Hyper Mesh

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HyperMesh Introduction
Pre-processing for Finite Element Analysis
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HyperWorks 11.0 Release Notes
Trademark and Registered Trademark Acknowledgments

Listed below are Altair HyperWorks applications. Copyright Altair Engineering Inc., All Rights Reserved for:

HyperMesh 1990-2011; HyperCrash 2001-2011; OptiStruct 1996-2011; RADIOSS 1986-2011; HyperView

1999-2011; HyperView Player 2001-2011; HyperStudy 1999-2011; HyperGraph 1995-2011; MotionView 1993-

2011; MotionSolve 2002-2011; HyperForm 1998-2011; HyperXtrude 1999-2011; Process Manager 2003-2011;
Templex 1990-2011; Data Manager 2005-2011; MediaView 1999-2011; BatchMesher 2003-2011;
TextView 1996-2011; HyperMath 2007-2011; ScriptView 2007-2011; Manufacturing Solutions 2005-2011;
HyperWeld 2009-2011; HyperMold 2009-2011; solidThinking 1993-2011; solidThinking Inspired 2009-2011;
Durability Director 2009-2011; Suspension Director 2009-2011; AcuSolve 1997-2011; and AcuConsole
2006-2011.
In addition to HyperWorks trademarks noted above, GridWorks, PBS Gridworks, PBS
Professional, PBS and Portable Batch System are trademarks of ALTAIR ENGINEERING INC., as
is patent # 6,859,792. All are protected under U.S. and international laws and treaties. All other marks
are the property of their respective owners.
Table of Contents
Pre-processing for Finite Element Analysis
Chapter 1: Basic Interaction with HyperMesh ...................................................... 1

Section 1: Getting Started With HyperMesh ..................................................................... 1
Section 2: Opening and Saving Files ................................................................................ 6
Section 3: Working With Panels ........................................................................................ 8
Section 4: Organizing a Model ........................................................................................ 13
Section 5: Controlling the Display ................................................................................... 16
Exercise 1: Interacting With HyperMesh ......................................................................... 20
Chapter 2: Geometry Clean-up ............................................................................. 29

Section 1: Importing and Repairing CAD ........................................................................ 29
Section 2: Generating a Midsurface ................................................................................ 35
Section 3: Simplifying Geometry ..................................................................................... 38
Exercise 2a: Midsurface.................................................................................................. 40
Exercise 2b Defeaturing.................................................................................................. 44
Exercise 2c Importing and Repairing CAD Geometry (optional) ..................................... 47
Chapter 3: Shell Meshing ..................................................................................... 55

Section 1: Automeshing .................................................................................................. 55
Section 2: Checking and Editing Mesh ........................................................................... 62
Exercise 3a: 2D Shell Meshing and Topology Refinement ............................................. 64
Exercise 3b: Refining Topology to Achieve a Quality Mesh (optional)............................ 71
Exercise 3c: Checking and Editing Mesh (optional) ........................................................ 80
Section 3: Batch Meshing ............................................................................................... 93
HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction i
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Chapter 4: 3D Solid Meshing with Hexas and Pentas ........................................ 97
Section 1: Creating and Editing Solid Geometry............................................................. 97
Section 2: Solid Meshing............................................................................................... 101
Exercise 4a: 3D Solid Meshing with Hexas and Pentas ............................................... 106
Section 3: Shrink Wrap ................................................................................................. 110
Exercise 4b: Shrink Wrap Meshing ............................................................................... 112
Chapter 5: 3D Solid Meshing Tetrahedral Elements ........................................ 121

Section 1: Standard Tetra Meshing............................................................................... 122
Section 2: Volume Tetra Meshing ................................................................................. 124
Exercise 5a: Tetrameshing ........................................................................................... 125
Section 3: TetraMesh Process Manager....................................................................... 129
Exercise 5b: Using The Tetramesh Process Manager.................................................. 130
Chapter 6: 1D Meshing and Connectors ........................................................... 139

Exercise 6: 1D Meshing and Connectors...................................................................... 145
Chapter 7: Morphing ........................................................................................... 155

Section 1: Morph Volumes ............................................................................................ 157
Section 2: Domains and Handles.................................................................................. 158
Section 3: Map to Geometry ......................................................................................... 160
Exercise 7a: Map To Geometry .................................................................................... 161
Exercise 7b: Domains and Handles .............................................................................. 163
Exercise 7c: Morph Volumes ........................................................................................ 168
Chapter 8: Analysis Setup and Loading............................................................ 171

Section 1: Setting up Loading Conditions ..................................................................... 171
Exercise 8: Analysis Setup and Loading....................................................................... 177
Chapter 9: Capstone Project .............................................................................. 189

Exercise 9: Capstone Project........................................................................................ 190
Appendix A: HyperWorks Enterprise Collaboration Tools.............................. 197
HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction ii

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction iii
Chapter 1: Basic Interaction With HyperMesh
Chapter 1
Basic Interaction with HyperMesh

Section 1: Getting Started with HyperMesh
In this section, you will explore the basic layout of the HyperMesh user interface.
Overview of Finite Element Analysis

Finite Element Analysis was first developed over 60 years ago as a method to accurately
predict the reaction of complex parts to various inputs. Prior to the development of FEA, the
only way to validate a design or test a theory was to physically test a part. This was and still
is both time consuming and expensive. While FEA will never replace the final physical
testing and validation of a design, it can drastically reduce the time and money spent on
intermediate stages and concepts.
FEA in its infancy was limited to large scale computing platforms but the development of
powerful personal computers, combined with intuitive software packages such as
HyperWorks, has brought FEA to the engineers desktop. This has broadened its use and
accuracy many fold.
Finite Element Analysis is now a vital and irreplaceable tool in many industries such as
Automotive, Aerospace, Defense, Consumer Products, Medical, Oil and Gas, Architecture
and many others.
FEA is performed in three stages; Pre-Processing, Solving and Post Processing. These
stages are outlined below.
Step 1: Pre- Processing

Pre-Processing is the act of preparing (meshing) a model for analysis. Complex geometry is
broken down into simple shapes (elements) in the act of meshing. This allows the solver in
the next step to predict the action of these elements and analyze the reaction of a complex
part to external forces and interactions. The part is meshed and then definitions for the type
and thickness of the material(s) are added. Next, forces and constraints are applied. The
model is then prepared for the analysis with information the solver will need to perform its
calculations. The model is then written in a format that the solver can understand and is
sent to the solver for processing.
HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 1

Step 2: Solving
Solving is performed by any of the many commercially available software written to perform
Finite Element Analysis. Some of these include popular packages such as Radioss,
Nastran, LS-Dyna, Abaqus, and Ansys, as well as others. The solver takes the information
provided in the file (input deck) created in HyperMesh in Step One and calculates the parts
reactions to the inputs defined. Common outputs are Displacement, Stress, Strain and
Acceleration. These results are stored in a file that then can be read in HyperView in the
Post-Processing stage.
Step 3: Post-Processing
Post-Processing is where the results of the solver solution can be reviewed. HyperView
can provide presentation quality color contoured plots and animations highlighting any of the
requested results. Information can be queried, displaced and even graphed in numerous
windows allowing for customization geared toward the desired audience.
Starting HyperMesh
On PC
o From the Start Menu, select All Programs >Altair HyperWorks (version) >
HyperMesh Desktop.
Or
o User can create a Windows Shortcut by right clicking on the above program
and selecting Create Shortcut.
On UNIX
o At the prompt, type <install directory>/scripts/hm.
o Set up an alias.
The Start Directory
The Start Directory or Working Directory is where HyperMesh, by default, looks for and
saves the following files;
Configuration files (hmmenu.set, hmsettings.tcl, hwsettings.xml, hm.mac, etc.)
History File (command.cmf)
HyperMesh Model Files, FE Data and Geometry Files. (User can browse to different
directories for opening and saving.)
The Start Directory can be defined as follows:
On PC
1. Right click Shortcut link
2. Select Properties
2 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

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3. Enter the desired directory in the Start In field or leave blank to default to directory
where the shortcut is located
On UNIX
1. The Start In directory will default to the Directory where the program is executed
from. If the configuration files are not found in that directory, then HyperMesh will
look in the users home directory.
Online Help
HyperMesh offers comprehensive documentation in the online help. The Help can be
accessed through the menu bar or the use of the h key on your keyboard. If the user
accesses help through the use of the h key, the help documentation is intelligent,
opening in the section representing the panel that the user is actively in. Help also contains
detailed tutorials on many advanced HyperMesh functions.

HyperMesh Graphical User Interface

Graphics area displays the model

Toolbar gives access to commonly used tools via icons
Menu Bar places functionality into groups, accessible via pull downs
Menu Pages divides the main menu into groups based on function
Main Menu contains panels grouped in columns
Panels menu items / functions for interacting with HyperMesh
Sub-panels divides panel into similar tasks related to panels main function
Command Window lets the user type in and execute tcl commands
o Available through the View drop down menu (turned off by default)
Tab Area contains the following tabs:
o Solver, Model, Utility, Include, Import, Export, Connector, Entity State, etc.
Status Bar shows status of operations being performed
o Indicates the current Include file, Component Collector, and Load Collector

Section 2: Opening and Saving Files

Bringing data files into HyperMesh and saving them are frequent operations every user
should understand. This section will help you become proficient with the various ways this
can be done in HyperMesh. The remaining exercises in this course will assume you know
how to open and save files in HyperMesh.
In this section, you will learn how to:
Open a HyperMesh file
Import a file into a current HyperMesh session
Save the HyperMesh session as a HyperMesh model file
Export all the geometry to an IGES file
Export all the mesh data to a RADIOSS input file
Delete all data from the current HyperMesh session
Import an IGES file
Import a RADIOSS file to the current HyperMesh session
File Operations
The following file operations are located in the Standard toolbar which can be accessed by
selecting View > Toolbars > HyperWorks > Standard.
New .hm File Creates a new session in the current window
Open .hm File Loads a HyperMesh model into the current window replacing the
current model
Save .hm file Saves the current model, opens browser window
Import Options The following icons open the Import Tab with the appropriate import type
loaded:
.hm Models FE Models
Geometry Files Connectors into the current model

Export Options The following icons open the Export Tab with the appropriate export type
loaded:
.hm Models FE Models
Geometry Files Connectors
Load User Profile Opens the User Profile Window.

Load Results File Loads a result file for post processing within HyperMesh.
Within the Scripting toolbar (View > Toolbars > HyperWorks > Scripting) there are
additional tools which allow you to open various files:
Open Current Command File Opens a window displaying the current

command.cmf file. Can be used to learn TCL/Tk commands and create macros.
Run TCL Script Opens a browser to load and run a TCL file.

Section 3: Working with Panels

Much of the functionality in HyperMesh is centered around the use of panels. While there
are often many ways to get to a function within HyperMesh, most often the actions lead the
user to the panel area to select entities, enter values and execute functions. The panel area
is split into seven pages and on each page are panels that allow the user to utilize all of the
functionality in HyperMesh. Even if the user accesses a function through the use of the
menu bar or the toolbars, much of the information will be entered in the panel area. While
this manual cannot explain the functionality of every panel, much of the panel functionality is
common amongst all of the panels and thus learning one panel will assist the user in the use
of all panels.
This section introduces you to common panel attributes and controls as it guides you
through translating nodes and elements using the Translate panel and measuring distances
between nodes using the Distance panel.
Use the entity selector and the extended entity selection menu to select and unselect
nodes and elements from the graphics area
Use the direction selector to define vectors along which to translate nodes and
elements
Switch between different entities to select, and methods to define vectors
Toggle between two options
Enter, copy and paste, and calculate numbers
Use the rapid menu functionality to execute commands with the mouse buttons
rather than clicking buttons
Interrupt, but not exit, a panel to go to another panel using the keyboard function
keys
Panel Layout
In HyperMesh, panels have three general layouts. The Basic Panel, Panel with Sub-Panels
and Panels with Sub Panels organized in Columns. Their look and functionality will be
described below.
The Basic Panel
Translate panel

Panel with Sub-Panels
Project/to plane panel
Panel with Sub-Panels as icons
Surfaces panel
Panel with Sub-Panel and Columns
Surface Edit/trim with nodes subpanel
Generally panels are used in a left to right manner and those with columns are used in a left
to right and top to bottom manner using the following steps:
Step 1: What to Do
This step only applies to panels with subpanels. The user picks the functionality within the
panel that is desired by picking the appropriate subpanel radio button. The example below
to the left is from the Project panel and the to plane sub functionality is chosen. The
example below and to the right is from the Surfaces panel and the square sub function is
chosen.
Step 2: Method to Use

This step only applies to panels with subpanels that are organized in columns. Often,
subpanels are organized into different columns when there are more than 7 subpanel

options. The column organization groups like functionality together in instances where the
entire panel is not needed for information entry. In this case the user picks the subpanel in
Step 1 and then chooses the method they wish to use within that sub panel and follows the
column top to bottom. The example below shows the Surface Edit panel with the trim with
surfs/plane sub functionality chosen. You can see the three columns providing access to
either the with plane, with surfs or self intersecting surfs options.
Surface Edit/trim with surfs/planes subpanel
Step 3: What to do it to
In this step the user will select the entities they wish to perform the function on. The entity
selection is shown below.
Step 4: How to do it
In this step the user defines parameters that dictate how the function will be performed.
Step 5: Do the action

Clicking the green action button performs the desired function while the Reject button will
reject the last performed function.
Tools within the Panels

Within the panels there are many buttons and options that will be explained below:
Switches -
These allow the choice of multiple options through a popup menu
Toggles -
The toggle will change the function between 2 options.

Reset -
This will reset the selection of any entities.
Extended Selection -
Clicking the yellow selection button will open the extended selection window. This provides
numerous tools allowing for the advanced selection of entities.
Direction/Plane Selection -
X, Y, Z Axis -
N1, N2 and N3 -
o Select 2 Nodes (N1 & N2) This defines a direction from N1 to N2 where a
vector type direction is required. When a plane is required the plane is
defined as that which is normal to the vector N1 to N2 and its location at the
B node.
o Select 3 Nodes (N1, N2 and N3) This defines a plane whose normal
defines a direction when a vector direction is required. Positive of the normal
is defined by the Right Hand Rule. In the event a plane is required the
plane is that which is created by the three nodes with its location at the B
node.


Section 4: Organizing a Model

Organizing model data can be beneficial when creating a valid solver input file. Basic tasks
used to organize model data such as placing elements and loads into groups (collectors),
organizing collectors into assemblies, renaming, deleting, reordering, and renumbering are
discussed in this section.
Create geometry and organize it into components
Organize elements into the components
Rename components
Identify and delete empty components
Delete all the geometry lines
Reorder the components in a specific order
Renumber all the components, starting with ID 1 and incrementing by 1
Create an assembly
Organize the constraints
Model organization is at the heart of a quality Finite Element Analysis. The model can be
organized in a multitude of different ways as desired by the user, but below are the basics
for model organization.
Collectors
The basis for model organization is the collector. HyperMesh has 10 different types of
collectors:
Component Contains Elements and Geometry
Multibody Contains Ellipsoids, Mbjoints, Mbplanes and Sensors
Assembly Contains Components, Multibodies and Assemblies
Load Contains Loads and Constraints
Property* Used to define the properties assigned to elements or Component Collectors
Material* - Used to define the material values Property Collectors
System Contains user defined systems
Vector Contains vectors
Beam Section Contains beam sections
*NOTE: Property and Material collectors do not contain any entities and are used to define
material and physical properties in the model. They are called collectors for uniformity.

