Workshop 3

Importing and Editing an Orphan Mesh:

Pump Model
Introduction
The structural response of the pump assembly shown in Figure W31 will be determined.
The assembly components include the pump housing (imported as an orphan mesh), a
gasket, a cover, and eight bolts (all imported as CAD geometry). The analysis involves
application of pre-tensioning loads in the bolts followed by internal pressure.

pump housing

bolts

gasket

cover

Figure W31. Pump assembly

In this workshop, you will create the parts of the model. Use the Part module of
ABAQUS/CAE to import the mesh of a pump housing. Some modifications of its
geometric features follow. The other components of the pump assembly (cover, gasket,
and bolts) will be imported as CAD geometry. All of the parts will be halved to take
advantage of symmetry.
Note: The parts created in this workshop will be used in subsequent workshops to build
the complete model and to perform the analysis. It is important that you use the
dimensions stated and not deviate from the workshop instructions; otherwise, you may
find it difficult to complete the subsequent workshops.

Orphan mesh import

Follow the steps below to import the mesh of the pump housing model.
1. Start a new session of ABAQUS/CAE from workshops/pump directory.
2. Switch to the Part module (optional).
3. From the main menu bar, select FileImportModel. From the list of
available models, select pump_ribs.inp.
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4. ABAQUS/CAE takes a few seconds to import the model. Once the model is
imported, you will be in the Assembly module. Switch back to the Part module.
Notice a new model (named pump_ribs) that contains the imported part (named
PUMP1) has been created. The model appears as shown in Figure W32.

Figure W32. Orphan mesh of pump housing

Editing nodal coordinates

Your first task will be to change the inner diameter of the hole that goes through the top
of the pump. The coordinates of the nodes along the inner diameter need to be changed.
Since these nodes lie on a circular surface, it will be advantageous to define a cylindrical
coordinate system and simply change the radial coordinate of the nodes. Follow the steps
below to achieve this task.
1. From the main menu bar, select ViewViews Toolbox. In the Views dialog
box, select the 12 view. Turn off the perspective view by clicking the Turn
Perspective Off tool ( ) and zoom into the component so that the hole is
clearly visible (see Figure W33).

Figure W33. Top view of pump housing

5. From the main menu bar, select ToolsDatum. The Create Datum dialog box
appears (see Figure W34). Select CSYS as the datum type. Select the 3 points
method, and click OK. When prompted for the type of coordinate system, choose
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Cylindrical. Place the coordinate system at the origin (0.0, 0.0, 0.0) and click
Create Datum.
A cylindrical datum coordinate system is created. The origin of the coordinate
system coincides with the position of the center of the hole.

Figure W34. Create Datum dialog box

6. You will now modify the inner diameter of the hole. From the main menu bar,
select PartMesh Tools. In the Mesh Tools dialog box, select Node as the
category and Edit as the method, as shown in Figure W35. Click OK to close
the dialog box and proceed.

Figure W35. Mesh Tools dialog box

7. You will be prompted to select the nodes to be modified. Begin by setting the
selection filters as shown in Figure W36 by clicking the Show/Hide Selection

Options tool, in the prompt area.

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Toggle off the selection of entities

closest to the screen

Circular drag shape Select entities inside the

drag shape

Figure W36. Selection filters

8. The nodes can be selected in one of two ways:
Try selecting the nodes individually (the default selection technique) using a
Circular Drag Shape. The center of the drag shape should be the center of the
cylindrical coordinate system defined earlier (see step 2). Select a perimeter point
for the drag shape such that you include all the nodes on the inside surface of the
hole. The selected nodes will be highlighted in red after the selection, as shown in
Figure W37. You may wish to rotate your model to check whether all the nodes
have been selected properly.
You may also select the nodes using the face angle method (i.e., by specifying the
maximum deviation in the angle between adjacent element faces). This technique
is generally more efficient than selecting the nodes individually: all nodes that
pertain to the element faces that satisfy the face angle criterion are automatically
selected. In the prompt area, choose by face angle as the method by which the
nodes will be selected. Then click on any element face located on the inner
surface of the hole. The nodes on the inner surface are highlighted in red after the
selection. As before, rotate your model to make sure all the nodes have been
selected properly.
Once you are satisfied with the selection (using either method), click Done in the
prompt area.

Figure W37. Modified nodes

9. The Edit Nodes dialog box appears, as shown in Figure W38. This dialog box
will be used to change the diameter of the hole. Click Select in the upper right
corner of the dialog box, and choose the cylindrical coordinate system defined in
step 2 by clicking on it in the viewport when prompted to choose a local
coordinate system.
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10. Using the Coordinates specification method, change the 1coordinate (i.e., the
radial coordinate) by selecting Specify from the pull down list and entering
0.65. Click OK to close the dialog box and then Done in the prompt area to
complete the operation.

Figure W38. Edit Nodes dialog box

Deleting elements
You will now remove the ribs on the pump housing and then you will remove half of the
part. Begin by removing some of the elements in the rib located near the front of the
housing, as shown in Figure W39. Use the 31 view from the Views Toolbox, and
rotate the pump to view one of the front ribs, as shown in Figure W39.

