Femap Tutorial 2

Whats New in FEMAP
FEMAP 10.1 includes enhancements and new features, which are detailed below: User Interface on page 3 Meshing on page 5 Elements on page 5 Loads and Constraints on page 6 Connections (Connection Properties, Regions, and Connectors) on page 9 Groups and Layers on page 10 Groups and Layers on page 10 Views on page 11 Output and Post-Processing on page 20 Geometry Interfaces on page 23 Analysis Program Interfaces on page 23 OLE/COM API on page 26 Preferences on page 28
FEMAP 10.0, 10.0.1, and 10.0.2 include enhancements and new features, which are detailed below: (Please note, FEMAP 10.0.2 is a maintenance release only, therefore nothing is listed in this document. See readme.pdf for additional details about 10.0.2) User Interface on page 29 Meshing on page 49 Mesh Associativity on page 59 Properties on page 59 Functions on page 61 Loads and Constraints on page 61 Connections (Connection Properties, Regions, and Connectors) on page 61 Geometry on page 62 Groups and Layers on page 68 Views on page 68 Output and Post-Processing on page 69 Geometry Interfaces on page 73 Analysis Program Interfaces on page 74 Tools on page 76 OLE/COM API on page 77 Preferences on page 79
10.1-2
Finite Element Modeling
Whats New for version 10.1
10.1-3
Whats New for version 10.1

User Interface
General, Menu, Toolbars, Model Info tree, Data Table/Entity Editor, Status Bar, Graphics
General
Added Tab Location option to View Windows. Now the View Tabs may be places on the Top, Left, Right, or Bottom of a View Window. Changed listing of model size from Bytes to MBytes when using List, Model Info command Updated List, Model, Element command to list element formulation based on solver set in the active Analysis Set in the Analysis Set Manager. Added Axis of Revolution method to Vector Definition dialog box. Added X Axis Log Scale option to Function Definition dialog box.
Menu
Added Model, Load, Enforce Motion to Model menu. See Loads and Constraints section for more details. Renamed Model, Load, Set to Model, Load, Create/Manage Set on Model menu. See Loads and Constraints section for more details. Renamed Model, Constraint, Set to Model, Constraint, Create/Manage Set on Model menu. See Loads and Constraints section for more details. Added Model, Output, Global Ply to Model menu. See Output and Post-Processing section for more details. Renamed Model, Output, Set to Model, Output, Create/Manage Set on Model menu. See Output and Post-Processing section for more details. Renamed Group, Set to Group, Create/Manage on Group menu. See Group and Layers section for more details. Reorganized top section of Group, Operations menu on Group menu. See Group and layers section for more details. Renamed View, Set to View, Create/Manage on View menu. See View section for more details. Added View, Visibility command to View menu. See View section for more details. Added View, Advanced Post, Contour Model Data command to View menu. See View section for more details. Removed View, Layers command from View menu. Replaced by View, Visibility command.
Toolbars
Replaced View Layers and Quick Options icons with Visibility icon on View Toolbar. Added Model Data Contour icon to View Toolbar. Added Laminate Options and Contour Vectors options to Post Options drop-down menu on Post Toolbar.
Model Info tree

Added Reset All Visibility Options button.\
10.1-4

Added Visibility check boxes (on/off) for Elements (Shape and Type), Properties, Materials, and Layers. Added Visibility check boxes (Show/Hide/Clear) for Groups. Added Elements object and context-sensitive menu to tree.
Visibility check boxes Visibility check boxes exist for toggling visibility on/off of Elements (by Element Shape, Element Type), Materials (Elements of that material), Properties (Elements of that Property), Groups (Show, Hide, and Clear options), and Layers. The check boxes for each entity type perform the same functions they do in the View, Visibility dialog box. See Section 6.1.4, "View, Visibility...". Also, multiple entities may be highlighted in a given section and special context-sensitive menus exist when the cursor is then placed over the visibility check boxes. Added Copy command to context-sensitive menus for Coordinate Systems, Connections-Properties, Connections-Regions, Materials, Properties, Layups, Functions, and Groups Added Color command to context-sensitive menus for Materials and Properties.
Data Table/Entity Editor
10.1-5
Added Layer command to context-sensitive menus for Materials and Properties. Added Global Ply command to Layups context-sensitive menu. Added Referenced Sets command to context-sensitive menus for Loads and Constraints. Added Edit Where Applied command to context-sensitive menus for Load Definitions and Constraint Definitions. Changed Edit command to Edit Load on Load Definition context-sensitive menu. Changed Edit command to Edit Constraint on Constraint Definition context-sensitive menu. Added Show Constrained Entities command to Constraints context-sensitive menu. Added Referenced Groups command to Groups context-sensitive menu. Changed View Active command to Show Active Group and added Show Full Model and Show Multiple Groups to Groups context-sensitive menu. Changed Show All Layers to View All Layers and Show Visible Layers Only to View Visible Layers Only on Layers context-sensitive menu. Removed Make Visible, Make Hidden, and Manage commands from Layers context-sensitive menu. No longer needed due to Visibility check boxes.
Data Table/Entity Editor

Added Memb-Bend Coupling fields for plate elements. Added support for Nastran LOAD Combination Sets and Nastran SPCADD/MPCADD Combination Sets
Status Bar
Changed Set to Create/Manage (Set) for Load Sets, Constraint Sets, Groups, and Output Sets Changed View Active to Show Active for Groups and added Show Full Model and Show Multiple options
Graphics
Facets are now stored in memory instead of with the model file. When model is opened, it will be facetted. This is beneficial as model files containing a large amount of geometry will be smaller.
Geometry
Implemented the Solid Manager which is used to activate, update, or make no solids active in the model. Modified Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Pad command. Entering an Pad Size Factor of 1.0 will extend curves out using the radius of the chosen circular curves, while entering a value of 1.5 would offset the curves 1.5*the radius of the chosen circular curves in all directions.
Meshing
Added Use Reference Point option to Mesh, Mesh Control, Attributes Along Curve
Elements
Added Update Button to Define RIGID Element dialog box. Allows you to update the Interpolation Factor and DOFs on any number of highlighted nodes in the Nodes to Average section when using the Interpolation option.
Layups
Updated Global Ply Definition dialog box for Layups Global Ply ID (optional): This option can be used to save a particular ply of one layup for use in other layups in your model.
10.1-6
The Global Ply concept can also be used for Post Processing purposes by allowing you to choose any ply of any layup to be the same Global Ply as any ply of a any other layup. For instance, a model has two layups, Layup 1 has 7 plies and Layup 2 has 9 plies. If you wanted to post process the results of a particular output vector on the middle ply of the model, the middle ply for Layup 1 would be ply 4, while the middle ply for Layup 2 would be ply 5. Once these plies have been designated with the same Global Ply ID, you can use the Laminate Options functionality of View, Select to create a contour/criteria plot using a the results of the Global Ply.
You can create a new Global Ply by clicking the Global Ply Icon Button next to the drop down list. In the Global Ply Definition dialog box, you may create a new global ply using the New Ply button. In the New Global Ply dialog box, you may enter a Title (up to 79 characters), and optionally choose a Material, and/or enter a Thickness.
Once you have at least one global ply, you may highlight any ply from the list and then use Edit Ply to change the Title, Material, and/or Thickness, Renumber to renumber the selected ply, or Delete to delete the selected ply, Delete All will simply delete all of the global plies in the model, while Show will highlight all of the elements in the graphics window which are currently using the Global Ply. Note: A Global Ply can only be referenced in a Layup one time. If you use a Global Ply more than once in a Layup, the most recently entered instance of the Global Ply will have the Global Ply designation. Material, Thickness and Angle: The Material drop-down list allows you to choose the material to be referenced for each ply. If you want to create a new material, simply click the Material Icon Button next to the Material drop-down list. Thickness allows you to enter the physical thickness of each ply. Angle is used to enter the orientation angle of each ply. The angles are specified relative to the material axes which were defined for the element. If you did not specify a material orientation angle, these angles are measured from the first side of the element (the edge from the first to the second node). They are measured from the rotated material axes otherwise.
Loads and Constraints

Added Torque Load type to Model, Load, On Surface command. Added Total Load option for Force, Moment, and Torque load types to Model, Load, On Surface command. Allows you to take a total load and spread it across all of the selected surfaces.
10.1-7
Added Total Load option for Force and Moment load types to Model, Load, On Curve command. Allows you to take a total load and spread it across all of the selected curves. Implemented the Load Set Manager for creation, management, and activation of Load Sets
Create new load sets Update the title of an existing load set Renumber highlighted Load Set Delete highlighted Load Set Delete all Load Sets Copy highlighted Load Set Define Nastran LOAD Combination Set Deactivate All Load Sets
Added option to create a Load Set Type option which allows you to create a Nastran LOAD Combination and use Referenced Load Sets
Load Set Type You may choose a Set Type for the new load set. A Standard load set is any combination of Load Definitions, Body Loads, and Other Loads used to define the loading conditions for that load set. A Nastran LOAD Combination is a special type of load set which is a combination of referenced Standard load sets in the model. When used, all of the selected Standard load sets referenced by a Nastran LOAD Combination Set are written to the Nastran input file and combined by Nastran via a LOAD entry also written to the input file. Note: Only Forces, Moments, Pressures, loads on Scalar points (SPOINTS), Rotational Velocity Body Loads, and Gravity Loads may be combined using the LOAD entry. Also, Nastran LOAD Combinations in FEMAP are only used when performing a Static Analysis.
10.1-8
Once a Nastran LOAD Combination has been created, highlight it from the list in the Load Set Manager and press the Referenced Sets button. The Referenced Load Sets for Nastran LOAD dialog box will appear:
Highlight any number of Standard load sets from the list of Available Sets. Click Add Referenced Set to have them placed in the Referenced Sets list. By default, each load set placed into the Referenced Sets list will be included with a Scale Factor of 1.0. If desired, the For Referenced Set Scale Factor can be changed before pressing the Add Referenced Set button and all highlighted load sets will be placed in the Referenced Sets list using that Scale Factor. These scale factors will be written to the appropriate Si fields of the Nastran LOAD entry for each load set. Also, an Overall Scale Factor may be entered for the entire set, which is written to the S field of LOAD entry. Note: A Referenced Load Sets command may be added to any menu or toolbar using the Tools, Toolbars, Customize command. This command is located in the Additional Commands category on the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.. Implemented the Constraint Set Manager for creation, management, and activation of Constraints Sets
Create new Constraint Sets Update the title of an existing Constraint Set Renumber highlighted Constraint Set Delete highlighted Constraint Set Delete all Constraint Sets Copy highlighted Constraint Set Define SPCADD/ MPCADD Set Deactivate All Constraint Sets
Connections (Connection Properties, Regions, and Connectors)
10.1-9
Added option to create a Load Set which represents a Nastran SPCADD/MPCDD Combination and use Referenced Constraint Sets
You may choose a Set Type for the new constraint set. A Standard constraint set is any combination of Constraint Definitions and Other Loads used to define the boundary conditions for that constraint set. A Nastran SPCADD/MPCADD Combination is a special type of constraint set which references any number of existing Standard constraint sets in the model. When used, all of the selected Standard constraint sets referenced by a particular Nastran SPCADD/MPCADD Combination are written to the Nastran input file and combined by Nastran via a SPCADD entry when dealing with normal constraints or a MPCADD when dealing with constraint equations. Once a Nastran SPCADD/MPCADD Combination Set has been created, highlight it from the list in the Constraint Set Manager and press the Referenced Sets button. The Referenced Constraint Sets for Nastran SPCADD/ MPCADD dialog box will appear:
Highlight any number of Standard constraint sets from the list of Available Sets. Click Add Referenced Set to have them placed in the Referenced Sets list. Note: A Referenced Constraint Sets command may be added to any menu or toolbar using the Tools, Toolbars, Customize command. This command is located in the Additional Commands category on the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box..

Added Reverse button to Connection Regions to switch positive to negative and vice versa for surfaces and Face 1 to Face 2 and vice versa for shell elements. NX Linear tab Added Adaptive Stiffness and Penetration Factor to the Contact Property (BCTPARM) section. Create the PENAPAPT and PENETFAC fields on the BCTPARM entry. Added Glue Type and Glue Factor to the Common Contact (BCTPARM) and Glue (BGPARM) Parameters section. Create the GLUETYPE and PENGLUE fields on the BGPARM entry. Added Auto Penalty Factor to the Common Contact (BCTPARM) and Glue (BGPARM) Parameters section. Creates the PENAUTO field on the BCTPARM entry.
10.1-10
Modified Penalty Factor Units in the Common Contact (BCTPARM) and Glue (BGPARM) Parameters section to have different options depending on what option is set for Connect Type.
NEiNastran tab Added 10..Offset Welded Contact option to Penetration Type drop-down list.
Groups and Layers

Implemented the Group Manager for creation, management, and activation of Groups
Create new Group
Regular Group icon
Update the title of an existing Group Renumber highlighted Constraint Set Delete highlighted Group Delete all Groups Define Referenced Group Deactivate All Groups
Group containing Referenced Groups icon
Added ability to create Referenced Groups
The concept of Referenced Groups allows an existing group to reference other existing groups in your model (essentially, create a Group of Groups). A group which references other groups may also contain any number
Views
10.1-11
of additional entities. Once a group is referencing other groups, the icon will change in the Group Manager dialog box. Groups which reference other groups may also be referenced by any other group. The Referenced Groups for Group drop-down list may be used to select any existing group. Any number of groups may be moved between the Available Groups list and Referenced Groups list for a particular group by highlighting the groups in the appropriate list and pressing the Add or Remove buttons. Remove All will move all groups from Referenced Groups to Available Groups. When a group which references other groups is added to the Referenced Groups list, the referenced groups will be listed in a tree structure beneath that group (Shown above). Note: If Group A is referenced by Group E and Group F and both groups E and F are then referenced by another group, Group G, Group A will only appear once in the Referenced Groups list. All other instances of Group A will be shown using a red X in the middle of group brackets.
Updated Group, Operations, Evaluate; Group, Operations, Evaluate Always; and Group, Operations, Renumber Rules to allow selection of multiple groups. Updated Group, Operations, Condense to allow selection of multiple groups and condense the groups in place without creating a copy. Added Condense New Group option to Group, Operations, Copy to also condense the active group when copied. Implemented the Layer Manager for creation, management, and activation of Layers
Create new Layer Update the Title or Color of existing Layer Renumber highlighted Layer Delete highlighted Layer Delete all Layers
Deactivate All Layers
This dialog box works just like the other Create/Manage set dialog boxes. Simply press the New Layer button to create a new layer. Then enter a Title, choose a Color by pressing the Palette button, then press OK to return to the Layer Manager dialog box or More to be prompted to create another new layer.
Views
View, Create/Manage Displays the View Manager, which allows you to create a new view using the New View button. The new view will become the active view when created. The Update Title, Delete View, and Copy View buttons can be used to update the name, delete, or copy the view currently highlighted in the Available Views - Selected View is Active list.
10.1-12
View, Visibility
This command allows you to control visibility of Entity Types, Entity Labels, Groups (one or multiple), Layers, Load Sets, Constraint Sets, and sets of Elements based on Element Shape, Element Type, associated Material, and/ or associated Property.
Each tab of the Visibility dialog box controls different aspects of what is displayed in the FEMAP graphics window. Combinations of settings on multiple tabs give the user a vast array of options for creating the desired display. The two buttons at the bottom of the dialog box, Reset All and Done are available while in any tab. Done closes the Visibility dialog box, while Reset All returns the model to the default display configuration of FEMAP, which is: All Entity Types displayed Labels on for Coordinate Systems, all Constraints (including Permanent and Equations), and all Loads View All Layers option set on Layer tab, Show Full Model option set on Group tab. View Active Load Set and View Active Constraint Set options set on Load/Constraint tab. All Element Shapes, Element Types, and Elements associated with all Properties and Materials displayed
The number of buttons on the right side of the dialog box and what the buttons actually do changes for each tab. Once displayed, certain entities may or may not be available for selection based on the visibility options. For instance, if Elements are turned off on the Entity/Label tab, no Groups are being viewed (i.e., Show Full Model option), all Layers are currently visible, and all Element shapes, Element types, and elements associated with all Materials and Properties are also displayed, then elements are still available for selection from the graphics window. On the other hand, only entities in displayed Groups, on visible Layers, and Elements of types, shapes, and associated to Properties and Materials which are currently checked on in the Visibility dialog box or the Model Info tree are available for selection from the graphics window. Note: The Visibility settings on the Entity/Label, Group, Layer, and Load/Constraint tabs apply to the Active View only. Settings on the Element, Material, and Property tabs apply to All Views in the model.
Views
10.1-13
Find button The Find button is available for use in all tabs of the Visibility dialog box except the Load/Constraint tab. Simply enter text into the field, then click the Find button. Any item in the list of the current tab which contains the text you entered, will be automatically highlighted. This functionality can be very helpful in finding certain groups or layers in complex models. Quickly Choosing Visibility In addition to using the Visibility icon on the View Toolbar or using Ctrl+Q, you can also access the Visibility dialog box directly from the Quick Access menu. Simply press the right mouse button with the cursor anywhere inside any graphics window, and select Visibility.
Entity/Label tab
There are times that you will want to quickly toggle on/off the overall visibility of entire entity types and/or the labels for various entity types. The Entity/Label tab of the Visibility dialog box provides a single place to perform both of these actions.
When Draw Entity is selected above the lists of entity types, visibility of each entity type is controlled by the check box next to the entity type name. When Labels is selected, visibility for the entity type labels is controlled by the check box. Visibility and/or labels for portions of the list can be turned on/off using the special check box next to any entity type header (Geometry, Mesh, Connections, Constraints, and Loads). Two additional options exist when the Labels option is selected. When Entity Color is checked, all labels will be displayed using the same color as the entity. When Erase Background is checked, FEMAP will erase the area where the label will be drawn, prior to drawing the label. If you are labelling filled areas, it is often good to choose this option, as they are easier to read. The table describes the functions performed by each of the command buttons: Entity/Label Button All On All Off Selected On Selected Off Function Turns Draw Entity or Labels check box on for all entities. Turns Draw Entity or Labels check box off for all entities. Turns Draw Entity or Labels check box on for selected entities. Turns Draw Entity or Labels check box off for selected entities.
10.1-14
Entity/Label Button Selected Only
Function
Turns Draw Entity or Labels check box on for selected entities, while turning all unselected entities off. Entity Colors Changes Color mode to Entity Colors for all options. View Colors Changes Color mode to View Colors for all options. Note: The following buttons change the entire view (selections, alignment, magnification, etc.), not just the view options. Load View Updates the current view by restoring from the View library. Save View Store the current view in the View library Reset View Resets the entire view to FEMAP defaults.
Group tab
This tab enables you to specify visibility options for groups which allow you to display only a portion of your model. Groups are essentially subsets of the model based on entity IDs, rules to include entities related to other entities already in the group (i.e., nodes on elements currently in the group), or limited by clipping regions.
Group Set to Show
Groups Set to Hide Referenced Group Set to Show
There are 4 visibility options for groups: Show Full Model - Groups are not currently being used to only display a portion of your model. Show Active Group - The active group will be used to only display a portion of your model. The active group can be changed by selecting a different group from the drop-down list. Show Single Group - Any single group can be chosen from the drop-down menu and used to display only a portion of the model. Show/Hide Multiple Groups - Any number of groups can be set to Show (Green Circle with +), Hide (Red Circle with -), or Clear (no marker in box) to create the desired display.
By default, the Group option is set to Show Full Model, therefore the entire model will be displayed. Activating an existing group will not change the display, but will allow you to graphically select entities from your entire model to place into the group. If you want to display only a portion of your model, switch this option to Show Active Group, Show Single Group, or Show/Hide Multiple Groups. Then only the entities which are in the appropriate group(s) will be displayed.
Views
10.1-15
The Show/Hide Multiple Groups option gives you the most flexibility when creating a display. Show All will change the Show/Hide flag of all groups to show, while Clear All will change the flag for all groups to Clear. You may also highlight any number of groups from the list, then click Show Selected (set flag for all selected groups to Show), Hide Selected (set flag to Hide), Clear Selected (set flag to Clear), or Show Selected Only (sets flag of selected groups to Show, while setting flags of unselected groups to Clear). Note: When Show/Hide Multiple Groups is set and ALL Groups are Clear, the whole model will be visible.
For Example: In this model, there are 11 total groups. Individual groups exist for the elements of each color (7 groups). Also, one group containing both the blue and green elements, one group containing the red, yellow, and cyan elements, one group containing the top two rows of elements, and one L-shaped group.
Green and Blue Group
Red, Yellow, and Cyan Group
Top 2 Rows Group
L-Shaped Group
Here are a few visibility scenarios involving the Groups in this example model:
All Groups Clear (Whole Model shown)
Orange and Purple set to Show
Blue and Green and Top 2 Rows set to Show
L-Shaped set to Show, Yellow and Blue set to Hide
L-Shaped and Blue and Green set to Show, Top 2 Rows set to Hide
L-Shaped set to Hide, all other groups set to Show
10.1-16
Cyan, Top 2 Rows and L-Shaped set to Show, Red and Blue set to Hide
Yellow, Top 2 Rows, and Blue and Green set to Show Blue set to Hide
Layers tab
Controls which layers will be displayed in the model. Also allows you to specify the Active Layer as well as the NoPick Layer.
New Layer icon button
The default setting is View All Layers. If you want to only view selected layers, change to View Multiple Layers, then check the layers you would like to see in the view. The All On and All Off buttons simply check or uncheck all of the layers in the model. Selected On will check the highlighted layers, while Selected Off will uncheck them. Selected Only will check the selected layers while also unchecking all of the non-highlighted layers. As you check or uncheck the boxes next to various layers, the display in the graphics window will update onthe-fly. In addition to controlling your display, visible layers may also be used to control entity selection. Only entities on visible layers and which are not on the NoPick Layer can be selected graphically. With the Active Layer option, you can also select the layer that will be used for entity creation. You may also use the New Layer icon button next to the Active Layer drop-down list to create a new layer in your model.
Views
10.1-17
. Note: By default, entities used for solid geometry construction (such as a boundary surface for an extrusion) are automatically deleted after being used. On the Geometry/Model tab of the File, Preferences dialog box, you can change the Construction Geometry... when used option to 1..Move to NoPick Layer. When this option is set, the construction geometry will be moved to 9999..Construction Layer, which is the default for the NoPick Layer. This can be used to prevent construction geometry from being selected for load or constraint application. If you need to access this geometry, change the NoPick Layer to 0..none and you will be able to graphically select these entities. Be careful when doing this however, since this geometry may occupy the identical space as a solid face or edge.
Load/Constraint tab
Here you can choose the load set and/or constraint set that will be displayed in the view.
By default, View Active Load Set and View Active Constraint Set are the selected options, therefore the active load set and active constraint set will be displayed. You can change the active Load Set and/or Constraint Set using the appropriate drop-down list. You may eliminate loads and/or constraints from the display by choosing the View No Loads and/or View No Constraints options. Also, you can select a particular set for display whether or not it is active by using the View Selected Load Set and/or View Selected Constraint Set options and selecting an existing set from the appropriate drop-down list.
10.1-18
Element, Material, and Property tabs