Collectors can be created in a number of ways.

HyperMesh Model Browser:
Right clicking in the Model Browser opens a
menu from which the selection of Create allows for
creation of any type of collector.
Right clicking in the Model Browser will also
allow you to edit, rename, change ID, change
color and delete collectors as well.
Pull down Menus
Selecting the Collectors Pull-Down and then
selecting Create will provide the ability to create
any of the non property collectors.
Material and Property Collectors can be created in a similar manner using the
Material and Property Pull-Downs.
Icon Toolbars
The Icons can be used to create collectors as well.

Current Collector
The Current Collector determines what collector new entities are placed in. The Current
Collector can be determined in two ways.
Using the Model Browser
o In the Model Browser the Current collector will be in BOLD
o Note the mid2 collector is in a bold font and thus is the Current collector.
o Right clicking on a collector will open a menu that will allow it to be made
current.
Organize
Organize is a tool that can be used to move entities to different collectors. It can be
accessed on the Tool page and will open the panel shown below.

Section 5: Controlling the Display

When performing finite element modeling and analysis setup, it is important to be able to
view the model from different vantage points and control the visibility of entities. You may
need to rotate the model to understand the shape, zoom in to view details more closely, or
hide specific parts of the model so other parts can be seen. Sometimes a shaded
visualization is best, while other times a wireframe visualization is needed to work on details
inside the model.
HyperMesh has many functions to help you control the view, visibility, and visualization of
entities. This section introduces you to these functions.
Control the points of view, mouse, and toolbar.
Control the visibility of entities using the Mask panel.
Control how entities look by using toolbars and the Model Browser.
Rename components.
Identify and delete empty components.
Delete all the geometry lines.
View Control
View control is accomplished through the use of the Standard Views toolbar icons, and 3D
View Controls toolbar, and the mouse.
Standard Views Toolbar Icons

Mouse Control The preferred method for Display Control is the use of the Mouse
Buttons. With the CTRL key held on the keyboard the mouse provides total control
over rotation, zoom and pan.

Model Visualization
Elements
Wireframe Shaded
Geometry
Mask
The masking tools allow the user to show and hide select entities that might interfere with
the desired visualization. The icons can be found on the Display toolbar and are used as
follows:

MASK Allows for the selection of entities to hide
REVERSE Flips the display of masked and unmasked entities.
UNMASK ADJACENT Unmasks entities immediately adjacent to those shown.
UNMASK ALL Unmasks all entities.
MASK NOT SHOWN Masks all the entities that are outside the viewing area.
SPHERICAL CLIPPING Allows for a sphere of visualization to be defined.

FIND Allows for elements to be found (typically by ID)
DISPLAY NUMBERS Utility to turn on and off the display of entity numbers.
DISPLAY ELEMENT HANDLES Turns on and off element handles.
DISPLAY LOAD HANDLES Turns on and off load handles.
DISPLAY FIXED POINTS Turns on and off fixed points.
Model Browser
The Model Browser is a powerful tool for
controlling the visualization of the model. In
the Model Browser the user can:
Turn on and off the display of the
geometry and elements of

collectors
Control the color of the collector

(Right click)
Create, Card Edit, Delete and control
component visualization by Right
clicking on the collector list

Exercise 1: Interacting With HyperMesh

This exercise will cover many of the basic concepts that are central to many of the features
in HyperMesh. By the end of this exercise you should be familiar with the basic features of
the HyperMesh software.
Step 1: Set the User Profile and retrieve the model file, Exercise_1.hm
1. From the menu bar, select Preferences > User Profiles.
2. Select the RADIOSS user profile and from the drop down menu select BulkData.
3. Click OK.
4. Select File > Open > Model from the menu bar.
5. Select the file Exercise_1.hm.
6. Click Open
Step 2: Rotate, Pan and Zoom the model

1. Hold down the CTRL key

2. Click the LEFT Mouse button. (Note the small square in the center of the screen
indicating the rotational center).
3. While holding both the CTRL Key and LEFT Mouse Button, drag your mouse around to
rotate the model.
4. Click near a node (Note the small square moves to the node selected and becomes the
new center of rotation). Continue to rotate the model.
5. While holding the CTRL Key and the RIGHT Mouse Button, drag your mouse around to
pan the model.
6. While holding the CTRL Key, click the Center Mouse Button (or clickable scroll wheel)
and draw a circle around a portion of the screen.
7. This will zoom into the region surrounded by the drawn circle.

8. While holding the CTRL Key rotate the scroll wheel forward to Zoom Out and backward
to Zoom In.
9. While holding the CTRL Key click the middle mouse button/scroll wheel to fit the model
to the screen.
Step 3: Use the Model Browser to control visualization

1. Press F on the keyboard to fit the model to the screen. If it does not work, click in the
graphics window and then press F.
2. Make sure the Model Browser tab is active
3. Expand the Components category by clicking the + next to it. This will list all of the
components in the model.
4. Using the Geometry and Elements Icons, turn on

and off components.
5. Using the Show/Hide Button turn off and on

components in the graphics window. Right click to hide a
component and left click in the area of a hidden component to
see a ghost image of the hidden component. Releasing the
button reveals the component.

6. Using the Isolate Button , right click on a component in the graphics window to
isolate it (turn off all other components) and left click on a hidden component to see a
ghost image of the hidden component. Releasing the button isolates the selected
component.
7. Use the global controls to turn on, off and reverse all of the components.
8. Highlight components using the CTRL-Left Mouse Button selection and note how the
Global Controls now only affect the highlighted components.
9. Use the icon to switch the global controls between the Geometry, Elements and Both
options.
10. Review the other Model Browser Views:
a. Component View
This view is highly useful when working solely with components as none of the
other collectors are shown in the view. This view contains all of the visibility
control and right click functions of the Model View. Additionally it adds fields
that show the mesh and geometry shading as well as the property and material
applied to each component.
b. Property View
This view allows the user to view all of the properties in the model and color the
entities on the screen by their assigned property. The visibility controls as well
as all right click extended functionality work with this view as well.

c. Material View
This view allows the user to view all of the materials in the model and color the
entities on the screen by their assigned material. The visibility controls as well
as all right click extended functionality work with this view as well.
11. Use the right click Extended Menu to try the following functions:
a. Create a new component
b. Delete a component
c. Rename a component
d. Show/Hide a component
e. Isolate a component
f. Isolate Only a component (see if you can figure out the difference
between Isolate and Isolate Only)
g. Right click on a color and change the color of a component.
Step 4: Working with Collectors

1. Right click in the Model Browser and select Create >
Component. The component creation dialog will open.
2. Name it Bucket and select a color.
3. Click Create.
The new collector has been created and now we will move the
elements for the bucket into this new collector.
4. From the menu bar select Mesh > Organize > Elements >
To Component.
5. In the Model Browser click the Selector Icon . This

allows you to pick components from the graphics window.
6. Click the bucket in the graphics window

7. Click the Add To Panel Collector icon . This will add the selected components to
the selection.
8. Click the dest component= button and select the newly created Bucket component.
9. Click move and the elements in the collector will be moved to the new component.
Step 5: Use of Panels and Directional Functions

This step will introduce the user to commonly used functions in panels as well as the use
of the directional definition tools found in many HyperMesh panels.
1. Locate the item in the menu bar that allows you to Translate Elements (Mesh).
2. Select the component Support.
3. From the direction definition switch select N1,N2,N3.
X,Y and Z axis will translate along those cardinal axis, while N1,N2,N3 allows the user to
define a direction as a vector (N1->N2) or as a normal to a plane defined by the points
N1,N2 and N3 following the right hand rule.
4. Pick a node on the flat face of the Support component shown
to the right.
A green dot will appear at the selected node showing that N1
has been defined there. The blue focus square will
automatically move to N2.
5. Continue in a Clockwise direction picking two more nodes on
the face defining the blue N2 and red N3 nodes. Your model
should look similar to the picture tp the right. NOTE: It is not
necessary that your nodes be identical to the image, just
similar.

6. Enter 30 in the magnitude= field

7. Click translate -.
The entire component will move 30 model units in the
negative direction defined by the normal of the plane N1,N2
and N3.
8. Click reject.
9. Try moving the component in other directions using both
cardinal axis and the N1,N2 and N3 options.
10. Try moving the component using only N1 and N2 and then
change the magnitude= field to N2-N1 and see what that
option does.
11. Use the reject button and the opposite direction translation to
bring your component back to the previous location.
Step 6: Using the Mask Function and Selecting Entities
1. Using the Mask Icon enter the Mask panel.

2. Change the entity selection to elems.
3. Pick a number of elements on the screen.
4. Click Mask.
This will hide the elements from view but they still can be affected through other panels
5. Click the Reverse Icon .

This will Unmask the hidden elements and will mask all the elements previously shown.
6. Click the Unmask Adjacent Icon .

This will Unmask elements immediately adjacent to those on the screen. This can be
done repeatedly
7. Click the Unmask All Icon to bring everything into view.

8. Click the Mask Icon again
9. Hold the Shift Key down and holding the Left Mouse Button, drag a box in the graphics
window to box select elements.
10. Hold the Shift Key down and holding the Right Mouse Button, drag a box in the
graphics window to de-select elements.
11. Click the yellow elems button to open the extended selection window.

12. Experiment with options, including the following;

Displayed Selects entities currently displayed on the screen
All Selects ALL entities in the model, displayed or not.
Reverse After selecting a few elements this will reverse the selection.
By Collector Displays a list of collectors and entities can be selected by the
collector they are in.
By Geoms By choosing either surfs or solids, elements can be selected by picking
the geometry that they were created from. Useful in that a single geometry selection
can select many elements.
Save/Retrieve Saving a selection places those entities into a 1 slot user mark
that can be retrieved again and again in selections until it is overwritten.


Chapter 2: Geometry Clean-up
Chapter 2
Geometry Clean-up
Section 1: Importing and Repairing CAD
HyperMesh is capable of importing geometry from many CAD sources. Most of the popular
CAD packages are read directly, and for those that are not, HyperMesh supports the
popular intermediate languages as well. While the importation of data generally occurs with
little error, there are issues that can occur, and as such HyperMesh, offers a wide variety of
tools to remedy these geometric issues.
The benefits of importing and repairing CAD are:

Correct any errors in the geometry from import
Create the simplified part needed for the analysis
Mesh a part all at once
Ensure proper connectivity of mesh
Obtain a desirable mesh pattern & quality
In this section, you will:
Delete untrimmed surfaces
Close missing surfaces
Set the cleanup tolerance
Equivalence free edges
Delete duplicate surfaces

Geometry Import
Importing geometry occurs in the import tab which is accessible through the Import
Geometry Icon . Using this tab the user can import data from popular CAD packages
such as
Unigraphics (NX2,NX3,NX4,NX5)
o Supports import of .prt files
o Provides a UG part browser
o Requires an installation of UG to be
accessible, either locally or on a network
CATIA (V4,V5)
o Supports import of .model (V4) files
o Additional license from Altair is required
of .catpart (V5) file import.
Pro/Engineer (Wildfire 2.0 & 3.0)

o Supports import of .prt and .asm files.
Additionally HyperMesh supports the import of the following intermediate translational

languages:
IGES (.igs & .iges)
STEP (.stp)

Topology Repair
Surface Definition
Topology
Topology deals with the connection of adjacent surfaces. Connectivity is critical as
HyperMesh will create a contiguous mesh over connected faces thus guaranteeing stresses,
strains and deformations will propagate over the part in a realistic manner. When importing
native CAD files, HyperMesh will read surface connectivity directly from the file. When using
intermediate languages (IGES or STEP) HyperMesh will use a tolerance calculation to
determine when two edges should be connected. While this will work very well, there can
be issues with connectivity that will need to be fixed before meshing.
HyperMesh allows for easy visualization of surface connectivity through the use of an edge
color scheme shown below;
Topology Visualization

Display of the topology can be controlled with this pull down found in
the HyperMesh Visualization tool bar.
Auto: Surfaces and Edges will be displayed in the component color
unless the user is in a topological editing function where then surfaces
will be colored grey and edges will be in their topological color.
By Comp: Surfaces and Edges will always be displayed in component
colors.
By Topo: Surfaces will always be colored grey and edges will always
be in their topological color.
By 2D Topo: Only 2D topology will be displayed in topological color.
By 3D Topo: Only 3D topology will be displayed in topological color.
Mixed: Similar to By Topo but while the edges will be in topological colors, the surfaces will
be in their component color and not grey.
Mappable: Displays the solid entities in the various mappable states.
In the HyperMesh Visualization toolbar, the

Topology Options Icon will open the
visualization tab
This tab will allow the user to display or hide 2D
and 3D topology based on its type. This tab also
allows the user to control the transparency and
change the shading colors of mappable solid
regions.
Other functionality in this tab allows visualization
control over the following:
Connector Constraints
Equations Loads
Morphing Systems
Topology Vectors

Topology Repair
While HyperMesh will in most cases create proper and connected geometry accurately
representing the initial CAD geometry, there can be issues with the import. Common issues
are:
Topology Repair: Tools

HyperMesh has a supply of tools to repair issues in the geometry.
The ultimate goal of Topology Repair is to assure that the geometry that is used to create
the mesh is as close as possible to the design intent of the original CAD data. To this end,
these are the tools that HyperMesh provides:
Edge Edit Panel
o Equivalence (multiple edges at a time)
Search surfaces for pairs of free edges and combine into shared
edges
o Toggle (1 edge / edge pair at a time)
Select an edge; equivalences with other free edges found within a
user specified tolerance
o Replace (1 edge pair at a time)
Select 2 edges to equivalence together
Control which edge to retain and which to move
Point Edit Panel
o Replace (1 edge at a time)
o Release Combine pairs of free edges with gaps between them into shared
edges
Defeature Panel
o Duplicates Identify and delete duplicate surfaces within a user specified
tolerance
Surfaces Panel

o Spline / filler Select lines / surface edges to recreate any missing surfaces
Quick Edit Panel
The Quick Edit Panel is a tool box of utilities for geometry repair. Many of the tools can be
found in other panels and their functionality is exactly the same. The Quick Edit panel simply
provides a single location for many of the most often used tools. These include:
Unsplit Removes / deletes an edge created by splitting a surface in HyperMesh.
Toggle Same as edge edit panel; change edge type within tolerance.
Filler surf Select a line on a free surface edge to recreate any missing surfaces.
Delete surf Same as delete panel (surfaces only).
Replace point Same as point edit panel; move/retain point.
Release point Same as point edit panel; must be associated with line.
Topology Repair: Strategy

Understand the size and scale of the model
o With models that represent everything from full size ships to microscopic
electronic parts all residing in a graphics area on a computer monitor, it is
often difficult to understand the overall scope of the model. It is critical to get
an idea of the overall size of the model and determine a global element size
that will be applied to the eventual mesh.
Set a cleanup tolerance based upon the previously determined global element size.
o With the element size established, a cleanup tolerance can now be set. The
cleanup tolerance specifies the largest gap size to be closed by the topology
functions. This value should never exceed 15-20% of the global element
size. Values beyond this limit can introduce distortion into the mesh.
Use topology display tools to determine what needs to be fixed.
Find duplicate surfaces and delete them.
Use equivalence to combine as many free edge pairs as possible.
o Visually verify no surfaces were collapsed with this function.
Use toggle to combine and remaining edges.
o Use replace if more control is needed.
Use filler surface to fill in any missing surfaces.