Figure W39. Rib elements

1. From the main menu bar, select PartMesh Tools. In the Mesh Tools dialog
box, select Element as the category and Delete as the method. Click OK.
11. When prompted to select the elements to be deleted, use the Show/Hide
Selection Options tool to change the drag shape to a Polygon. Select some of
the elements located near the 90 bend of the rib, as shown in Figure W39.
12. In the prompt area, toggle on Delete associated unreferenced nodes.
13. Zoom out and rotate the view to confirm that only elements pertaining to the ribs
have been selected. If any other elements are highlighted, deselect them using
[Control]+Click. When you are satisfied with the selection, click Done to delete
the elements and their associated nodes.
14. The remaining ribs on the pump housing can be removed by selecting them
carefully in a similar fashion. However, this can be a tedious and time-consuming
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process for large, complicated models. To facilitate the process, you may delete
selected sets.
A. From the main menu bar, select PartMesh Tools. In the Mesh Tools
dialog box, click OK to continue deleting elements.
B. In the prompt area toggle on Delete associated unreferenced nodes.
C. In the prompt area, click Sets to open the Region Selection dialog box. In
this dialog box, select the set RIBS and toggle on Highlight selections in
viewport to highlight the elements belonging to this set.
D. Click Continue to delete the remaining rib elements.
E. Click Cancel to close the dialog box.

You will now halve the pump housing. Use the 12 view from the Views
Toolbox to facilitate element selection.

15. From the main menu bar, select PartMesh Tools. In the Mesh Tools dialog
box, click OK to continue deleting elements.
16. In the prompt area, toggle on Delete associated unreferenced nodes.
Tip: If the Region Selection dialog box appears, click Select in Viewport on
the right side of the prompt area so you can select elements in the viewport.
17. Select the upper half of the pump housing for deletion, as shown in W310. When
you are satisfied with the selection, click Done to delete the elements and their
associated nodes.
The half pump housing without the ribs is shown in Figure W311.
18. Save the model database. Name the model database file PumpAssy.cae.
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selected
elements rectangular drag
shape

Figure W310. Select half of the pump housing.

Figure W311. Halved pump housing without ribs

Importing CAD geometry

You will now import the remaining components of the assembly into ABAQUS/CAE.
19. From the main menu bar, select FileImportPart to open the Import Part
dialog box.
20. In this dialog box, set the file type to ACIS SAT. From the list of available files,
select cover.sat. Click Continue in the dialog box to proceed.
21. In the Create Part from ACIS File dialog box, select the Import - Repair tab
and toggle on all the available repair options. Click OK to close the dialog box
and continue.
The imported part is shown in Figure W312a.
22. After the part is imported, use the Geometry diagnostics part query tools
(ToolsQuery) to check for any invalid or imprecise entities.
23. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to import the part defined in file gasket.sat.
The imported part is shown in Figure W312b.
24. Import the part defined in file n_bolts.sat without any repair options turned
on. The imported part is shown in Figure W312c.
25. Review the different parts of your model. Query the important dimensions using
the Query tools and note them for future reference.
26. Save your model database as PumpAssy.cae.
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(a) cover (b) gasket

(c) bolts

Figure W312. Components of pump assembly

Halving the imported geometry

You will now remove half of each of the imported parts. Begin with the cover.
1. From the Part list located under the tool bar, select cover to access the cover
geometry.
27. From the main menu bar, select ViewSpecify. Using the Viewpoint method,
enter the coordinates of the viewpoint as 0,0,-1 and the coordinates of the up
vector as 0,-1,0. Click OK to apply the view and close the dialog box.
Next, create a datum axis using the steps outlined below. This axis will be used to
orient the part in the sketch plane when creating the cut profile.
28. From the main menu bar, select ToolsDatum.
29. In the Create Datum dialog box, choose Axis as the type and Principal Axis
as the method. Click OK.
30. Choose the principal Y-Axis as the datum axis.
31. From the main menu bar, select ShapeCutExtrude.
32. Select the top surface of the cover, indicated in Figure W313, as the plane on
which to sketch.
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sketch plane

datum axis

Figure W313. Sketch plane and datum axis

33. Select the datum axis as the edge that will appear vertical and on the right of the
sketch.
34. From the main menu bar, select AddLineRectangle. Sketch a rectangle
enclosing the upper half of the cover, as shown in Figure W314.

cut rectangle

Figure W314. Cut profile

35. Click mouse button 2 to continue, and click Done in the prompt area.
36. In the Edit Cut Extrusion dialog box, choose the end condition Through All.
The direction of extrusion is into the cover. Click OK.
The final cover geometry is shown in Figure W315.

Figure W315. Cover

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Similarly, halve the gasket and bolt parts.
2. From the Part list located under the tool bar, select gasket to access the gasket
geometry. Use the 12 view from the Views Toolbox.
37. As before, define the datum axis to orient the part. From the main menu bar,
select ToolsDatum.
38. In the Create Datum dialog box, click OK to create another Axis using the
Principal Axis method. Choose the principal Y-Axis as the datum axis.
39. From the main menu bar, select ShapeCutExtrude.
40. Select the top surface of the gasket as the plane on which to sketch, as shown in
Figure W316. Select the datum axis as the edge that will appear vertical and on
the right of the sketch.
41. From the main menu bar, select AddLineRectangle. Sketch a rectangle
enclosing the upper half of the gasket, as shown in Figure W316.
surfaces selected as sketch planes

cut rectangle
(a) gasket (b) bolts

Figure W316. Cut profiles

42. Click mouse button 2 to continue, and click Done in the prompt area.
43. In the Edit Cut Extrusion dialog box, choose the end condition Through All.
The direction of extrusion is into the gasket. Click OK.
44. Repeat steps 12 through 19 to remove four of the bolts from the part named
n_bolts. Note that the top surface of any of the bolts to the left of the datum axis
may be used as the sketch plane for the extruded cut.
The final gasket and bolt parts are shown in Figure W317.
45. Save the model database as PumpAssy.cae.
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(a) gasket (b) bolts

Figure W317. Gasket and bolts