These tabs allow you to control the visibility of elements based on Element Shape and/or Element Type (Element tab) and elements associated with specific Materials or Properties in your model.
The number of elements of each type or shape is listed after the type name or shape name when in the Element tab. A special check box exists in the Material tab which allows you to toggle visibility on/off for Elements with No Material which include plot only, link, spring/damper, DOF spring, gap, laminate (reference several materials, not one), mass, mass matrix, rigid/interpolation, stiffness matrix, and slide line elements. A similar box exists in the Property tab for Elements with No Property which include plot only and rigid/interpolation elements. Note: Element visibility using the Element, Material, and Property tabs applies to All Views in the model, not just the Active View like the Entity/Label, Group, Layer, and Load/Constraint tabs.
This table describes the functions performed by each of the command buttons when in a Element, Material, or Property tab: Entity/Label Button All On All Off Selected On Selected Off Selected Only Function Checks boxes for ALL element shapes/types, materials, or properties (includes box for Elements with No Material/Property). Unchecks boxes for all element shapes/types, materials, or properties (includes box for Elements with No Material/Property). Checks boxes of highlighted element shapes/types, materials, or properties. Unchecks boxes of highlighted element shapes/types, materials, or properties. Checks boxes of highlighted element shapes/types, materials, or properties, while unchecking boxes of shapes/types, materials, or properties which are not currently highlighted.
Only elements of shapes/types or associated with materials or properties which are currently checked will be available for selection in the graphics window. This can make it very easy to perform box, circle, polygon, or freehand picking of certain element types/shapes, materials, or properties.
Views
10.1-19
View Options: Quick Options button - removed for 10.1 View Options: Labels, Entities and Color category: - Added Load - Body options for displaying Body Loads:
This option controls the display of translational acceleration (straight solid arrow), rotational acceleration (curved solid arrow with 2 arrowheads), and rotational velocity (curved solid arrow with 1 arrowhead) body loads in the graphics window. Labels, Location for the rotational body loads, and Color may also be set. By default, when only one of the above body loads is being applied in the Active load set, the corresponding symbol for that load will appear in the middle of the View Axis, oriented to the XYZ of the View Axis.
Translational Acceleration (-1 in Y-direction)
Rotational Acceleration (100 about X-axis)
Rotational Velocity (20 about X-Axis)
When more than one body load is being applied, translational acceleration will be displayed in the YZ plane, rotational acceleration in the ZX plane, and rotational velocity in the XY plane of the View Axis.
Changing the Location from 0..View Axis to 1..Model, will only affect the position of rotational body loads. They will be shown with the same symbol, but will also show a dotted-line representing the rotation axis of the load within the model itself.
View Options: Labels, Entities and Color category: Moment and Torque - now controls display of Moment and Torque loads View Options: Tools and View Style category: Render Options - Changed 1..Surfaces Only option for Surface Hatch to 1..Hatch Wireframe Surfaces and added 2..Never Hatch Surfaces option. View Options: Tools and View Style category: Stereo - option removed for 10.1
10.1-20
Output and Post-Processing

View, Advanced Post, Contour Model Data ... allows you to view model data as contour/criteria plots or beam diagrams. This commands is not really a postprocessing capability. Some common uses would be viewing a contour plot of the thicknesses of plane elements in a shell model or a criteria plot of Youngs Modulus of the materials in an assembly model using solid elements.
If you would like to display model data on elements in the graphics window, the first option to check would be Show Model Data Contour in the Contour Data From section. Next choose a single material/property data value for display by highlighting a specific value from the tree structure. Most material/property data values in FEMAP should be available for selection, with the major exceptions being the material values of the materials of the Other Types material type. There are 5 special cases which are a little more flexible with regard to the type of materials/properties in the model. For instance, Plane Element Thickness will work for any plane elements which have a thickness, including laminates. Others like Bar/Beam/Rod Area will allow you to show a criteria plot of areas on all the Beams/Bars/Rods in your model at once. Once a value is chosen, you can choose to display the values as a Contour, Criteria, or Beam Diagram in the Show As section. The Allow Labels will toggle the output labels on/off for all three of the Show As options. Finally, you can choose to plot the material/property data values on the entire model using the All option in the Show On section or only a portion of the model by choosing Group and then selecting an existing group from the drop-down list. For example, here is a contour plot of Plane Element Thickness on a Shell model containing laminates of various thicknesses:
10.1-21
To turn off the display of material/property data values, choose the command again and UNCHECK the Show Model Data Contour check box in the Contour Data From section. Note: While the Show Model Data Contour box is checked, all Contour Style settings in the View Select dialog box (View, Select command) will be ignored until the display of model data has been turned off. View, Select: Contour Vectors - 2D Tensor Plot option
The 2D Tensor Plot (i.e.,Crows Foot plot) allows you to create a plot of three vectors on a 2D element. Vector 1 will be plotted in the X-direction (based on the option selected in the Output Data is Stored Relative To section), Vector 2 in the Y-direction, and Vector 3 at a 45 degree angle between the X-direction and the Y-direction. Although it may be used to show any three vectors on 2D elements, this is very useful when showing three related vectors, with two being directional and one being shear, such as Plate X Normal Stress (Vector 1), Plate Y Normal Stress (Vector 2), and Plate XY Shear Stress (Vector 3).
2D Tensor Plot showing X Normal Stress, Y Normal Stress and XY Shear Stress
This plot differs from the other available Vector Type plots. By default, the options set in the PostProcessing category of View Options for Vector Style and Contour Vector Style will be ignored, and the plot will be always be shown with all vectors displayed using uniform vector length, centered on the element, with output values Note: If you want the 2D Tensor Plot to follow the options set in Vector Style and Contour Vector Style, simply select the File, Preferences command, choose the Views tab, then uncheck the 2D Tensor Plot View Options Override option. View, Select: Laminate Options
Used to control the display of laminate results. By default, this option will be set to Selected Output Vector, which will simply create a contour/criteria plot using the Contour vector currently selected in the Output Vectors section of the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box. The other options are Top Ply of Layup, Bottom Ply of Layup, and Global Ply.
10.1-22
When using any of the other options, FEMAP will use the Contour vector currently selected in the Output Vectors section of the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box along with the first ply entered for a each layup (Bottom Ply of Layup option), last play entered (Top Ply of Layup), or designated ply in the layup (Global Ply) to create the appropriate contour/criteria plot. For example, a model contains sections of laminate elements using 3 different layups, one section with 7 plies (Layup 1), one with 11 plies (Layup 2), and the last with 15 plies (Layup 3). .
Layup 3 - 15 Plies
Layup 2 - 11 Plies
Layup 1 - 7 Plies
If you want to display the X Normal Stress for the Top Ply of this model, the X Normal Stress results from Ply 7 for Layup 1, Ply 11 for Layup 2, and Ply 15 for Layup 3 will be used to create the contour/criteria plot.
Geometry Interfaces
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If you want to display the X Normal Stress for the Bottom Ply of this model, the X Normal Stress results from Ply 1 for Layup 1, Ply 1 for Layup 2, and Ply 1 for Layup 3 will be used to create the contour/criteria plot.
Finally, if you want to display the X Normal Stress for the Middle Ply of this model, you would need to designate the middle ply of each layup using a Global Ply. To set up a Global Ply, you will need to first create a global ply in the Layup Editor, then choose a ply in each Layup and click the Update Global Ply button. See Section 4.2.5, "Model, Layup..." for more information about a global ply. Once the Global Ply has been assigned to a ply in each layup, you can then choose it from the Global Ply dropdown list. In this case, the X Normal Stress results from Ply 4 for Layup 1, Ply 6 for Layup 2, and Ply 8 for Layup 3 will be used to create the contour/criteria plot.
View Options: PostProcessing category: Contour Vector Style - Added Exponent Color Modes, Digits, and Length options
Geometry Interfaces
The following FEMAP interfaces have been updated to support newer geometry formats: FEMAP Interface Parasolid Solid Edge NX Pro/Engineer ACIS CATIA V5 SolidWorks Latest Supported Version Parasolid 22.0 Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology 2 NX 6 Wildfire 4 ACIS 20 V5 release 18 SolidWorks 2009
For details, see Geometry Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
Analysis Program Interfaces

Several of the analysis program interfaces have been improved. These changes include:
10.1-24

Analysis Set Manager Enhancements FEMAP Neutral File Interface NX Nastran Interface Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC/MD) MSC/MD Nastran Interface NEi Nastran Interface ANSYS Interface ABAQUS Interface DYNA Interface
Analysis Set Manager Enhancements

For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide. Added Previous (Prev...) buttons to many of the Analysis Set Manager dialog boxes when using the Nastran Solvers. Enhanced Analyze and Analyze Multiple options to use internal solver queuing system when multiple jobs in one model or jobs from any number of models are sent to the solver. Queuing system now tracks which model the analysis job was launched from and will attempt to return to the correct model and import results before beginning the next analysis job. Also, added Clear Queue button to clear the internal queuing system.
FEMAP Neutral File Interface

Updated Neutral Read and Write for v10.1 changes
NX Nastran Interface
A number of bugs were corrected Solution 601 updates Turned the Loads Change with Deformation option in the Analysis Options section of NXSTRAT Solver Parameters dialog box on by default. Turned the Constraint Force option in the Nodal section of Nastran Output Requests dialog box on by default. Added support to SOL601 for function dependent acceleration body loads.
Solution 701 updates Turned the Loads Change with Deformation option in the Analysis Options section of NXSTRAT Solver Parameters dialog box on by default. Turned the Constraint Force option in the Nodal section of Nastran Output Requests dialog box on by default.
For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC/MD)

Turned off PARAM,MAXRATIO by default Added support to read the CVISC and PVISC entries Added support to read and write PARAM,RESVINER Added support to read and write LOAD, SPCADD, and MPCADD entries Added support to set the All Plates as QUADR/TRIAR option when CQUADR and CTRIAR elements are imported
10.1-25
Added ability to write GEOMCHECK, NONE and read GEOMCHECK entries and populate GEOMCHECK dialog box in Analysis Set Manager Added Dynamic Control Options dialog box to Analysis Set Manager for analysis Types 3..Transient Dynamic/ Time History, 4..Frequency/Harmonic Response, 5..Response Spectrum, and 6..Random Response.
Replaces using the Model, Load, Dynamic Analysis command and all fields of this dialog box should be populated when importing a Nastran input file for Solution Sequences (SOL) 108, 109, 111, or 112. Added Added Nonlinear Control Options dialog box to Analysis Set Manager for analysis Types 10..Nonlinear Static and 12..Nonlinear Transient Response.
10.1-26
Replaces using the Model, Load, Nonlinear Analysis command and all fields of this dialog box should be populated when importing a Nastran input file for Solution Sequences (SOL) 106 or 129, when an NLPARM entry exists. Added support to read DLOAD, NONLINEAR, TSTEP, TSTEPNL, NLPARM, SDAMPING, FREQUENCY, RANDOM Case Control entries Added support to read PARAMs LMODES, LFREQ, HFREQ, W3, W4, G, RSPECTRA, SCRSPEC, OPTION (ABS, SRSS, NRL, NRLO), CLOSE, LANGLE Added support to read TSTEP, TSTEPNL, NLPARM, NLPCI, RANDPS, DTI Bulk Data entries
A number of bugs were corrected For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
MSC/MD Nastran Interface

A number of bugs were corrected. For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
NEi Nastran Interface

Added support to read PARAM,OPTION,CQC A number of bugs were corrected. For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
ANSYS Interface
ABAQUS Interface
DYNA Interface
Added support 8-noded Quad elements Added support for nonstructural mass for Beam and Shell elements Added support for the following element formulations:
Fully Integrated DKT triangular, Fully Integrated linear DK quadrilateral, Fully Integrated linear assumed strain C0, 1 point Eulerian Navier-Stokes, 8 point Eulerian Navier-Stokes, and CVFEM Eulerian Navier-Stokes A number of bugs were corrected. For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
OLE/COM API
New API Objects and Attributes Added NasBulkDynLdAsLOADSET, NasBulkResViner, NasGCheckNone, NasBulkWriteAllLoadBCSets, NasDynOn, NasDynUseLoadSet, NasDynDampOverall, NasDynDampW3, NasDynDampW4, vNasDynKeepFreq, NasDynTranDT, NasDynFreqTbl, NasDynDampModalTbl, NasDynKeepModes, NasDynTranTimeSteps, NasDynTransOutInt, NasDynDampModalMethod, NasDynRespSpect, vNasDynNoFreq, vNasDynLogInterp, vNasDynFreqType, vNasDynMinFreq, vNasDynMaxFreq, and vNasDynSpreadCluster to AnalysisMgr object
OLE/COM API
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NasCnlIncrements, NasCnlTime_Increment, NasCnlMaxIter, vNasCnlConvergenceFlags, vNasCnlConvergenceValue, NasCnlCtiffnessMethod, NasCnlKstep, NasCnlIntermediateOutput, NasCnlOutputInterval, NasCnlSolutionStrategy, NasCnlSolutionOverrides, NasCnlModnewtonLineSearch, NasCnlModnewtonQuasiNewton, NasCnlModnewtonBisection, NasCnlArcConstraintType, NasCnlArcMinAdjust, NasCnlArcMaxAdjust, NasCnlArcLoadScale, NasCnlArcDesiredIter, NasCnlArcMaxSteps, NasCnlTimeSkipAdjust, NasCnlDominantPeriodSteps, NasCnlBoundsRb, NasCnlStabilityTolerance, NasCnlDivergenceLimit, NasCnlQuasiNewtonVectors, NasCnlMaxLineSearch, NasCnlCreep, NasCnlLineSearchTolerance, NasCnlMaxBisections, NasCnlMaxRotation, NasCnlFstress, and NasCnlMaxAdjust to AnalysisMgr object. Added IsCombination to LoadSet object. Added Gradient to LoadETemp object. Added IsCombination to BCSet object Added GlobalPlyLocation to View object.
New API Methods Added AddCoordinate, AddAroundPoint, AddAroundVector, AddAroundPlane, AddNodesOnGeometry, and SelectList methods for Set object Added RemoveSet, ConvertToBoundarySurfaces, and SelectListmethods for Sort object Added ClearAnalysisQueue, GetCorrelate2, and PutCorrelate2 methods forAnalysisMgr object Added GetDataSurfType method for DataSurf object Added PartialLengthXYZ, PartialLengthNode, and SelectList methods for Curve object Added IsBoundingSolidRegion, Mesh, and ResetMeshAttr methods for Surface object Added IsGeneral method for Solid object Added GetClosest method for Node object Added Thickness, Area, and Inertia methods for Elem object Added Thickness, Area, and Inertia methods for Prop object Added GetCombination and PutCombination methods for LoadSet object Added GetCombination and PutCombination methods for BCSet object Added ReferencedGroups method for Group object Added DefineReal method for Var object Added GetMultiGroupList, SetMultiGroupList, and ClearMultiGroupList methods for View object Added InitScalarAtBeam and PutScalarAtBeam methods for Output object Added Reverse method for Contact and ConnectionRegion objects
New Global Variables Added Pref_NastranUseILP64, Pref_ConstructionGeometry, and Pref_NastranWriteAllLdbcSets Added FLT_SNTORQUE for Load Type Added FVD_AXIS_OF_SURFACE for Vector Definition Method
The following functions have been added: feSurfaceRemoveHole feModifySolidFacetting feSolidRemoveFace feMeshSurface2 feAppRegisterAddInPaneWithFrame feVectorAxisOfSurface
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feMeshSurfaceByAttributes
Preferences
Views Added 2D Tensor Plot View Options Override option. This option is on by default. When viewing contour vectors using the 2D Tensor Plot option, the options set in the PostProcessing category of View Options for Vector Style and Contour Vector Style will be ignored, and the plot will be always be shown with all vectors displayed using uniform vector length, centered on the element, with output values Database Added Open/Save Method option. This option should only be used if you are experiencing VERY slow opening/saving FEMAP model files. On certain hardware, switching to option 2..64K widows I/O may make a dramatic difference in the time a model takes to open/save. Essentially, what option 2 does is copy to (opening) and from the scratch directory (saving) in 64K blocks instead of allowing the hardware to choose the size. Options 1 and 3 are simply other alternatives to try. Interfaces Added Use ILP-64bit NX Nastran option. If you have NX Nastran installed on a 64-bit system, this option will instruct NX Nastran to solve using the ILP version of 64-bit Nastran. ILP is able to allocate more memory than regular 64-bit NX Nastran by using a 64bit word size and 64-bit memory pointer, while integers are 64-bits and floating point uses one 64-bit word. Added Write All Static Load/BC Sets option.
When this option is on, FEMAP will write ALL loads and constraint sets to the Nastran input file for Linear Static Analysis. This essentially forces FEMAP to write out Nastran input files for SOL 101 the way it has in all versions before FEMAP 10.1.
Whats New for versions 10.0 and 10.0.1
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Whats New for versions 10.0 and 10.0.1