Section 2: Generating a Midsurface

This section uses CAD geometry data for a thin solid clip. Because of the small thickness of
the part, it is assumed that it will be modeled for FEA as shell elements. The elements will
be created on the mid-plane of the part.
Create a midsurface
Visualize the midsurface by using shading options and transparency
Midsurfacing: Introduction
Often the most accurate representation of a part is through the use of shell elements.
These elements best represent parts that are relatively thin compared to their overall
surface area and typically have a uniform thickness. Shell elements have no physical
thickness representation; they are displayed as two dimensional entities whose thickness is
simply a numerical value assigned to them. FE Solvers assume the shell element to lie at
the middle of the thickness. As that is the case, the mesh created on the surfaces needs to
lie at the mid-plane of the part. CAD geometry is usually created as either a solid part or a
series of faces representing a solid part. Using the midsurface tool in HyperMesh, proper
surfaces can be extracted that lie on the mid-plane of the part and can be meshed
appropriately.
Midsurfacing: Tools
Midsurface Creation:
Auto Midsurface Automatically extracts midsurfaces from surfaces that enclose a

volume or a solid geometry

o Can sometimes work if there are missing surfaces

o The greater number of missing surfaces, the less reliable the result
Surface Pair creates a midsurface between 2 selected surfaces
A new parameter max R/T ratio has been added to the midsurface extraction options
panel. This parameter, while always present in the midsurface function, has now been
exposed. Previously this value was hard-coded into the function at a value of 2.0
R/T Information and Tips

The R/T ratio is taken into account on T-, X- and more complex connections only, as
in the center of the picture below. On a curve without a T-connection (like on the
right side on the picture) it does not apply.
If R/T is greater than the value specified in the panel, then this location will not be
recognized as a junction.
If T is different on different sides on the junction (as in the above picture), then the
maximum T is used.
Will work with fillets that have a variable radius across their length.
Use of this parameter with a high value can result in situations where it is not valid to
use a midsurface representation. If these are not areas of high stress and the results
in this area are not of interest, then it is acceptable. This option does not affect the
core midsurface algorithm.

Midsurface Modification
Quick Edit Repair a midsurface by correcting where the vertices of the surface were
placed.
Assign Target An extension to quick edit, and functions in a similar fashion.
Replace Edge Fill in gaps and slivers by combining one surface edge with another.
same as in the edge edit panel
Extend Surface Extends two surfaces (e.g., ribs) until they intersect.
View Thickness Review of the thickness of a midsurface using white lines (probes)
extending from each vertex of the surface.
Midsurfacing: Strategy
Obtain a closed volume of surfaces or solids
For complex parts try defeaturing the defining volume
o This simplifies the part and can produce a better midsurface. See section 3
of this chapter for more information about defeature.
Generate the midsurface using the auto midsurface
View the midsurface and correct any errors using modification tools.

Section 3: Simplifying Geometry

This section looks at changing the shape of a part in order to simplify the geometry. Certain
details of the shape, such as small holes or blends, may simply not be necessary for the
analysis being performed. When these details are removed, the analysis can run more
efficiently. Additionally, mesh quality is often improved as well. Changing the geometry to
match the desired shape can also allow a mesh to be created more quickly.
In this section, you will learn:
Mesh the clip, review the mesh quality, and determine the features to be simplified
Remove surface fillets
Remove edge fillets
Remove pinholes
Defeaturing
There are many features on a part that are not critical to the structure of the part and have
little or no effect on the analysis. These features can include
Lightening Holes For part weight reduction
Edge Filets For reduction of sharp corners allowing safer part handling
Surface Fillets To meet manufacturing requirements
These features often are process driven and are not function critical. While our goal is to
mesh a part that as closely as possible accurately represents the geometry, these features
often degrade the quality of the mesh. As such they can be defeatured out of the design
allowing for a substantially improved mesh with little impact on the results.
Defeaturing Tools
Pinholes
o Searches for holes within a surface. Fills them in and leaves a fixed point at
their previous center.
Surf Fillets
o Searched for surfaces that act as a fillet between other surfaces and
tangentially extends them to achieve a sharp corner.

Edge Fillets
o Searches for rounded edge corner and squares them off.
Duplicates
o Finds and deletes duplicate surfaces.
Symmetry
o Identifies part symmetry and deletes or organizes the results.

Exercise 2a: Midsurface

This exercise will cover the basic aspects of geometry repair and preparation for meshing. It
will cover repairing problems with the geometry, midsurfacing and defeaturing.
Step 1: Open the file Exercise_2a.hm.
Step 2: Review the model

1. Zoom, Rotate and Pan the model to find the
issues with it.
2. Use geometry repair tools to fix the following
issues.
Duplicate Surfaces Fix with Defeature Panel
Free Edges Fix with Quick Edit Toggle Edge
Missing Surfaces Fix with Quick Edit Filler Surface
Large Gap Free Edge Fix with Edge Edit Replace

HINT: Use the Visualization Options Icon to find free edges.
Step 3: Create the Midsurface

1. From the menu bar select Geometry > Create > Midsurfaces > Auto.
This brings you to the auto midsurface sub-panel in the midsurface panel.
2. Set the switch to surfs.

3. Toggle to closed solid.

4. With the surfs button selected pick the displayed surfaces.
5. Click extract.
A new component will be created called Middle Surfaces and the new mid plane
surfaces will be placed in it. Additionally the original component will be set to be partially
transparent so the Middle Surfaces can be seen.
6. Turn off the display of the original component so that only the Middle Surfaces are
displayed.
7. There are multiple problems with the model. They need to be repaired. Zoom into the
area shown above. Rotate the model to the view shown to the
right.
8. Zooming in reveals some serious problems with the midsurface
in this area. These can be fixed with the quick edit sub-panel.
9. If you have exited the Midsurface panel enter it again.
10. Select the quick edit sub-panel
11. Set the target type to point to point.
12. Set the target location to as selected.
13. Leave the remaining settings and pick the surface shown by the arrow.
The display will now show the way in which HyperMesh decided to create the middle
surface. That needs to be corrected
14. Pick the point in the green circle (circle labeled 1) to indicate the point whose offset you
wish to fix (see image below).

15. Pick the point in the blue circle (circle labeled 2) to indicate which point it should have
been offset to (see image below). You will need to hold down the left mouse button to
highlight the line, and then click on the line to select a node.
16. HyperMesh then shows what the new surface offset will look like. This is now correct
17. Select update.

18. Rotate the model slightly; a green line is left where the
problem area was previously. Use the toggle
subpanel in the Edge Edit panel to toggle the edge
from a shared edge to a suppressed edge.
19. Fit the model to the screen and zoom in on the
highlighted area below.

This area has a gap that cannot be fixed with the midsurface tools. Often problems with
a midsurfaced model need to be fixed with the regular geometry repair tools.
20. Go to the Geometry Quick Edit panel.
21. Select Replace point
22. Pick the node in the green circle (circle
labeled 1)as the node to mode, and the
node in the blue circle (circle labeled 2) as
the node to retrain.
The gap will close
23. Repeat for the other point.
24. Find the remaining issues with the model
and use the midsurfacing tools, point
replace, filler surface and other geometry
tools to repair the part.

Exercise 2b: Defeaturing
Step 1: Load the model Exercise_2b.hm.
Step 2: Removing Edge Fillets

1. Enter the defeature panel.
2. Enter the edge fillets sub panel.
3. Pick the displayed surfaces.
4. Enter 1 for the min radius.
5. Enter 20 for the max radius.
This will guarantee all edge fillets are selected.
6. Click find.
All of the edge fillets will be highlighted.
If there were fillets that you did not wish to be removed they could be right clicked at the
F and they would be deselected and not removed.
7. Click remove.
All of the edge fillets will be
removed leaving sharp
corners in their place. This
will result in better mesh
quality as will be shown in
the next chapter.
Step 3: Removing Surface Fillets

1. Select the surf fillets sub-panel.

2. Select the displayed surfaces.

3. Set the min radius to 0.1.
4. Set the max radius to 5.
5. Click find.
The radius around the hole will be selected but the larger fillet will not be. This is
because the larger fillet has a radius of 7 and thus was not found.
6. Click the two surfaces that make the larger fillet to highlight them.
7. Click remove.
The fillets will be removed once again providing for a better mesh quality.
Step 4: Removing Holes

1. Select the pinholes sub panel.
2. Select the displayed surfaces.
3. Set the diameter< field to 5.
4. Click find.

The small holes will be selected.

Once again if there is a hole that you do not wish to take out simply right click on it to de-
select it.
5. Click delete
The holes are removed and a fixed point is placed at their former center. This will
guarantee a node is in that location but the points can be removed is no node is needed.

Exercise 2c: Importing and Repairing CAD Geometry (optional)

This exercise uses the model file, Exercise_2c.hm.
Step 1: Open and view the model file, Exercise_2c.hm.
Step 2: View the model in topology display toolbar to evaluate its integrity.
1. Observe where the model has incorrect connectivity and missing or duplicate surfaces.
2. Click Geometry > Autocleanup to open the Auto Geometry Cleanup panel.
Note that the surface edges are now colored according to their topology status. This
occurs because Geometry Color is set to Auto ( ).
3. Click Wireframe Geometry ( ) to display the model in Wireframe mode.

The toolbar contains icons that control the display of the surfaces and surface edges.
Surfaces can be shaded with or without edges or wireframe. Right-click the icons to
access the drop-down menu for additional options. Place your mouse over the cursor to
view a description of the buttons functionality.
4. Click Visualization ( ) and navigate to the Topology tab.

Visualization controls the display of the surfaces and surface edges. Surfaces can be
shaded or wireframe. The check boxes within this menu turn the display of the different
edge types and fixed points (surface vertices) on or off.
5. Clear all the check boxes except the Free check box.
Only the free edges should be displayed at this point.
6. Observe the free edges and make note of where they are.
The free (red) edges show where there is incorrect connectivity or gaps.

7. Note the locations where there are closed loops of free edges. These are locations that
probably have missing surfaces.
Free edges indicating surface discontinuities of the clip geometry
8. Select only the Non-manifold check box.

9. Observe the non-manifold edges and make note of where they are.
The non-manifold edges show where there are more than two surfaces sharing an edge,
which might indicate incorrect connectivity. For this part, there are yellow edges
completely surrounding two areas. This indicates that there are probably duplicate
surfaces in these locations.
10. Select all the check boxes.
11. Click the Close button to close the Visualization tab.
12. Click return to exit the panel.
13. Click Shaded Geometry and Surface Edges ( )

The surfaces should now appear solid rather than having only their edges displayed.
14. Rotate, zoom, and pan to locate any errors in the geometry.
15. Make note of the areas to be worked on:
A surface that overhangs a round corner
A missing surface

Surface overhanging an edge and a missing surface
An edge that has apparently been collapsed
Area of collapsed edge
Step 3: Delete the surface that overhangs the round corner.

1. Enter the Delete panel in one of the following ways:
From the menu bar click Geometry > Delete > Surfaces
Press F2
2. In the graphics area, select the overhanging surface shown in the previous figure.

3. Click delete entity to delete the selected entities.

Step 4: Create surfaces to fill large gaps in the model.

1. Click Geometry > Create > Surfaces > Spline/Filler to open the panel to create the
surface.
2. Clear the Keep tangency check box.
The Keep tangency option examines surfaces attached to the selected edges and tries
to create a surface tangent to them. This helps to form a smooth transition to the
surrounding surfaces.
3. Verify the entity type is set to lines.
4. Verify the Auto create (free edges) check box is selected.
The Auto create option simplifies the selection of the lines bounding the missing
surface. Once a line is selected, HyperMesh automatically selects the remaining free
edges that form a closed loop, and then create the filler surface.
5. Zoom into the area indicated in the following image.
Area of missing surfaces
6. Pick one of the red lines bounding one of the gaps (missing surfaces).
HyperMesh automatically creates a filler surface to close the hole.
7. Repeat sub-step 7 to create a filler surface in the other gap.
Step 5: Set the global geometry cleanup tolerance to .01.

1. Press O to go to the options panel.

2. Go to the geometry sub-panel.

3. In the cleanup tol = field, type 0.01 to stitch the surfaces with a gap less than 0.01.
Step 6: Combine multiple free edge pairs at one time with the equivalence
tool.
1. From the menu bar, click Geometry > Edit > Surface Edges > Equivalence
2. Activate the equiv free edges only check box.
3. Select surfs >> all.
4. Verify that the cleanup tol= is set to 0.01, which is the global cleanup tolerance
specified in the options panel.
5. Click the green equivalence button to combine any free edge pairs within the specified
cleanup tolerance.
Most of the red free edges are combined into green shared edges. The few remaining
are caused by gaps larger than the cleanup tolerance.
Step 7: Combine free edge pairs, one pair at a time, using the toggle.
1. Go to the toggle sub-panel.
2. In the cleanup tol = field, type 0.1.
3. In the graphics area, click one of the free edges shown in the following image.
4. Rotate and zoom into the area if needed. When the edge is selected, it will change from
red to green, indicating that the free edge pair has been equivalenced.
Area where free edges need to be toggled
5. Use toggle to equivalence the other edges shown in the image.

Step 8: Combine the remaining free edge pair using replace.

1. Go to the replace sub-panel.
2. In the Model Browser, click next to the View2 saved view.

3. With the selector under moved edge: active, click the leftmost free edge in the graphics
area.
Verify that the selector under retained edge: is now active.
4. Select the rightmost red edge.
5. In the cleanup tol = field, enter 0.1.
6. Click replace.
Once the line is selected, HyperMesh posts a message similar to:
"Gap = (.200018). Do you still wish to toggle?"

7. Click Yes to close the gap.
Edges to retain and move for replacement
Step 9: Find and delete all duplicate surfaces.

1. From the Menu Bar, click Geometry > Defeature > Duplicates
2. Click surfs >> displayed.

3. In the cleanup tol = field, type 0.01.

4. Click find.
The status bar displays the following message, "2 surfaces are duplicated."
5. Click delete to remove any duplicate surfaces.
Step 10: Observe the model again to identify any remaining free edges, or
missing or duplicate surfaces.
1. Use the topology display and shaded modes to perform this task. All of the edges in the
model should be displayed as green shared edges, indicating that we have a completely
enclosed thin solid part.
Step 11 (Optional): Save your work.

With the cleanup operations completed, save the model.


Chapter 3: Shell Meshing
Chapter 3
Shell Meshing
Section 1: AutoMeshing
The optimal starting point for creating a shell mesh for a part is to have surface geometry
defining the part. The most efficient method for creating a mesh representing the part
includes using the Automesh panel and creating a mesh directly on the parts surfaces.
The Automesh panel is a key meshing tool in HyperMesh. Its meshing module allows you
to specify and control element size, density, type, and node spacing, and also perform
quality checks before accepting the final mesh.
A part can be meshed all at once or in portions. To mesh a part all at once, it may be
advantageous to first perform geometry cleanup of the surfaces, which can be done in
HyperMesh.
The purpose for this section is to help you become proficient with using the Automesh
panels meshing module. In this section, you will learn how to:
Mesh all the surfaces at once specifying different element sizes and element types.
Practice changing the element density along surface edges.
Practice checking element quality and changing the mesh pattern by changing the
mesh algorithm.
Preview the mesh on all the unmeshed surfaces.
Practice changing the element type and node spacing (biasing) along surface edges.
Re-mesh surfaces.

