhanced the performance of Combo and List Boxes with lists of entities that have a large number of items. Also, enhanced performance of the Visibility dialog box. Previously, the dialog box could take longer than expected to appear when models had large numbers (50K-100K) of properties, materials, etc.

Implemented Query and Front picking for Coordinate Systems. Only works for coordinate systems themselves, not selecting nodes or points referencing coordinate systems.

Menu Added File, Merge command to File menu. See Model Merge (NEW for FEMAP 11.1!) for more information.

Added Tools, Measure, Distance Between Geometry command to Tools menu. See Tools for more information.

Added Geometry, Curve - Line, Between Geometry; Geometry, Solids, Sweep; and Geometry, Solids, Sweep Between commands to Geometry menu. See Geometryfor more information.

Consolidated all Point commands in Modify, Project submenu into the Modify, Project, Point command and all Node commands in Modify, Project submenu into the Modify, Project, Node command. See Geometry for more information. Also, added Modify, Renumber, Load Definition and Modify, Renumber, Constraint Defini-tion command to Modify menu. Finally, added Modify, Update Elements, Rigid DOF command to Modify menu. See Elementsfor more information.

Added List, Output, Contoured Results to Data Table command along with the List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations and List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations to Data Table commands to the List menu. See Out-put and Post-Processing for more information.

Added Group, Operations, Generate Freebody Entities; Group, Curve, in Connection Region; Group, Surface, in Connection Region; Group, Node, in Connection Region; Group, Element, in Connection Region; and Group, Property, in Connection Region commands to the Group menu. See Groups and Layers for more information.

Added Help, FEMAP User Community option to Help menu, which links to the official FEMAP Community website, hosted by Siemens PLM Software. Removed Help, Using Help command, as it no longer applied.

Toolbars Added Distance Between Geometry icon to Measure icon menu of View Toolbar.

Added Layers/Groups in Tooltips icon to Selector Mode icon menu of Select Toolbar.

Added Renumber command to context-sensitive menus for Solids, Connection Properties, Regions, Connec-tors, Coordinate Systems, Materials, Properties, and Layups. In all cases, a dialog box appears requesting ID

and selected entities will be renumbered using the Original ID method of the Modify, Renumber... commands.


Updated Next Output Vector and Previous Output Vector icons on the Post Toolbar to increment all 3 pos-sible contour vectors if they are defined. Previously only the primary vector was incremented.

Model Info tree Added ability to toggle on/off the current count of various entity types using the Show Entity Counts icon in the

Model Info toolbar.

Added ability to scroll through entities using the middle mouse button while the cursor is over the Entity Icons or Visibility check boxes now available while in another command, except View commands.

Added Renumber command to context-sensitive menus for Coordinate Systems, Geometry, Connection Proper-ties, Regions, Connectors, Aero Panels/Bodies, Aero Properties, Aero Splines, Aero Control Surfaces, Materi-als, Properties, Layups, Load Sets, Load Definitions, Constraint Sets, Constraint Sets, Functions, Analysis Sets, Output Sets, Groups, and Layers. In all cases, a dialog box will appear starting ID and the selected entities will be renumbered using the Original ID method of the Modify, Renumber... commands.

Added Attach to Results command to context-sensitive menu for Results, which displays the Manage Results Files dialog box from the File, Attach to Results command.

Meshing Toolbox Locator tool - Added With Poles option when Search For is set to Surfaces. When on, the Locator will find

any surface which contains a pole. Typically only spherical or conical surfaces and planar surfaces of revolu-tion around a point can have a pole.

Geometry Editing tool - Added Split at Closest option to the Edge to Edge Operation. When on, will attempt to create the shortest possible curve using the two locations on the selected curves closest to one another. Also, added Pad Alignment and Add Washer options to the Pad Operation.

PostProcessing ToolboxIn the Contour Tool:

Added No Average, Centroid Only option for Data Conversion in the Options section when Style is set to Con-tour. Simply allows all possibilities currently available through the menus and dialog boxes.

In the Freebody Tool:

Added ability to display freebody results in nodal output coordinate system. Only nodal vectors and quantities will be displayed in the nodal output coordinate system. Interface loads will still be in the freebody coordinate system.

Added Allow Alternate Vector option in the Freebody Contributions section for the Applied, Reaction, and Mul-tiPoint Reaction contributions. When on, attempts to use alternate vectors if the Grid Point Force Balance vec-tors are not available for a particular contribution.

Added option to List Nodal Sums when using the listing commands in the Freebody Tools section. When used, summed values for Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, and Mz at each node will be added to the listing using **SUM** as the Source.

Added Freebody Validation icon to Freebody Tools section. Model debugging tool that can be used to help determine if results requested for a given freebody exist in the database for the selected set of elements and/or nodes. It does not indicate that the results of a freebody calculation are a valid idealization of the structure being analyzed, as that is up to the individual user to determine.

Charting pane Reorganized the Chart Data Series dialog box into a tabbed format and added the Vector vs. Vector option as a

tab. See Tools for more information.

Added ability to set the Font Size for the Legend, Chart Axis Labels, and Labels in the Chart.

Changed Show Tooltips icon into icon menu and added several options for syncing up the active graphics win-dow to the data point currently showing the Tooltip and ability to control what is shown in the Tooltip. See

Tools for more information.

Data Surface Editor 11.1-5

Changed Copy Chart to Clipboard icon into icon menu offering three options, Copy Chart Image, Copy Chart Data, or Copy Chart Image and Data. The most recently used option will remain the default option for the cur-rent instance of FEMAP.

Moved the Title field from the Chart Title tab to the top of the in the Charting dialog box.

Added List Data command to Data Series context-sensitive menu to list the data from the Data Series to the Messages window

Added Show (Element/Node ID) in Active View command to Marker context-sensitive menu to highlight the entity in the active view using the current Show When Selected options, except always displays label.

Data Surface Editor Added Load Set Combination Data Surface to Create/Load Data Surface icon menu. See Loads and Con-

straints for more information.

Data Table Added Significant Digits options to Show/Hide Columns icon menu. Simply allows you to specify the number

of significant digits to be displayed for values in the Data Table. The number of significant figures will persist until the Data Table is closed.

Added Sum Selected Rows command to context-sensitive menu for column headers. Displays a dialog box with the Minimum Value, Maximum Value, and Sum using data from the rows currently highlighted.

Model MergeNEW for FEMAP 11.1! The File, Merge command allows entities from any model currently open in the same instance of FEMAP to be merged with the active model. At least two models must be open for this command to be available. To facilitate bringing entities into the active model, a number of overall Renumbering and Duplicates Strategy, Entity Selection, and Model Orientation options are available in the Model Merge Manager dialog box and will be described in detail later in this section. In addition, the top portion of the dialog box, the Entities to Merge list can be used to choose which entity types to merge into the active model using the check marks in the Entity Type column.


If more than two models are open in the same instance of FEMAP, use the From Model drop-down to select the desired open model. The Entities to Merge list will update whenever a different model is selected using the From Model drop-down. The To Model field is always gray and simply displays the name of the active model.

Entities to Merge listContains a list of the entities to merge into the active model with columns for Entity Type, Current IDs, Merge IDs, Renumber To, and Renumbering. Use the All On or All Off buttons to check/uncheck all of the Entity Type check boxes for all entities in the list.

Once the Entities to Merge list is filled, the row(s) must be highlighted for any of the options in the Renumbering and Duplicates Strategy and/or Entity Selection sections to take effect. Multiple rows may be selected for update (Hold the CTRL key when you click to choose multiple entity types one at a time or the SHIFT key to choose a range of entity types). The Select All and Select None buttons are used to select/de-select all of the different entity types in the list. Once the desired rows are selected, choose the appropriate options and then click the Update Selected button and review the updated information in the columns. Alternatively, use the Update All button to update all entity types with the current settings for the various options.

Entity Type - column simply contains the name of the entity type and a check box which allows you to include or not include that entity type when merging.

Current IDs - column lists the IDs for each entity type in the active model. If the active model does not have any entities of a certain entity type, then this column will be blank.

Merge IDs - column lists the IDs found in the model selected using the From Model drop-down. The options in the Entity Selection section are helpful when trying to limit the IDs in this column.

Renumber To - column lists the new IDs for the entities found in the Merge IDs column. These IDs are based on the settings in the Renumbering and Duplicates Strategy section.

Renumbering - column lists the number of entities which will be renumbered. When they occur, this column will also list the number of Conflicts and Overwrites which will occur using the current settings in the Renumbering and Duplicates Strategy section.