User Interface
"Windows Vista", "General", "Menu", "Entity Select", "Toolbars", "Meshing Toolbox", "Model Info tree", "Data Table", "Entity Editor", "API Programming", "Status Bar", "Graphics", "Astroid"
Windows Vista
FEMAP is now supported on 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. Many issues from previous unsupported versions of FEMAP with regards to Windows Vista, such as entity picking and proper use of the Model Info tree have been addressed.
General
Renamed Weld Property Element/Property Type to Weld/Fastener to include Fastener Elements Added support to create GIF, Animated GIF, TIFF, and PNG files when using File, Picture, Save command. Improved length-based spacing, distance along, and other length-based curve functions to perform better when highly nonlinear parametric domains exist on curves.
Menu
Added Tools, Meshing Toolbox command to the Tools menu. See the Meshing section for more information on this dockable pane. Added Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Split at Locations; Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Offset Curve/ Washer; Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Pad; Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Point to Point; Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Point to Edge; and Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Edge to Edge commands to Geometry menu. See the Geometry section for more information on these commands. Deleted Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Split at Points. See the Geometry section for more information on these commands. Replaced by Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Split at Locations. Added Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add and Geometry, Surface, Recover Manifold Geometry commands to the Geometry menu. See the Geometry section for more information on these commands. Added Geometry, Midsurface, Offset Tangent Surfaces command to the Geometry menu. See the Geometry section for more information on this command. Added Modify, Associativity, Automatic command to the Modify menu. See the Mesh Associativity section for more information on this command. Added Modify, Update Other, Solid Facetting command to the Modify menu.
Entity Select
Added Combined Curves options (Default, All Points/Curves, Points/Curves Eliminated by Combined Curves, and Combined Curves Only) to the Pick Menu in the standard Entity Selection dialog box. Only one mode can be selected at any given time. Added Boundary Surfaces options (Default, All Curves/Surfaces, Curves/Surfaces Eliminated by Boundary, and Boundary Surfaces Only) to the Pick Menu in the standard Entity Selection dialog box. Only one mode can be selected at any given time.
10.1-30
Added Add Connected Fillets option to the Pick Menu in the standard Entity Selection dialog box. Allows you to quickly add connected fillets to the selection list by first choosing any number of surfaces which represent fillets in your geometry. This is a helpful picking tool when using Geometry, Solid, Remove Face or the Feature Removal Tool set to Surfaces in the Meshing Toolbox to try and remove fillets from geometry. Only visible when selecting surfaces. Added Add Tangent Surfaces option to the Pick Menu in the standard Entity Selection dialog box. Allows you to add surfaces based on their relationship to surfaces which have already been selected. In this case, surfaces tangent to any number of surfaces already in your selection list will be added to the list. This is a helpful command when you would like to pick all of the surfaces on one side of a part. Only visible when selecting surfaces. Updated direction of mouse wheel for Query Pick list to follow direction of mouse wheel.
Toolbars
Added Meshing Toolbox icon to Panes Toolbar. Added Curve Washer, Curve Pad, Split Between Points, Split Point to Edge, and Split Edge to Edge icons to Curves on Surface Toolbar. Improved Select Related mode of the Select Toolbar to include coordinate systems used as definition coordinate systems for other selected Coordinate Systems and include reference nodes on beams when the nodes are related to elements, properties, or materials.
Meshing Toolbox
The Meshing Toolbox is completely new for FEMAP 10 and contains several individual tools which can be very helpful during the meshing process. There are tools which allow you to simplify geometry; create combined geometric entities for meshing purposes using several underlying geometric entities; change the mesh size, biasing, and other options on any number of curves interactively; move any number of nodes dynamically while seeing the mesh update; and plot the element quality in the graphics window. The Meshing Toolbox also contains the Entity Locator, which can be used to locate Curves or Surfaces in your model which meet certain search criteria (for example, short curves or sliver surfaces which may cause problems during meshing). Once the Locator identifies entities, you can then cycle through all of the located entities in the model one at a time and take action using the Geometry Tools in the Meshing Toolbox, when appropriate. Meshing Toolbox Icons
Mesh Quality Toggle Select Entity Entity Locator Remesh Modes Dialog Select Toggle Tools
Toggle Tools menu - By default, all 7 of the tools will be visible in the Meshing Toolbox. Using the drop-down menu from this icon, you can make all of the tools visible or hidden at once using Toggle All Tools, individually toggle them on and off by choosing the individual tool name (for example, Feature Suppression) from the menu, or decide to show only one set of tools at a time by selecting the appropriate tool set name (for example, Geometry Tools). When a tool is visible, there will be a check mark next to it in the list. Here is a short description of each set of tools:
Geometry Tools Feature Suppression - Basically, this tool allows you to use the same options available in the Mesh, Mesh Control, Feature Suppression command interactively. You may suppress loops (curves of internal holes on surfaces and solids, base curves of bosses and extrusions on solids), curves (usually relatively small in size), and surfaces (usually sliver surfaces, not fillets or chamfers). Suppressed geometry still exists in the model and can be restored at any time. See "Feature Suppression Tool"
Meshing Toolbox
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Feature Removal - Most of the functionality in this tool, which is used to permanently remove geometric entities to simplify geometry, is offered in other FEMAP commands. This tool brings them together in one place where they can be used interactively. Removing Loops basically mimics the functionality of the Geometry, Surface, Remove Hole command, while removing Surfaces essentially uses the same process as Geometry, Solid, Remove Face. Finally, removing Curves uses portions of the Geometry, Solid, Cleanup command along some other methodology to try and remove redundant curves. In the case of Aggressive Removal, localized geometry around the selected curve may be slightly altered to accommodate the curve no longer being part of the geometry. See "Feature Removal Tool" Combined/Composite Curves - In some cases, combining several smaller curves along the edge of a surface will allow you to create a higher quality mesh on the surface. This tool allows you to combine curves by choosing the curves themselves or a point that two curves share. A Composite Curve will be created in FEMAP, which will be used for mesh sizing purposes instead of the underlying curves. There are also options for splitting a composite curve at a selected point or removing any of the underlying curves. See "Combined/Composite Curve Tool" Combined/Boundary Surfaces - Much like creating composite curves to improve mesh quality, it may be a good idea to combine several surfaces into a Boundary Surface. This tool uses the same concept as the Geometry, Boundary Surface, From Surfaces on Solid command. This can be especially helpful when there are sliver surfaces next to a much larger surface. By combining the selected surfaces into one boundary surface, all of the internal curves can be ignored during the meshing process. Boundary surfaces can be created by selecting a curve shared by multiple surfaces or choosing the surfaces themselves. Also, any underlying surface can be removed from a boundary surface or split along a chosen curve. See "Combined/Boundary Surface Tool"
Meshing Tools Mesh Sizing - Combines the options used to set mesh sizing and node spacing on curves (Mesh, Mesh Control, Size on Curve) with the Add, Subtract, and Set To functionality of the Mesh, Mesh Control, Interactive command. When using the Auto Remesh option in the Meshing Toolbox you will be able to see the mesh update on the fly after each change to sizing or node spacing, while you also monitor the element quality update (Mesh Quality Toggle On). There are also options for matching any number of selected curves to a Master Curve, as well as setting biasing and length based sizing without changing the number of elements on the curve. See "Mesh Sizing Tool"
Mesh Editing Tools Mesh Locate - There may be times when you would like to make small changes to an existing mesh simply by moving one or several nodes without changing the number of elements. This tool will allow you to do this while making sure that as you move the node or nodes dynamically, they remain attached to specified solid(s), surface(s), and curve(s), or if you have no geometry, follow the overall topology of the selected standalone mesh. There are also options to move the selected nodes by a defined amount, continually smooth the mesh as the nodes are moved, and allow the moved nodes to no longer be attached to surfaces or curves. Much like the Mesh Sizing tool, you can also turn on the Mesh Quality Toggle and monitor the element quality real time as the nodes are moved. See "Mesh Locate Tool" Mesh Quality - Creating a mesh with high quality elements is essential to the accuracy of a Finite Element model. When the Mesh Quality Toggle in the Meshing Toolbox is set to on, this tool allows you to graphically see an element quality value plotted on each element similar to a contour/criteria plot. There are several different element quality types which can be selected and each type has default automatic values, but user-defined values can also be specified. Also, the minimum and maximum distortion values for the specified quality type are listed in the bottom fields of the tool. See "Mesh Quality"
Entity Locator menu - The Entity Locator is very helpful in finding Short Edges and Sliver/Small Surfaces which may be causing meshing issues. It may also make it easier to locate free edges in troublesome geometry. This menu contains commands for toggling the Entity Locator on and off, cycling through the entities currently in the Entity Locator, removing the current entity from the Entity Locator or clearing it entirely, as well as creating a group from the entities currently in the Entity Locator or sending them to the Data Table. Toggle Entity Locator - When this icon is toggled on, the Entity Locator is ready to be filled with entities and the Locator fields will be available in the Meshing Toolbox. Depending on which entity type is selected in the Search For drop-down list, Curves or Surfaces, the Locator fields change. The Locate Options and Show
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Options can be used to modify how the Entity Locator searches for entities and then displays them. Also, the entities loaded in the Entity Locator update after each change made in the Locator fields, unless Auto Locate is turned off in the Locate Options section. Once entities are loaded into the Entity Locator, use the following commands to move from entity to entity. By default, the current entity in the Entity Locator will be highlighted in the graphics window using the display options currently set in the Style portion of the Windows, Show Entities command (See Section 6.3.2.3, "Window, Show Entities..."). There are other options for automatically rotating the model and zooming in to get a better view of the entity. See the Locate Options and Show Options sections in the Locator section for more information. Next - Makes the next entity in the Entity Locator the current entity. Previous- Makes the previous entity in the Entity Locator the current entity.
Note: Once either Next or Previous has been selected, the icon will persist at the top of the Entity Locator menu in the Meshing Toolbox. This enables you to easily go to the next or previous entity simply by clicking the icon. When you reach the last entity in the Entity Locator, the Next icon will automatically become the Previous icon and vice versa. Current - Re-highlights the current entity in the Entity Locator. This can be helpful if you have regenerated or rotated the model. First - Makes the first entity in the Entity Locator the current entity. When using Search Methods based on physical size, the smallest located entity will be the first entity. Last - Makes the last entity in the Entity Locator the current entity. When using Search Methods based on physical size, the largest located entity will be the last entity. Do Not Locate - Places the current entity into a group which is then automatically specified in the Not In Group field of the Locate Options. Remove - Removes the current entity from the Entity Locator until cleared or new search criteria are entered. Clear Locator - Simply clears the Entity Locator of all entities. Create Group - Creates a new group with all of the entities currently in the Entity Locator or adds/removes/ excludes those entities from an existing group. Add to Data Table - Adds all entities currently loaded in the Entity Locator to the Data Table. The Data Table needs to be open in the User Interface and unlocked for the command to be available.
Search For - Indicates the entity type, Curves or Surfaces, the Entity Locator will currently be able to locate in the model. Depending on the entity type, different Locator fields become available. Locator fields and buttons when Search For is set to Curves: Search Method - Specifies the method the Entity Locator uses to find, then load itself with specific Curves in the model. Depending on the Search Method, other options may become available. Here are descriptions of the different Search Methods:
Meshing Toolbox
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Short Edges - Short edges will be loaded into the Entity Locator using criteria specified in the current Based On option. When Based On is set to: Global Mesh Size - Curves whose length is shorter than the specified % of Mesh Size (default) will be loaded into the Entity Locator. Curve Length - Curves will only loaded into the Entity Locator which are Shorter Than a user-specified value. You may type the value in directly or specify the value by clicking the Select Curve to Set Length icon button, then choosing any curve on the screen. Shortest Curves - Finds the shortest specified % of All Curves in the model (For example, if set to 5, it will find the bottom 5% of curves, based on length) and loads them into the Entity Locator. This value can be set from 0 to 25 using the slider bar or a value can be entered directly (if value is higher than 25, loads all curves satisfying that criteria into the Entity Locator, then returns to 25). Free Edges - Locates all edges in a Solid which are not stitched to another surface. Free Edges in a Solid usually indicate gaps or holes in the geometry, meaning the Solid does not fully enclose a volume and is probably not viable for solid meshing (tet or hex). If multiple surfaces are stitched together but do not enclose a volume (Sheet Solid) or joined using the Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add command (General Bodies), then free edges may also indicate gaps or holes between surfaces. Of course, free edges in this type of geometry may be internal holes/loops or the outside edge of the stitched/joined part, which are normal.
Free Edges of surfaces joined using NonManifold Add Free Edges of set of surfaces Stitched together
NonManifold Edges - Locates all NonManifold edges in the geometry. Only geometry that has been joined using the Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add command (General Bodies) will have any of these edges. Typical NonManifold Edges are found where surfaces come together at T-junctions or a surface has been NonManifold added to a Solid.
Two Examples of NonManifold Edges
Surfaces joined using NonManifold Add
Surface and Solid joined using NonManifold Add
From Group - Loads all Curves in a specified Group into the Entity Locator.
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Show # Curves button - By default, when you initially place Curves in the Entity Locator, ALL of the found Curves will be highlighted in the graphics window using the display options currently set in the Style portion of the Windows, Show Entities command (See Section 6.3.2.3, "Window, Show Entities..."). Like Windows, Show Entities and the Show When Selected capabilities of the Data Table and Model Info tree, once the view has been redrawn or regenerated the highlighting is removed and the view is restored to how it appeared before the show command. If you want to highlight the curves again, simply click the Show # Curves button. Locator fields and buttons when Search For is set to Surfaces: Search Method - Specifies the method the Entity Locator will use to search and locate specific Surfaces in the model. Depending on the Search Method, other options may become available. Here are descriptions of the different Search Methods: Surface Geometry - This method is used in conjunction with any combination of the Small Surfaces, Slivers, Spikes, and By Area options. If none of these options are turned on (checked), no surface geometry will be loaded into to the Entity Locator.
Small Surfaces (Fit In Radius value) - Surfaces which completely fit inside a sphere with a specified radius (defined by Fit In Radius value) will be loaded into the Entity Locator. Enter the Fit In Radius value directly or click the Measure Distance icon button to specify the sphere radius by picking two locations graphically. Default value is equal to the default Merge Tolerance in the model. Slivers (Sliver Tolerance value) - Surfaces which have high aspect ratios and small areas are known as Slivers. Examining a surfaces maximum width is often a good indication of whether a surface is a sliver or not. Surfaces with a maximum width smaller than the Sliver Tolerance will be loaded into the Entity Locator. Enter the Sliver Tolerance value directly or click the Measure Distance icon button and choose two locations graphically to specify a distance. Default value is equal to the default Merge Tolerance in the model. Spikes (Spike Width value) - Much like slivers, Surfaces with spikes also have high aspect ratio and small area. The main difference is that only a portion of the surface fits this criteria, not the entire surface. When this option is on and a spike on a surface is detected (smaller than Spike Width), FEMAP will try and remove the spike, while keeping the rest of the surface intact. Enter the Sliver Tolerance value directly or click the Measure Distance icon button and choose two locations graphically to specify a distance. Default value is equal to the default Merge Tolerance in the model. By Area (Area Less Than value) - Surfaces which have an Area Less Than the specified size will be loaded into the Entity Locator. Enter the Area Less Than value directly or click the Measure Area of Surface icon button to specify an area by choosing a surface graphically. Default value is equal to 1/1000 of the model box diagonal. From Group - Loads all Surfaces in a specified Group into the Entity Locator.
Show # Surfaces button - By default, when you initially place Surfaces in the Entity Locator, ALL of the found Surfaces will be highlighted in the graphics window using the display options currently set in the Style portion of the Windows, Show Entities command (See Section 6.3.2.3, "Window, Show Entities..."). Like Windows, Show Entities and the Show When Selected capabilities of the Data Table and Model Info tree, once the view has been redrawn or regenerated the highlighting is removed and the view is restored to how it appeared before the show command. If you want to highlight the curves again, simply click the Show # Surfaces button. Locate Options: Only In Group - The Locator will only attempt to locate entities which meet the specified criteria in the selected group. Not In Group - The Locator will only attempt to locate entities which meet the specified criteria and are NOT in the selected group.
Note: A group based on any number of solids can be generated directly from the Locator by clicking the Select Solids for Group with Related Entities icon button next to the Only In Group or Not In Group drop-down list. Ignore If - Instructs the Locator to ignore entities which meet the specified criteria which are either Suppressed or Combined. If you want to change the options, simply expand the Ignore If portion of the Locate Options and check or uncheck Suppressed or Combined accordingly.
Meshing Toolbox
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Auto Locate - When this option is on, the Locator will automatically be loaded with the entities that meet the criteria currently specified. If it is turned off, you will need to click the Locate button which is now visible. Update Selector - If this option is checked, the Selection List (usually created using the Select Toolbar) will be cleared, then updated with the entities currently placed in the Locator.
Note: If you have entities currently in the Selection List before the Locator is filled with entities, they will be cleared and replaced once the Locator is filled with entities. Show Options: Show All On Locate - When on, entities loaded into the Locator will be highlighted on the screen immediately. The highlighting is controlled by the options currently set in the Style portion of the Windows, Show Entities command (See Section 6.3.2.3, "Window, Show Entities..."). If this is set to off, you will have to click the appropriate Show button to highlight the entities in the graphics window. Auto Rotate - When this option is on, the view will be automatically rotated to align the current entity in the Locator on the screen. For surfaces, the view will align so the normal of the surface is pointing out of the screen and centered about the CG of the surface. For curves, the vector tangent to the curve, at the curves midpoint, will be used to align the view to the horizontal screen axis. The midpoint of the curve will be centered in the view and the normal vectors of all the surfaces to which the current curve is attached will be averaged together and that averaged normal will point out of the screen. Auto Zoom- If this option is checked, FEMAP will zoom in to the current entity in the Locator a specified amount. The size of the current entity is used in conjunction with the Zoom Factor, which is a percentage of graphics window size, to determine how far FEMAP zooms in to the entity. The Zoom Factor can be set from 1 to 100 (using the slider bar or entering a value directly), with 1 essentially zooming in as far as possible, while still being able to see the entire entity in the graphics window, and 100 making the length of the entity 1/100 the width of the graphics window.
Note: If the Entity Locator is filled with very small entities, FEMAP may only be able to zoom in so far before it reaches the magnification limit, which is 1/10000 of model box size. Mesh Quality Toggle - Toggles a plot of mesh quality on and off for all of the currently visible elements. Please see the section regarding the Mesh Quality tool below for more information on the different quality types and plotting options.
Jacobian check shown with 2 distortion levels Jacobian check shown with 4 distortion levels
Elements shown in red are above the specified Max Allowable Value for the Jacobian distortion check set to 0.4
Remesh Modes menu - This menu contains several modes for remeshing the model when using all tools except the Mesh Locate tool. There are three separate modes: Auto Remesh, Disable Remesh, and Track Meshing Changes. The fourth option on the menu, Remesh Entities, is only used when using the Track Meshing Changes mode. Essentially, only one mode can be active at any given time. When Auto Remesh is on, the mesh will be updated every time a change is made using one of the tools in the Meshing Toolbox. Note: Once Disable Remesh or Auto Remesh has been chosen, the icon will persist at the top of the Remesh Modes menu. You can now toggle back and forth between these two modes by simply clicking the icon.
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Disable Remesh does not track any of the changes made using the tools in the Meshing Toolbox. Any changes made with the tools are applied to the model, but you will need to delete and remesh the model using the commands on the Mesh, Geometry... menu or switch to Auto Remesh mode and make a change with any tool. Note: Having the model Auto Remesh after every single change may not be the efficient way to use the tools in the Meshing Toolbox, especially for larger models. You may want to use the Disable Remesh mode, make changes to your model using the Meshing Toolbox, then remesh the model. Track Meshing Changes will track all of the changes made using the different tools in the Meshing Toolbox, but the model will only be remeshed by clicking the icon for the Remesh Entities command, which will be at the top of the Remesh Modes menu whenever you are in Track Meshing Changes mode. Note: Sometimes in larger models, tracking the meshing changes can be quite computationally intensive. You may want to turn Track Meshing Changes off, which is accomplished by going to Disable Remesh. Select Entity - Many of the tools in the Meshing Toolbox require you to select entities. Depending on which tool is currently active and how the options for that tool are currently set, will determine the type of entity you will be able to select when Select Entity is toggled on. When on, you can graphically choose entities from the graphics window one at a time or use box/circle picking to select multiple entities (hold down the Shift key to make a pick box or the Ctrl key to make a circular picking area). Depending on which tool you are using and the current Remesh Mode set, you will be able to see the mesh update real time as you choose entities. For example, if you are using the Add Operation in the Mesh Sizing tool, and have Auto Remesh on, every time you select a curve or curves (box/circle pick) in the graphics window, the mesh will be updated real time. Dialog Select - Very similar to Select Entity, except it allows you to use the typical Entity Selection dialog box to choose entities. See Section 4.3.1, "Entity Selection" of the FEMAP User Guide for more information on the different selection methods available. Feature Suppression Tool This tool allows you to use the manual options available in the Mesh, Mesh Control, Feature Suppression command interactively. You may suppress loops, curves (usually relatively small in size), and surfaces (usually sliver surfaces, not fillets or chamfers). Suppressed geometry still exists in the model and can be restored at any time. Feature Type - Choose which entity type you would like to suppress/restore. When using Select Entity or Dialog Select in the Meshing Toolbox, only the selected entity type will be available for selection. Loops - Usually curves of internal holes on surfaces and solids or base curves of bosses and extrusions on solids. Curves - In this case, curves usually refers to curves which are relatively small in size compared to the rest of the geometry. Surfaces - Like curves, surfaces to be suppressed are usually small in size compared to the rest of the geometry, thus creating the possibility of meshing issues. Action - This option specifies what action will take place when entities are selected using Select Entity or Dialog Select. When either Suppress or Restore is set, all entities selected will either be suppressed or restored. When Toggle Suppression is set, selecting an existing entity the first time will suppress the entity, while selecting it again will restore the entity. Limit Size - When used, this option limits the entities which can be chosen based on size. Only loops that are Smaller Than the specified size, curves that are Shorter Than the specified length, and surfaces with Area Less Than the specified area will be available to suppress/restore. This can be helpful to filter what is included when choosing multiple entities with Select Entity or Dialog Select.
Meshing Toolbox
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Update Colors - When a loop, curve, or surface is suppressed, the color of the entity will be changed to the color specified here. This allows you to easily see which entities have been suppressed. Click the Color Wheel icon button to bring up the Color Palette dialog box to choose different colors for suppressed entities. Show Suppressed (Curves and Surfaces buttons) - Highlights either suppressed curves or suppressed surfaces in the graphics window using the display options currently set in the Style portion of the Windows, Show Entities command (See Section 6.3.2.3, "Window, Show Entities..."). Like Windows, Show Entities and the Show When Selected capabilities of the Data Table and Model Info tree, once the view has been redrawn or regenerated the highlighting is removed and the view is restored to how it appeared before the show command. Restore All (In Solids and In Model buttons) - Restores all features on either selected solids by clicking the In Solids button or all the features in the model by click in the In Model button.
For example
Original Solid Part with stepped hole Curve chosen for loop to Suppressed Resulting Solid Mesh
See Section 5.1.1.16, "Mesh, Mesh Control, Feature Suppression..." for additional examples Feature Removal Tool This tool is used to permanently remove geometric entities interactively to simplify geometry. Most of this tools functionality is offered in other FEMAP commands. Removing Loops basically mimics the functionality of the Geometry, Surface, Remove Hole command, while removing Surfaces essentially uses the same process as Geometry, Solid, Remove Face. Finally, removing Curves uses portions of the Geometry, Solid, Cleanup command along some other methodology to try and remove redundant curves. Feature Type - Choose which entity type you would like to remove. When using Select Entity or Dialog Select in the Meshing Toolbox, only the selected entity type will be available for selection. Loops - Usually curves of internal holes on surfaces and solids or base curves of bosses and extrusions on solids. Curves - In this case, curves usually refers to curves which are relatively small in size compared to the rest of the geometry. Surfaces - Surfaces to remove can be all the surfaces of a hole, fillets, chamfers, and cutouts. In some cases, you may have to remove more then one surface at a time for this command to be successful. Limit Size - When used, this option limits the entities which can be chosen based on size. Only loops that are Smaller Than the specified size, curves that are Shorter Than the specified length, and surfaces with Area Less Than the specified area will be available to remove. This can be helpful to filter what is included when choosing multiple entities with Select Entity or Dialog Select. Aggressive Removal - If you have attempted to remove a curve or surface and FEAMP was not successful, then you may want to try using this option. For curves, Aggressive Removal uses functionality from the Parasolid Bodyshop to try and remove curves and then heal the geometry, which may change the topology of the geometry.
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For surfaces, instead of using the process used by Geometry, Solid, Remove Face, the Aggressive Removal option instructs FEMAP to take a completely different approach. The chosen surface is deleted from the model and the remaining surfaces are stitched together using a stitch tolerance which is slightly larger the chosen surface. Note: Selecting relatively large surfaces while the Aggressive Removal option is on can have very adverse effects on the geometry. Because the stitch tolerance is set so high, other surfaces may be removed during the stitching process and the resulting solid may not really be very similar to the original solid. There may also be times when this process creates an invalid solid.
Examples
Here is an example of removing Loops from a surface.
Choose one curve on each interior hole and all of the curves making up the loop will be found and removed from the surface All internal holes have been removed from the surface
Surface with several interior holes
In this example, the hole feature is removed differently from this solid geometry by choosing different Loops.
Original Solid Part with stepped hole Curve chosen for loop in Remove Face Resulting Solid Geometry
Original Solid Part with stepped hole
Curve chosen for loop in Remove Face
Resulting Solid Geometry
Meshing Toolbox
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In this example, the features can be removed from this solid geometry by either removing Loops or Surfaces.
Original solid geometry The holes in the solid along with the boss and the post can be removed from the geometry by removing loops and choosing one curve on each feature.
Alternatively, the features can be removed by selecting all of the surfaces of each individual feature.
Geometry shown with holes and boss removed
Here is an example of removing a curve with the Aggressive Removal option turned on.
Original solid geometry Small curve to Remove Modified geometry without curve
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Here is an example of removing a surface with the Aggressive Removal option turned on.
Original solid geometry Modified geometry without surface
Small surface to Remove
Combined/Composite Curve Tool In some cases, combining several smaller curves along the edge of a surface will allow you to create a higher quality mesh on the surface. This tool allows you to combine curves by choosing the curves themselves or a point that two curves share. A Composite Curve will be created in FEMAP, which will be used for mesh sizing purposes instead of the underlying curves. Action - This option specifies how individual curves may be combined to form Composite Curves (Add by Point or Add Curves) and how Composite Curves can be partitioned (Split At and Remove). You can also delete Composite Curves completely using Delete, which may be more convenient than using Delete, Geometry, Curve. Add by Point - Combines two curves connected to a selected point into a Composite Curve. If you are creating a Composite Curve along the edge of a surface with many small curves, you can watch the Composite Curve grow simply by starting at one end and choosing the points in sequence. Combine Surfaces - When this option is checked, a Boundary Surface will automatically be created from the surfaces connected to the underlying curves. As additional curves are added to the Composite Curve by choosing points, more surfaces will be combined into Boundary Surfaces. Add Curves - Creates a Composite Curve by allowing you to choose individual curves. There are also several options which can be used to make the process of creating Composite Curves more automatic.
Merge to Existing - When checked, each curve selected will be added to an existing Composite Curve, unless the selected curve is not within Max Tangent Angle to the existing Composite Curve. Add Short Curves - Automatically includes any Curve Shorter Than the specified length that is adjacent to a selected curve in the Composite Curve. You may type the value in directly or specify the value by clicking the Select Curve to Set Length icon button, then choosing any curve on the screen. Add to Branch - Allows you to choose one curve and have a Composite Curve created by simply branching out from that curve until it reaches the corner of a surface. Combine Surfaces - When this option is checked, a Boundary Surface will automatically be created from the surfaces connected to the underlying curves. As additional curves are added to the Composite Curve, more surfaces will be combined into Boundary Surfaces Split At - Allows you to choose points to partition/break a single Composite Curve into two.
Meshing Toolbox
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Remove - Allows you to remove any of the underlying curves from a Composite Curve. It you remove a curve from the end, the Composite Curve will get shorter, but otherwise remain intact. If you a curve is removed from the middle, the Composite Curve will be split into two with a gap in between.
Note: The appearance of Composite Curves can be controlled via the Combined Curve option in the Labels, Entities and Color category of the View, Options command (See Section 6.1.5.3, "View, Options...").
Original Surface (9 individual curves on front edge of surface) Small curves on edge of surface create a skewed mesh
The 9 curves of the front edge have been combined to create one Composite Curve.
The quality of the mesh has been improved by using a Composite Curve.
Delete - Allows you to delete a Composite Curve completely from FEMAP. The underlaying curves of the Composite Curve will be available for picking again once it has been deleted. Much like creating composite curves to improve mesh quality, it may be a good idea to combine several surfaces into a Boundary Surface. This tool uses the same concept as the Geometry, Boundary Surface, From Surfaces on Solid command. This can be especially helpful when there are sliver surfaces next to a much larger surface. By combining the selected surfaces into one boundary surface, all of the internal curves can be ignored during the meshing process. Action - This option specifies how individual curves may be combined to form Boundary Surface (Add by Curve or Add Surfaces) and how Boundary Surface can be partitioned (Split Along and Remove). You can also delete Boundary Surface completely using Delete, which may be more convenient than using Delete, Geometry, Surface. Add by Curve - Combines two surfaces sharing a single curve into a Boundary Surface. If you select a curve that a regular surface shares with a Boundary Surface, the regular surface will simply be added as another underlying surface for the existing Boundary Surface. Add Surfaces - Creates a Boundary Surface by allowing you to choose individual surfaces. Using the Merge to Existing
Combined/Boundary Surface Tool
Split Along - Allows you to choose curves to partition/break a single Boundary Surface into two. Remove - Allows you to remove any of the underlying surfaces from a Boundary Surface.
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Delete - Allows you to delete a Boundary Surface completely from FEMAP. The underlaying surfaces of the Boundary Surface will be available for picking again once it has been deleted.
Note: The appearance of Boundary Surfaces can be controlled via the Boundary option in the Labels, Entities and Color category of the View, Options command (See Section 6.1.5.3, "View, Options...").
Original Geometry (11 individual surfaces make up the bump) Quad mesh on the individual surfaces of the bump
Boundary Surface created using all 11 individual surfaces of the bump
Quad mesh on boundary surface
Mesh Sizing Tool Combines the options used to set mesh sizing and node spacing on curves (Mesh, Mesh Control, Size on Curve) with the Add, Subtract, and Set To functionality of the Mesh, Mesh Control, Interactive command. When using the Auto Remesh option in the Meshing Toolbox you will be able to see the mesh update on the fly after each change to sizing or node spacing, while you also monitor the element quality update (Mesh Quality Toggle On). There are also options for matching any number of selected curves to a Master Curve, as well as setting biasing and length based sizing without changing the number of elements on the curve.
Meshing Toolbox
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Sizing Option - This switch is used to specify which method, Size Curve(s) or Match Curve(s), is currently set for updating the mesh size on curves. Size Curves - When selected, this method uses the option currently set in Operation along with the specified Spacing options to dynamically change the mesh sizing on curves. With Select Entity on in the Meshing Toolbox, every time you click on a curve the Mesh Size will be updated. You can also change the size on multiple curves all at once using a box pick or Dialog Select. Match Curves - With this method, a Master Curve ID may be entered directly or selected graphically after clicking the Select Master Curve icon button. Once the Master Curve is specified, turn on Select Entity in the Meshing Toolbox to match curves to the Master Curve one at a time by selecting them or change multiple curves all at once with a box pick or using Dialog Select. Operation - Allows you to select the current operation for the Mesh Sizing tool. You can choose to Add or Subtract the specified Number of Nodes from the selected curve(s), update the sizing on any curve(s) to the Number of Nodes using Set To, or simply change the Spacing options (Bias and if Length Based Sizing should be used) without changing the number of nodes along the curve(s) with Set Spacing Options. Manual Update - When this option is on, the specified Operation and other options will not be used to update the mesh size and spacing until the Apply Operation button is pressed. Using a box pick while Select Entity is active or using Dialog Select in the Meshing Toolbox, is a very efficient method to update multiple curves at one time. Pressing the # Curve(s) Selected button will highlight the selected curves in the graphics window. Pressing Clear Selection sets the number of selected curves currently ready to be updated to 0. Spacing - This drop-down allows you to specify biasing options. By default, this option is set to Equal, which will place a uniform distance between each node along a curve. The other options allow you to bias the mesh size and the level of biasing will be controlled by the Bias Factor. here is a breakdown of the biasing options: Biased using Pick Location - The node spacing on the curve is biased using the location of the cursor when the curve is selected. The smaller distances between nodes will be positioned by the selection location. When working in a model that is not planar, which is quite common, it is a good idea to have the snap mode set to either Snap to Node or Snap to Point. This will allow FEMAP to use the point or node related to the curve closest to pick location to determine where the biasing should occur.
Note: When the snap mode is set to Snap to Point, you will only be able to bias towards one end of the curve or the other. When it is set to Snap to Node, you will be able to bias towards either end of the curve or towards the center, much like you can using Biased Small at Center in the Spacing options. Biased Small at Ends - The smaller distances between nodes will be positioned at each end of the curve with the larger distances between nodes being at the center. Biased Small at Center - The smaller distances between nodes will be positioned at the center of the curve with the larger distances between nodes being at the at each end of the curve.
Bias Factor - This factor is a ratio of the largest distance between nodes to the smallest distance between nodes along a given curve. For example, when it is set to 2, the largest distance equals the smallest distance multi-
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plied by 2. All of the distances between the other nodes along the curve are defined using a linear interpolation of the large and small distances.
Mesh Elements = 10 Bias Small towards this end Bias Factor = 3 Mesh Elements = 10 Bias Small towards this end Bias Factor = 4
Mesh Elements = 10 Bias Small at Ends Bias Factor = 2
Mesh Elements = 10 Bias Small at Ends Bias Factor = 2 Mesh Elements = 8 Bias Small at Center Bias Factor = 3
Mesh Elements = 8 Bias Small at Center Bias Factor = 2
Mesh Elements = 10 Bias Small towards this end Bias Factor = 3
Mesh Elements = 10 Bias Small towards this end Bias Factor = 4
Length Based Sizing - Allows you to choose whether mesh locations will be located in parametric or length coordinates along the curve. For lines, arcs and circles, these options make no difference since the parametric and length coordinates are equivalent. For spline curves however, parametric coordinates are typically much different. In most cases, choosing parametric spacing is the preferred method. It results in a finer mesh in areas of high curvature, which is often desirable. However, if you have two spline curves side by side, which happen to have different parametric coordinates, checking Length Based Sizing will allow you to match the meshes on those two curves (this can also be accomplished using a matched custom mesh size on one of the curves - see Section 5.1.1.7, "Mesh, Mesh Control, Custom Size Along Curve...". Propagate Mapped Approach - This option, which is on by default, will update the mesh sizing accordingly on all appropriate curves of a surface which has a mapped approach set using Mesh, Mesh Control, Approach on Surface, in order for the approach to remain valid. Also, any other surfaces with a mapped approach which would be effected by changing the size will also have their sizing updated as well. For more information on setting mesh approaches, see Section 5.1.1.15, "Mesh, Mesh Control, Approach On Surface". Note: If this option is turned off, there is a good chance that changing the mesh sizing on only one curve of the surface will create inappropriate sizing for FEMAP to create a mapped mesh on the surface. For Example, this geometry is three surfaces stitched together. Each surface has a Mapped-Four Corner meshing approach specified and has been sized with the default mesh size.
3 Surfaces with Mapped - Four Corner Approaches Set Mesh using default Mesh Size
Two Subtracted from this Curve 2 Nodes Added to sizing on either of these Curves Three Nodes Added from this Curve
Change is Propagated through entire Model as all surfaces effected by new mesh size.
Changes only Propagated locally to individual surface where meshing sizing was changed.
Show Free Edges - Simply highlights the nodes of any free edges in your model. This can be helpful for confirming the mesh is still fully connected after sizing has been updated.
Meshing Toolbox
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Mesh Locate Tool There may be times when you would like to make small changes to an existing mesh simply by moving one or several nodes without changing the number of elements. This tool will allow you to do this while making sure that as you move the node(s) dynamically, they remain attached to specified solid(s), surface(s), and curve(s). If you have no geometry, there is an option to have the nodes follow the overall topology of the selected standalone mesh as they are moved. There are additional options to move the selected nodes by a defined amount, continually smooth the mesh as the nodes are moved, and allow the moved nodes to no longer be projected to a surface or remain along a curve. Much like the Mesh Sizing tool, you can also turn on the Mesh Quality Toggle and monitor the element quality real time as the nodes are moved. Finally, once the mesh locations have been updated, you have the choice to Save the new mesh or Discard the updated mesh and revert to the original mesh. Select Mesh to Edit - Limits the elements whose nodes will be allowed to move in this command. Simply choose an option, then click the ... icon button to choose the entities. Only elements and nodes connected to the selected entities will be visible and available for update of nodal locations. Note: You must use the Select Mesh to Edit first in order for the other options in this tool to become available. Attached to Surface - Allows you to choose surfaces in the model to limit the nodes and elements for possible update. Attached to Solid - Allows you to choose solids in the model in the model to limit the nodes and elements for possible update. Standalone Mesh - When no geometry is available, this option allows you to choose any number of elements from the model and use the overall topology of the selected mesh to limit where the nodes can be moved, when the Project option is on. Note: To create the overall topology, the existing mesh is facetted, much like a surface. This allows the node(s) to be projected back onto pseudo geometry in order to maintain the general shape of the model. Locate Multiple - When this option is checked, it enables you to move more than one node at a time. To select multiple nodes to move, turn on Select Entity in the Meshing Toolbox and then choose the nodes one at a time, with a box pick (hold down Shift key), or circle pick (hold down Ctrl key). Once the nodes are selected, they will move in unison based on the chosen Locate Method. Press the X icon button to choose different nodes to move. Locate Method - You may choose to move the node(s) dynamically, based on screen position, or manually, using a vector. If you have the Mesh Quality Toggle on, you will likely want to use the Dynamic option and move the node(s) around until the attached elements reach the desired quality. On the other hand, if you would like to move the nodes a precise distance, it is probably better to use the Manual, Vector option.
Original Mesh Dynamically modified Mesh with improved Jacobian element quality values
When using the Dynamic method, simply choose the node(s) using Entity Select in the Meshing Toolbox and then drag the node(s) to the desired location. Note: It is best to have the Snap Mode set to Snap to Screen when using the Dynamic method to allow for smooth movement of the selected node(s). This allows the most flexibility when positioning the node(s).
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When using the Manual, Vector method, the Move Along Vector fields will appear. You may use the Select Vector icon button to choose a vector graphically using any method available in the Select Vector dialog box. Another option is to enter a Base Point for the vector or use the Select Coordinates icon button to pick it graphically, then enter the distances in each direction (dX, dY, and dZ) manually. Once the vector has been specified, click the Apply Vector button to complete the move to the new location. Smooth - When this option is checked, the selected mesh will constantly be smoothed as nodal locations are updated. If you want to only have the elements directly connected to the selected node(s), turn this option off. Project - When this option is enabled, the selected nodes are constantly projected back to the surface to which they are attached. When the Standalone Mesh option for Select Mesh to Edit is used, the nodes are projected back to pseudo geometry created using the overall topology of the selected elements. Constrain to Curve - Nodes which are attached to curves will only be allowed to move along the attached curve, when this option is on. This is the default configuration and is usually the desired behavior, as it attempts to prevent undesired holes from accidentally being introduced into the mesh. Save and Discard buttons - Once the mesh locations have been updated, you have the choice to Save the new mesh or Discard the updated mesh and revert to the original mesh. Note: If you choose to use the Undo command (Tools, Undo or Ctrl+Z) after pressing the Save button, ALL changes to the mesh since the Save button was last used will be undone, not the movement of individual nodes. Also, if you use Undo before choosing Save or Discard, the original mesh will be restored. Mesh Quality When the Mesh Quality Toggle in the Meshing Toolbox is set to on, this tool allows you to graphically see element quality values plotted on each element similar to a contour/criteria plot. There are several different element quality types which can be selected and each type has default automatic values. User-defined values can also be specified. Also, the minimum and maximum distortion values for the specified quality type are listed in the bottom fields of the tool. Quality Type - There are 8 different types of element quality checking available through the Meshing Toolbox. They correspond to the element distortion checks of the Tools, Check, Distortion command. The element checks are: Aspect Ratio Taper Alternate Taper Internal Angles Warping Nastran Warping Jacobian Combined Quality See Section 7.4.5.6, "Tools, Check, Distortion..." for more details on the individual element checks.
Meshing Toolbox
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Depending on which element check is currently set, the name of the element check will appear along with a Max Allowable Value field in the Mesh Quality tool. When Quality Type is set to Combined, all of the other individual Quality Types will also be displayed in the Mesh Quality tool. The Max Allowable Value for each element quality type can be modified or individual types can be turned on or off to modify which will be included when calculating the Combined element quality. To specify customized default values for all of the element distortion checks, use the Element Distortion button in the Geometry/Model tab of File, Preferences. See Section 2.6.2.6, "Geometry/Model" for more information. Note: When the Mesh Quality tool is used on models containing solid elements, the distortion plotted on the visible element face(s) is the quality of the quadrilateral or triangular element face, NOT the solid element. This is important to remember, especially for element distortion checks which can be used for solid elements, such as Jacobian and Aspect Ratio. Number of Distortion Levels - Simply indicates the number of levels to use in the plot of the current element quality set in Quality Type. Choose between 2 levels or 4 levels. When the Number of Distortion Levels is set to 2, all elements with element distortion values above the Max Allowable Value for the specified Quality Type will be plotted Red, while all other elements will be Green. When the Number of Distortion Levels is set to 4, all elements with element distortion values above the Max Allowable Value for the specified Quality Type will be also be plotted Red. The remaining elements will be plotted from 0 to the Max Allowable Value in the following manner: Distortion value = 0.0 to (1/3 * Max Allowable Value) are plotted Green Distortion value = (1/3 * Max Allowable Value) to (2/3 * Max Allowable Value) are plotted Yellow Distortion value = (2/3 * Max Allowable Value) to Max Allowable Value are plotted Orange Smooth Contours - When on, the colors on the contour legend blend from low to high, similar to a Contour plot. When off, the plot resembles a Criteria plot.
Internal Angle check shown with 2 distortion levels Internal Angle check shown with 4 distortion levels
Elements shown in red are above the specified Max Allowable Value for the Internal Angle distortion check Same values as above, Smooth Contours On Same values as above, Smooth Contours On
This plot allows you to see which elements may be close to passing the distortion check.
Min Distortion and Max Distortion - Simply lists the best and worst element quality in the selected mesh.
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Model Info tree
Updated Show When Selected functionality. Entities already chosen will now highlight when Show When Selected is turned on and un-highlight when turned off.
Data Table
Added Transformed To capability for listing nodal and elemental output.
Updated Show When Selected functionality. Entities already chosen will now highlight when Show When Selected is turned on and un-highlight when turned off. Added Save to a File command (FEMAP 10.0.1).
Entity Editor
Added Transformed To capability for displaying nodal output and elemental output.
Added support for Load Definition and Constraint Definition information. Added support for Rotor Region information. Added support for Layup ID information. Added "is suppressed" fields for curves and surfaces Enhanced Loads and Coordinate Systems so they are displayed in definition CSys, transformed on the fly, then saved in global or definition system.
API Programming
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API Programming
Changed the default lines of code when a new API is created from scratch to:
This change allows the API Programming dockable pane in that particular instance of FEMAP to connect directly to FEMAP to run APIs in that instance. Previously, APIs could only be used from the API Programming window in the first instance of FEMAP which was currently open on the machine. Any *.bas files in the Custom Tools directory or added to the menus or toolbars using this mechanism for attachment will also run in the current instance of FEMAP.
Status Bar
Added the ability to customize what entity types appear on the Status Bar. Right clicking anywhere on the status bar will bring up the Customize Status Bar menu, which allows you to turn any entity type in the Tray on or off with a left mouse click. When an entity type is on, it will be designated with a check mark next to the entity type name.
Graphics
Improved Curve and Surface facetting to more accurately display geometry.
Astroid
Implemented support of the Astroid 3D controller from Spatial Freedom.
Meshing
The focus of version10 was to improve the overall mesh capabilities in FEMAP. "General Meshing", "Surface Meshing", "Solid Tetrahedral Meshing" Updates and improvements were made in the areas of surface meshing, solid tetrahedral meshing, mesh sizing, and specifying mesh attributes. A substantial change for version 10 is that once a surface has been meshed, the mesh attributes are automatically set on that surface. See Using Mesh Attributes in the Surface Meshing section below for more details. Also, the Meshing Toolbox was introduced to offer an interactive toolbox which consolidated functionality used during the meshing process. Tools for feature suppression and removal, creating combined curves and boundary surfaces, specifying mesh sizing on curves, dynamically updating nodal positions, and plotting mesh quality can all be accessed in one place with the ability to remesh on the fly as changes are made. See Meshing Toolbox in the User Interface section of this document.
General Meshing
Added 3 new patterns to Mesh, Editing, Interactive
Added Offset from Reference Point option to Modify, Update Elements, Line Element Offsets. Added Spring Elements option to the Connection Type section of the Mesh, Connect, Unzip and Mesh, Connect, Coincident Link commands. Removed Quad Mesh Layer Options option from Mesh, Mesh Control, Size on Solid.
10.1-50