Automeshing
The automesh function in HyperMesh allows for the rapid generation of a quality mesh on
one or multiple surfaces. Within the automesh panel there are many options available which
provide the user a high level of control over the ultimate mesh.
Topology Review
Automeshing of surfaces is dependent on surface topology, which is the connection of
adjacent surfaces edges. Properly connected edges ensure a properly connected mesh.
As discussed in greater detail in the previous chapter, topology is represented graphically
though edge color.
Mesh Connectivity
To properly represent a part with shell elements, those elements must be properly
connected. Unconnected elements are in effect a slice in a part and all stresses, strains and
deformations will stop at the unconnected region.

HyperMesh maintains edges in a part. This means that if you see a surface edge in the
mesh (unless it is suppressed) you will see that same edge in the mesh. HyperMesh will
place nodes along that edge and if the edge is properly connected then there will only be
one set of nodes that will be shared by elements on either side of the edge. Node sharing
between multiple elements is how elements are connected to each other.
Below are examples of how edge topology affects the resultant mesh. There is an example
for each of the 4 topological states (colors).

The Automesh Panel
Within the Automesh panel are numerous controls to allow for the creation of a quality
mesh to individual specifications.
Flow:Align produces a more orthogonal quad dominated mesh
Flow:Size is active only when align is used and it enforces the global mesh element
size with minimal min/max element size variation
Mesh with no flow control
Mesh with Align Control
Mesh with Align and Size Control

Size and bias Subpanel

This subpanel is the most widely used and is the default for automeshing. Within this panel
the user sets the desired element size and type, chooses options for flowing and mapping
and then is provided with a preview mesh. From within the meshing module there are many
options for mesh refinement.
Density
o Adjust Left clicking on an edge will raise the element density on that edge
by one, right clicking will lower the density by one. Clicking
will provide a new preview mesh with the changes.
o Calculate Here the user can enter a new element size and either click on
an edge to recalculate the density on that edge or click recalc all and change
the element size for all the surfaces currently being meshed.
o Set This option allows for the setting of element densities on a single or all
edges to a user set number.
Mesh Style
o From this sub panel the user can indicated the type
of mesh to create.

o This panel also allows the user to define the method or style of meshing. The
style is the manner in which the mesh transitions between different density
values.
Biasing
o The biasing subpanel allows the user to control the distribution of nodes
during the nodes seeding by selecting biasing in the form of linear,
exponential or bell curve distributions.
Checks
o The checks subpanel evaluates the quality of the generated mesh.

General Controls
This toggle changes between automatic and interactive meshing modes. In automatic
mode, HyperMesh will generate the mesh based upon the user entered values and options.
In the interactive mode, HyperMesh will generate the same mesh but will do so as a
preview mesh allowing the user to use the above mentioned tools to manipulate the mesh
before finalizing it.

Section 2: Checking and Editing Mesh

Once a mesh is created, HyperMesh has many tools for checking element quality and
modifying the mesh to make it more desirable. These tools can be used at almost any point
in the meshing process. This section is separated from sections on creating mesh so that
the focus can be on checking and editing tools.
Identify shell element connectivity problems.
Correct shell element connectivity problems.
Review the models shell elements to ensure connectivity problems were
corrected.
Re-mesh the elements along the rib.
Checking and Editing the Mesh: Tools

These mesh editing tools can be found on the 1D, 2D and 3D pages and can also be
reached through the menu bar by going to Mesh > Edit > Elements.
Edit element
o Combine merge 2 or more elements into 1 single element
o Split draw a line to cut elements
o Cleanup interactively drag nodes to improve element quality
o Split divide selected elements in a selected manner
o Replace merge 2 nodes into 1 node (elements are now connected)
o Detach disconnect selected elements from other elements
o Smooth improves quality of selected elements
Quality index
o Set criteria for all standard quality checks
o Simultaneously evaluate element quality
o Combine all checks into a single value called composite quality index value

o Edit nodes and elements interactively or by automatically maximizing element

quality
These tools can be found on the Tool page.
Check Elems evaluate elements against various element quality criteria

o Jacobian, warpage, angle, min. length, aspect ratio, skew
Edges
o Display free edges in the model by creating 1D elements on each one
o Equivalence (merge) nodes within a specified tolerance
Normals display and correct element normals
Penetration display and correct element penetration

Exercise 3a: 2D Shell Meshing and Topology Refinement
Step 1: Load the model Exercise_3a.hm.
Step 2: 2D Automeshing
1. Load the automesh panel.
2. Mesh the part with an element size of 5. Set all of the options to match the picture
above.
3. Review the mesh.

Overall the mesh looks pretty good but closer examination of areas around the part
reveals there are some extremely poor quality elements.
4. Manipulate the part using the Pan, Rotate and Zoom functions and identify areas of poor
mesh formation.
As discussed in the lecture,

HyperMesh always maintains all
edges in the model except those
that are suppressed.
Turning the mesh visualization off
shows the surface edge lines and
reveals that there are many
features within the model that
interfere with mesh quality. This is
very often the case in geometric
models imported from CAD.
Topology refinement is used to fix
those areas to improve the quality
of the generated mesh.

Step 3: Topology Refinement

The goal of topology refinement is to manipulate the geometry to remove or alter
geometric features that cause poor element quality. HyperMesh has many tools, both
automatic and manual, to assist in this process.
1. Enter the geometry Autocleanup panel.
2. From the Autocleanup panel select the edit parameters button.
3. Enter 5 for the element size.
4. Leave the Geometry cleanup option checked and deselect all other options.
5. Click OK.
6. Select the edit criteria button.
7. Enter 5 for the target element size, 3 for the minimum element size and 6 for the
maximum element size.
8. Click OK.
9. Select all the surfaces and click autocleanup.
HyperMesh has suppressed edges that it felt would not allow elements that met the
criteria to be created.
10. Mesh the part again with an element size of 5.

You will see that the quality of the mesh has improved drastically.
There are still some issues with the mesh though.

11. Using the quick edit panel improve the quality of the mesh using the following functions;
Toggle Line
Adjust Density
Add Point
Split Surface
Add a washer around the hole using the quick edit panel with an offset value of 5.
12. Use the element editing tools to achieve a Quality Index as low as possible utilizing the
following tools:
Split Element
Combine Element
Quality Index Node Editing
Step 4: Interactive Meshing

While automatic meshing is quick and the overall mesh quality is good, HyperMesh
allows the user to interactively manipulate a preview mesh, controlling various settings
before the mesh is finalized.
1. Enter the Automesh panel.
2. Change the toggle from automatic to interactive.
3. Select the surfaces in the Standard collector.
4. Mesh the part.

HyperMesh now enters the Size and Bias Interactive Mesh Preview Screen. The green
mesh that is shown is only a preview mesh and to see how changes affect it click the
green mesh button. The mesh will not be finalized until the return button is clicked.
5. From this screen try the following functions and see the effect they have on the mesh.
Adjust the edge densities.
Recalculate the entire model to have a 6mm element size.
Change the mesh style so that the element type is all trias and then all R-Trias.
Alter the biasing on edges and determine the difference between linear,
exponential and bell curve biasing.
Recalculate the mesh to have 5mm quad elements on all surfaces.
6. Return to save the mesh.
Step 5: Model Organization

As this exercise will demonstrate the differences between meshing options, multiple
components will be necessary to separate the various meshes.
1. Create two component collectors called AlignOnly and AlignAndSize and make them
distinct colors.
2. Organize a copy of all the surfaces into both collectors.

Step 6: Meshing Options

There are a few options in the Automesh panel which can have a profound effect on the
mesh created. This section will explore those options.
1. Make the AlignOnly collector current and the only collector visible.
2. From the Automesh panel, size and bias sub panel, next to flow select the align
option. Leave the size box un-selected.
3. Mesh the surfaces in the AlignOnly collector.
4. Make the AlignAndSize collector current and the only collector visible.
5. From the Automesh panel, size and bias sub panel, next to flow select the align and
size options.
6. Mesh the surfaces in the AlignAndSize collector.
7. Utilizing the isolate function in the Model Browser to see the results of the different
meshing options.
Note that the non aligned standard mesh tends to be more orthogonal following the
direction of the cardinal axis. The Align option allows the mesh to flow with the contours
of the part and the addition of the size option controls the size of the elements more and
results in less trias.
Step 7: Edge and Surface Deviation

1. In the Automesh panel select the edge deviation subpanel.
2. Set the values as follows:
3. Mesh the part and if in interactive mode, finalize the mesh.

Note how the mesh size varies dependant on curvature within the surfaces. At rounded
edges and around holes the mesh size drops down to the minimum element size to
capture the curvature. Areas of no curvature are meshed at the largest element size.

4. Select the surface deviation sub panel.

5. Set the values as follows:
6. Mesh the part. Note how now the mesh size is dependent on and varies with the
curvature of the surfaces. Fillets between and areas of high surface curvature are
captured with smaller elements but large flat areas are of a higher element size.
7. Experiment in these two sub panels and determine how the interactive mesh controls
can be used to enhance the feature capturing abilities of these meshing styles.

Exercise 3b: Refining Topology to Achieve a Quality Mesh

(optional)
Step 1: Open the model file, Exercise_3b.hm.

The model for this exercise is Exercise_3b.hm. Take a few moments to observe the
model using the different visual options available in HyperMesh (rotation, zooming, etc.).
Step 2: Create a preliminary mesh.

1. From the menu bar, click Mesh > Create > 2D AutoMesh to open the Automesh panel.
2. Set the selector type to surfs.
3. Go to the size and bias sub-panel.
4. In the element size = field, type 2.5.
5. For mesh type:, select mixed.
6. Switch the meshing mode from interactive to automatic.
7. Click surfs >> displayed.
8. Deactivate the align and size options.
9. Click mesh to mesh the surfaces.
Initial mesh on the defeatured clip model

Step 3: Review the mesh quality.

1. Take a minute to rotate, zoom, and pan the model to review the mesh that was created.
Note the locations where the mesh was not created in rows and columns of quads.
2. From the menu bar, select Mesh > Check > Elements > Check Elements to open the
Check Elements panel.
3. Go to the 2-d sub-panel.
4. In the length < field, type 1.
5. Click the length button to evaluate the minimum length.
6. Note the elements that failed the check. The topology will be edited to correct of some of
these, and the others will be left as is.
8. Use the Model Browser to turn off the display of the elements in the Middle Surface
component.
Step 4: Remove short edges by combining fixed points.

1. From the menu bar, click Geometry > Edit > Fixed Points > Replace to open the
panel.
2. Verify that the active selector is set to moved points.
3. Select the lower fixed point as indicated in the following image.
4. Once the point is selected, activate the retained point button.
5. Select the upper fixed point as indicated in the following image.
6. Once the second point is selected, click replace.
Selecting fixed points to be combined

Step 5: Remove the fixed points interior to all surfaces.

You should still be in the Points panel.
1. Go to the suppress sub-panel and choose the at cursor option.
2. Select the four fixed points as shown in the following image.
Each fixed point will be deleted as you select it.
These fixed points are left over from a defeaturing operation where small holes
(pinholes) were removed. They could remain without greatly sacrificing the element
quality, given the element size used for the mesh, but the mesh should be better without
them.
Fixed points to be removed
Step 6: Add edges to the surfaces to control the mesh pattern.

1. From the menu bar, click Geometry > Edit > Surfaces > Trim with Nodes to open the
panel.
2. Under node normal to edge, set the active selector to node.
3. Zoom into the area indicated below and select the indicated fixed point.
4. With the active selector now on lines, select the line shown in the following image.
Once both the point and line are selected, an edge will be created from the location of
the fixed point perpendicular to the line.

Select fixed point and line to split the surface.
5. Repeat sub-steps 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4 for the following point and line.

Select fixed point and line to split the surface
Step 7: Add edges to the surfaces to control the mesh pattern.

1. Go to the trim with surfs/planes sub-panel.

2. In the with plane column, set the active selector to surfs.

3. Select the surfaces indicated in the following image.
Surfaces to be selected for splitting
4. If necessary, toggle the direction selector to N1, N2, and N3. Click N1 to make the
selector active.
5. Press and hold your left mouse button, and then move it over the edge indicated in the
following figure.
Select fixed point and line to split the surface

Once over the line, the cursor will change to a square with a dot in the center, .
Release your mouse button. Click two points anywhere along the edge. Do not click a
third.
Nodes will be placed on the line for N1 and N2.
6. Press F4 on the keyboard to enter the Distance panel.
7. Go to the three nodes sub-panel.
8. As in 7.6, press and hold your left mouse button, and then move it over the edge of the
hole, as indicated in the image above. Once over the line, the cursor will change to a
square with a dot in the center. Release your mouse button.
9. Click three points anywhere along the edge.
Temporary nodes will be placed on the line representing N1, N2, and N3.
Note that the technique used to create nodes to select where none existed before can
be used in any place where nodes need to be selected but dont exist in the model. You
can create nodes in this manner on lines, surfaces and elements. For more details, see
the HyperMesh online help. Pick the index and type, Picking Nodes on Geometry or
Elements.
10. Click circle center to create a node at the center of the hole.
11. Click return to return to the Surface Edit panel.
12. Click B to make it the active selector.
13. Select the node that was just created at the center of the hole.
14. Click trim.
The surfaces are trimmed through the center of the hole.
Step 8: Suppress shared edges causing a small edge.

1. Click Geometry > Edit > Surface Edges > (Un)Suppress to open the panel.
3. Select each of the lines in the image below using your left mouse button and click
suppress.
Each line will become suppressed (blue) as you click suppress.

Surface edges to suppress by toggling
Step 9: Remesh the part.

Remesh the surfaces of the part, using the automatic mode, a size of 2.5, and the mixed
mesh type.
1. Use the Model Browser to display the elements in the Middle Surface component.
2. Access the Automesh panel.
3. Verify that elem size = is set to 2.5 and the mesh type is set to mixed.
4. Click surfs >> displayed to select all displayed surfaces.
5. Click mesh.
Step 10: Review the mesh quality.

1. Take a minute to rotate, zoom, and pan the model to review the mesh that was created.
Note that the mesh now consists completely of rows and columns of quads.
2. Enter the Check Elements panel.
3. Go to the 2-d sub-panel
4. In the length < field, type 1.
5. Click the length button to evaluate the minimum length.
Note the elements that failed the check. There are only two elements that fail the check,
and these fail the check because of the shape of the part. However, they are not too
small compared to the global element size, so you can leave them as they are.
6. Access the Automesh panel.
7. Go to the QI optimize sub-panel.

8. Verify that elem size = is set to 2.5 and the mesh type is set to mixed.
9. Click edit criteria.
10. In the Target element size field, type 2.500.
11. Click Apply and OK.
12. Select surfs >> displayed to select all displayed surfaces.
13. Click mesh.
Note that the old mesh is replaced by the new mesh.
14. If there is a message saying, "There is a conflict between the user requested element
size and quality criteria ideal element size," click the button, Recompute quality criteria
using size of 2.5.
15. Access the Quality Index panel by clicking Mesh > Check > Elements > Quality
Index.
16. Go to pg1 and verify that the comp. QI is 0.01.
This low value indicates that the mesh is good quality. The higher the number, the lower
the mesh quality.

The part is now meshed and ready to be set up for an analysis. Save the model, if desired.