Renumbering and Duplicates StrategyThis sections is used to specify how entities will be renumbered and how to handle duplicates.

None - specifies that entities should not be renumbered. This option can only be used effectively when the Overwrite Duplicates option is also selected.

Minimal Renumbering - specifies that renumbering should occur using the lowest IDs possible. If unused IDs exist within the range of Current IDs, this renumbering strategy will use those IDs. This is the default setting. Optionally, you can enter a value into the Renumber To field to specify a different starting ID. If the stating ID is not available, the next available ID will be used instead. For instance, if there are 20 elements in the active model and the elements are numbered 1-10 and 31-40, Minimal Renumbering would place the 30 elements found in the From Model into element IDs 11-30 (20 elements with the lowest IDs in the From Model) and 41-50 (remaining elements in the From Model).

Block Renumbering - specifies that renumbering should be done using a block of IDs, based on the largest value for Current IDs. Optionally, you can enter a value into the Renumber To field to specify a different start-ing ID, but if the specified value is in the range of Current IDs, it will be updated to the lowest available ID out-side the range. For instance, if there are 20 elements in the active model and the elements are numbered 1-10 and 31-40, the block of Current IDs would be from 1 to 40. Block Renumbering would place the 30 elements found in the From Model into element IDs 41-70, leaving element IDs 11-30 empty.

Offset Renumbering - specifies that renumbering should be done using the original Merge IDs plus a value specified using the Offset By field. For instance, if there are 20 elements in the From Model and the elements are numbered 1-10 and 31-40, using Offset Renumbering and entering an Offset By value of 100 would renum-ber these elements to 101-110 and 131-140.

Compress - specifies the Merge IDs should be compressed in an attempt to remove any gaps in the ID range of the From Model. Optionally, you can enter a value into the Renumber To field to specify a different starting ID. If the stating ID is not available, the next available ID will be used instead. For instance, if there are no elements

in the active model and the elements in the From Model are numbered 1-10 and 31-40, Compress would renum-ber the 20 elements found in the From Model into element IDs 1-20.

Model Merge 11.1-7

Renumber Duplicates - when this option is selected, any duplicate entity IDs will be renumbered to available IDs based on the selected renumbering option.

Overwrite Duplicates - when this option is selected, any entity ID in the active model which is also found in the From Model will be overwritten by the entity in the From Model.

Entity SelectionThis section is used to limit the entities which appear in the Merge IDs column for each entity type. The Merge IDs are then used to populate the Renumber To and Renumbering columns based on the options set in the Renumbering and Duplicates Strategy section. In all cases, the desired rows should be selected before setting this option and clicking wither Update Selected or Update All.

None - specifies that no entities should be in the Merge IDs column. This option is really only used to clear col-umns in the selected rows.

All In Model - specifies that all entities in the model should be used to populate the Merge IDs column. This is the default.

From Group - specifies that only entities in the selected group should be used to populate the Merge IDs col-umn. If an no entities of a specified entity type are in the group, the Merge IDs column for that entity type will be empty.

ID Range - specifies an ID range to use for all entity types (rows) currently selected in the Entities to Merge list. For instance, if Node and Element are selected in the Entities to Merge list and an range is entered From 1 To 100, then the Merge IDs column for both nodes and elements would show 1..100 (or 1..highest existing ID under 100).

Select - allows selection of Merge IDs for a single entity type using the standard entity selection dialog box. If multiple entity types are highlighted in the Entities to Merge list, only the entity type closest to the top of the list will be updated.

Add Referenced Entities button - adds entities referenced by other entity types currently in the Entities to Merge list. For instance, if Entity Selection is set to Group and the selected group only contains elements which have been sent to the Entities to Merge list, then pressing this button will add Node, Material, Property, and Layer entity types, and potentially some others, to the Entities to Merge list.

Model OrientationThis section is used to orient the From Model in the active model. In addition, options in the section control behav-ior of transferred groups, optionally create of a new group in the active model, optionally create parent coordinate systems for the merged model, and optionally limit certain entity types.

Create Group for Merged Model - when on, creates a group containing all of the entities merged from the From Model into the active model.

Create Parent CSys for Merged Model - when on, creates a parent Coordinate Systems in the active model for the entities found in the From Model. The number of parent coordinate systems created varies from one to three and depends on how many of the Basic Coordinate systems are using in the From Model. When only the Basic Rectangular coordinate system is referenced by entities, a single rectangular coordinate system located at the origin (0, 0, 0) will be created. If the Basic Cylindrical and/or Basic Spherical coordinate system is refer-enced by entities, then a single rectangular coordinate system located at the origin will be created along with a cylindrical and/or spherical coordinate system referencing the newly created rectangular coordinate system.

Condense Transferred Groups - when on, any groups brought into the active model from the From Model will be condensed. See "Group, Operations, Condense..." in Section 6.4.3.2, "Group, Operations Menu" for more information.

Limit Loads, Constraints and Contact to Merged Entities - when on, will only transfer loads, boundary condi-tions, and connection entities from the From Model when the entities referenced by these entity types are also being merged into the active model. For instance, if a load set contains nodal loads on node 1 and node 10, but

Note: Great care must be taken when using the Overwrite Duplicates option. For instance, importing an ele-ment with the same ID, but of a different type could create a model which is invalid.only node 1 is being brought into the active model, then only the load on node 1 will be transferred to the active model.


Transform Merged Model - when on, the entities from the From Model will be transformed using the From coordinate system found in the From Model to the To coordinate system found in the active model.

Duplicates to the Data Table button - only available when the Data Table is open. When pressed, sends a listing of duplicate entities currently found in the Entities to Merge list to the Data Table. Each duplicate entity is listed in a single row with Entity Type, Entity ID, and Renumber To columns.

Geometry Updated Geometry, Midsurface, Automatic command to use Parasolid face pairing technology.

Attempts to use face pairing technology in the Parasolid modeling engine to automatically create a midsurface rep-resentation of a solid part or between selected surfaces. The command requires you to select the surfaces, specify a Target Thickness (midsurface tolerance), and optionally set some additional settings

You may want to click the Distance icon button to use the measuring tool to specify an effective Target Thickness. Any surfaces with a distance between them less than the Target Thickness will have a midsurface generated.

When on, the pre-V11.1 Midsurface Method runs the three steps of semi-automatic midsurfacing (Generate, Inter-sect, and Cleanup below) at once instead of using the more advanced face pairing technique. Also, when using pre-V11.1 Midsurface Method, none of the other options are available.

When on, Combine Midsurfaces simply performs a Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add on the newly created sur-faces in an attempt to create a general body, which usually aids when trying to create a mesh.

The Face Pairing Options can be used in an attempt to create a more accurate midsurface representation:

Combine Tangent Surfaces - collects all connected tangent faces, based on the Angle Tolerance specified, finds all faces opposite these faces, then creates a larger face pair set. By doing so, sheet metal parts and similar will mid-surface faster and more accurately with the additional connection information implied by the larger face pairing.

Reverse Face Pairs - simply reverses the two opposite faces or sets of faces in the face pairing algorithm. Turning on this option sometimes helps in achieving a better midsurface on complicated parts with a high level of curvature. If you are not satisfied with midsurface results, this option may help.

Note: The Limit Loads, Constraints and Contact to Merged Entities option should only be turned off when merging a model which is very similar or identical to the active model. Otherwise, loads, constraints, and/or contact entities may be applied to random entities in the active model.

Note: When using Transform Merged Model, the Output Set entity type must NOT be selected. If it is, the com-mand will issue a message stating Unable to transfer results when transforming a model during merge.

Note: The resulting midsurface created by the Parasolid face pairing algorithm will always be an constant off-set from one face or the other. In some cases, this will require the user to do some additional modifica-tion of the geometry or mesh to account for non-constant offset regions in the model.

Geometry 11.1-9

Added Geometry, Curve - Line, Between Geometry command

Creates a three-dimensional line by using the minimum or maximum distance (or both) between two sets of selected geometric entities. For more information, see "Tools, Measure, Distance Between Geometry...".

In the Distance to Find section, choose from Minimum, Maximum, or Both to select distance to use when creating the line(s).

Select an entity type in the From section of the dialog box from Point, Curve, Surface, or Solid, then select the same entity type or a different entity type in the To section. Geometric entities for From and To will be selected using the standard entity selection dialog box later in the command.