Updated Mesh, Remesh, Convert Facets command to included capability to associate facets/nodes with the original geometry. Updated Mesh, Extrude, Element Face command to automatically delete plot-only elements that it creates on the selected element faces
Surface Meshing
Added Suppress Short Edges option to Mesh, Mesh Control, Size on Surface. Removed Quad Mesh Layer Options option from Mesh, Mesh Control, Size on Surface. This capability was improved and is now the Quad Edge Layers mesh attribute which can be specified before meshing using Mesh, Mesh Control, Attribute on Surface or during the meshing process using Mesh, Geometry, Surface. Added and updated many options found in the Mesh, Geometry, Surface command. All of the options set when the surface is initially meshed are now automatically specified as mesh attributes. Additions include the new 3-D Tri triangle mesher, new mapped meshing options, the ability to specify mesh offsets on the surface, automatic node merging when meshing surfaces connected to surfaces which have already been meshed, and a Post-Meshing Cleanup option which improves the mesh by eliminating certain patterns and collapsed holes.
Automesh Surfaces dialog box When you select the Mesh, Geometry, Surface command, you must select the surfaces to mesh. After they are selected, the Automesh Surfaces dialog box appears. After choosing the appropriate property, you can decide to press OK to accept default options or click the More Options button to set up additional meshing controls. See More Options section below.
The Mesher section allows you to choose between meshing the surfaces with quadrilateral surface elements, where possible (Quad option), or all triangular surface elements (Tri option). When using the Tri option, you may choose to use Auto, which will examine each surface one at a time and attempt to choose the Tri mesher which will create the best overall triangular mesh on each individual surface. If you want FEMAP to use a particular Tri mesher, uncheck Auto and choose one of the three triangle meshers. See the "Element Shape" section below for details. Checking the Midside Nodes option will create parabolic surface elements instead of linear surface elements, while turning the Mapped Meshing Options will attempt to create a mapped mesh on the surface, if possible using the options currently set. Node and Element Options These options control parameters that are assigned to the nodes and elements that you will create. The CSys option does not control the mesh in any way. It is just assigned as the definition coordinate system of each node. The property is most important. You must choose a property which corresponds to a planar element. Using Meshing Attributes If the surfaces that you are meshing have mesh attributes defined, you will see an additional property (0..Use Meshing Attributes) in the list. If you choose that property, FEMAP will use the attributes to define the property, type of elements that will be created, and which meshing options will be used during the meshing process. If you wish to ignore the attributes, simply pick a different property from the drop-down list or create a new property. If you wish to use the property specified in the attribute, but set different meshing options, check the Use Property Attribute Only option, which is only available when Property is set to 0..Use Meshing Attributes.
Surface Meshing
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More Options When the More Options... button has been pressed, the Automesh Surfaces dialog box will expand to offer many more meshing options. Depending on which options are selected in the Mesher section, certain portions of the dialog will gray and un-gray to only allow you to choose appropriate options for the selected Mesher.
Mesher The Mesher section allows you to choose between meshing the surfaces with quadrilateral surface elements, where possible (Quad option), or all triangular surface elements (Tri option). When using the Tri option, you may choose to use Auto, which will examine each surface one at a time and attempt to choose the Tri mesher which will create the best overall triangular mesh on each individual surface. If you want FEMAP to use a particular Tri mesher, uncheck Auto and choose one of the three triangle meshers. See the "Element Shape" section below for details. Pre-v10 Meshing The surface meshing in FEMAP has dramatically changed for version 10. This switch allows you to use the prev10 surface meshing if you feel more comfortable with pre-version 10 meshers. This box will be checked by default if you have Pre-v10 Surface Meshing checked on the Geometry/Model tab in the Preferences dialog box (See Section 2.6.2.6, "Geometry/Model"). Note: Only options available is versions of FEMAP before version 10 will be available when Pre-v10 Meshing is checked. Notice, Quad Edge Layers is now set in the Automesh Surfaces dialog box when using the Mesh, Geometry, Surfaces command instead of in the Automatic Mesh Sizing dialog box, which appears when using the Mesh, Mesh Control, Size on Surface command. Node Options Midside Nodes Checking the Midside Nodes option will create parabolic surface elements instead of linear surface elements. By default, midside nodes are created along the element edge between the corner nodes of an element. You project the midside nodes onto the geometry by using the Move to Geometry option. In some cases, you may want to limit the distortion of elements created by projecting the midside nodes. If this is the case, check Max Distortion Angle and enter the max allowable distortion angle.
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Connect Edge Nodes When this option is turned on, FEMAP will use existing nodes on edges of adjacent surfaces instead of creating new nodes when at least one of the adjacent surfaces has already been meshed. This option is only applicable when the adjacent surfaces are stitched together to form a solid (or sheet solid) or joined together into a general body using Geometry, Surface, Non-Manifold Add .
Three Surfaces stitched together using Geometry, Solid, Stitch command Surfaces 1 and 3 meshed at the same time Free Edge Plot of existing mesh on Surfaces 1 and 3
Edges surface 2 shares with previously meshed adjacent surfaces 1 and 3
Free Edge Plot after meshing surface 2 with Connect Edge Nodes turned ON
Free Edge Plot after meshing surface 2 with Connect Edge Nodes turned OFF
Smoothing These options are the same as those described in the Mesh, Smooth command. After an initial mesh is generated, it is automatically smoothed to reduce element distortions. You will usually just want to accept the default values for these options. For more information, see Section 5.3.4, "Mesh, Smooth...". Offset Allows you to automatically offset the surface mesh so the Top Face (Face 1) or Bottom Face (Face 2) of shell elements will be aligned with the surface(s) currently being meshed. There is also an option to simply offset the mesh away from the Centerline of the elements (default) a specified amount. Entering a positive number will offset the mesh towards the Top Face (Face 1) of the elements, while entering a negative value will offset towards the Bottom Face (Face 2). Note: The best way to determine which face is the Top Face and which face is the Bottom Face is to view the normal direction of the elements. This can be accomplished by setting options for the Element - Direction option in the Labels, Entities and Color category of the View, Options command (See Section 6.1.5.3, "View, Options..."). To see the normal vector on each element, choose 1..Normal Vectors from the Normal Style list, check the box next Show Direction and then click Apply or OK. The arrow representing the normal vector points towards the Top Face of the element. For Example, the thicker Black lines represent a Surface. Elements are shown with Normal Vectors on.
Mesh with no offsets (Centerline of Elements Aligned with Surface) Mesh Offset so Top Face of elements Aligned with Surface
Mesh Offset so Bottom Face of elements Aligned with Surface
Mesh Offset from element Centerline a specified positive distance from surface
Mapped Meshing Options When Mapped Meshing is set to Off, FEMAP will simply mesh the selected surface(s) with a free mesh, unless a Mapped Meshing Approach is set. If Mapped Meshing is On, FEMAP will attempt to create a Mapped Mesh.
Surface Meshing
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FEMAP uses the values set for Max Angle Deviation and Min Corner Angle to determine corners it can use to attempt a mapped mesh on surfaces. There are several other options available: Equal Sides Only - FEMAP will only attempt a mapped mesh on surface(s) with equal mesh sizing on opposing sides of the surface(s). The sides are the curve(s) between the corners the mesher locates. Map Subdivisions - As the subdivision meshers subdivide the geometry during the meshing process, the mesher will determine if each subdivision can by mapped meshed. If possible, that portion of the surface will be mapped meshed and then smoothed using the current Smoothing settings to create the overall surface mesh. Split Quad Map - Only available when using the Tri option in the Mesher section. FEMAP will actually create a quad mesh first and then split the quads into the best possible triangles using the same approach as the Modify, Update Elements, Split Quads command. Triangle Mesh using Split Curved Geometry Default Triangle Mesh Quad Map Option
Alternate - Only available when using one of the Tri options in the Mesher section. The mesher will attempt to alternate the direction of triangles which are side by side instead of having them all go in one direction. Right Bias - Only available when using one of the Tri options in the Mesher section. The mesher uses the opposite direction to start when choosing the direction of the triangles.
Triangle Mesher Mapped Off Mapped On Mapped On Alternate On Mapped On Right Bias On Mapped On Alternate and Right Bias On
Subdivision
Fast Tri
3-D Tri
Subdivision Options (Tri Mesher set to Subdivision, Quad Mesher only) These options control the size and shape of the mesh inside the boundary. The elements along the boundary edges are defined by the mesh sizes that you choose and are unaffected by these settings. Those mesh sizes also have substantial impact on the interior of the mesh, but these options give you additional control. Post-Meshing Cleanup This option, which is on by default, attempts to eliminate specific patterns in a mesh in an effort to create an overall higher quality mesh. It also does additional element checking in an attempt to eliminate meshing situations which may cause problems with surface and/or solid meshing.
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Additional clean-up includes inserting extra mesh points on long cylindrical surfaces with course mesh sizing. This eliminates the possibility of elements bridging the gap resulting in a collapsed hole. Note: In almost all cases, this option should be turned on, as it will usually create a better overall mesh. The only potential drawback to using this option is the possibility that the clean-up will replace patterns with less elements and therefore create a slightly courser mesh than expected. Here are a few examples of mesh patterns which will be recognized and the resulting mesh after the clean-up. Patterns Diamond elements eliminated Original After Clean-up
Quad Edge Layers This option specifies the number of layers of quadrilateral elements that FEMAP will attempt to place around every boundary curve on a surface. You can choose to have either 1, 2, or 3 layers of quads around each boundary curve of a surface, including internal curves from the drop-down list. Additionally, you may enter a number higher than 3 directly into the field and the mesher will attempt to create the specified number of quad element layers. If there is not enough room for the requested number of layers based on the mesh size, FEMAP will try to put as many layers of quads in as possible. The process goes one layer at a time, meaning that one layer of quads will be placed around all boundary curves (external curves first, internal curves second) before a second layer of quads will be attempted. In many cases, more layers will produce a higher quality mesh, but on some pieces of geometry using only 1 or 2 layers may produce better overall mesh quality than using 3 or more layers.
0 Layers
1 Layers
2 Layers
3 Layers
5 Layers
Min Elements Between Boundaries As a boundary is being meshed, groups of elements are often generated between two opposite edges of a boundary. Sometimes, the mesh sizes that you have defined are large enough that a single element will span the distance between surfaces. Since this may not be enough refinement for the model that you are creating, you can control this behavior by setting a minimum number of elements that must be created between any boundary edges. Setting this parameter does not guarantee that you will get that number of elements between every edge. But wherever possible (based on compatibility with your surface mesh sizes) that number of elements or greater will be created. It is usually best to leave this parameter set to 1 initially, then if the results are undesirable, undo the mesh and try it again with the number increased. Setting this number greater than 1 can greatly increase the number of elements that are generated.
Surface Meshing
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Min Elements = 1
You will usually only have to set this option if you are meshing a surface that is long and thin relative to the mesh size, or one that has long, thin appendages, as this example demonstrates.
Max Element Aspect Ratio Like the Min Elements setting described above, this option controls the elements inside the mesh. In this case however, control over the number of elements is only a secondary effect of this option. Primarily, this number is used as a guideline for how long elements can be relative to their width. You must always specify a value that is greater than or equal to 1.0. Smaller numbers usually create slightly more uniform meshes with elements that are better shaped. Large numbers can lead to severely distorted elements. If you make a mesh that contains long, thin or distorted elements, try again with a smaller aspect ratio.
Min Elements = 3 (or 2)
Quick-Cut boundaries with More Than n Nodes (n = 300 by default) Meshing large non-uniform surfaces can often take some time. Turning this option on shortens the time required while usually having minimal impact on the overall mesh quality. If you want the best possible mesh, and are willing to wait, turn this option off. You can also control the threshold by setting the number of nodes to a smaller or larger number. Do not reduce the number of nodes too much, or mesh quality will substantially decrease. Cut Quads with Angle Deviation Above n deg (n = 60 degress by default) Typically, quadrilateral elements with an angle deviation above 60 degrees will have poor element quality. Triangles are created wherever a quadrilateral would be severely distorted. You can override the default 60 degree allowable distortion with any value that you want. Lower distortion values will result in more triangles in your mesh. Element Shape Quad Mesher Although the mesher is called Quad, it is physically impossible on some surfaces with certain mesh sizing to create a mesh using all quads without some being highly distorted. The Quad option will generate quadrilateral elements whenever possible using a subdivision approach in the parametric space of each surface being meshed. Note: You must always get at least one triangle if you specify an odd number of nodes on the surface.) Triangles are created wherever quadrilaterals cannot meet the specified boundary mesh sizes and wherever a quadrilateral would be severely distorted. Tri Meshers These options control the creation of triangular elements in your mesh. If you want to create all triangles (Tri option), you may choose from the Subdivision, Fast Tri, or 3-D Tri options. Use the Auto option to have FEMAP choose which Tri meshing option should be used on each surface. Subdivision - FEMAPs original triangle mesher. It creates triangle elements by making subdivisions of a surface based on parametric space. It works very similar to the Quad mesher, but instead of making 90 degree splits to create quadrilateral elements, it makes 60 degree splits to make triangles. In a few cases, it may produce better quality mesh than the Fast Tri or 3-D Tri meshers. Fast Tri - creates large triangles in 2-D parametric space of a surface (U and V directions) then creates the final mesh through a process of splitting and improving the shape of the triangles based on where they are positioned in each surfaces parametric space. The Fast Tri mesher generally produces fewer triangles with better aspect ratios than the Subdivision mesher. This technique works particularly well if you have a long thin surface with holes. 3-D Tri - uses the facets of each surface as a triangular seed mesh, then uses a similar splitting and improving triangle shape technique as the Fast Tri mesher, except it evaluates the shape of the triangles in true 3-D space instead of the surfaces parametric space. Also, the nodes are constantly projected back to each
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surface to match the actual shape of the surface as closely as possible. In many cases, this will produce the best quality mesh and is the recommended option for meshing boundary surfaces created from surfaces which are part of a solid or stitched sheet solid. Note: One of the only drawbacks to using the 3-D Tri mesher, is when trying to mesh surfaces which wrap around with a large amount of curvature over a short distance. When using a relatively course mesh size on this type of surface, the mesher may create elements which do not follow the curvature of the surface properly, as a better shaped element can be created without following the curvature based on the positions of the nodes in 3-D space. Meshing a surface which has already been meshed If you choose a surface to mesh which has already been meshed, FEMAP will give you three options: Delete Existing Mesh and Remesh - Simply deletes the mesh and remeshes the surface. Skip Meshed Surfaces - If you have chosen a number of surfaces to mesh, some of which have already been meshed, only the surfaces which currently are not meshed will be meshed. Create Duplicate Meshes on Meshed Surfaces - Usually used when you want to skin a solid mesh with a shell mesh. Surface Mesh Attributes dialog box ... is used to assign meshing attributes to one or more surfaces. Simply choose a surface element property to be assigned to the surface(s) and specify the desired mesh options. The mesh options are identical to the ones which can be specified when using the Mesh, Geometry, Surface command (See "Automesh Surfaces dialog box" section for descriptions of the meshing options). Press the New Property icon button if you have not already created the property that you need.
Once attributes have been defined, surfaces can be easily meshed with elements, as properties (thicknesses, materials...) will be automatically assigned. Attributes are automatically assigned once a surface has been meshed.
Solid Tetrahedral Meshing
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If you want to assign offsets to the planar elements (typically plates only), specify an option in the Offset portion of this dialog box. You can offset the mesh to align the Top Face (Face 1) of the elements to the surface, align the Bottom Face (Face 2) to the surface, or enter an offset from the Centerline directly (Positive values offset the mesh towards Face 1, negative values offset towards Face 2). By default, both the property and mesh options will be set for all of the selected surfaces. If you only want to change the property of a number of surfaces but leave each surfaces meshing options intact, make sure that Update Property is checked and Update Other Attributes is unchecked. Vice versa, if you only want to change the mesh options, but leave the properties assigned to each surface intact, uncheck Update Property and check Update Other Attributes. If you would like to clear all of the attributes from the selected surface(s), click the Remove Attributes button.
Solid Tetrahedral Meshing