Exercise 3c: Checking and Editing Mesh (optional)

In this exercise, you will learn how to:
Identify shell element connectivity problems
Correct shell element connectivity problems
Review the models shell elements to ensure connectivity problems were corrected
Remesh the elements along the rib
Exercise
This exercise uses the model file, Exercise_3c.hm.
Step 1: Retrieve and view the HyperMesh model file.

Open the file Exercise_3c.hm.
Step 2: Review the models free edges to identify shell element connectivity
problems.
1. Access the Edges panel in the following ways:
From the Menu Bar, click Mesh > Check > Components > Edges
From the main menu, select the Tool page, and then click edges
Press the SHIFT+F3 keys
2. With the comps selector active, click any element in the graphics area.
The component containing the element is selected.
3. Click find edges.
Red, 1-D elements are displayed. They are organized into the new component named
^edges. A red 1-D element is created along each shell element edge that is free; one or
more of the element edges nodes is not shared by the adjacent elements.
Note: For a component name whose first character is ^, the component and its
contents is not written to the input file when the model is exported.
4. Click Shaded Elements and Mesh Lines ( ).

5. Observe the red, 1-D elements (free edges).
6. Try to identify gaps in the continuity of the mesh.
Hint: Look closely at free edges interior to the model.
7. In the Model Browser, turn the display on and off for the component shells to continue
to identify which red, free edges do not belong.
8. Turn on the display for the component, shells.
Step 3: Correct the shell element connectivity problems using the edges
panel.
1. In the tolerance= field, type 0.01.
2. Select an element in the graphics area to select the component.
3. Click preview equiv.
The status bar displays the following message: "81 nodes were found."
A sphere, , is created on nodes having a distance between each other equal to or
less than the specified tolerance.

4. Notice that for this exercises model, a sphere is not created on every node along all of
the red, free edges, which do not belong. A larger tolerance must be specified to identify
the rest of the nodes.
5. For tolerance =, increase its value until all 96 nodes are identified as shown in the
following image.
Be careful not to increase the tolerance value to too much. Although the 96 nodes will be
identified, an excessively large tolerance value may collapse elements when the
identified nodes are equivalenced. To find out the maximum value that can be safely
used for tolerance without collapsing the elements, press the F10 key to go to the check
elems panel, go to 2-d sub-panel and click length. The status bar will display The
min length is 1.49. A tolerance value < 1.49 can safely be used, without causing any
elements to collapse when identified nodes are equivalenced. Click return to go back to
edges panel.
The nodes identified with preview equivalence
6. Click equivalence.
The 96 coincident nodes are equivalenced.
7. Rotate and observe the model to see that the mesh still looks as it should and no
elements are collapsed.
8. Click delete edges.
The red, free edges and their component, ^edges, are deleted.
Note: Remain in the edges panel.
Step 4: Review the models free edges again to confirm that all of the shell
element connectivity problems have been corrected.

1. Select the component in the Graphics Area.

2. Click find edges.
Observe the red, 1-D elements (free edges).
Are there any red, free edges that should not belong if the mesh was continuous or if all
of the elements were connected?
Hint: Only red, free edges should exist on the perimeter of the part and on periphery of
internal holes.
3. Use the Model Browser to turn the display off and on for the component, shells, to
observe that all of the free, red edges belong.
4. After verifying that the model has correct red, free edges, click delete edges.
Red, free edges that belong
Step 5: Display the element normals and adjust them to point in the same
direction.
1. Go to the Normals panel. The Normals panel can be accessed in the following ways:
From the Menu Bar, click Mesh > Check > Elements > Normals
Press the SHIFT+F10 keys
2. Choose the elements sub-panel and set toggle to vector display normals.
3. With the comps selector active, select one element from the graphics area to select the
component.
4. Click display normals.
Arrows (vectors) are drawn from the element centroids and show the direction of the
element normals.
Notice the arrows do not all point from the same side of the part. For some analyses, the
element normals should point from the same side.
5. Click size = and enter the size which the normal should be in model units and select
display normals again.
When size = is set to 0, the vector will be 10% of the screen.
6. Toggle vector display normals to color display normals.
The element normals are displayed using colors. The red side of the elements is the
positive normal direction, while the blue side is the negative normal direction.
8. Notice each side of the part shows red and blue.
9. Click the orientation: elem selector to make it active.
10. Select an element from the graphics area.
11. Click adjust normals.
All elements on either side of the part are the same color, red or blue.
The status bar displays the following message: "[X] elements have been adjusted."
If after adjusting the normals, there are still elements on one side of the part which are of
different color, change to elems from comps for the entity selector, choose these
elements and click reverse normals.
Step 6: Review the quality of the elements using the check elems panel.
1. Access the Check Elements panel in one of the following ways:
From the Menu Bar, click Mesh > Check > Elements > Check Elements
Press the F10 key
2. Go to the 2-d sub-panel.
3. Verify that jacobian < field is set to 0.7.
4. Click jacobian to determine if any elements have a jacobian of less than 0.7.
Elements having a jacobian of less than 0.7 are highlighted.
5. Notice that several elements on the triangular rib and around the smaller of the two
holes have a jacobian of less than 0.7.
The status bar displays a message indicating how many elements failed this check.
6. In the graphics area, click an element.
A window appears that lists each quality check result for the element.
7. Click the right or left mouse button to close the pop-up window.
8. On the right side of the panel menu, switch from standard to assign plot.
9. Click jacobian to review again.

A legend for jacobian values appears and each element is colored accordingly. The red
elements have a jacobian less than the threshold, 0.7.
10. Verify that quads: min angle < is set to 45.
11. Click min angle to determine if any quad elements have an angle of less than 45.
12. Notice that a couple of elements on the rib have an angle of less than 45.
13. Verify that the max angle >field is set to 135.
14. Click max angle to determine if any quad elements have an angle greater than 135.
15. Notice that several elements on the rib have an angle greater than 135.
Step 7: Remesh the elements on the rib using the automesh panel.
1. Access the Automesh panel in one of the following ways:
From the Menu Bar, click Mesh > Create > 2D AutoMesh
Press the F12 key
2. Verify that you are in the size and bias sub-panel.
3. Switch the entity selector to elems.
4. Toggle to interactive.
5. For element size=, type 3.5.
6. Select one rib element from the graphics area.
7. Select one element on the plane of elements perpendicular to the rib and in the same
plane as the ribs shortest edge as shown in the following image.

Example of elements to select
8. Select elems >> by face to complete the selection of elements as shown in the following
image.
Elements selected using by face
9. Click mesh.
The meshing module appears.
10. In the density sub-panel, change the element density on the ribs hypotenuse edge to 9.
11. Change the element density on the ribs shortest edge to 5.
12. Keep all other element edge densities the same.

Adjusting element edge densities
13. Access the mesh style sub-panel.

14. Under mesh method, set the last option to free (unmapped).
15. Under mesh method, select set all.
16. Click mesh to preview the mesh.
17. Go to the checks sub-panel, and check the jacobian, quads: min angle, and quads:
max angle.
18. Notice that no elements fail the minimum and maximum angle checks.
Only a couple of elements have a jacobian of less than 0.7. The smallest jacobian is
0.68, which can still be considered good quality.
19. Click return twice to accept the mesh and exit the panel.
Step 8: Use the Smooth panel to adjust the node placement on the
rectangular plane of remeshed elements.
1. Click Mesh > Cleanup Elements > Smooth to open the Smooth panel.
2. Go to the plates sub-panel.
3. With the smooth: elems selector active, select an element on the rectangular plane of
re-meshed elements.
4. Select elems >> by face.
5. For iterations = specify 10.
6. Switch the smoothing algorithm from autodecide to shape corrected.

7. Click smooth.
Step 9: Remove tria elements from another area of the model using the edit
element panel, split and combine sub-panels.
1. On the 2D page, enter the edit element panel.
2. Go to the split sub-panel.
3. With the splitting line: points selector active, click four screen points as shown the
following image.
Temporary line segments are drawn to connect the points.
4. You can right-click to undo the last line segment drawn or you can click delete line to
start over with selecting points.
5. Click split.
Elements that have the line pass through them are split. The resulting mesh should look
like the mesh in the following image. There are two pairs of adjacent tria elements.

6. Go to the combine sub-panel and set the toggle to combine to quad.

7. Select two adjacent tria elements as indicated in the following image.
8. Click combine.
9. Repeat 11.7 and 11.8 for the other two adjacent tria elements.
10. Remain in the edit element sub-panel.
Trias to select Combining trias into quads
Step 10: Dynamically move nodes on the mesh area modified in the previous
step to improve element quality.
1. Go to the cleanup sub-panel and ensure it is set to displayed elems.
2. Click cleanup.
The element cleanup menu appears. It allows you to select various combinations of
quality checks, specify a warning/unacceptable range for each check, and dynamically
move nodes around to place them where you desire.
Elements are colored as follows:

No color, appearing blank: element passes quality checks

Yellow: one or more quality check results falls into warning/unacceptable range
Red: one or more quality check results are beyond unacceptable
Among the group of elements you modified in the last step, Step 11, two quad elements
are red and one quad element is yellow.
3. Clear the warpage and jacobian check boxes, so that just the max angle is checked.
4. The model has three elements that are colored red.
5. With the node selector active, click an interior node of a red element and drag the node
around until the element is no longer red.
6. Repeat 12.4 for the other red elements.
Step 11: For the same area of elements you focused on in the previous step,
optimize element quality by clicking nodes and elements.
1. On the 2D page, go to the quality index panel.
2. With the node optimize selector active, click a few nodes of the mesh area you
modified.
When a node is clicked, it is repositioned so that the elements attached to it have the
best possible quality based on the criteria specified in the qualityindex panel.
3. Click the selector element optimize to make it active.
4. Click yellow and red elements in the same mesh area.
When an element is clicked, it is adjusted to have the best quality possible based on the
criteria specified in the qualityindex panel.
When you click a red element, it may become yellow or the background color (no color
assigned). When you click a yellow element, it may become the background color (no
color assigned).
Step 12: Add a ring of radial elements around the smaller of the two holes.
1. Click the Utility tab. If the Utility is not displayed in the HyperMesh session, go to View
> Browsers > HyperMesh > Utility.
2. On the Geom/Mesh page, click Add Washer.
3. With the nodes selector active, select one node on the edge of the smaller hole as
indicated in the following image.

Example node to select
4. Click proceed.
A pop-up window for Add Washer along a Circular Hole utility appears.
5. Toggle to Width, and for Value specify 3.0.
6. Select the Minimum number of nodes around the hole check box.
7. In the Density: field, enter 12.
Add Washer along a Circular Hole dialog
8. Click Add.

9. Click Close.
The mesh around the hole should look like the mesh in the following image.
Resulting mesh around the smaller hole

With this exercise completed, you can save the model if desired.

Section 3: Batch Meshing

Geometry cleanup and meshing are often cited as
time consuming aspects of finite element modeling. In
HyperMesh, these tasks can be performed in batch
mode with the Batch Mesher, requiring a minimum of
input and user interaction. This section walks the user
through the basic process of meshing a part using the
batch mesher.
Define a configuration for the batch mesh
Edit the criteria and parameter files
Run the batch mesh job
Monitor and review the batch mesh job
Batchmesher
Performs geometry cleanup and automeshing
in a batch mode
Can dramatically improve productivity since
there is minimal user interaction (especially for large assemblies)
Uses criteria and parameter files to determine how the parts should be meshed
Can mesh multiple files in the same run

Batch Meshing Procedure

1. Create / specify Configurations
Combination of element criteria and geometric parameters.
o Element criteria are element quality requirements.
o Geometric parameters are other requirements (element type, removal of
pinholes, removal of fillets, etc.)
Criteria and parameters can be edited with the Criteria and Parameters Files
Editor.
2. Register and specify User Procedures (optional)
Custom TCL scripts (macros) created by the user
Performs additional operations on models during the batch run
Pre Run and Post Run options can specify procedures performed before or after
the run
Can specify when the procedure should be performed during the run
o Pre-geometry load as soon as batch mesher is invoked
o Pre-batch mesh just before loaded geometry is meshed
o Post-batch mesh after meshing is finished
3. Set up the Batch Mesh job
Specify a directory where geometry files are located
Select geometry files from the directory
Select a configuration to use for the mesh type for each file
Specify any user procedures to be performed on each part
Specify a directory where the meshed files will be located
Run the batch mesh job
4. Monitor the Run Status of the job
Use the Run Status tab to keep track of all your submitted jobs
Use Load Mesh to open a selected file in a new HyperMesh session to view the
resulting mesh



Chapter 4: Solids and Hexas
Chapter 4
Solids and Hexas

Section 1: Creating and Editing Solid Geometry
HyperMesh has several functions that require the definition of a volume, such as creating
tetrahedral and hexahedral meshes. This can be done either with surfaces that enclose the
volume, or with solid geometry entities. Working with solids provides a couple of
advantages over surfaces. Selecting the volume for the function requires only a single click
because solids represent the volume with a single entity, as opposed to surfaces. Solids
that are topologically connected to each other also allow the functions being used to
recognize the connection. Creating mesh in these cases allows the mesh in adjacent
volumes to automatically have proper connectivity.
In this section, you will learn:
What is solid geometry
What is topology
What does 3D topology look like
Solids are geometric entities that define a three-dimensional volume. Geometric entities are
defined as follows:
Point: 0 dimensional; has only x, y, and z coordinates
Line: 1-dimensional; has length, can be curved through 3-dimensional space
Surface: 2-dimensional; has an area
Solid: 3-dimensional, has a volume
Solid Geometry
HyperMesh supports the same solid geometry that is created in popular CAD software.
Solid geometry can be achieved through the importation of native CAD data or can be easily
created from bounding surfaces using the Bounding Surfaces option from the
Solids panel on the Geom page.

Additionally HyperMesh has numerous solid geometry creating tools to assist in the
manipulation of solids. These can be found through the pull-down menu, Geometry >
Create > Solid.
Solids panel
Creates solid geometry of basic shapes:
Square / Block - Cylinder / Cone Sphere Torus
Full or Partial
Bounding Surfs Select surfaces that enclose a volume
Drag along vector Extrude" a cross section along a a defined vector
Drag along normal Extrude" a cross section along surf normal vector
Drag along line Extrude" a cross section along a line
Spin Extrude a cross section via a circular path
Solid Editing
Tools for editing geometry:
Surfaces panel
o Creates surfaces using various methods
o Can be used to split a solid
o Edges of the surface must be equivalenced to edges on the solid

Solid Edit panel

o Trim with splits a solid into 2+ solids using:
Nodes
Lines
Planes
Surfaces
o Merge combine 2+ adjacent solids into a single solid entity
o Detach disconnects connected solids
o Boolean advanced trim & merge operations
Union (Solid A + Solid B) same as merge
Intersection (Solid A x Solid B) keeps overlapping portions of 2
solids
Removal (Solid A Solid B) deletes the volume of one solid from
another
Cut (Cut Solid A with Solid B) trims one solid with another solid
keeps both solids, but they no longer overlap
Solid Topology
Topology governs the connectivity of solids and thus the connectivity of the elements
created from them. Similar to 2D topology, 3D topology is represented by colors as follows:

3D Topology visualization can be controlled using the Visualization Browser

Section 2: Solid Meshing

To mesh solid geometry, the Solid Map panel is used.
In particular are the one volume and multi solid sub panels. These allow for the automatic
creation of Hexa/Penta mesh on mappable shapes.
Location:
o 3D (page) > solid map (panel)
- OR -
o Mesh > Create > Solid Map Mesh
What it does:
o Creates hexa-penta mesh in 1 or more volumes
Each volume is defined by selecting a solid
geometry entity
Easy to define shape for the mesh
since only one entity is selected
Each volume must be a mappable shape
Mappable Shapes
To use the automatic Solid Map function the geometry must be split into mappable shapes.
Mappable shapes are defined as 2 opposing faces (source and destination) and faces that
directly connect the source and destination (along faces).