The Overall Only option found in both sections is on by default. When on in both the From and To sections, the command will only create a line between the two geometric entities used to calculate the Minimum and/or Maxi-mum distance. If Overall Only is off in both sections, then lines will be created between ALL geometric entities in the From section to ALL geometric entities in the To section, based on the Distance to Find setting. If Overall Only is only on in one of the sections, then lines will be created between ALL of the geometric entities selected in the section where the option is off to the appropriate geometric entity where the option is on.

Upgraded Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add command to use new tolerant modeling capabilities avail-able to create General Bodies when using the Parasolid Geometry modeling kernel.

The Tolerance value now works much like a stitching tolerance and can now make slight alterations to the geom-etry in order to bring geometry together in general bodies. For instance:

Also, the new Incremental Checking option will check the body is valid after each sheet solid or solid is added to the general body. If adding a sheet solid or solid causes the general body to become invalid, the command will revert one step to before the particular sheet solid or solid was added, then skip it and try to add the next one.

Added Geometry, Solid, Sweep command.

Allows creation of solids by moving or sweeping one or more boundary surfaces and/or surfaces along a continu-ous path defined by any number of curve. The required input for this command is minimal. You simply select the boundary surface(s) and/or surface(s) that define the cross section(s) that you want to sweep, using the standard entity selection dialog box. Then with a second entity selection dialog box, you select the curves that make up the continuous path along which you will sweep the cross section.

Before NonManifold Add After NonManifold Add


Selecting the PathEven though you choose it after the surface(s) to sweep, it is important to understand the implications of choosing a path before you select the surface(s). The curves that you select for the path must form a single continuous loop - either closed (the end is also connected to the start) or open. They must not branch, or have any gaps. They do not have to be connected to the same points, but must have coincident end points.

If, in addition to being coincident, all curves along the path are also tangent at their end points, the sweeping oper-ation will maintain a constant cross section as it traverses the path. On the other hand, if you include non-tangent curves, the corners will be automatically mitered to the half angle between the tangents of the curves. This, how-ever, will result in a nonuniform cross section, and in some cases a cross section that is somewhat distorted.

Choosing Splines in the PathYou can use any type of curves in the path; however, if you are using the standard FEMAP geometry engine, this command cannot create a single swept surface along a spline. If you choose splines in the path, they will be broken into multiple line segments, and the cross section will be swept along these segments rather than the true spline. This will result in multiple surfaces. You can control the number of line segments by setting the mesh size along the spline prior to sweeping using the Mesh, Mesh Control, Size Along Curve command.

Selecting the Cross SectionJust as for the path, you can choose any curves that you want for the cross section. You do have to be aware, how-ever, of the relationship between the path and the cross section.

Here are some general rules to follow:

1. The boundary surface(s) and/or surface(s) must be positioned in space at the appropriate location relative to the path. This command simply extrudes and revolves the cross section along vectors which are defined by the curves you select as the path. It is up to you to properly locate the starting position of the cross section. The sol-ids created by this command will be located wherever you start the cross section. All offsets from the path to the cross section will act as rigid links as the cross section is swept around a curve.

2. If your path contains arcs, make sure that your cross section does not protrude further than the arc radius to the inside of the path. If it does, the resulting solid(s) will be twisted as they are swept around the arc.

3. Typically you will want to create the cross section surface in a plane that is normal to the ending tangent of the path. If you do not, the cross section that you sweep will be a projection of the true cross section

4. If the cross section that you choose contains arcs or circles, and your path contains curves that are not tangent to one another, the arcs and circles will be converted to equivalent splines before they are swept. This is not a pre-cise representation, but it is fairly accurate. It is required because of the automatic mitered corners that will be generated between the non-tangent curves. The cross section at those corners will no longer be circular, it will be elliptical (which must be represented by a spline)

Added Geometry, Solid, Sweep Between command.

Cross Section Surface

Path Curves

Front View - Before Isometric View - Before Front View - After Isometric View - After

Mitered corner wherepath was not tangent

Path Curves

Geometry 11.1-11

Allows creation of a solid between two selected surfaces. A single point on each surface is also selected and used as a reference. The selected points are used by the command to determine which curves on each surface should be matched. The Sweep Type (path) used to create the solid may be Linear or Splined.

The number of curves on the two selected surfaces do not need to match, but a similar number of curves tends to create a solid with a more predictable shape.

When Sweep Type is set to Linear, ruled surfaces are simply created from each curve on the From surface to a matching curve on the To surface (From and To points shown as black squares):.

When Sweep Type is set to Splined, a Blend Factor may also be used to control the shape of the solid. By specifying number larger than 1.0, the solid will closely follow the tangents of the normal vector at the centroid of each sur-face for a larger distance, typically causing more curvature near the center of the solid. Smaller numbers make the tangency weaker, therefore, most of the curvature will be near the original surfaces. The figure shows some possi-bilities (From and To points shown as black squares)

Added Add Washer option to Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Pad command.

Note: A solid cannot be created between surfaces if either selected surface has any interior loops.

Original Solids From Surface To Surface New Solid

Original Solids From and To Blend Factor = 1.0Surfaces

Blend Factor = 1.25 Blend Factor = 0.75


When the Add Washer option is selected, the same overall sizing of the pad will be used, but a washer will be added around the hole and extend to half the distance of the overall pad.

Updated Mesh Sizes, Loads, Constraints... option in various Geometry, Copy/Scale/Rotate/Reflect commands to now also include regions of all types.

Replaced Modify, Project commands for points with single Modify, Project, Point command.

This command updates the locations of points by moving them onto a selected curve or surface or onto a specified vector or plane. When you project points, any entities that reference those points may also be moved.

The following dialog box is used when projecting points:

There are two sections in the dialog box, Project Onto and Direction. The Project Onto section allows the user to select the destination of the projected points. The Project Onto destination options may be any number of selected Surface(s) or Curve(s), a single Vector, or a single Plane.

The Direction section controls the approach used to project the points onto the destination.

Closest/Normal - generally uses a vector normal to the curve, surface, vector, or plane that is selected as the destination. Actually, this moves the points to the closest location on the curve, surface, vector, or plane.

Along Vector - allows the user to select a vector to project along. This option will almost always result in the points actually being located on the destination entity, even if a secondary projection is required. One excep-tion, if the projected vector from a point location does not intersect the selected surface(s), then nothing will happen.

Project Onto - Surface(s)Moves one or more points onto any number of selected surfaces.

The standard entity selection dialog box is used to choose the points to project. Then, simply select the surface(s). You can choose any number of surfaces, and the selected points will be projected onto them based on proximity and specified Direction.

When Direction is set to Along Vector, the Both Directions option is available. When on, the points will be pro-jected in both the positive and negative direction of the specified vector. This allows you to attempt to project points which lie above and below a surface using a single command.

Original Surface Normal Pad Pad with Add Washer

Geometry 11.1-13

For Example:

Project Onto - Curve(s)Moves one or more points onto any number of selected curves.

The standard entity selection dialog box is used to choose the points to project. You then must select the curve(s). You can choose any number of curve(s) and the selected points will be projected onto them based on proximity and specified Direction.

When Direction is set to Closest/Normal, the Extend Curves option is available. When on, the curves extend past their endpoints toward infinity, or in the case of an arc, they extend a full 360 degrees. When off, the points will be projected using the extents of the actual curve, which many times results in the projected points being located on the end point(s).

For example:

Project Onto - PlaneMoves one or more points onto a single 2-D plane specified by the user.

The standard entity selection dialog box is used to choose the points to project. You then must specify the plane using the Plane Locate dialog box and the points will be projected onto it based on proximity and specified Direc-tion. If Direction is set to Along Vector, the vector is specified before the plane.

Project Onto - VectorMoves one or more points onto a single vector specified by the user.

The standard entity selection dialog box is used to choose the points to project. You then must specify the vector using the Vector Locate dialog box and the points will be projected onto it based on proximity and specified Direc-tion. If Direction is set to Along Vector, the vector to project along is specified before the project onto vector.

Projected Points

Original Points

Surface

Original Locations Projected Locations

Points projected ontoextended curve

Point projected ontoextended arc

OriginalProjected LocationsLocations


Meshing Added several new options to the Mesh, Geometry, Solids command to improve tetrahedral meshing.

In the Automesh Solids dialog box:

Multiple Tet thru ThicknessWhen on, the tet-mesher will attempt to place at least 2 elements through the thickness throughout the model. This will not split any elements on the outer surfaces, so if you need at least 2 elements through the thickness every-where, try and size the solid so the surface mesh has at least 2 elements from one side of each surface to the other.