FEMAPs tetrahedral mesher uses a triangular surface mesh as the basis for creating the solid mesh. Improved surface meshing, discussed in the previous section, has a lot to do with improved solid tetrahedral meshing in version 10. Other options for initial sizing, using a recovery mesher, sending element quality to the Data Table, and locating problem areas which have caused the tet mesher to fail have also been added. Also new for 10, if the tet mesher fails, FEMAP will ask OK to Update Selector and Data Table with # nodes causing errors?. If you answer Yes, the problem nodes will be sent to the selection list and Data Table for easy identification using the Show When Selected tool in the Model Info tree and Data Table.
Added Initial Size Ratio option to the Automesh Solids dialog box. The Initial Size Ratio is another meshing control you can use to change the number of elements the tetrahedral mesher creates. The default value of 0.5001 should give you the best mesh quality with the least number of elements possible.
Updated Adjust Nodal Precision option is to be on by default.
10.1-58
Added Recovery Mesher (Use only if Standard Mesher fails) option to the Solid Automeshing Options. This option should ONLY be checked if the standard mesher has already failed. The tet-mesher contains a special boundary recovering mesher which will attempt to create a volume mesh starting from extremely poor quality surface mesh (almost flat triangles on the surface, high density propagation, extreme aspect ratios, etc.) which fail with the standard mesher. The resulting volume mesh will likely have a very poor quality and this mesher should only be used when a volume mesh is absolutely required, regardless of element quality,
Note: If the surface mesh is invalid or not watertight (it contains holes, overlaps, gaps, self intersections, etc.) this boundary recovering mesher will not repair the surface mesh and not create a volume mesh. Added Update Data Table with Mesh Quality option to the Solid Automeshing Options. The Data Table needs to be open in FEMAP for this option to be available. If the Data Table is locked, FEMAP will ask if you want to unlock it when leaving the Solid Automeshing Options dialog box. When this option is checked, every element created in the current meshing operation will be added to the Data Table along with corresponding values for Tet Collapse and Jacobian element quality checks. Updated the feedback sent to the Messages window during tet-meshing. FEMAP will produce status messages while the tetrahedral meshing is occurring and provide feedback on element numbers and quality. The table in the Surface Mesh Quality section of the listing displays the number of elements which fall into each range of values using FEMAPs Minimum Angle element quality check, while the table in the Tetrahedral Mesh Quality section contains similar listings of values for Tet Collapse and Jacobian. For more information on how FEMAP calculates element quality, please see Section 7.4.5.6, "Tools, Check, Distortion...".
The following is a sample of a typical status message list sent to the Messages window during the tetrahedral meshing process:
Mesh Associativity
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Mesh Associativity
Modify, Associativity, Automatic There is a new command under the Modify, Associativity menu. It contains the Automatic command which is designed to automatically associate a solid mesh with solids or shell mesh with surfaces (sheet solids). This command will attempt to associate the nodes of selected elements with selected solids (Tet or Hex Elements) or surfaces/sheet solids (Shell Elements). In addition to the nodes and elements being associated to the main entity (solids or surfaces/sheet solids), they will then also be associated to the surfaces of solids, curves on those surfaces, and points on those curves allowing you to use geometry based commands in FEMAP (i.e., Loads and Constraints on geometry, any selection method using a geometric entity, etc.). There are a few options in the Automatic Geometry Associativity dialog box. The Search Tolerance is used as a tolerance for attachment. If a node from a selected element is not within this distance to any of the selected geometry, it will not be attached. By default, the Search Tolerance is the Merge Tolerance set in Tools, Parameters. The Remove All Previous Associativity is on by default and should be on if you are taking an entire finite element model and trying to attach it to selected geometric entities. Check Solid Element Containment in Multiple Solids is only available when tet or hex elements have been selected. This first runs a check of all the element centroids to determine which elements are inside which solid. FEMAP then goes about attaching the nodes of those elements to each solid one at a time. On by default and should probably remain on when you have chosen multiple solids, although command will run faster when this option is off. Attach Midside Nodes Even if not in Tolerance option will attach any midside nodes on elements that have been attached, even if these midside nodes are not within the distance specified in Search Tolerance. Group Nodes/Elements not Associated will create a group with all of the selected nodes and elements which were NOT attached to any geometry during the command and turning on Detailed Associativity Summary will create a summery of the attached entities to the Messages window. This command is very useful if you have an analysis model and the original geometry from which the model was created. Also, if you try to attach nodes and elements to geometry which is completely different, chances are the command will not be very successful.
Properties
Added Section Evaluation option to Cross Section Definition dialog box for Beam, Bar, and Curved Beam Properties (FEMAP 10.0.1). Added PBEAML/PBARL to Section Evaluation for use with Nastran PBEAML/PBARLs. The PBEAML/ PBARL evaluation method is always used when importing a Nastran input file that contains PBEAMLs and/or PBARLs (FEMAP 10.0.1). Modified the Weld property to be the Weld/Fastener property. Added switch to specify if the property will used with CWELD (Weld) or CFAST (Fastener) elements. All Weld property inputs are the same as before. Added property inputs for CFAST (Fastener) elements.
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CFAST Options in the Define Property - WELD/FASTENER Element Type dialog box when CFAST is chosen.
Diameter - This value represents the diameter of the virtual fastener, which is used to locate the virtual grids (nodes) on the shell element patch. Mass - Mass of the fastener. Struc Damping - Structural damping of fastener Material CSys - Material Coordinate System in which translational (KTX, KTY, and KTZ) and rotational stiffness (KRX, KRY, and KRZ) are applied. This option is unchecked by default and Nastran uses a predefined method to determine the x, y, and z-axis of the fastener element. Please see Note below Note: When unchecked, the x-axis of the fastener element will be colinear to a vector from the location the fastener intersects Patch 1 (Element ID or Property ID) to the location the fastener intersects Patch 2, which is defined when creating the element. The y-axis will then be perpendicular to the element xaxis and oriented to the closest basic coordinate axis (in case of identical proximity, basic x-axis first, then y, then z will be chosen for orientation). Finally, the z-axis is the cross product of the element xaxis and z-axis. Absolute - When checked, specifies the Material Coordinate System is an Absolute Coordinate System. Unchecked specifies the Material Coordinate System is a Relative Coordinate System. KTX, KTY, and KTZ - These values represent the translational stiffness of the fastener in the x, y, and z-axis specified for the element. KRX, KRY, and KRZ - These values represent the rotational stiffness of the fastener in the x, y, and z-axis specified for the element.
Functions
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Functions
Added dynamic XY plotting of functions to the Function Definition dialog box.