While this example shows two faces that are of the same shape and directly oppose each
other, that is not a requirement. The source and destination can be of drastically different
shape and contour and need not lie directly opposite each other.
Requirements and Tips

Shape must be a closed volume
Multiple source faces are allowed
Destination face must be a single face
No edges are permitted that are perpendicular to the drag direction. If they exist they
must be suppressed.
When splitting solids into Mappable Shapes it is recommended to split the part into
the fewest possible regions to save time and offer more control over the mesh size.
This often means splitting parts in ways that are not perpendicular to surfaces.

Placing a 2D mesh onto a Source face of a mappable shape will allow control over
the pattern of the resulting 3D mesh.
When splitting solids into mappable regions, shared faces will guarantee 3D element
connectivity across the split. This connectivity will also assure that the mesh pattern
is carried through the part as subsequent regions are meshed.

Mesh connectivity of properly split regions with shared faces is also guaranteed even
when mesh directions of the individual regions are not the same. NOTE: The mesh
pattern on the along faces will always be quads.
Solid Map Meshing

In solid meshing, the ability to be meshed is referred to as mappability. Mappability is
directional and can be likened to putting a surface mesh on one face of the solid, then
extending that mesh along a vector through the solid volume.

The ability to control the mesh pattern of a solid mesh by placing a shell mesh on the
surface has been available in previous versions. To achieve this, though, the user had to
put the shell mesh on the surface before the solid map function was performed and had to
do it for each desired face. The solid map panel automatically places a shell mesh on the
source faces and then enters into a mesh adjustment panel similar to the one in the
automesh panel:
This allows for control over the mesh density and style using tools that work the same as in
the automesh panel.

Exercise 4a: 3D Solid Meshing with Hexas and Pentas

This exercise will demonstrate a method for splitting a solid and then use the solid map
function to create Hexa/Penta Solid elements. It is important to note that this is simply one
way of splitting this solid. As with any solid geometry there are often many ways of
obtaining a fully mappable solid and while some are better than others, there is rarely a
right way of doing it. Experience is the key with this function; so experiment with different
techniques for solid splitting and observe the results you get.
Step 1: Import the model

1. Locate and import the file Stand.prt.
This model is in a PRO/E .prt format.
Step 2: Defeaturing
Small fillets make the geometry substantially more difficult to split into mappable regions
and result in a far more complex solid mesh. In many cases, these fillets are for
manufacturing purposes and can be eliminated from the geometry.
1. Defeature all of the small internal fillets.
HINT: Setting the search values to be 0.5->5.5 will

select all of the fillets needed. This range will also result
in the fillet shown in the picture to the right to be
selected. This fillet must be removed (Right Click) from
the selected fillets as defeaturing it would cause a sharp
point that would act as a severe stress concentration
area.
Step 3: The first split

There is no set method for splitting a solid and often the first cut is the hardest, as picking
the location to begin can be confusing. Often it is easiest to find areas that look to be close
to being mappable. Many regions are only one cut away from becoming mappable and
these frequently are the best place to start. In the case of this model, these areas are the
flat feet. One cut will separate them from the rest of the solid and they will immediately
become mappable.

1. Turn on Mappable visualization:
2. In the solid edit panel select the trim with plane/surf subpanel.
3. Select the solid and using the N1 N2 N3
option, define a plane on the flat area
shown on the right.
4. Trim the solid and the result will be a
mappable region on the foot.
5. Repeat this trim on the other side of the part.
Step 4: Splitting out further mappable regions.

With the first splits done, now we can look to what is
remaining and determine how these regions can be made
mappable. It is often easiest to visualize this by masking the
areas already split into mappable regions, thus showing only
the areas of the part that remain to be split
1. Mask the two mappable solids that were created in Step 3.
2. From the trim with plane/surf subpanel, select the solid and define a plane on the flat
recessed area.
3. Trim the solid.
4. Repeat on the other side.
The solid is now in three distinct regions; the two outer
regions being mappable and the central region which is still
un-mappable. .
5. Mask the two newly created mappable solids.
Step 5: The last trims.

With the thin slice of the part remaining, it is now important to
determine which feature(s) is(are) causing this solid to remain

non-mappable. Remember that the rules state that a mappable
solid can have multiple source faces but only ONE destination
face. The surfaces that make up the face of the pocket that was
on the complete solid (highlighted in red in the picture to the
right) occur on both sides of the remaining solid. This means
there are multiple surfaces on both sides of the solid and thus
violate the mappable rules.
In instances where specific regions prevent a solid from
mapping, trimming those regions out can result in a mappable
solid.
1. Select the trim with lines subpanel.

2. From the with sweep lines column, pick the remaining solid.
3. For the sweep lines, select the outline of one of the surface shown in red above.
4. As this model is aligned with the Global Axis, select the sweep to option to be by a
vector >> z-axis, select the sweep all option, and then trim the solid.
5. Repeat this process for the other side.
This will result in a fully mappable solid.
6. Save the model.
Step 6: Solid Meshing

With a fully mappable solid, the solid meshing tools can now be used to create the 3D
elements.
1. Enter the solid map panel and select the multi solids subpanel.
2. Set the options as below and mesh the solids.

The interactive multi solid meshing will allow for 2D mesh customization prior to the
creation of the 3D mesh. HyperMesh will show the order in which each solid is to be
meshed and will indicate the direction in which the mesh will be extruded.
Additionally the panel now allows the user to alter the 2D mesh that will be used as the
pattern to extrude the 3D elements. A panel similar to that used in interactive shell
meshing is opened and the pattern mesh is displayed on the solids.
Using procedures identical to 2D meshing, edge densities can be adjusted, element

sizes can be re calculated, mesh styles can be changed and other meshing options can
be altered. Clicking the mesh button will show the solid mesh but the mesh will not be
finalized until the return button is clicked so further changes can be made.
3. Use the edge density, master face style and options sub panels to make changes to
the mesh and see their outcome on the 3D mesh. When happy with the 3D mesh,
return from the function and save the part.

Section 3: Shrink Wrap

Shrink wrap meshing is a method to create a simplified mesh of a complex model when
high-precision models are not necessary. This is often the case for power train components
during crash analysis. The model's size, mass, and general shape remains, but the surface
features and details are simplified, which can result in faster analysis computation. You can
determine the level of detail retained by determining the mesh size to use, among other
options. Shrink wrap functionality was added to HyperMesh in the 9.0 release but has had
its capabilities greatly expanded in the later versions. The key additions are:
Both solids and surfaces are valid as input to the shrink wrap it is no longer
necessary to mesh the model beforehand.
Shrink Wrap meshing has been improved for loose and tight algorithms by improving
the mesh flow and uniformity of the resulting mesh.
Feature recognition for tight wrap is automatic; no need to manually define features
as required in 9.0.
New generate solid mesh option has been introduced to provide a hexa only voxel
output. A jacobian parameter is definable to control the quality of the hexa mesh.
New mesh orientation option is available to control the resulting shell/solid mesh
which will be orientated to either the global or user defined local system.
Panel Options and Settings

The Shrink Wrap function can be accessed through the pull-down menu through Mesh >
Create > Shrink Wrap Mesh and the panel shown below will open.
Shrink wraps can be generated using two algorithms: Loose or Tight. These determine how
closely the resulting mesh adheres to the details of the underlying model, and are best
suited to different use cases which will vary for any given use.
Loose Shrink Wrap - generate a loose-fitting shrink wrap mesh that generally
conforms to the model.
Tight Shrink Wrap - generate a tight-fitting mesh that adheres closely to the
underlying model, capturing as many features as possible.
The panel options for both Loose and Tight are the same and are as follows:
Comps Selection of the comps, elems, surfs or solids used to create the shrink
wrap mesh.
element size= - Sets the desired target element size for the shrink wrap mesh.

generate solid mesh - If selected, HyperMesh creates a solid hexa mesh under the
2d shell mesh.
mesh orientation - Switch to choose element orientation with the global system or
previously created local system.

Exercise 4b: Shrink Wrap Meshing
Step 1: Open the model Exercise_4b.hm.
Step 2: Create a loose shell shrink wrap mesh in the loose_gap component.
1. Click Shaded Geometry and Surface Edges if the model is not shaded already.
2. Review the surface geometry on the screen. Notice the gap in the geometry.
3. From the pull-down menu, select Mesh > Create > Shrink Wrap Mesh.
4. Select the component in the graphics area.
5. Select the loose wrap option.
6. For element size, enter 4.
7. Click mesh to create the shrink wrap.
8. Expand the Component folder in the Model Browser.
9. Hide the surfaces component in the Model Browser.

Step 3: Review the solid geometry.

1. Show the block component in the Model Browser.
2. Review the model to see the features.
3. Hide the block component in the Model Browser.
Step 4: Create a loose shell shrink wrap mesh in the loose component.
1. Hide the loose_gap component in the Model Browser.
2. Right-click the loose component and click Make Current.
3. From the menu bar select Mesh > Create > Shrink Wrap Mesh.
4. Activate the loose wrap option.
5. Click comps and select block from the component list.
6. For the element size, enter 10.
7. Click mesh to create the mesh.

8. Click reject to reject the mesh.

9. Change the element size to 5.

11. Change the element size to 3.

The shrink wrap mesh with the geometry hidden
Step 5: Create a tight shell shrink wrap in the tight_shell component.

1. Hide the loose component using the Model Browser.
2. Right-click tight_shell and click Make Current.
3. Click comps and select the block component.
4. Activate the tight wrap option in the shrink wrap panel.
5. Make sure the element size is set to 3.

Step 6: Create a tight solid shrink wrap in the tight_solid component

1. Hide the tight_shell component in the Model Browser.
2. Right-click the tight_solid component in the Model Browser and click Make Current.
3. Click comps and select the block component
4. Activate the generate solid mesh option.
5. Change the minimum jacobian to 1.


8. Change the minimum jacobian to 0.7.
9. Click mesh to create the shrink wrap.
10. Click to open the Mask panel.

11. If not already set, set the panel collector to elems.
12. Use SHIFT + left mouse button to select a group of elements.
13. Click mask to mask the elements.
Step 7 (Optional): Change the minimum jacobian to 0.3 for optimized mesh.
1. Delete the elements displayed in the graphics area.
2. Click comps and select the block component from the list.
3. For the minimum jacobian, enter 0.3.
4. Click mesh to generate the mesh.



Chapter 5: Tetra Meshing
Chapter 5
Tetra Meshing
HyperMesh provides several methods of generating a tetrahedral mesh. The standard
method creates tetras from an enclosed volume of shell elements, plus several parameters.
This provides the user with a lot of control over the final tetra mesh. The volume tetra
mesher quickly and automatically creates a tetrahedral mesh on an enclosed volume of
surfaces or solid geometry with only a few inputs. Finally, the quick tetra mesher creates a
tetra mesh that maintains user specified quality requirements, but may sacrifice details in the
shape of the part to do so. All methods are valid in certain situations. The exercise in this
section focuses on the standard and volume tetra meshing methods.
In this chapter, you will learn about:
Volume tetra mesher
Standard tetra mesher
Checking tetra element quality
Re-meshing tetra elements

Section 1: Standard Tetra Meshing

Standard Tet Meshing involves wrapping a volume in 2D elements and then using that
predefined mesh to grow Tetra elements to fill the volume. The process is as follows:
1. Generate a surface mesh of shell elements
2. Check quality and connectivity of the plate elements
3. Generate the tetrahedral mesh
4. Delete the original surface mesh
5. Edit if necessary to obtain good quality
The standard method of Tetra Meshing can be found through the Mesh > Create >
Tetramesh pull-down menu and then select the tetra mesh subpanel.
Requirements for the shell mesh:
Enclose one, and only one, continuous volume.
There can be no free or T-connected edges.
There can be no duplicates in the mesh.
Elements should not fold over and overlap each other.
Avoid very low minimum tria angles.
Avoid a large difference in size between adjacent elements.
Avoid a large difference in size between two sides of a wall thickness.
For quad elements in the shell mesh:
Split quads into 2 trias and create tetra elements under them
- OR
Keep the quad element and create pyramids under them
When using the Standard Tetramesh, the user will select the trias/quads that will define the
mesh and optionally the user can select fixed trias/quads. HyperMesh will, when creating
the tetra mesh, flip the diagonal of the 2D elements if it deems the resulting tetra mesh will
be of a higher quality with the flip. HyperMesh will not do this to elements selected in the
fixed selection.
Standard Trias/Quads
Adjacent tria faces on the tetrahedral mesh may have their diagonal reversed
from the shell mesh if tetras are better quality
Fixed Trias/Quads:

Adjacent tria faces on the tetrahedral mesh always match the shell mesh

Section 2: Volume Tetra Meshing

The volume tetra meshing utility, found in the Mesh>Create>Tetramesh pull-down menu and
in the volume tetra subpanel, provides a quick method for generating a tetra mesh. No
initial 2D mesh is required and the tetra mesh can be generated on solid geometry or inside
surfaces fully bounding a volume.
Two options are available to control the mesh:

Use Proximity Creates smaller elements next to small features to make a smooth
transition from small to large elements.
Use Curvature Will place more elements along curved surfaces based on user
specified settings.

Exercise 5a: Tetrameshing
Step 1: Load the model

1. Load the model Exercise_5a.hm
Step 2: Attempt to TetraMesh the part

1. Either from the menu bar or the panel area, enter the panel to create a 3D Tetramesh.
2. Select the Volume tetra sub panel.
3. Change the enclosed volume switch to surfs.
4. Attempt to select a surface on the model. (Note: You will not be able to.)
With a properly enclosed model, the volume tetra panel will automatically select the
entire volume and allow a mesh to be created. With the model now in a topological
display mode, you will note there are many issues with the topography of the model.
Only a fully enclosed volume can be properly TetraMeshed, so we need to fix the model.
Step 3: Fix the topography.

1. Using the Geometry menu in the menu bar, use the geometry cleanup tools to ensure a
fully enclosed volume.
Hints: Equivalence and Toggle will solve most of the problems. Some issues require
filler surfaces and point replacement. Remember that topology visualization can
assist in finding problems.
Step 4: TetraMeshing
With a properly enclosed volume you can now create the TetraMesh
1. Either from the menu bar or the panel area, enter the panel to create a 3D Tetramesh.
2. Select the Volume tetra sub panel
3. Change the enclosed volume switch to surfs.
4. Select a surface on the model. HyperMesh will automatically select all of the surfaces
that enclose the volume. If this fails to happen there are still errors in the volume and
need to be corrected using the geometry cleanup tools.
5. Leave all the default values and enter 30 into the element size= field.
6. Mesh the part.

7. The part should now look similar to this:
Masking half the part shows the Tetrahedral Element structure thorough the part.
8. Now delete the mesh.
Step 5: Using Proximity and Curvature Options

Proximity and Curvature options can provide a mesh that adheres closer to the geometry
in areas of curvature or small cross sections.
1. From the Volume tetra subpanel, select the part and select the Use proximity and Use
curvature options
2. Set the following fields to the values shown:
3. Mesh the part.
Note the areas of curvature have a

smaller mesh size to better capture the
geometric curvature.