Tet Sliver RemovalWhen on, which is the default, attempts to remove tetrahedral elements considered slivers near the boundary. A sliver is defined as a tetrahedral when at least one angle less than 5 degrees. In most cases this will improve mesh quality and should only be turned off if there is a problem.

Tet OptimizationSets an optimization level (mesh quality vs. speed) for the tetrahedral mesher. Using a higher value does not guar-antee improved mesh quality. 3..Default is the best compromise between speed and quality, while choosing 0..None will simply not use do any optimization. Setting to 1..Minimal will potentially create a lower quality mesh in less time, while 5..Maximum will potentially create a higher quality mesh, but take longer.

In the Solid Automeshing Options dialog box:

Quadratic Mesher/Jacobian CorrectionWhen this option is on, the tetrahedral mesher will add the midside nodes during the meshing operation instead of midside nodes being added after the tetrahedral mesher has created 4-noded tetrahedral elements. The Jacobian Correction option is only available when using the Quadratic Mesher and, when on, will attempt to create elements with the best possible Jacobian element quality.

Desired Edge Length - Min and MaxAllows you to enter values for minimum (Min) and maximum (Max) desired edge length. Based on geometry, these values may not be attainable, but the tetrahedral mesher will attempt to use them as a guideline.

Pre-v11.1 Tet MeshingThe tetrahedral meshing in FEMAP has dramatically changed for version 11.1. This switch allows you to use the pre-v11.1 tetrahedral meshing if you feel more comfortable with this mesher and associated default values.

Added Copy Method section to Mesh, Copy, Element command, with the default Copy Method being Along Vector which was previously the only option. The Normals and Normals with Thickness Correction options were added for planar elements only and work in the same manner as when extruding or offsetting elements.

Added Along Vector to Surfaces option to Mesh, Extrude, Curve; Mesh, Extrude, Element; and Mesh, Extrude Element Face commands.

Elements 11.1-15

For the Along Vector to Surface method, you will be asked to specify the extrusion vector using the standard vector dialog boxes. The vector can be located anywhere but must have the direction that you want for the extrusion. You will also be prompted to select any number of surfaces to project the curves onto along the specified vector.

For the Along Vector to Surface method, you will be asked to specify the extrusion vector using the standard vector dialog boxes. The vector can be located anywhere but must have the direction that you want for the extrusion. You will also be prompted to select any number of surfaces to project the elements onto along the specified vector.

Replaced Modify, Project commands for nodes with single Modify, Project, Node command. Has all the same options as the Modify, Project, Point command, described in the Geometry section.

Elements Added Pyramid as an Element Shape for Solid Element Type.

May only be created manually using the Model, Element command or imported in from an analysis input file.

Extrusion

Mesh Sizealong curves

Original Curves Extruded Elements

Surface

Vector

Extrusion vectorExtrude as Solids

Original Line Elements

Extrude as Plates

8 elementsalong length

8 elementsalong length

Original Plate Elements


Both the 5-noded linear pyramid and 13-noded parabolic pyramid are supported.

Linear and Parabolic Pyramid elements are only supported for NX Nastran and MSC Nastran.

Added Modify, Update Elements, Rigid DOF Command

Allows you to change the Dependent and/or Independent degrees-of-freedom for existing rigid elements in your model. First select the Rigid elements to update, then the Update Rigid Degrees of Freedom dialog box will appear to select DOF.

The dialog box has two sections, one for the Dependent DOFs and one for the Independent DOFs. Both sections contain an Update DOF check box, which must be on for those DOFs to be updated, and check boxes representing the 6 DOFs available for update. When modifying RBE2 elements, only the Update DOF option in the Dependent section will be used, while both sections will be available for RBE1 and RBE3 elements.

Added Along/Between Path option to Modify, Update Elements, Material Orientation command.

The Along/Between Path(s) option can be used to align the orientation angle to any number of selected curves based on the specified Project Method, which controls how the centroid of each element is projected onto each curve. Essentially, the center of the element is projected to the path, then the tangent to the path at that location is used as the orientation vector. When Project Method is set to 0..To Closest Location on Path, the normal vector is determined by projecting the center of each element onto the curves. When Project Method is set to 1..Specified Direction the supplied vector is used as the normal vector. Entering a value for Angle From Path simply rotates the determined orientation vector around the element normal by the specified angle value.

Materials Added 606..MSC.Nastran Fluid Material (MAT10) to Other Types.

Properties Added Nastran Elbow/Pipe Options section to Curved Tube property.

Note: If a mixture of RBE2 and RBE1/RBE3 elements are selected, then the selected element with the lowest ID will be used to set the default state of the dialog box.Any non-rigid element is simply skipped.

Loads and Constraints 11.1-17

There are Nastran specific options in the NASTRAN Elbow/Pipe Options section, which, when used, will write additional fields using alternate form of the PBEND entry for Elbows ans Curved Pipes.

When the Flexibility/Stress Intensification, FSI is set to 1..Default, only the Internal Pressure, Radial Offset, and Perpendicular Offset additional fields may be specified. Selecting any other option and entering the available val-ues will populate other additional fields on the PBEND entry. Please consult the documentation for your version of Nastran to determine which FSI options are available as well as review information on specifying appropriate val-ues.

Loads and Constraints Enhanced Load creation to allow the use of Data Surfaces when defining loads of the following types: Force on

Curve, Force Per Length on Curve, Moment on Curve, Moment Per Length on Curve, Force on Surface, Force Per Area on Surface, Moment on Surface, Moment Per Area on Surface, Nodal Heat Flux on Curve, Nodal Heat Flux Per Length on Curve, Nodal Heat Flux on Surface and Nodal Heat Flux Per Area on Surface. For the load types that support it, this capability also works with or without the Total Load option.

Updated load expansion from geometry to a mesh for elemental face-based loads on surfaces (Pressure, Heat Flux, Convection and Radiation). Previously on large models these could an extended period of time.

Updated Model, Load, Combine command to allow a number of new options.

Now enables you to create multiple load set combinations. Each load set combination will be used to create a new Standard load set or a new Nastran LOAD Combination load set based upon the following formula

Load A1Load1 A2Load2 AnLoadn+ + +=


The Combine Load Sets dialog box has five sections, Combine To, Set Type, Options, the From list, and the Load Set Combinations list, each of which is described in detail later in this section:

Temperature loads will not be linearly combined. FEMAP will simply copy the nodal and elemental temperatures. If conflicting temperatures exist for the same node or element in the individual load sets, FEMAP will use the last temperature. Also, If loads exist on the same node or element in different sets that are combined, the resulting set will simply obtain multiple loads on that node or element, which can then be combined with Tools, Check, Coinci-dent Loads.

Combine ToThis section is used to select how many scale factors can be entered for each load set in the From list, along with controlling how the Load Set Combinations list is populated and which Options are available.

Single Load Set - only a single scale factor may be set for each load set in the From section. Also, a single load set may be sent to the Load Set Combinations list and you can choose to send the load to an existing load set, but you can also choose to create a new load set, which is the default.

Multiple Load Sets - any number of different scale factors may be set for each load set in the From section. Also, at least two load sets must be highlighted in the From section to allow them to be sent to the Load Set Combinations list. The Auto Zero Factors and Single Set Combinations options also become available and new load sets will always be created.

From Data Surface - the only item available will be the Data Surface drop-down, which is used to select a Load Set Combinations Data Surface. New load sets will always be created.

Set TypeThis section allows you to select the type of load sets that should be created by the command. All new load sets cre-ated during one use of the command will be the same Set Type. Choosing Standard will create a normal load set, while selecting Nastran LOAD Combination will create a load set which creates a LOAD entry when exported to a Nastran solver. See Creating New Load Sets in Section 4.3.1.1, Model, Load, Create/Manage Set... for more information on the different types of load sets.

Note: The Multiple Load Sets option should only be used when multiple scale factors need to be set for a single load set. Otherwise, simply use the Single Load Set option.


OptionsDepending on the Combine To option selected, different options in this section will be available.

To Set - only available when Combine To is set to Single Load Set, Set Type is set to Standard, and there is a single entry in the Load Set Combinations list. Allows you to add a single load combination to an existing load set instead of creating a new load set, which is the default.

Title - allows you to enter a title which will be used for all new load sets created by a single use of the command.