Modified Directional Pressure loads to no longer be affected by choosing a particular element face. Older models with these types of loads will be converted to the new standard, but will be modified in the version 10 in such a way to create the same analysis input file as FEMAP 9.3.1 and earlier. Added option to apply nodal constraints using the -1..Use Nodal Output System option when choosing a coordinate system. Allows you to NOT force the nodal output CSys to be updated to the constraint CSys.

Updated Connection Regions to support 2-D contact in NX Nastran Solution 601. Connection Regions for 2-D contact in Solution 601 of NX Nastran (usually in conjunction with axisymmetric elements) must be defined using nodes only and are written out to the Nastran file as BLSEG entries. The nodes must be selected in proper order with contact occurring to the left side of the region. The BCTSET entry is used to specify which BLSEG entries are in contact with one another. If a BLSEG is specified as Rigid, it must be the target in the Connector (Contact Pair). BLSEG entries in Nastran input files for solution sequences other than Solution 601 represent slideline elements. There were several enhancements to the NX Nastran Connection Properties: NX Linear tab Moved Normal Penalty Factor and Tangential Penalty Factor from the Contact Property (BCTPARM) section to the Common Contact (BCTPARM) and Glue Parameters (BGPARM) section. Moved Shell Z-Offset from Glued Contact Property (BGSET and BGPARM) section to Contact Property (BCTPARM) section. Removed Penalty Factor from Glued Contact Property (BGSET and BGPARM) section. Replaced Num Allow Contact Changes with Convergence Criteria and Num For Convergence in the Contact Property (BCTPARM) section. Together, these two values create the NCHG field on the BCTPARM entry.
10.1-62

Added Contact Inactive to the Contact Property (BCTPARM) section. Creates the CSTRAT field on the BCTPARM entry. Added Penalty Factor Units to Common Contact (BCTPARM) and Glue Parameters (BGPARM) section. Creates the PENTYP field on the BCTPARM or PGPARM entry.
NX Adv Nonlin tab Added Glued Contact Property (BGSET) section with Extension Factor option. Extension Factor enters a value in the EXTi field specified on the BGSET entry for the contact pair i. Specifies an extension factor for the target region. Removed the Time Activation section and moved Birth Time and Death Time options to the General section. Added Friction Delay option to Standard Contact Algorithm section. Moved all options found in the Rigid Target Contact Algorithm section except Normal Modulus to a the Old Algorithm (RTALG=1 on NXSTRAT) section of the NX Adv Nonlin Rigid Target Algorithm dialog box, which is accessed by clicking the Rigid Target Options button. Normal Modulus is found in Common Options.
Added Penetration Cutback and Max Penetration options to the Old Algorithm (RTALG=1 on NXSTRAT) section of the NX Adv Nonlin Rigid Target Algorithm dialog box. Added Max Tensile Contact Force (TFORCE), Max Sliding Velocity (SLIDVEL), Oscillation Check (OCHECK), Contact Gap (GAPBIAS), and Offset Method (OFFDET) options to the Current Algorithm (RTALG=0 on NXSTRAT) section of the NX Adv Nonlin Rigid Target Algorithm dialog box.
NX Explicit tab Renamed Rigid Contact Algorithm section to Old Rigid Contact Algorithm section. Added Current Rigid Target Algorithm section with Max Sliding Velocity (SLIDVEL), Contact Gap (GAPBIAS), and Offset Method (OFFDET) options.
Geometry
Updated Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Update Surfaces flag to be on by default. Added Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Offset Curve/Washer command.
Geometry
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Washer mode should only be used for circular holes on planar surfaces, while Offset Curves is a more general mode that can be used for oblong holes, slots, and other general shapes on many different types of geometric surfaces.
In either mode, once you click OK in the Define Washer or Offset Curves dialog box, FEMAP will ask you to select the appropriate curves to offset. For Washer mode, only curves that make up circular holes will be eligible for selection and only one curve per hole is required. In Offset Curves mode, all types of curves are eligible for selection and you will want to select all curves to be offset. Clicking Cancel in the Entity Selection - Select Edges dialog box FEMAP will return you to the Define Washer or Offset Curves dialog box. You can now change the mode and size options, then click OK and choose different curves. Click Cancel in the Define Washer or Offset Curves dialog box to exit the command.
Washer Mode
In Washer mode you will first want to enter an Offset, then choose whether or not to Save Split Lines. By saving the split lines, a line will be created from the end points of each curve in the circular hole to the end points of the new offset curves, which will create an individual surface set-up for mapped meshing.
With Save Split Lines Checked
Without Save Split Lines Checked
Offset Curves Mode