4. Optional: Mask half the part to view the internal structure
Step 6: Improve the mesh quality.

To improve the overall Tetrahedral Element quality we will check the tet collapse value
of the elements. Tet collapse uses a normalizing equation that checks the ratio of the
distance from each of the nodes to the area of the opposing face.
1. Find the Check Elements option from the Mesh menu in the menu bar.
2. Select the 3-d sub panel.
3. Enter 0.3 into the tet collapse< field and click the tet collapse button.
Note the number of failed elements in the dialog bar. The value should be around 39
elements.
4. Save the failed elements by selecting save failed.
5. Isolate the failed elements
Failed elements can be isolated on the screen anytime using the following procedure.
A. Go to the mask function.
B. Click the elems button.
C. Select retrieve.
D. Click the elems button again.
E. Select reverse.
F. Mask the elements.
6. Using the unmask adjacent button twice to retrieve two layers of elements
surrounding the failed elements.
7. In the tetramesh panel select the Tetra remesh subpanel.

8. Select the displayed elements and remesh them.

9. Check the tet collapse again and note the number has dropped. Many of the remaining
elements are constrained by geometry but continued remeshing can result in further
drops in this number.
10. Delete the mesh.
Step 6: Defining Mesh Patterns

In instances where the user needs to define a specific mesh pattern for surfaces or features,
the volume tetra function can incorporate that pattern into the created tet mesh.
1. Mesh the flat ring area with an element size of 10 and type of R-Tria. Set all edges to
45 elements. The resulting mesh pattern should look similar to the one below
2. Create a new volume tetra mesh, this time selecting the match existing mesh option.
Make sure to set the tetra element size back to 30.
3. Note the Tetra Mesh has incorporated the defined mesh pattern
OPTIONAL Step 7: Improve Mesh Quality

1. Use Geometry Cleanup tools and tetra remesh functions to try to achieve the best
possible mesh. Experiment with different techniques and discover the results.

Section 3: TetraMesh Process Manager

The Process Manager is a step-by-step tool providing a checklist of procedures to allow the
user to quickly organize and tetmesh a geometric model. Each step is provided in a
hierarchal list providing the order in which the process needs to be performed and providing
specialized tools at each step to simplify the process. These steps, while they can be done
manually, can be performed in the TetraMesh Process Manager template in a much
reduced timeframe.
Using the TetraMesh Process Manager

In this section, you will learn about using the TetraMesh Process Manager to:
Import geometry or an HM File
Clean up the geometry
Organize the model (holes and features)
Establish mesh size and pattern for the organized geometry
Create a 2-D Mesh
Clean up the 2-D mesh
TetraMesh
The TetraMesh Process Manager will create a new

tab (shown to the right) that will show the step-by-step
process required to create the tet mesh. The current
step will be indicated with a white arrow while
completed steps will be shown with a green arrow .
Additionally, the panel area will change from the
standard HyperMesh panels and will provide all the
tools and functions needed to complete the current
step. The standard HyperMesh panels can be
retrieved at any time by undocking the Process
Manager panels using the icon . Selecting the icon
will redock the Process Manager panels.

Exercise 5b: Using the Tetramesh Process Manager
Step 1: Initiate the Process Manager.

1. From the Menu Bar, select Mesh > Create > TetraMesh Process >Create New to
access the Process Manager.
2. Enter a session name or leave it as my_session.
Note: Creating a session name and saving the session allows the user to stop
the process before completion and then load it again at a later time, picking up
the process at the point it was left off.
3. Select a working folder.
4. Click Create.
Step 2: Import geometry.

At this point the TetraMesh Process tab will open in the Tab area and will automatically
assemble the TetraMesh Process Flow. The first step, Geometry Import, is highlighted
and the panel area has been configured with specific panels for aiding the Tetramesh
Process Manager template. You can access the HyperMesh panels by undocking the
Process Manager panels using the icon in the upper right corner of the panel area. This
will separate the Process Manager panels so that you can also access the HyperMesh
standard panels. To redock the Process Manager panel, simply click on in the upper right
corner of the Process Manager panel.
1. In the panel area, change the Import Type to HM Model.
2. On the toolbar, click Open File ( ) and select the file tetmesh_pm.hm from
<installation_directory>/tutorials/hm/.
3. Click Import.
The model will import and a green check will appear next to Geometry Import in the
Process Manager indicating that step is now complete.
Step 3: Clean up the geometry.
1. From the Geometry Color Mode selector ( ) pick By Topo and click
Shaded Geometry and Surface Edges ( ).
2. In the panel area, select the Edge Tools tab.
3. Click Isolate.
This will isolate the surfaces with free edges on them.

Isolated Surfaces with free edges.
4. Select the Free Edges tab and click Equivalence.

This will fix all the free edges. If this did not correct all of the free edges, the
Tolerance value could be increased until all free edges are equivalenced.
5. Select the Edge Tools tab and click Isolate again.
A window should appear with the message, No edges found This confirms all
edges have been fixed.
6. Click Display All.
7. Click ACCEPT.
The Geometry Cleanup step has been completed and should have a green
checkmark by it.
Step 4: Organize and Clean up holes.

This step will allow you to organize the surfaces that form holes in the model. The
TetraMesh Process Manager can automatically sort and organize holes into separate
component collectors based upon their diameter. This will allow you to specify mesh type,
circumference element count, and longitudinal element size for different hole groups.
1. In the panel area, click the + ( ) button.
This will add a third line to the table.
2. On the first line, enter 3.3 into the D< field.
This will organize all holes with a diameter between 0 and 3.3 units, as indicated by
the Range field, into a collector.
3. Enter 5 into the second row and 10 into the third.
This will allow HyperMesh to organize the holes into three collectors that will include
holes ranging from 0 - 3.3 units, 3.3 - 5 units and 5 - 10 units collectively.
4. Click Auto Organize.
All of the holes in the model less than 10 units will now be organized into three
component collectors, each with a different color.
5. Click the HyperMesh Model Browser tab and expand the folder for Components.
You will see three new component collectors with the name solidholes followed by
the numerical average of the diameter range of the holes organized.

Transparent view of model showing all holes and bores organized
6. Return to the TetraMesh ProcessManager tab

7. In the Num Circumference Elems field enter 12 for each row.
8. In the Longitudinal Elem Size field enter 1 for each row.
The Num Circumference Elems field governs the number of elements that will be
meshed around the hole while the Longitudinal Elem Size field dictates the unit
size of the elements through the length of the hole.
9. Click ACCEPT.
The Organize & Cleanup Holes step is now complete should now have a green
checkmark next to it.
Step 5: Mesh holes.

1. In the panel area you will notice that each hole diameter row has a Mesh Type field
with a pull-down providing the options of R-tria regular and R-tria union jack.
Verify that all are set for R-tria regular and click Mesh All. (The R-tria union jack
mesh pattern will be discussed in a later step.)
You will notice this process provides a perfectly straight tria mesh down the length of
the hole with no twisting.

2. Click ACCEPT.
The checkmark in the Mesh Holes step will now turn green.
Step 6: Organize and clean up features.

This step allows you to highlight and organize features that require specific mesh controls
beyond the overall mesh pattern that will be applied to the remainder of the part in a later
step. This organizational tool will place the required surfaces into their own collector or
collectors and allow you to set mesh size and pattern requirements for each.
1. In the panel area, click the + ( ) button.
2. In the Define New window that opens, type Faces and click OK.
3. Select all five of the flat faces around the circumference of the part as shown in the
following image.
4. Click proceed.
Faces that need to be picked

The panel will switch to the Organize panel with your surfaces pre-selected to move
into a new component called grp_Faces.
5. Click move, then return.
6. Click the + ( ) button again.
7. In the Define New window that opens, type TopHole and click OK.
8. Rotate the model so you are looking at it from underneath into the center, and select
the surfaces shown in the following image.

Note: With this tool you need only select one of the two surfaces that make up a
cylinder; when you click proceed HyperMesh will automatically select the other
surfaces.
9. Click proceed.
10. In the Organize panel, click move, then return.
Your model should then look similar to the following image, with the faces in one
collector and the top hole in another. Your colors may vary slightly.
11. Click ACCEPT.
Step 7: Organize and clean up filets.

Often a better mesh can be achieved if your fillets are split down the center. The step will
allow you to automatically split your fillets based on minimum and maximum radius criteria.
1. Click Components.
2. Select the part in an area that has not been organized into a new component so that
the large purple part is selected.
3. Click proceed.
4. Leave the Min Radius at 0 and the Max Radius at 5 and make sure the Suppress
Fillet Tangent Edges option is active.
5. Click Cleanup.
You will notice that many of the fillets now have an edge running down the center
and the original edges are suppressed.
6. Click ACCEPT.
Step 8: Mesh features.

In this step you will mesh the features that you organized in Step 6. The panel area will
show a table with your organized features in it and will give you the option of selecting a
mesh type and size for each feature.
1. For the Faces feature, click the pull-down under Mesh Type and pick trias.
2. In the field under Elem Size, enter 0.5.
3. For the TopHole feature, select R-tria union jack for the Mesh Type.
4. For Elem Size, enter 0.5.
5. Click Mesh All.

6. Note the distinctive Union Jack mesh pattern ( ) in the top hole area and the
connectivity of the mesh to the previously meshed holes.
7. Click ACCEPT.
Step 9: Organize and clean up.

This step allows the user to organize and clean up the remaining portion of the model that
will then fall under the global meshing parameters. As the remaining surfaces are already in
the component you wish them to be in, there is no need for further organization.
1. Click ACCEPT.
Step 10: Mesh/remesh.

This step is where the remaining model will be globally meshed. Element size and type can
be set for all remaining components that remain unmeshed.
1. In the Element Size field, enter 1.
2. Set Mesh Type to trias.
3. Click Mesh.
4. Click ACCEPT.
Step 11: Clean up elements.

At this point the model should be entirely surface meshed. Proper adherence to the
previous steps ensures a surface mesh that is properly connected and controlled by the
previously entered values. This step will now allow the user to verify a proper mesh and
clean up any issues that are found.
1. In the panel area, click Components.
2. Select all of the components and click proceed.
3. Leave all of the values at their default (Min Size 0.25, Max FeatureAngle 60.0,
Normals Angle 150.0) and click AutoCleanup.
The following message should appear.
This indicates that all failed elements have been fixed and there are no further errors
in the model.
4. (Optional) The Manual tab allows the user to manually check the model for free
edges and t-junctions and fix any that are found. There is also the option to display
normals. Use these options to find and fix any errors.
5. Click ACCEPT.
Note: The Tetramesh Process Manager will automatically place any elements that
fail this AutoCleanup procedure in the user mark. This will allow for easy retrieval of
problem elements and the user can employ the tools from the standard HyperMesh
panels to fix these remaining elements.
Step 12: Tetra mesh.

This is the final step in the TetraMesh Process Manager Template and will be the point
where the model is Tetra meshed. The Process Manager will automatically open the
TetraMesh panel and pre-select all of the float and fixed elements.
1. Click elems under select trias/quads to tetra mesh.
The surface elements will be selected under the general mesh selection option. This
will define them as floatable elements, meaning that the diagonals of the underlying
tetra elements can be flipped from the generated shell elements if HyperMesh
determines a better element quality will result.
2. Click elems under fixed trias/quads.
The elements that represent the interior of holes and bores will be selected under
this option. The will be defined as fixed elements meaning HyperMesh will always
adhere to the shell mesh pattern with generating the tetra elements.
3. Click mesh.
4. Click the Model tab in the Tab area.
5. Expand the Components list if necessary.
6. Right-click the tetmesh component.

7. Select Isolate Only.

The tetra mesh will be displayed.
8. Click Mask ( ).
9. Hold the SHIFT key down and while holding the left mouse button down, drag a box
to include roughly half of the model.
10. Click mask.
Your tetra mesh should look similar to the following image.

1. You can now save your model if you wish.


Chapter 6: 1D Meshing and Connectors
Chapter 6
1D Meshing and Connectors

1D elements perform a critical function in Finite Element Analysis as they can be used to
connect nodes together, attach dissimilar meshes, distribute loads and in general provide a
quick and easy way to attach things together.
There are numerous types of 1D elements ranging from infinitely rigid simple connections to
complex cross sectioned elements that can be stressed.
This chapter will cover many of the most widely used 1D elements and also cover an
important tool in HyperMesh called connectors. Connectors can provide a quick and easy
way to create many 1D elements with little work

Connectors: What are they?

Connectors are a geometric representation of connections between entities. The advantage
of connectors is the ability to create multiple connections at a single time. Hundreds or even
thousands of connections that would normally have to be created manually one at a time
can be mass created, even before the part is meshed. They can be used to create
numerous types of connection elements such as:
Spot Welds
Bolts
Trim Masses
Seam Welds
Area Connections (Adhesives)
Connectors: Terminology
Link Entities - The entities that are being connected
o User can explicitly define link entities or specify a search tolerance
o Can be components, elements, surfaces, nodes, or tags
o Typically components are linked
Connector Location - Where the entities are linked
o Nodes created at the node location
o Points created at the point location
o Lines created on the line

The line may be split into multiple projection locations as specified by
the offset, spacing, and density values
o Elements created at the element location (adhesives only)
o Surface created at the surface location (adhesives only)
Connector Realization The creation of the finite element representation of that
connector
o Rigids, springs, etc., or custom configurations such as ACMs, CWELDS, etc.
Connector State Whether an FE representation of a connector has been created
o Unrealized - The initial status of the connector entity upon creation
o Realized - The status only if creation of the FE weld representation at the
connector was successful
o Failed The status if creating the FE weld representation at the connector
was not successful
# of Layers number of FE weld layers to attempt to generate for the connector
o 2T, 3T, etc.
Connect When Specifies when the link entity information is added to the
connector
o Now - Allows you to add link entity information now. For this option, you must
select the connect what entities and num layers to successfully create a
connector.
o At FE Realize - The link entities to the connector are determined while
realizing the connector. The link entities are determined by the projections
and proximity from the connector location.
Re-Connect Rule Defines method for connector re-attachment during part
swapping/replacement
o None - If a link entity is deleted, the link entity is removed from the connector
o By ID - If a link entity is deleted, the connector retains the ID of the link entity,
and will to a new entity with that ID upon realization
o By Name Same as the by id rule except that the entity name is retained

Connectors: Tools
Connectors Module
Spot
Bolt
Seam
Area
Apply Mass adds a mass value to entities
o Used to represent mass of parts that are not present in the model
FE Absorb Create new connectors from existing elements of recognizable FE
representations of welds, bolts, adhesives, etc.
Add Links Add link entities to existing connectors
Unrealize Delete FE representations of welds / bolts / adhesives associated
with existing connectors
Compare Checks the MCF against displayed model file
Quality Check for duplicate connectors, combines connectors, and checks the
quality of realized elements
Connector Browser Hierarchal browser that provides information and the ability
to edit connectors.
Shows:
o Type of Connector
o Link Information
o State of connector
Editable
o Edit link entities, export mwf files, etc
Found in Tab Browser Area

Visualization Controls how connectors are displayed:

Color connectors by state, layers, or component
Visibility by state or layers (can turn the display on or off)
Control size of connector display


Exercise 6: 1D Meshing and Connectors

This exercise will cover the basics behind the creation and visualization of 1D elements,
ranging from simple rigid entities to more complex 1D elements with a defined cross
section to automatic 1D element creation through the use of connectors.
Step 1: Load the model Exercise_6.hm and set the user profile to Radioss
Bulk Data.
Step 2: RBE2 Elements

RBE (Rigid Body Elements) are the most
simple of 1D elements and simply connect
two or more nodes together.
In the case of an RBE2, one node serves as
the Independent and the other(s) the
Dependant node(s). The Dependant
node(s) simply follow the motion of the
Independent node in the Degrees of
Freedom that have been linked. These
elements are useful to simply represent
welds or to tie together two dissimilar
meshes. One word of caution though is that
RBE2 elements, as they rigidly link nodes
together, can induce a stiffness to the model
that may not be desired.
1. Create a component called Rigids and
make the color red.
2. Rotate the model as shown in the picture
and zoom into the highlighted region.
3. Enter the mesh creation panel for Rigids.
4. Make sure the create sub panel is active.
5. Ensure that all 6 DOFs are selected.