Data Surface - only available when Combine To is set to From Data Surface. Allows selection of a Load Set Combination Data Surface via a drop-down. See "Load Set Combination Data Surface" in Section 7.2.6.1, "Data Surface Definition Methods" for more information.

Auto Zero Factors - only available when Combine To is set to Multiple Load Sets. When on, adds a 0.0 scale fac-tor to each load set which has at least one scale factor specified, which creates additional load sets.

For example, if Load Set A has 2 scale factors specified and Load Sets B and C have a single scale factor specified, and this option is on, the following combinations would be created:

Scale Factor 1*A + Scale Factor*B + Scale Factor*C


0*A + Scale Factor*B + Scale Factor*C = Scale Factor*B + Scale Factor*C

Scale Factor 1*A + 0*B + Scale Factor*C = Scale Factor 1*A + Scale Factor*C

Scale Factor 1*A + Scale Factor*B + 0*C = Scale Factor 1*A + Scale Factor*B

Scale Factor 2*A + 0*B + Scale Factor*C = Scale Factor 2*A + Scale Factor*C

Scale Factor 2*A + Scale Factor*B + 0*C = Scale Factor 2*A + Scale Factor*B

If this option is off, only the following combinations would be created:



Single Set Combinations - only available when Combine To is set to Multiple Load Sets. When on, adds an item to the Load Set Combinations list containing only a single load set with a scale factor for each load set selected in the From list, along with adding all of the other combinations. If more than one scale factor is set for a particular load set, each scale factor times the load set will become an individual entry in the Load Set Combinations list.

From listWhen Combined To is set to Single Load Set:

Choose any number of load sets from the From list (Hold the CTRL key when you click to choose multiple load sets one at a time or the SHIFT key to choose a range of load sets), then enter a Scale Factor (Default is 1.0), then click Add Factors. If a load set already has a scale factor specified, clicking Add Factors will overwrite the scale factor for each highlighted load set. Once you have a single scale factor entered for each desired load set in the From list, you can use the Add Combinations button to add the combination to the Load Set Combinations list.

When Combined To is set to Multiple Load Sets:

Choose any number of load sets from the From list, then enter a Scale Factor, then click Add Factors. If a load set already has a scale factor specified, clicking Add Factors will add an additional scale factor for each highlighted load set. You can also use the ... button to enter up to 10 scale factors at once for the highlighted load sets using the Combine Load Set Factors dialog box (use Clear Multi Factors button to clear the Combine Load Set Factors dialog box). Once you have the desired number of scale factors entered for each desired load set in the From list, use the Add Combinations button to add the combination to the Load Set Combinations list. Multiple combinations will almost certainly be added to the list and depending on the specified Options, the number of new load sets can vary quite a bit.

The Remove Factors button will remove the entered scale factor(s) for each load set currently highlighted in the From section, while Remove All Factors will clear all scale factors currently in the From section.


Load Set Combinations listThis section contains a list of all the load set combinations to create after clicking OK in the Combine Load Sets dialog box. Each item in the list represents a different load set to create. If only one item is in the list, Combine To is set to Single Load Set, Set Type is set to Standard, and To Set is set to an existing load set, then that load set will be updated instead of a new load set being created.

The Remove Combinations button will remove the combinations currently highlighted in the Load Set Combina-tions list (Hold the CTRL key when you click to choose multiple load set combinations one at a time or the SHIFT key to choose a range of load set combinations), while the Remove All Combinations button will remove all the combinations from the list.

Added Load Set Combination Data Surface to Data Surface Editor.

This Data Surface has one very specific use, to cre-ate new load sets based on existing load sets. Each selected existing load set will appear in the Data Surface Editor as an indi-vidual column, while each new load set to create will appear as a row.

Use the Set Type to Create option to choose the type of load set(s) to create,

Standard or Nastran LOAD Combination load sets. See Section 4.3.1, "Create/Activate Load Set" for more infor-mation on Load Set Type. Combinations of existing Nastran LOAD Combinations load sets can be created by using the referenced load sets of each Nastran LOAD Combination at the time of creation in the new Nastran LOAD Combination load set.

In the Options section, turn the Add Factors To Titles option on to append the title of each new load set with (scale factor* existing load set ID, etc.) for each existing load set used by the new load set. If nothing is speci-fied for Title in a particular row and this option is on, then the title will be (scale factor* existing load set ID, etc.). If no Title is given and this option is off, then the Load Set title will simply be Untitled.

The Initial Number of Rows option is used to specify the number of rows, representing new load sets to create, which will initially appear in the Data Surface Editor after the existing load sets have been selected.

After clicking OK in the Define Load Set Combination Data Surface dialog box, select the existing load sets to pos-sibly use in combinations using the Select Load Sets to Use in Combinations dialog box, then click OK. The Data Surface Editor will now appear like this:

Note: Only rows which contain a scale factor in at least one column will be used to create new load sets. If a row is blank, it will simply be skipped.


A SetID and Title may optionally be entered for each row. To include an existing load set in a new load set, simply enter a scale factor on a specific row in the appropriate column. Use 1.0 to simply include the existing load set with no scaling. Once all of the scale factors have been entered, click the right-mouse button in any cell and choose the Create Combined Sets command from the context-sensitive menu to create the new load sets.

Context Sensitive menus for Load Set Combination Data SurfaceThe Create Combined Sets option on the context-sensitive menu for cells is used to create the new load sets. All of the load set combinations currently defined in the Data Surface Editor will be created at the same time.

Additional commands on the context-sensitive menu for column headers:

Activate - makes the load set represented by the column the active load set in the model.

List Load Set - lists information about the load set represented by the column including individual loads in the load set.

Sum Forces in Load Set - lists the load summation for the load set represented by the column using the same format as the Tools, Check, Sum Forces command. See Section 7.4.5.10, "Tools, Check, Sum Forces...".

Add Load Sets - adds load sets selected via the Select Load Sets to Use in Combinations dialog box as new col-umns in the Data Surface Editor.

Change Load Set - updates load set referenced by the current column in the Data Surface Editor.

Remove Selected Load Sets - removes the current column in the Data Surface Editor.

Additional commands on the context-sensitive menu for row headers:

List Combination - lists information about the potential load set combination represented by the row including individual loads in the various load sets.

Sum Forces in Combination - lists the load summation for the potential load combination represented by the row using the same format as the Tools, Check, Sum Forces command. See Section 7.4.5.10, "Tools, Check, Sum Forces...".

ExampleThis type of Data Surface can be used to create 5 new load sets from 6 existing load sets. Simply enter scale factor values into various cells:

Note: If no values are entered for SetID, the next available load set ID(s) will be used for the new load sets when they are created. If any values for SetID are the same as existing load set IDs in the model, a question will be asked, Ok to Delete Existing Load Sets? Data Surface references Load Sets that already exist. Press Yes to Delete and Recreate them, No to Create New Sets. If any values for SetID are the same as a load set currently represented by a column in the Data Surface Editor, then a question will be asked, Ok to Combine? Combining will delete Load Sets used in this Data Surface and you may get no Loads. Typically, this question should be answered No.


Once all the scale factors have been entered, select any cell in the Data Surface Editor, then right mouse click and choose Create Combined Sets. The following Load sets will be created from the Data Surface shown above:

Added ability to renumber Load Definitions and Constraint Definitions using the Modify, Renumber, Load Defi-nition and Modify, Renumber, Constraint Definition commands. Available methods are Original ID and Type.

Updated dialog box for Model, Load, From Freebody command to include standard multi-select controls with check boxes and Title Filters.

Connections (Region, Properties, and Connectors) Updated the Connect, Automatic command

The Auto Detection Options for Connections dialog box now allows you to choose which Connections Types the command should be trying to identify and create. Any combination of Face-Face, Edge-Face, and Edge-Edge may be selected in the Connection Types section.

When either Edge-Face and/or Edge-Edge are selected, the Combine Non-Tangent Edge Connections option will also become available. When on, attempts to consolidate continuous curves located on the same surface or solid into a single Connection Region, if possible. If curves come together at a 90 degree corner, they will not be placed in the same Connection Region.

Updated all dialog boxes used to create the different types of regions to use Add to List and Remove from List icon buttons to add/remove single items from the list of entities. Also, the Delete button in all of these dia-log boxes is now used to select any number of entities using the standard entity selection dialog box to remove from the list of entities.

Titles DefinedAdd Factors To Titles = Off

Titles DefinedAdd Factors To Titles = On

Set Type to Create = Standard Set Type to Create = Nastran LOAD Combination

Groups and Layers 11.1-23

Added support for using Solid Elements to define Bolt Regions using Connect, Bolt Region command.