In Offset Curves mode you also enter an Offset, but in this mode you have more choices. Again, you can choose whether or not to Save Split Lines, but this time every selected curve will get an individual surface set-up for mapped meshing.
Without Save Split Lines Checked
With Save Split Lines Checked
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AutoSelect Surfaces will automatically offset the selected curves to ALL of the surfaces connected to those curves. If you would like to choose which surfaces get the new offset curves, uncheck AutoSelect Surfaces. You will be prompted for the surfaces after you have selected the curves and clicked OK.
With AutoSelect Surfaces checked
With AutoSelect Surfaces unchecked and only top surface selected.
When Extend Splits is on, FEMAP will try to extend all offset curves that do not meet up with another offset curve to the closest edge of the surface onto which the curve was offset. In most cases, this should be checked if Save Split Lines has not been checked.
With Extend Splits unchecked
Curve does not extend Enough to break surface fully.
With Extend Splits checked Curve extends to fully break surface
Geometry
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If Update Surfaces is on, the affected surface will also be partitioned by this command. Note: Due to the process used in the Offset Curves mode, the specified Offset can not be larger than the radius of any of the chosen curves. If you receive the message Error sweeping along edge curves, offset not possible, try again using an Offset value reduced the by 25 %. Also, many times a larger offset can be used in conjugation with the Save Split Lines option turned on. Added Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Pad command.
Requires you to choose a circular edge on a surface to create a pad pattern around the hole. The pad pattern essentially creates a square a specified distance away from the center of the circular edge and then connects the midpoints of each line of the square to four points on the circle (usually located at 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees). The distance the curves of the pad are positioned from the selected hole is determined by the Pad Size Factor. The Pad Size Factor uses the diameter of the hole to calculate the size of the pad. If it is set to 1, the pad will extend out half the length of the diameter (the radius) in all directions. If it is set to 1.25, it will create the lines 0.625 times the radius in all directions, while setting it to 0.75 will create the lines 0.375 times the radius. When Setup Mapped Meshing is on, the four newly created surfaces will automatically have a Four Corner mesh approach set on them. For more information on mesh approaches, see Section 5.1.1.15, "Mesh, Mesh Control, Approach On Surface".
Pad Size Factor = 0.75
If only a portion of a hole has been selected (a curve which is not 180 degrees or a full 360 degree curve), you will also be prompted for a Pad/Width Length, select a point as the Pad Center, then specify an Pad Alignment Vector. If Update Surfaces is on, the affected surface will also be partitioned by this command. Added Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Point to Point command.
Creates a parametric curve along a surface by choosing a start point and an end point.
If Update Surfaces is on, the affected surface will also be partitioned by this command. Added Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Point to Edge command.
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Creates a parametric curve along a surface by choosing a point and then a curve on the same surface. The location of the newly created point on the chosen curve is created by projecting the chosen point onto the selected curve using the shortest possible distance.
Selected Curve
If Update Surfaces is on, the affected surface will also be partitioned by this command. Added Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Edge to Edge command.
Creates parametric curves along a surface by choosing a single curve (To Curve) on a surface and then a choosing any number of curves also on that surface (From Curves). The locations of the newly created points on the From Curve are created by projecting the end points of all the To Curves onto the From Curve using the shortest possible distance and then joining the two sets of points with parametric curves.
From Curves
To Curve
If Update Surfaces is on, the affected surface will also be partitioned by this command. Added Measure Distance icon button to Geometry, Midsurface, Automatic command.
Added Geometry, Midsurface, Offset Tangent Surfaces command.
This command is for use on solids of constant thickness only. You will be prompted for a seed surface, then a tangency tolerance. All of the surfaces tangent to the seed surface within the tangency tolerance will be chosen and highlighted. Next a Mid-Surface Tangent Offset value needs to be entered. This value is the distance used to offset the selected surfaces towards the middle of the solid part. FEMAP will attempt to calculate this value automatically and will fill the value in if successful. The offset surfaces will be automatically stitched together and finally you will be asked if you want to delete the original solid.
Geometry
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Original geometry
Surface selected as Seed Surface
Tangent Surfaces Selected
Resulting midsurface geometry (original Geometry deleted)
Added Ok to Consolidate Properties by Thickness? question to Geometry, Midsurface, Assign Mesh Attributes command after the material has been chosen.
If you answer No, each selected surface will have an individual property created representing the thickness of that portion of the model and assigned to that surface only. If you answer Yes, you will also be prompted for a thickness percentage tolerance and any surfaces which have the same thickness, within the specified tolerance, will have a single property created for all of them, then assigned. Along with the property information, the mesh options on each surface will set to use the Quad surface mesher Added Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add command.
Allows you to create Non-Manifold Solid Geometry, an option in the Parasolid modeling kernel which creates General Bodies as opposed to regular solids (FEMAP solids) and sheet solids (FEMAP surfaces). The command allows you to Boolean Add sheet solids to one another, as well as add sheet solids to Parasolid solids. The use of Non-Manifold Geometry can be very useful in creation of mid-surface models with T-Junctions, models where shell elements (2-D) and solid elements (3-D) need to be connected and portions of the shell mesh are embedded into the solid mesh, and solids with internal surfaces used in certain types of analysis. Note: When bodies have been added together using NonManifold Add, many of the other commands on the Geometry, Solid... menu will not function as they did before the geometry was changed from regular geometry to general body geometry. A good idea is to have both the surfaces and solids ready to go before using the NonManifold Add command. If you need to stitch or add more bodies into those that have been put together with this command, you will want to use the Geometry, Surface, Recover Manifold Geometry command to recover component solids and sheet solids, which will allow you to use the commands on the Geometry, Solid... menu. Added Geometry, Surface, Recover NonManifold Geometry command.
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Essentially the opposite of the Geometry, Solid, NonManifold Add command. The command will take all selected general bodies in your model and separate them into component Manifold parasolid solids (FEMAP solids) and sheet solids (FEMAP Surfaces). Once the Manifold solids and sheet solids have been recovered, the commands on the Geometry, Solid... menu will be available to modify and operate on the geometry again. Note: To break a general body into individual sheet solids for each and every surface, use the Geometry, Solid, Explode command.
Added Cleanup Mergeable Curves option to Geometry, Solid Stitch command\
When Cleanup Mergeable Curves is on, which is the default, FEMAP will remove all internal curves which are redundant. The stitched geometry will contain as few surfaces as possible by removing curves which are not needed to define the overall topology of the geometry. When off, all of the surfaces being stitched together will remain in the geometry. Original Geometry Stitched Geometry Cleanup Mergeable Curves On Stitched Geometry Cleanup Mergeable Curves Off
Added Modify, Update Other, Solid Facetting command. Added option to Modify, Project, Point along Vector and Modify, Project, Node along Vector commands to project in both directions along the vector.
Groups and Layers

Improved Group, Operations, Add Related Entities to include coordinate systems used as definition coordinate systems for Coordinate Systems in the selected group and include reference nodes on beams when the nodes are related to elements, properties, or materials in the selected group.
Views
Added options for Combined Curve, Element - Coordinate System, Combined - Eliminated Points, Combined Eliminated Curves, Combined - Eliminated Surfaces to the View, Options command. Added Rotate Around option to the View, Rotate, Model command (F8 key).
10.1-69
Using Rotate Around option You may choose any defined coordinate system in FEMAP to Rotate Around (default is 0..Basic Rectangular). This includes local coordinate systems and the chosen coordinate system will be used by both the scroll arrows and the standard orientation buttons. You may also choose -1..Screen Axes to have rotation via the scroll arrows occur using the screen axes where the screen X axis is always horizontal to the right, Y is always upward, and Z is always a vector perpendicular to your monitor (i.e., out of the screen). When -1..Screen Axes has been selected, the standard orientation buttons default to using 0..Basic Rectangular. Updated Default Direction of the Mouse Wheel for Zoom to match direction of mouse movement.

Transforming Output (on the fly)
Added Transformation buttons for the Deformation output vector and the Contour output vector to the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box. The Select PostProcessing Data dialog box is accessed by pressing the Deformed and Contour Data button in the View Select dialog box, clicking the Post Data icon on the Post Toolbar, right-mouse clicking in the graphics window and choosing Post Data from the menu, or choosing Post Data from the contextsensitive menu when a results set is highlighted in the Model Info tree. The Deformation and Contour Output Vectors can be transformed into different directions or coordinate systems using the Transformation buttons. The transformed output can then be viewed using any of the options in Deformed Style and/or Contour Style (except Beam Diagram and Contour Vector). This option is for display purposes only as additional output vectors are not created, as they are when using the Model, Output, Transform command. Also, the Post Titles will include information regarding the transformed output currently being displayed. Displacement Output Vector Transformation The Deformation Transformation dialog box allows you to choose a Destination to transform the chosen nodal output vector into and also which Active Components should be displayed in the plot of the deformation. The Destination options are: None - no transformation (default) Into CSys - transforms the output vector into an existing coordinate system Into Output CSys - transforms the nodal output vector into each nodes specified output coordinate system. In Active Components, choose which component(s) of the transformed output vector should be displayed. For instance, if you are showing 1..Total Translation in the 2..Basic Spherical coordinate system, you can choose to deform the model in only the Theta component of the translated vector (no R or Phi components).
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Contour Output Vector Transformation The Contour Transformation dialog box 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 predefined material directions, a selected coordinate system, or along a specified vector from the standard output orientation direction. Finally, solid element stresses and strains can be transformed into a single chosen coordinate system or the current material direction (Material Axes) specified on the solid properties of the solid elements currently being displayed. Nodal Vector Output In 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 Strains The 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/Property Type, then click Element Material Orientation) or at anytime using the Modify, Update Elements, Material Angle command (for more information, see Section 4.7.3.13, "Modify, Update Elements, Material Angle..."), 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 component 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.
Note: Before using the Into Matl Direction method, be sure to refer to your analysis program documentation to see how material orientation angles are used and to find any limitations. The other input required for the proper transformation of plate element output is the definition of the original component data, which can be selected using the Output Orientation button. Please see the Output Orientation section below. Solid Stresses and Strains Stresses 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)
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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. For Example, model run using three different options for solid element material axis..
Solid Element Output recovered in Global Rectangular Coordinate System Solid Element Output recovered in Global Spherical Coordinate System Solid Element Output aligned to Individual Elements
Each material axis option transformed into a specified coordinate system.

Solid Element Output recovered in Global Rectangular Coordinate System transformed into Global Spherical Coordinate System. Solid Element Output recovered in Global Spherical Coordinate System transformed into Global Rectangular Coordinate System Solid Element Output aligned to Individual Elements transformed into Global Spherical Coordinate System
Output Orientation The Current Output Orientation dialog box contains the default output orientation for both Plane and Solid elements. 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. 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).
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Pressing the Reset button when the Current Output Orientation dialog box is accessed through either the Deformation Transformation or Contour Transformation dialog box will reset all of the output orientation options to the values 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.
Transforming Output (new output vectors)

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. When you choose this command, you will see the Transform Output Data dialog box. There are seven transform options available: Vector Output (into CSys) Vector Output (into Node Output CSys) Plate Forces, Stresses and Strains (into Matl Direction) Plate Forces, Stresses and Strains (into CSys) Plate Forces, Stresses and Strains (along Vector) Solid Stresses and Strains (into CSys) Solid Stresses and Strains (into Matl Direction) Vector Output When you choose the Vector Output (into CSys) option: 1. Use the Into CSys field to choose the coordinate system that you want to transform into. 2. Select the output set and output vector that you want to transform. Typically you will want to pick the Total vector, (like Total Translation), not a component vector (like X or T1 Translation). If you want to transform just the vector that you select, make certain that All Sets is not checked. If you want to transform that vector in every output set, turn on All Sets. When using the Vector Output (into Node Output CSys) option, you will only have to do step 2 above. FEMAP will transform the selected output vectors into each selected nodes specified output coordinate system. What You Get - Vector Output This command creates 12 new output vectors from the single vector that you select. These vectors are the three transformed components of the original global data, and nine additional vectors that are the global X, Y, Z components of the transformed components. FEMAP needs these additional nine vectors so that you can use the transformed component vectors for deformed plots, arrow plots, or other post-processing options that work with global components. Plate Forces, Stresses, and Strains These options allow you to transform standard component plate forces, stresses, and strains to a specified material angle, a chosen axis of an existing coordinate system, or by simply specifying a vector. If you want to see component stresses output using the into Matl Direction option, you will first want to set the material angle for the elements using the Modify, Update Elements, Material Angle command (for more information, see Section 4.7.3.13, "Modify, Update Elements, Material Angle..."), which has several options. FEMAP then
Geometry Interfaces
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uses the material angle for each output and the standard output vectors in the selected output set (unless you select All Sets) to transform the components into the material angle coordinate system for each element. Note: Before using the into Matl Direction method, be sure to refer to your analysis program documentation to see how material orientation angles are used and to find any limitations. When using the into Csys option, the vector and resulting angle are simply defined along a selected coordinate direction (X, Y, or Z) of an existing coordinate system selected from the Into CSys drop-down list. This method is especially useful if you want to align the material axes to the radial or tangential direction in a cylindrical or spherical coordinate system. If you choose the along Vector option, you will want to click the Vector button to also specify a vector. The standard vector definition dialog box will appear to allow you to assign a vector direction. FEMAP will transform the output for each element and align the X-direction of the output vector with the specified vector. The other input required for the transformation of plate element output is the definition of the original component data, which can be selected using the Output Orientation button. Please see the Output Orientation section below for more information. The new component plate forces, stresses, and strains will be placed in the user defined output vector numbers (9,000,000+). Solid Stresses and Strains These options allow you to transform standard component solid stresses and strains from the Material Axes specified 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") to a specified existing coordinate system or 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. The new component solid stresses and strains will be placed in the user defined output vector numbers (9,000,000+). Output Orientation The Current Output Orientation dialog box contains the default output orientation for both Plate and Solid elements. 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. For solids, there are three orientation options (0..Material Direction, 1..Global Rectangular, or 2..Element) for different material types associated with solid properties (Isotropic, Anisotropic, and Hyperelastic). Pressing the Reset button when the Current Output Orientation dialog box is accessed through either the Transform Output Data dialog box will reset all of the output orientation options to the values 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".
Geometry Interfaces
Added support for direct geometry import of SolidWorks parts and assemblies. Changed CATIA V5 direct geometry translator. CATIA V5 versions R7 to R18 are supported. Reading of CATParts and CATProducts created using versions prior to R7 is not supported
The following FEMAP interfaces have been updated to support newer geometry formats: FEMAP Interface Parasolid Solid Edge NX Pro/Engineer Latest Supported Version Parasolid 20.0 Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology (V 21) NX 6 Wildfire 4
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FEMAP Interface ACIS CATIA V5 SolidWorks
Latest Supported Version ACIS 19 Service Pack 1 V5 release 18 SolidWorks 2009
For details, see Geometry Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
Analysis Program Interfaces

Several of the analysis program interfaces have been improved. These changes include: Analysis Set Manager Enhancements on page 74 FEMAP Neutral File Interface on page 74 NX Nastran Interface on page 74 Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC/MD) on page 75 MSC/MD Nastran Interface on page 75 NEi Nastran Interface on page 75 ANSYS Interface on page 75 ABAQUS Interface on page 76 DYNA Interface on page 76
Analysis Set Manager Enhancements

For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide. Added Analyze Multiple option. This accesses a multi-select dialog box which allows you to pick any number of Analysis Sets and run them one after another.
FEMAP Neutral File Interface

Removed option for choosing Binary and Formatted in File Format Section. All Neutral files are Formatted. Updated Neutral Read and Write for v10.0 changes
NX Nastran Interface
A number of bugs were corrected Added support for triangle and quadrilateral axisymmetric elements (CTRAX3, CTRAX6, CQUADX4, and CQUADX8), which were new for NX Nastran version 6. Added option for Extended Solution Status Monitoring. Writes SYSTEM(442)=-1 to the *.dat file. This option is on by default and the feedback it produces is used by the NX Nastran Analysis Monitor Added BOLTFACT to the PARAM section of the NASTRAN Bulk Data Options dialog box. Added Gaps as Contact to the Plate, Beam, and Rigid section of the NASTRAN Bulk Data Options dialog box. Writes out a BCSET entry in Case Control. Added Support for CQUADR and CTRIAR Composite Stress and Strain output from the op2.
Solution 601 updates Added Large Strain Form (ULFORM), Incompatible Mode for 4 Node Shells (ICMODE), Max Disp/Iteration (MAXDISP), and Drilling DOF Factor (DRILLKF) options to the Analysis Options section of NXSTRAT Solver Parameters dialog box. Added Bolt Force Increments (BOLTSTP), Convert Dependency to True Stress (CVSSVAL), and Allow Element Rupture (XTCURVE) options to the Other Parameters section of NXSTRAT Solver Parameters dialog box.
10.1-75
Added Line Search Lower Bound (LSLOWER) and Line Search Lower Bound (LSUPPER) options to the Line Search Setting section of NXSTRAT Iterations and Convergence Parameters dialog box. Added Do not allow Consistent Contact Forces (TNSLCF) and Use Old Rigid Target Algorithm (RTALG=1) options to the Contact Control section of NXSTRAT Iterations and Convergence Parameters dialog box. Changed Segment Type (CSTYPE) options from 0..Old and 1..New to 0..Linear Contact and 1..Element based in the Contact Control section of NXSTRAT Iterations and Convergence Parameters dialog box. Added support for 2-D Contact, usually used in analysis with axisymmetric elements. Added support for Glued Contact.
Solution 701 updates Added Contact Control section to NXSTRAT Solver Parameters dialog box. Added Segment Type (CSTYPE) and Use Old Rigid Target Algorithm (RTALG=1) to this section. Added Other Parameters section to NXSTRAT Solver Parameters dialog box. Added Convert Dependency to True Stress (CVSSVAL) and Allow Element Rupture (XTCURVE) options to this section.
For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.