Solid Bolt OptionsOnly used when Bolt Type is set to Solid. When Defined By is set to Nodes, allows selection of an existing coordi-nate system and an axis on the selected coordinate system to define the direction of the Bolt Axis. When Defined By is set to Elements (SOL 601 only), a coordinate system, a direction, and a single node where the bolt plane cuts through (Ref Plane Node) may be specified. Bolt Axis CSys is written to the CSID field, Dir is written to the IDIR, and Ref Plane Node (when specified) is written to the GP field of the Nastran BOLT entry.

Groups and Layers Added Group, Operations, Generate Freebody Entities command, which creates a unique new group contain-

ing only nodes and/or elements for each selected Freebody entity.

Added Group, Curve, in Connection Region; Group, Surface, in Connection Region; Group, Node, in Connec-tion Region; Group, Element, in Connection Region; and Group, Property, in Connection Region commands to add entities of the specified type used to define the selected regions to the active group.

Enhanced Group, Operations, Generate Solids to optionally include Connection Regions associated with solids along with mesh, loads, and constraints.

Enhanced Group, Operations, Generate command to add NonManifold Edges as an available Geometric Break as well as a Group Expansion section to include Elements Only, Elements and Nodes, or All related entities in the newly created Groups.

Views Added Performance Graphics Font button to the Label Parameters option in Labels, Entities and Color

Category of View, Options command. The Performance Graphics Font button allows you to select a font when using Performance Graphics. The Font dialog box appears allowing you to select a Font, a Font Style, a Size, along with selecting a Script, if needed.

Added Performance Graphics option in the Tools and View Style Category of View, Options command.

Allows you to specify options when using Performance Graphics mode. These options do nothing when Perfor-mance Graphics mode is not enabled.

Significant Figures allows you to select the number of significant figures to display for real numbers, while turning on the Exponent option will show this numbers using scientific notation (i.e, 1.000E+3 instead of 1000.0).

Filled Edge Offset is a value that can be used to bring filled edges of shell and solid elements forward so they dom-inate any line elements occupying the same space. To have the line elements dominate instead, set this value to a


negative number. You may want to try a few different values until you achieve the desired result and there is no limit to the values which can be entered.

Finally, the Performance Graphics Font button allows you to select a font while using Performance Graphics mode.

Added Load and Save buttons to View Manager accessed via View, Create/Manage command. The Save button simply allows to save the view highlighted in the Available Views - Selected View is Active list to the View library, while the Load button allows you to load a view from the View library into the model.

Output and Post-Processing Updated the File, Attach to Results command to allow attaching to XDB files from NX Nastran and MSC Nas-

tran (both formats) and Comma-Separated files using a specific format.

When NX Nastran or MSC/MD Nastran is selected, you will be prompted to select *.op2 files and/or *.xdb files.

When Comma Separated is selected, you will be prompted to select *.CSV files. In order to attach to CSV files, the CSV files must use the extended comma-separated table format, which is outlined in Section 8.10.4, The Extended Comma-Separated Table Format of the FEMAP User Guide.

Updated Model, Output, Transform command to use a dialog box similar to the one used to specify the on-the-fly transformations with View, Select and PostProcessing Toolbox. Also, this command now works with output in attached results files.

Allows you to transform output that references global X, Y, Z components (like Total Translation, Reaction Forces, etc.) into any chosen coordinate system or into the nodal output coordinate system at each node.

You may also transform plate element forces, stresses, and strains into the material direction, a selected coordinate system, or along a specified vector from the standard output direction.

Solid element stresses and strains can also be transformed into a ca single chosen coordinate system or the current material direction specified for the solid properties of the selected elements.

Note: FEMAP supports attaching to *.xdb files created by MSC Nastran using either the HK or BBBT format, while File, Import, Analysis Results only supports reading the *.xdb in HK format.

Output and Post-Processing 11.1-25

When you choose this command, you will see the Transform Output Data dialog box:

There are three separate sections, each used to transform specific output on specific entity types, along with some additional Options, all of which are described later in this section. Different options can be set in the various sec-tions and these settings will only affect appropriate output vectors. These specified settings in this dialog box will persist until changed or this instance of FEMAP is closed.

Once the desired options are selected, click OK to access the Select Output to Transform dialog box. This dialog box allows selection of any number of Output Vectors in any number of Output Sets. See Section 8.6.0.1, "Using the Select Output Sets and Select Results dialog boxes" for more information on using this type of dialog box.

Unlike the on-the-fly transformations of output vectors available when using the View, Select command or the Post-Processing Toolbox, this command creates additional output vectors that will be added to the database. In order to visualize the transformed output from this command, you must set the Deform and/or Contour vector(s) in the Out-put Vectors section of the Select PostProcesisng Data dialog box or the PostProcessing Toolbox.

Nodal Vector OutputIn the Nodal Vector Output section, you will find these options:

None - no transformation (default)

Into CSys - transforms the nodal output vector into an existing coordinate system.

Into Node Output CSys - transforms the nodal output vector into each nodes output coordinate system.

Plate Forces, Stresses and StrainsThe options for Plate Forces, Stresses and Strains are: None - no transformation (default)


Into Matl Direction - transforms output using the predefined material angle specified for each element. You can set the material angle when creating plane properties (in Define Property dialog box, choose Elem/Prop-erty Type, then click Element Material Orientation) or at anytime using the Modify, Update Elements, Material Angle command (for more information, see Section 4.8.3.13, "Modify, Update Elements, Material Orienta-tion..."), which has several options.

Into CSys - transforms the output vector to align the X-direction of output vector to the chosen X, Y, or Z com-ponent of an existing coordinate system.

Along Vector - transforms the output vector to align the X-direction of output vector to a vector specified by clicking the Vector button, then using the standard vector definition dialog box.

The other input required for the proper transformation of plate element output is the definition of the original com-ponent data, which can be selected using the Output Orientation button. Please see the Output Orientation section below.

Solid Stresses and StrainsStresses and Strains for solid elements are returned to FEMAP from the solver in a direction specified using the Material Axes for each solid property prior to running the analysis (for more information, see the Solid Element Properties heading in Section 4.2.2.3, "Volume Elements").

For Solid Stresses and Strains, you may pick from these options:

None - no transformation (default)

Into CSys - transforms the standard component solid stresses and strains into an existing coordinate system.

Into Matl Direction - transforms standard component solid stresses and strains from the analysis into the current setting for Material Axes for each solid property.

As with plate elements, the other important input needed to properly transform the output is the definition of the original component data orientation, which can be selected using the Output Orientation button. Please see the Output Orientation section below for more information.

Each material axis option transformed into a specified coordinate system.

OptionsThe sections contains options which can be used when transforming the output.

Global Components of Nodal Vectors - when on, the global components used to create the transformed nodal vectors will also be saved to the model. In the case of transforming T1 Translation or a similar output vector into Coordinate System 3, having this option on would save four output vectors to the model - T1 Translation (CSys 3), Global X of T1 Translation (CSys 3), Global Y of T1 Translation (CSys 3), and Global Z of T1 Trans-lation (CSys 3). When off (default), only T1 Translation (CSys 3) would be saved to the model.

Transform All Nodes/Elements - when on, which is the default, output on all nodes and elements in the model will be transformed. When off, you will be prompted to select nodes and/or elements based on the output vec-tors selected for transformation.

Assume Engineering Shear Strain - when on, which is the default, the transformed shear strain is engineering shear strain rather than actual shear strain. Since shear strain is used to calculate the principal stress/strain val-ues, its important to specify the shear strain method.

Output OrientationThe Current Output Orientation dialog box contains the default output orientation for both Plane and Solid ele-ments. For Plane elements, there is an option for each type of output data to transform (Stress, Strain, and Force), for each Plane element shape that may appear in the model (Tria3, Tria6, Quad4, and Quad8).

There are two options for triangular elements (0..First Edge or 1..Midside Locations) with the default being 0..First Edge, while there are three options for quadrilateral elements (0..First Edge, 1..Midside Locations, or 2..Diagonal Bisector) with 2..Diagonal Bisector being the default.

Note: Before using the Into Matl Direction method, be sure to refer to your analysis program documenta-tion to see how material orientation angles are used and to find any limitations.

Output and Post-Processing 11.1-27

For Solid elements, there are three orientation options (0..Material Direction, 1..Global Rectangular, or 2..Element) for different material types associated with Solid properties (Isotropic, Anisotropic, or Hyperelastic).

Pressing the Reset button when the Current Output Orientation dialog box is accessed through either the Deforma-tion Transformation or Contour Transformation dialog box will reset all of the output orientation options to the val-ues currently set in the Preferences.

For more information about these various orientation options, please see the Output Orientation portion of Section 2.6.2.6, "Geometry/Model".

Consult your analysis programs documentation concerning the original coordinate system definition.

Added List, Output, Contoured Results to Data Table command.

Only available when a Contour Style is currently specified in View Select or the PostProcessing Toolbox and results are being shown in the active view. Simply lists the values used to make the current Contour, Criteria, Beam Dia-gram, IsoSurface, Section Cut, or Vector plot in the active view. Depending on the selected Contour Style and options set in Contour Options and View Options, the listing can include different information.

Also, if the active view is only displaying a portion of the model because of Groups or a Contour Group is being used to limit how much of the model is displaying results, only those entities will be listed to the Data Table. Enti-ties not visible because of a Visibility switch or on a Layer which is currently not being displayed, will still be listed.

Contour - When Contour Type is set to Nodal (or Match Output when looking at a nodal output vector), only a Node ID and a Value at that node will be listed. When Contour Type is set to Elemental (or Match Output when looking at an elemental output vector), the listing will consist of an Element ID, Corner number, Node ID

corresponding to the Corner number (0=centroid), Value, and optionally a Location (Top or Bottom for pla-nar elements). While beam/bar elements cannot be contoured, the value are each end can be listed.


Criteria - Lists only an Element ID and a Value.

Beam Diagram - Only list results on line elements. Listing consists of Element ID, Corner number (1 = End A, 2 = End B), Node ID corresponding to Corner number, and Value.

IsoSurface and Section Cut - Produces a listing identical to the listing when Contour Style is set to Contour.

Vector - Lists the Element ID or Node ID, Vector ID (1, 2, or 3), overall Value, X value, Y value, and Z value.

Added List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations and List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations to Data Table commands.

List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations allows you to list the nodal summation at each node for each selected freebody using output data from any number of selected output sets. For a Freebody entity with Display Mode set to Freebody, all nodes referenced by the elements in the Freebody entity will be listed. For a Freebody entity with Display Mode set to Interface Load only the selected nodes will be listed.

List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations to Data Table functions identically to List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations command, except it sends data to the Data Table instead of the Messages window.

Updated on-the-fly transformations via the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box and PostProcessing Tool-box to support transformation of Laminate and Solid Laminate Stresses and Strains using the same options available for transformation of Plate Stresses and Strains.

Updated Next Output Vector and Previous Output Vector icons on the Post Toolbar to increment all 3 pos-sible contour vectors if they are defined. Previously only the primary vector was incremented.

Geometry InterfacesThe following FEMAP interfaces have been updated to support newer geometry formats:

Added the ability to write FEMAP Points and Curves to an IGES file. Use the Options button to turn on Points and/or Curves in the NonSolid Geometry section.

For details, see Geometry Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.

FEMAP Interface Latest Supported VersionParasolid Parasolid 26Solid Edge Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology 6NX NX 9.0CATIA CATIA V5-6R2013 SP2ACIS ACIS 24, SP1

Analysis Program Interfaces 11.1-29

Analysis Program InterfacesSeveral of the analysis program interfaces have been improved. These changes include:

Analysis Set Manager Enhancements

FEMAP Neutral File Interface

NX Nastran Interface

Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC)

MSC Nastran Interface

NEi Nastran Interface

ANSYS Interface

ABAQUS Interface

DYNA Interface

Comma-Separated Interface

For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.

Analysis Set Manager Enhancements Added Design Optimization Options dialog box for NX Nastran and MSC Nastran. Only available for Design

Optimization analysis type. Used to choose either Static and Normal Modes/Eigenvalue and offers a Track Modes option when set to Normal Modes/Eigenvalue.

Added question to allow user to optionally clear the Loads/Constraints from the Master Case when using Mul-tiSet to create subcases.

Removed GEOMCHECK and Model Check dialog boxes from the Next/Prev chain for Nastran solvers to streamline creation of analysis sets. These dialog boxes are still available, but now must be selected via the Options branch of an analysis set.

FEMAP Neutral File Interface Updated Neutral Read and Write for v11.1 changes

Added capability to include element connectivity definitions in the FNO file to create plot-only elements. The elements must reference existing nodes in the model and can only be lines, triangles or quads.

NX Nastran Interface Added support to write BEDGE entries when edges of axisymmetric elements, CTRAX3, CQUADX4,

CTRAX6, CQUADX8 are used in a Connection Region in Edge-Edge contact.

Added support for ESOPT field on BGPARM entry and PREVIEW field on BGPARM and BCTPARM entries. Removed subdivide method, RTSUBD, from NXSTRAT as it was removed from version 8.5.

Added support to read ITER and ELEMITER commands from the NASTRAN statement which will select the appropriate Iterative Solver option in the NASTRAN Executive and Solution Options dialog box.

Added support to request Grid Point Force results in Advanced Nonlinear (SOL 601).

Added support to write BOLT entry using element IDs for Advanced Nonlinear (SOL 601).

Added support to set up the PYR_AR, PYR_EPLR, and PYR_WARP element checks in GEOMCHECK dialog box for pyramid elements.

Added option to request Relative Enforced Motion Results in Nastran Output Requests dialog box for dynamic analysis. Adds REL to DISPLACEMENT, ACCELERATION, and/or VELOCITY Case Control entires.

Added support for KDAMP and KUPDATE fields on TSTEPNL entry. For Transient Heat Transfer analysis these are specified via the Method drop-down and the Include Differential Stiffness in Damping options in the

Stiffness Updates section of the Nonlinear Control Options dialog box. For Nonlinear Transient analysis KUP-DATE is specified via the Method drop-down in the Stiffness Updates section of the Control Options tab of the


Nonlinear Control Options dialog box, while KDAMP is specified via the Include Differential Stiffness in Damping option in the Additional Transient Options section of the Advanced Options tab of the Nonlinear Con-trol Options dialog box.

Added support to read RMS von Mises Stress from a Random Response analysis with RMS output requested.

Updated the NASTRAN Output for Random Analysis dialog box to allow selection of a specific option (Power Spectral Density Functions, Autocorrelation Functions, Root Mean Square), None, or All for both Nodal and Elemental results.

Added Bulk Mod Ratio - GAMMA, Bulk Modulus Function, Density Function, Damping Coeff Function, and Bulk Mod Ratio Function fields to the 506..Nastran Fluid Material (MAT10) Material Type in Other Types. These fields write the GAMMA, TIDBULK, TIDRHO, TIDGE, and TIDGAMMA fields to the MAT10 entry.

A number of bugs were corrected


Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC) Added support for the pyramid element and now read/write the CPYRAM entry.

Added read support for obsolete ELSTRESS, ELFORCE, ELSTRAIN Case Control entries. Turn on Stress, Force, and/or Strain output requests in the Nastran Output Requests dialog box.

Added enhanced support for Restarts. New options include the ability to specify a Read Only Restart along with specifying a Version Number for the file and a Starting Subcase for Nonlinear analysis.

Updated default behavior for auto reading of results when the analysis case is set to 3..Print and PostProcess which will skip f06 results and only read output from op2 file.

Updated automatic filename convention. Input file name now matches the entire length of model name instead of only using the first 5 characters of the filename. It also automatically converts characters that are known to be invalid in Nastran command lines (=, $, #) and converts them to '_'. Also added Base Filename for Analyze (Blank to Match Model) field in the NASTRAN Executive and Solution Options dialog box so you can specify a different automatic name, which will be followed by a 3-digit number which automatically increments.

A number of bugs were corrected


MSC Nastran Interface Added read/write support for the SMETHOD Case Control command. When Iterative Solver in NASTRAN

Executive and Solution Options dialog box is set to 1..On, writes SMETHOD=MATRIX. When set to 2..Elemental Iter, writes SMETHOD=ELEMENT.

Added support for the BBBT formatted XDB files and XDB files created by 64-bit version of MSC Nastran via File, Attach to Results command only.

Added read support for Acceleration and Velocity results in alternate output data blocks (OAG1 and OVG1).

Added support for the MAT10 entry. Specified using 606...MSC.Nastrain Fluid Material when property type is set to Other Types in the Define Material dialog box.

A number of bugs were corrected.


NEi Nastran Interface Added read support for plot only triangle and quad elements representing contact regions from FNO file.