Added support for -2..Automatic(Statics) for INREL to the PARAM section of the NASTRAN Bulk Data Options dialog box. Added support for SUPORT1 to the Boundary Conditions dialog box. Added support for Fastener elements (CFAST) and properties (PFAST). Added support for spring/damper elements (CELAS1 and CDAMP1) which use a property (PELAS and PDAMP). How the spring/damper elements are exported to the Nastran input file is controlled via the element formulation. Added Beam/Bar Cross-Section Dimensions as comments when Nastran input file is written. When a Nastran file with these comments is imported into FEMAP, the Beam/Bar Cross-Section Dimensions will be filled-in. Added support for reading Nastran Free-Field Auto Continuation (long entries with or without embedded continuation fields and large-field free field). Changed SESTATICS to SESTATIC, which is correct for Nastran Supported reading results from multiple subcases (and not overwriting) from modal frequency and nonlinear (static and transient)
A number of bugs were corrected For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
MSC/MD Nastran Interface

NEi Nastran Interface

ANSYS Interface
Added support for MPC184 rigid beam/link elements. Specified using element Formulation. Added support for output from rigid elements (Rigid Axial Force, Rigid Y Moment, Rigid Z Moment, Rigid Y Shear Force, Rigid Z Shear Force, and Rigid Torsional Moment)
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ABAQUS Interface
DYNA Interface
Added support for 10-noded tetrahedral elements. Also, added 16..10 Node Tetrahedron - EQ 16 and 17..10 Node Composite Tetrahedron formulations. Added support for Rigid and Interpolation elements. Writes *CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY (Rigid) and *CONSTRAINED_INTERPOLATION (Interpolation) entries.
Tools
Check, Coincident Elem... Added choice between Quick Check (Just Corners) and Full Check and added Check Rigid Element option. Quick Check (Just Corners) FEMAP will only compare elements with the same number of end or corner nodes to one another to determine if they are coincident. This option will find a linear element and parabolic element coincident if the two elements share all corner nodes. You can only use the Check Elements with Different Types and/or Check Mass Elements options with this procedure. Full Check This method checks all nodes of all elements to determine coincidence based on the options selected. Also, two additional options, Check Elements with Different Shape and Check Rigid Elements are only available when using this method. Check Rigid Elements This option includes Rigid elements in the check. Of course, if a rigid element shares all of the same nodes with another rigid element, those elements are considered coincident. Also, if a single leg of a rigid spider element (independent node to dependent node) is shared with a leg of another rigid spider element, those elements will be considered coincident. Finally, when the Check Elements of Different Types and Check Elements of Different Shape are both on, a line element (bar, beam, tube, etc.) which shares both nodes with a leg of a rigid spider element will be considered coincident. Check, Distortion Added Permanent and Reset buttons to the Check Element Distortions dialog box. Pressing the Reset button will set the values to the default values currently specified for each distortion check in the Element Distortion Preferences dialog box, which is accessed from the Geometry/Model tab of File, Preferences command. Pressing the Permanent button will take the values currently specified in this dialog box and make them the default values for Element Distortion Preferences. Added Nastran Warping and Combined Element Checks Nastran Warping Checking... ... evaluates the planarity of element faces, using the same equations Nastran uses when using the GEOMCHECK option Q4_WARP. This check only looks at quadrilateral faces. Internally, the Nastran Warping factor is defined by determining the distance of the corner points of the element to the mean plane of the nodes divided by the average of the elements diagonal lengths. For flat elements, all of the corner nodes lie on a plane, therefore the Nastran Warping factor is zero.
OLE/COM API
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Combined (Quality) Checking... The combined element quality ranges from 0.0 (good) to 1.0 (bad). Any values outside this range will return a value of 1.0 and therefore indicate the element quality is not adequate. Combined Quality is useful as it provides a single value that attempts to indicate overall quality while dynamically modifying nodal locations or changing mesh sizes. It is not a guarantee that a model will solve. The value for Combined Quality is determined using the maximum value of these seven values: Aspect Ratio, Taper, Alternate Taper, Internal Angle, Warping, Nastran Warping, and Jacobian. Only element checks which are currently on and applicable to the element shape will be used when calculating the Combined Quality. Also, the values currently specified in the Check Element Distortions dialog box for each quality check are used by the Combined Quality calculation. Note: Customized default values for each of the element distortion checks can be set in File, Preferences on the Geometry/Model tab by pressing the Element Distortion button. See Section 2.6.2.6, "Geometry/ Model" for more information. If the distortion check calculated for Combined Quality is less than 0.75 times the value specified for a particular distortion check, the corresponding value is set to 0.0. If the calculated distortion check value is more than the value specified for a particular distortion check, the corresponding value is 1.0. The Combined Quality values are linearly interpolated between 75% and 100% of the specified value for each distortion check. Here is a plot of % of distortion value vs. Combined Quality value:
OLE/COM API
New API Objects and Attributes Added NasExecSolutionMonitor, NasBulkInrelVal, NasBulkGapsAsContact, NasBulkBoltFact, and NasBulkBoltFactVal to AnalysisMgr object Added NasNXStratMaxDisp, NasNXStratBoltstp, NasNXStratCvssval, NasNXStratXtcurve, NasNXStratRtalg, NasNXStratTnslcf, NasNXStratDrillkf, NasNXStratLslower, and NasNXStratLsupper to AnalysisMgr object. Added InternalToBoundary and InCombinedCurve to Curve object. Added InternalToBoundary, attrTopology, attrMesher, attrMappedLevel, attrMapSubdivisions, attrMapEqualOnly, attrMapAltTri, attrMapRightBias, attrMapSplitQuads, attrMapAngleDeviation, attrMapMinCornerAngle, attrMidsideGeom, attrMidsideAngle, attrMinBetween, attrMaxAspect, attrQuickCutNodes, attrQuickCutAngle, attrSmoothLaplacian, attrSmoothIter, attrSmoothTolerance, attrConnectEdgeNodes, attrConnectEdgeNodeTol, attrOffsetFrom, attrInitialized, and attrPostMeshCleanup to Surface object
10.1-78
Added RotateCSys, TransformDeformMode, TransformDeformCSys, TransformDeformX, TransformDeformY, TransformDeformZ, TransformNodalMode, TransformNodalCSys, TransformPlateMode, TransformPlateCSys, TransformPlateDOF, vTransformPlateVector, TransformPlateVector, TransformSolidMode, and TransformSolidCSys to View object. Added Info_OrientSolidIsoOutput, Info_OrientSolidAnisoOutput, Info_OrientSolidHyperOutput, Info_OrientTria3StressOuput, Info_OrientTria3StrainOuput, Info_OrientTria3ForceOuput, Info_OrientTria6StressOuput, Info_OrientTria6StrainOuput, Info_OrientTria6ForceOuput, Info_OrientQuad4StressOuput, Info_OrientQuad4StrainOuput, Info_OrientQuad4ForceOuput, Info_OrientQuad8StressOuput, Info_OrientQuad8StrainOuput, Info_OrientQuad8ForceOuput to the Global Properties of the main FEMAP application object. Added Pref_ReadTabSize, PickBoundaryInternalMode, and PickCombinedCurveInternalMode to the Global Properties of the main FEMAP application object.
New API Methods Added SelectID, NextInSet, FirstInSet, and Count methods to the Common Entity Properties object Added OutputVectors method to the OutputSet object Added AnalyzeMultiple method to AnalysisMgr object Added GetMeshLoc, GetMeshLocXYZ, IsSmoothEdge, Surfaces, SurfacesAsSet, ElementsAsSet, NodesAsSet, Normal, IsCombinedCurve, GetCombinedCurves, CombineCurves, CombineCurvesAsSet, and Facets methods to Curve object Added AddOutput method to DataTable object Added GetCentroid, GetEdgeNodes, GetFaceNodes, and IsParabolic methods to Elem object Added Add method to Group object Added GetPly, SetPly, GetAllPly, and SetAllPly methods to Layup object Added InCombinedCurve, NodesAsSet, Curves, CurvesAsSet, and SurfacesAsSet methods to Point object Added SharedDelete, JumpToEnd, Size, Time Created, TimeWritten, and TimeAccessed methods to Read object Added RemoveNotCommon, RemoveNotCommonToGroup, RemoveGroup, Debug, IsSetAdded, ConvertToAllSurfaces, ConvertToBoundarySurfaces, ConvertToBoundarySurfacesOnly, ConvertToInternalSurfaces, ConvertToAllCurves, ConvertToCombinedCurves, ConvertToCombinedCurvesOnly, ConvertToInternalCurves, IsArrayAdded, HasCommon, and RemoveArray methods to Set object Added CurvesAsSet, SurfacesAsSet, ElementsAsSet, and NodesAsSet methods to Solid object Added Current method to Sort object Added NormalAtXYZ, NormalBox, BoundarySurfaces, AdjacentSurfaces, BoundarySurfacesAsSet, AdjacentSurfacesAsSet, CurvesAsSet, PointsAsSet, EndPointsAsSet, ElementsAsSet, NodesAsSet, and Solid methods to Surface object
Updated and Corrected API Methods Updated Curves and Surfaces methods of Solid Object. Updated Curves and Points methods of Surface Object. The following functions have been added: feAppModelDefragment feGetElementEdges feElementFreeEdge feElementFreeFace feSurfaceNormalDeviation feAddToolbarSubmenuSubmenu
Preferences
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feBoundaryAddSurfaces feCoordVectorPlaneIntersect feSurfaceConvert feGroupMoveToLayer feBoundaryFromPoints feAutoMeshAssociativity feSolidStitchNoCleanup feAppVersion
The following functions have been fixed, changed or removed: feFilePictureSave has been modified to support new file types available in File, Picture, Save. feOutputTransform has been modified to support new options available in Model, Output, Transform. feRenumber has been modified to allow renumbering of Layups, Connectors, Regions, Connection Properties, Functions, Analysis Sets, and Layers. feDelete has been modified to allow deleting of Layups, Analysis Sets in the Analysis Manager, Connection Properties, and Connectors.
Preferences
Views Removed preference for Autoplot Created/Modified Geometry. FEMAP needs to do this in order to function properly. Render Added preference for XOR Picking Graphics. XOR picking effects how entities are highlighted when graphically picking in FEMAP. This was the only picking graphics method in FEMAP before version 10. With the advent of Windows Vista, picking was not able to draw to the screen image directly which made XOR picking much less efficient (slower) on some graphics cards. If XOR picking is off, FEMAP basically draws a bitmap of the screen image and then determines the color that is the XOR of the entity color and draws the entity twice, once with the XOR of the entity color but larger or thicker and once with the entity color. Un-highlighting is done by redrawing the bitmap of the screen. In non Vista hardware, turning XOR picking on will likely give better clarity but for Vista, performance is better with it off. Added preference for Dialog Refresh.
With certain graphics cards, the view will not be redrawn behind open dialog boxes, thus if the dialog box is moved after the model has been dynamically rotated the display may not be correct. When this option is on, FEMAP will force a redraw of the graphics window. Added preference for Block Size.
The block size determines the size of blocked data in collectors used by FEMAP internally. If you have a few large collectors, a larger block size should provide better performance. On the other hand, if you have a large number of small collectors (i.e., often happens with laminates), you might use a great deal of memory with too large a block size, so selecting a smaller block size should be beneficial. User Interface Updated how Load Layout works when loading a layout from an older version of the software into a newer version. If a *.LAYOUT file is loaded into a newer version of the software, only Shortcut Keys and User Commands will be updated, while Menus and Toolbars and Panes will not. Geometry/Model Added Construction Geometry - when used preference. Allows you to choose how construction geometry will be handled in FEMAP after the construction geometry has been used by another geometry command. In simplest terms, construction geometry is a curve used to create a
10.1-80
surface using certain methods on the Geometry, Surface... menu (Edge Curves, Aligned Curves, Ruled, Extrude, Revolve, and Sweep) or a surface or boundary surface used to create a solid via extruding or revolving. Construction geometry also includes any curves used by a construction surface and all points on construction curves. FEMAP has three options for handling construction geometry: 0..Delete (default) - All construction geometry will be automatically deleted from the model after use by one of the geometry commands specified above. 1..Move to NoPick Layer - Moves all construction geometry to layer 9999..Construction Layer. Layer 9999 is always the default NoPick Layer. When an entity is on the NoPick Layer and that layer is visible entities can be seen but not graphically selected from the graphics window. You will need to change the NoPick Layer to 0..None in order to select these entities graphically if you would like to use them again for any reason. 2..Do Nothing - Construction geometry will not be moved to Layer 9999..Construction Layer and will also not be deleted from the model. All construction geometry will remain in the model on the original layer and be available for graphical selection when the layer containing the geometry is visible. Note: The only option available for construction geometry in FEMAP prior to version 10, was 1..Move to NoPick Layer, so set this option to have FEMAP handle construction geometry as it has in the past.
Added Output Orientation button which accesses the Current Output Orientation dialog box. This dialog box allows you to choose the default orientation of the X direction for different types of output for different element types. The options set in this dialog box will be the default values set for all new models. These options can be changed on the fly for a particular model when using the Model, Output, Transform command (see Section 8.5.8, "Model, Output, Transform...") or when using the Transformation functionality of the View, Select command (see Section 8.2.2.2, "Selecting Data for a Deformed or Contour Style"). The Current Output Orientation dialog box contains the default output orientation for both Plate and Solid elements. 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). Defaults are for Nastran. Consult your analysis programs documentation concerning the original coordinate system definition. There are two options for triangular elements (0..First Edge or 1..Midside Locations) with the default being 0..First Edge First Edge Midside Locations
Node 1
Node 2
Node 1
Node 2
0..First Edge orients the element X-direction to a vector between Node 1 and Node 2 of the element, while 1..Midside Locations orients the element X-direction to a vector from the midpoint between Node 1 and Node 3 to the midpoint between Node 2 and Node 3. There are three options for quadrilateral elements (0..First Edge, 1..Midside Locations, or 2..Diagonal Bisector) with 2..Diagonal Bisector being the default.
Preferences
10.1-81
First Edge
Node 4
Node 3
Midside Locations
Node 4
Node 3
Diagonal Bisector
Node 4
Node 3
Node 1
Node 2 Node 1
Node 2
Node 1
Node 2
0..First Edge orients the element X-direction to a vector between Node 1 and Node 2 of the element, while 1..Midside Locations orients the element X-direction to a vector from the midpoint between Node 1 and Node 4 to the midpoint between Node 2 and Node 3. 2..Diagonal Bisector orients the X-direction of the elements to a vector originating from the point where a line from Node 2 to Node 4 intersects a line from Node 1 to Node 3 and extends out following a vector which bisects the angle from Node 2 to the Intersection point to Node 3. For solids, there are three orientation options (0..Material Direction, 1..Global Rectangular, or 2..Element) for different material types associated with solid properties (Isotropic, Anisotropic, and Hyperelastic). Pressing the Reset button when the Current Output Orientation dialog box is accessed through the Preferences will reset all of the output orientation options to the default values set when FEMAP is first installed. Added Element Distortion button which accesses the Element Distortion Preferences dialog box. This dialog box allows you to set default values used when checking element distortions. Also, you may choose which element checks will be on by default when using the Tools, Check, Distortion command. The Element Distortion checks are: Aspect Ratio Taper Alternate Taper Internal Angles Warping Nastran Warping Tet Collapse Jacobian Combined See Section 7.4.5.6, "Tools, Check, Distortion..." for descriptions of the individual element distortion checks. The values set in this dialog box will be used for element distortion every time FEMAP is opened. If you change the values while FEMAP is open, those values will persist until that session of FEMAP has been closed. Pressing the Permanent button when using the Tools, Check, Distortion command will update these default values. Added Pre-v10 Tet Meshing and Pre-v10 Surface Meshing preferences. The tetrahedral and surface meshing in FEMAP has dramatically changed for version 10. You will find in the options of several of the Mesh, Geometry... commands, there are check boxes to use the pre-v10 meshers. These two switches in the preferences allow you to always use the pre-v10 tetrahedral and/or surface meshing if you feel more comfortable with these meshers and the associated default values they use.
10.1-82
Interfaces Added Improve Single Field Precision option. When this option is on, FEMAP will write all values specified using scientific notation or longer than 8 characters to the Nastran input file without the E designation. For instance, a value such as 4.86111E-4 in FEMAP would appear in the Nastran input file as 4.8611-4 when this option is on instead of 4.861E-4. Small field only. Colors Added preference for setting the default color of Combined Curves. Spaceball Added preference for Print Debug Messages.

Femap Tutorial 2

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Femap Tutorial 2

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Whats New in FEMAP

Finite Element Modeling

Whats New for version 10.1

Whats New for version 10.1

Model Info tree

Finite Element Modeling

Data Table/Entity Editor

Data Table/Entity Editor

Finite Element Modeling

Loads and Constraints

Loads and Constraints

Finite Element Modeling

Connections (Connection Properties, Regions, and Connectors)

Connections (Connection Properties, Regions, and Connectors)

Finite Element Modeling

Groups and Layers

Create new Group

Regular Group icon

Group containing Referenced Groups icon

Added ability to create Referenced Groups

Deactivate All Layers

Finite Element Modeling

Finite Element Modeling

Entity/Label Button Selected Only

Group Set to Show

Groups Set to Hide Referenced Group Set to Show

Green and Blue Group

Red, Yellow, and Cyan Group

Top 2 Rows Group

All Groups Clear (Whole Model shown)

Orange and Purple set to Show

Blue and Green and Top 2 Rows set to Show

L-Shaped set to Show, Yellow and Blue set to Hide

L-Shaped set to Hide, all other groups set to Show

Finite Element Modeling

New Layer icon button

Finite Element Modeling

Element, Material, and Property tabs

Translational Acceleration (-1 in Y-direction)

Rotational Acceleration (100 about X-axis)

Rotational Velocity (20 about X-Axis)

Finite Element Modeling

Output and Post-Processing

Output and Post-Processing

Finite Element Modeling

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

Analysis Program Interfaces

Finite Element Modeling

Analysis Set Manager Enhancements

FEMAP Neutral File Interface

Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC/MD)

Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC/MD)

Finite Element Modeling

MSC/MD Nastran Interface

NEi Nastran Interface

Finite Element Modeling

Whats New for versions 10.0 and 10.0.1

Whats New for versions 10.0 and 10.0.1

Finite Element Modeling

Finite Element Modeling

Surfaces joined using NonManifold Add

Surface and Solid joined using NonManifold Add

Finite Element Modeling