Added option to request Relative Enforced Motion Results in Nastran Output Requests dialog box for dynamic analysis. Adds REL to DISPLACEMENT, ACCELERATION, and/or VELOCITY Case Control entires.

Updated modal and dynamic analysis methods to always write the EIGRL entry instead of EIGR, unless Real

Solutions Methods is set to Auto and Normalization Method is set to Point in the NASTRAN Modal Analysis dia-log box.

ANSYS Interface 11.1-31

Updated Advanced Options tab of Nonlinear Control Options dialog box to have all fields blank by default in the Analysis Set Manager.



ANSYS Interface Updated Ansys to support V14.5 and 15.0 with new 64 bit pointers and new stress result block format



ABAQUS InterfaceA number of bugs were corrected.


DYNA Interface Added support for Memory (Megawords) and Processor Count to LS-DYNA Analysis Control dialog box. These

fields write *KEYWORD Memory value NCPU = Processor Count value.



Comma-Separated Interface Added support for the Extended Comma-Separated Format.

The extended comma-separated table format that is supported by FEMAP is a little more complex than the original comma-separated format, but offers much more control and flexibility. The data is separated into blocks containing different Table Types, each of which is described in detail below. Repeat blocks in the CSV file for as many tables as you need.

The general format of the Extend CSV Format Blocks:

Available Table Types:

Note: To attach to output using a CSV files, the files MUST use the extended comma-separated table format.

Table TypeResult Type Info (Not in Table Type 100, 0=Any, 1=Displacement, 2=Velocity/Acceleration, 3=Force, 4=Stress, 5=Strain, 6=ThermalSet/Vector ID(s) (0 for Auto)Title(s)...multiple rows of table data, format depends on table type...-1 (delimiter indicating CSV Block is finished)

100 - Output Set 1000 (or Output Set ID)Set TitleSet Value-1___________________________________________________________________

NOTE: If this file is read into FEMAP, the Output Set ID is ignored - a new Output Set will be created for each Table 100 encountered. All other tables that come after this are added to that Output Set, until another Table 100 is found. All tables except this one can come in any order, or have as many occurrences as you need.


200 - Nodal Scalar(s) 200Result Type (0 for Any)Column1 Vector ID (, Column2 Vector ID, ) (0 for Automatic IDs) Column1 Title (, Column2 Title, .)Node ID, Value (, Value, )Node ID, Value (, Value, )-1__________________________________________________________________

NOTE: While multiple columns are possible in this format, for best performance when using this file as an external attached file, only 1 column should be used.

300 - Elemental Scalar(s) 300 Result Type (0 for Any)Column1 Vector ID (, Column2 Vector ID, ) (0 for Automatic IDs) Column1 Title (, Column2 Title, .)Element ID, Value (, Value, )Element ID, Value (, Value, )-1__________________________________________________________________

NOTE: While multiple columns are possible in this format, for best performance when using this file as an external attached file, only 1 column should be used.

400 - Nodal Vector (Global Rectangular)

400Result Type (0 for Any)Total Vector ID, X Vector ID, Y Vector ID, Z Vector ID (0 for Auto)Total Title, X Title, Y Title, Z TitleNode ID, X Value, Y Value, Z ValueNode ID, X Value, Y Value, Z Value-1__________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Although you specify a vector ID and title for the total values, you do not actually include those in the data. FEMAP will automatically compute the vector sum of the components and store that as the total.

401 - Nodal Vector with Rotations (Global Rectangular)

401Result Type (0 for Any)Total ID, X ID, Y ID, Z ID, TotalR ID, XR ID, YR ID, ZR ID (0 for Auto)Total Title, X Title, Y Title, Z Title, TotalR Title, XR Title, YR Title, ZR TitleNode ID, X Value, Y Value, Z Value, XR Value, YR Value, ZR ValueNode ID, X Value, Y Value, Z Value, XR Value, YR Value, ZR Value-1__________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Although you specify vector IDs and titles for the total values, you do not actually include those in the data. FEMAP will automatically compute the vector sum of the components and store those as the totals.

Tools 11.1-33

Tools Added Merge Across Output CSys option to Tools, Check, Coincident Nodes command.

By default, nodes which have different output coordinate systems defined will not merged. The Merge Across Out-

500 - Elemental With Corner Data

500Result Type (0 for Any)Centroid Vector ID, Corner1 VecID, ,CornerN VecID (0 for Auto) Centroid Title, Corner1Title, CornerN Title Element ID, Centroid Value, Corner1 Value, , CornerN ValueElement ID, Centroid Value, Corner1 Value, , CornerN Value -1__________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Care must be taken with this format if you are writing data for Tetra or Wedge elements. For Tetra elements, corners must be 1,2,3 and 5. For wedge ele-ments, corners must be 1,2,3,5,6,7. In both cases corner 4 is skipped.

If the table contains purely Tetra or Wedge results, specify the Corner 4 VecID = -1, skip the Corner 4 Title and the Corner 4 Values with ,, like

5009000000,9000001,9000002,9000003,-1,9000004Center Stress, Stress C1, Stress C2, Stress C3, ,Stress C51, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0,,5.0

501 - Elemental With Corner Data (not linearly combinable)

This table has the same format as 500 however, if read into FEMAP, the data will be skipped during linear combinations.

502 - Elemental Beam/Bar Data

502Result Type (0 for Any) , OptionalRevFlag (0 for Auto)End A Vector ID, End B Vector IDEnd A Title, End BTitle Element ID, End A Value, End B ValueElement ID, End A Value, End B Value-1__________________________________________________________________

NOTE: The OptionalRevFlag does not need to be specified. If not, the sign conven-tion assumes that End B Values need to be reversed in sign for consistent display. If they should not be, specify OptionalRevFlag=1

503 - Elemental Beam/Bar Data(not linearly combinable)

This table has the same format as 502 however, if read into FEMAP, the data will be skipped during linear combinations.put CSys option allows nodes to be merged with different output coordinate systems. When Set Output Csys To is


set to -1..Use Nodal Output System, the coordinate system of the kept node will remain unchanged after the nodes have been merged. Alternatively, if Set Output Csys To is set to a specific coordinate system, then the output coordinate system of the kept nodes will be set to the selected coordinate system. Only nodes which had an out-put coordinate system conflict can have their output coordinate system changed during this operation. When nodes cannot be merged because of different output coordinate systems, a message, # Node Combinations Not Merged due to Output Coordinate System conflicts, will be sent to the Messages window.

Reorganized the Chart Data Series dialog box into a tabbed format and added the Vector vs. Vector option as a tab.

One way to create a new Data Series is to simply select New Data Series in the Chart Data Series Manager. An additional method is also available via the Add Data Series command found on both the Chart Options icon menu and the context-sensitive menu for the Chart itself. Both methods access the Chart Data Series dialog box:

Like many other entities in FEMAP, each Data Series must have a unique ID and may optionally have a unique Title which may be entered at the top. The rest of the dialog box is separated into two sections, a tabbed Data Type section to select appropriate data for different types of Data Series and a Style section which is the same for all Types. Both sections will be discussed in detail below. Finally, when the Add to Current Chart toggle at the bottom of the dialog box is on, any newly created Data Series will automatically be displayed on the current Chart once

Filter Output

Clear Output

Clear Output

Filter Output

Vector Info

Vector Filter

Sets Filter

Vectors

Setsthe OK button has been pressed.

Tools 11.1-35

Data TypeThis section is used to select the Type of Data Series by selecting one of the four available tabs. Depending on the tab selected, different options will be available. The four types are Vector vs Entity, Vector vs. Output Set, Vector vs. Vector, and Function. Several of the tabs include Filter Output Sets and Filter Output Vectors icon buttons which can be used to reduce the amount of output data available for selection, while the Vector Info icon button can be used to bring up the Output Set/Vector Info dialog box. See Making it Easier to Select Output Data - Using the Out-put Vector Filters and Vector Info for more information.

Vector vs. Entity Plots XY data as a function of ID number or position of nodes or elements in an axis direction for an Output Vector in one Output Set.

The X-Axis Values section offers two options, Entity ID or Position. When Entity ID is selected, the node or ele-ment ID of each data point will be used as the X value. When Position is selected, the X, Y, or Z coordinate of each node or the centroid of each element will be used as the data point X value. The CSys drop-down

femap 11.1 new features

Documents

geometry menu

list menu

geometry command

geometry geometry

file menu

tools menu

group information

merge command