6. Select the red circled node first (Independent

Node) and the yellow circled node second
(Dependant Node).
A rigid element (RBE2) will be created connecting
the two nodes.
7. Continue to make a few more RBE2 elements
down the line.
8. Change the switch next to dependant node to multiple nodes.
9. Pick a node for the independent node and then pick multiple nodes for dependant.
10. Click create.
An RBE2 with multiple dependant nodes connected
to one single independent will be created.
11. Select the update sub-panel
12. Pick the RBE2 created with multiple dependant
nodes.
13. Click the connectivity radio button
14. Click the nodes button next to dependant:
15. Right click one of the dependant nodes, it will
become de-selected.
16. Left click a new node to select as the dependant node.
17. Click update.
You will note that the connectivity of the RBE2 has changed to remove the deselected
node and include the newly selected node. Update can also be used to change the
independent node, the DOFs of the element, and on a two noded RBE2 the independent
and dependant node can be switched.
Step 3: RBE3 Elements

RBE3 elements, on the other hand, serve to distribute loads without inducing unwanted
stiffness. It is not an element to be used to model a connection, but rather an element to
induce a motion in a node as a function of the weighted average of other nodes.
1. From the 1D page click rbe3.
The RBE3 panel will open. You will notice it looks similar
to the RBE2 with the only changes being the reversal of
the Independent and Dependant nodes and the addition
of a weight field.
2. Rotate and zoom so that you are looking down at the
large hole in the blue upper part.
In this step you will create a very common rigid element feature often called the wagon
wheel or the spider web. When complete the reason will be obvious.
This type of feature is used to link the nodes around the circumference of a hole to a
single node in the center. This can then be used to:
Connect the feature to something else (bolting two parts together).
Constrain the central node. (Bolting to a fixture) (RBE2)
Distribute a central load. (RBE3)
To create this feature, a node must be placed at the center of the hole. This can be
accomplished through the use of the Distance panel.
3. Press F4 to enter the Distance panel.
4. Pick the 3 nodes sub panel.
5. Pick any three nodes around the interior of the hole.
6. Click the green circle center button.
A yellow temp node will be placed at the circle center.
7. Return out of the function back into the RBE3 panel.
8. Select the new temp node as the dependant node.
9. Pick all the nodes around the interior of the hole as the independent nodes.
HINT: Using the extended selection by path option will make this task much quicker.
Simply select the by path option, click any node on the
circumference then click another node a ways further
around. HyperMesh will automatically select all the
nodes between using the shortest route. Continue in this
manner until all the nodes are selected.
10. Set the weight at 1.
11. Click create.
The Wagon Wheel or Spider Web will be created.
Step 4: Bar Elements Creating the beam section

RBE2 and RBE3 elements are considered rigid elements. They are infinitely strong
and as such experience no stress and thus cannot be analyzed. In the event the 1D
element is actually a structural entity that needs to be studied, a bar is used. The bar
element (CBEAM in Radioss) has a definable cross section and material assigned to it
and thus will display stress results in post processing.
Before the element can be created, a cross section, a material, and a property need to
be defined and then applied to the element(s).
1. From the menu bar, select Properties > HyperBeam.
HyperBeam is a tool within HyperMesh that allows for easy and graphical creation of
cross sections for beam elements.

2. From the HyperBeam panel select the standard section sub panel.
3. From the standard section type switch pick standard H section.
4. Click create.
The graphical HyperBeam interface will now open
From within this interface the physical dimensions of the beam section can be defined.
5. Set the dimensions as shown below:
6. Right click on the words H_section.1, select Rename and rename it H_Beam.
7. Click File > Exit.
The beam section has now been created.

8. Right click in the Model Browser window and create a property.
9. Name it H Beam.
10. Assign it a Card Image of PBEAM.
11. Assign it the material Steel.
12. Check the box for Card edit property upon creation.
13. Click Create.
The Card Edit panel will open and display the PBEAM card. The beam section needs
to be assigned to this card.
14. Click the yellow beamsec button twice and select the H_Beam cross section.
You will notice that the inertial information calculated from the cross section will
automatically be placed into the value fields in the card.
15. Click return to exit.
Step 5: Bar Elements Creating the bar elements

With the property and cross section defined the element can now be created.
1. From the 1D page, select the bars panel.
2. Click the orientation switch immediately next to the N1 button and
select x-axis.
3. Click the property = button and pick the H Beam property.
4. Pick any node on the blue upper component elements for node A.
5. With the focus automatically switching to node B, pick any node on
the green lower component elements.
The Beam element will automatically be created.

You will note that the element is displayed as a line in the color of the component it was
created in. Aside from the CBEAM label, it looks identical to the RBE2 and RBE3
elements created previously.
The 1D visualization mode allows for the graphical representation of the cross section
of the 1D element.
6. Click the Element Representation button ( ) and pick the 3D Element Representation
icon ( ).
7. Zoom on the CBEAM element.

It now shows the actual cross section. This cross section is
selectable and reflects the color of the component. It also is a
live view so that if any aspect of the element is changed, it will
show that.
8. Re-open HyperBeam and change the dimensions to see the
changes reflected on the part.
9. Create a brand new cross section of some other standard type.
10. Right click on the H Beam property card in the HyperMesh Model Browser and card
edit the property.
11. Click the beamsec button and pick the new cross section.
12. Return out of the card and see the change in the model.
Step 6: Combining 1D Elements

A typical bolt representation consists of a wagon wheel inside the two bolt holes
connected at their centers with a CBEAM that has a solid circle section that represents
the bolt. In this step you will create one of those common structures.
1. Create a component called Bolts and give it a unique color.
2. Create a standard solid circle beam section with a diameter of 5
3. Create a PBEAM property named Bolt with a material of Steel and the solid circle
beam section just created.
4. Pick one of the two circle pairs between the Blue
Upper Component and the purple Flanges
Component to create the bolt in.
5. Put temp nodes at the center of both the upper and
lower holes
6. Create an RBE2 wagon wheel in each of the holes.

7. Create a CBEAM element connecting the center of the RBE2 elements with the Bolt
Property.
8. Repeat this for the other hole.
Step 7: Connectors
Connectors are a quick way of creating multiple and complex rigid entities representing
welds, bolts and adhesives.
First you will use the Connectors panel to create a weld of rigid elements similar to
those created in Step 2, Item 6. In that case, two nodes were selected and a single
RBE2 was created. To run down the entire length of the edge would have required each
node be picked individually. You will now accomplish the same result using connectors
in a fraction of the time.
1. From the menu bar, select Connectors > Create > Spots.
2. From the spot submenu, next to location, click the nodes button and pick by path.
3. On the opposite edge from the one used in Step 2, Item 6 to create the RBE2 elements,
pick the first node and using the by path option, proceed down the entire edge until all
the nodes are selected
4. Next to connect what, make sure comps is selected and pick the blue Upper Plate
collector and the teal Arm collector.
5. Make sure elems is selected by the toggle beneath and num layers should be total 2
as there are only 2 layers being connected.
6. tolerance = should be set for 10 (this determines the distance HyperMesh will search
from the node to find nodes of both collectors to create the welds. The distance is a bit
over 6, so 10 should work fine.)
7. For type= select rigid (this option allow you to establish what type of element will be
created.)
8. Change the mesh independent switch to mesh dependant.
9. Under mesh dependant, change the switch from quad transition to remesh.
10. Verify the panel has all the settings shown below:

11. Click create.

The entire row of rigid elements will be created with this one click.
The process can be used to create these types of rigids or rigids that will represent spot
welds. These elements can even be created before the part is meshed (must pick geom
instead of elems for the connect what option) and in that case a fixed point will be
placed at either end of the element, guaranteeing that a node will be there when the
mesh is created.
12. Experiment with creating other connectors in the model with other options in the panel.
13. From the connectors module enter the Bolt panel.
14. Zoom to the section of the model shown to the right.
15. Pick one node on the circumference of each of the
holes on the purple Flanges component.
16. Set connect what to comps and pick the purple
Flanges component and the green Lower
component.
17. Set the tolerance to 20 and fill in the rest of the panel as shown below.
18. Click on realize & hole detect details.

19. Set the values in the panel as the following:

20. Click return and then select create.

Immediately two rigid bolts are created. If desired, the type can be set as Bolt (CBAR),
and a PBAR card in combination with a beam section can be defined, and the bolt can
be analyzed. Bolt (Washer) types will not only select the nodes around the
circumference but will grab nodes around a washer ring as well.
21. Experiment with other options in the panel.
Step 8: Connector Browser

1. From the View menu activate the Connector Browser by selecting Browsers >
HyperMesh > Connector.

The Connector Browser will appear and display all of the connectors in the model.
From the browser you can see information about the connectors, reasons for realization
failure and when you right click on a connector you can edit the connectors.
2. Experiment with the Connector Browser.

Chapter 7: Morphing
Chapter 7
Morphing
Introduction to Mesh Morphing using HyperMorph
HyperMorph is a mesh morphing tool that allows you to alter finite element models while
keeping mesh distortions to a minimum.
HyperMorph can be used to:
Change the profile and the dimensions of your mesh
Map an existing mesh onto a new geometry
Create shape variables that can be used for optimization
The methods available to carry out morphing are available under:
Freehand Morphing
Map to Geometry
Morph Volumes
Domains and Handles
To provide greater control as well as an efficient morphing, you can use:
Morphing constraints
Symmetries
Biasing factors
Morphs can be saved as Shapes. Shapes can then be:
Positioned to other parts of the model
Animated, to review the morphing
Transfer loads from one model to another
After morphing has been performed, you can visualize the quality of the mesh, and can
automatically smooth it if need be. A re-mesh can also be performed, keeping the morphing
entities like handles, domains and shapes intact.

Chapter 7: Morphing
Accessing HyperMorph
HyperMorph can be accessed in one of the following ways:
From the menu bar, point to Morphing, and select the appropriate function:
Figure 1: HyperMorph on the menu bar
On the Tool page click on HyperMorph, and click on the appropriate panel
Figure 2: HyperMorph on the Tool page
HyperMorph Online Help

The on-line help for HyperMorph can be accessed as follows:
1. On the Help menu, click HyperMesh, OptiStruct, and Batch Mesher.
2. All files referenced in the HyperMorph tutorials are located in the HyperWorks
installation directory under
<install_directory>/tutorials/hm/hypermorph.

Chapter 7: Morphing
Section 1: Morph Volumes

A morph volume is a six-sided hexahedron whose shape can be manipulated to morph the
mesh. The length and curvature of each edge of a morph volume can be modified
independently. Adjacent morph volumes can be linked through tangency conditions. This
allows you to update the characteristics of the morph volumes. Handles are placed at each
of the vertices of the morph volumes. Morphing involves moving these handles. Morph
volumes thus present a very simple, powerful, and intuitive way to morph.
Morph volumes will only influence the nodes that are registered to it. You can either, register
the nodes within a morph volume automatically when it is created, or you can select the
nodes or nodes on selected elements to be registered. If the morph volumes do not appear
to be morphing nodes inside them, you may need to register those nodes.
Figure 1: Morph Volumes

Chapter 7: Morphing
Section 2: Domains and Handles

The domains and handles approach consists of dividing the mesh into regions called
domains with associated handles.
What are domains and handles?

Domains consist of selected nodes and elements.
Domains and handles are divided into two basic groups, global and local.
The global group consists of global domains, each of which is associated with a number of
global handles. Global handles will only influence the nodes in the global domain to which
they are associated. Global handles and domains are best for making large scale shape
changes to the model.
The local group consists of five types of local domains: 1D domains, 2D domains, 3D
domains, edge domains, and general domains. Local handles/edge domains can only
influence nodes contained in the domains they are associated with. Local handles/edge
domains are intended to be used to make small scale, parametric changes to the model.
While a model can contain both global and local handles and domains, it is not necessary to
have both types of domains and handles in a model.
The following table describes the various domains and their symbols when they are
created
When global domain and handles are generated using autogenerate or created with the
create handles option turned on, HyperMorph generates eight global handles, one at each
of the eight corners of a box laid out along the global axes surrounding the model. These
global handles are named corner followed by a number from one to eight. HyperMorph will
Chapter 7: Morphing
also place at least one global handle within the box in areas of the models peak nodal
density. These handles are named handle, followed by a number.
The automatic global handle generation works particularly well for space-frame models such
as full car models. However, for small models such as a control arm or bracket, the
recommendation is for you to build your own local domains and handles since you are more
likely interested in changing the local area rather than the entire model.
If the autogenerate process does not create handles in the positions where you want them
to be, you can always delete them, reposition them, or create additional handles. Handles
can be further classified as independent or dependent. An independent handle creates
displacements to the model only when it is moved. A dependent handle creates
displacements influenced from its own movements plus that of other handles it is linked to.
A handle can be made dependent on one or more handles. This allows you to create as
many layers of dependencies between your handles as you desire. For example, you can
make all the handles at one cross section of a beam (modeling using 2D shell elements)
dependent on a single handle allowing you to move an entire cross section while only
having to select one independent handle.
What is a partition?
The most important factor in local morphing is partitioning. It is logically dividing a 2D
domain into smaller 2D domains, such as where the angle between elements exceeds a
certain value or where the domain changes from flat to curved, is called partitioning.
Proper partitioning makes morphing faster and easier. By activating partition domains
user can invoke partitioning when auto-generating or when creating a domain. If the user is
unsatisfied with the results of the partitioning he/she can change the partitioning parameters
namely domains angle and curve tolerance.
Figure below shows an example of partitioning. For the model on the left, the 2D domain
was created without partitioning. For the model on the right, partitioning was used. Note
how the 2D domains divide along angle and curvature change boundaries.
Figure 2: Partitioning domains

Chapter 7: Morphing
Section 3: Map to Geometry

Map to Geometry provides quick ways of taking an existing mesh and conform it to a new
geometry. Domains and handles can be used to provide better control on the morphing
process. The geometry can be a line, node list, plane, surfaces, or elements using edge
domains and handles to guide the process. Geometry can also be provided in the form of
section lines, or surfaces.
Some of the types of geometry that can be mapped are shown in figure 1.
Figure 1: Types of geometry that can be mapped

Chapter 7: Morphing
Exercise 7a: Map To Geometry

In this exercise, you will use the line difference approach to morph a bumper to
conform to a new section line.
Figure 1: Bumper before and after morphing
Step 1: Load and review the model.

1. Open the HyperMesh file, Exercise_7a.hm.
Step 2: Morph the bumper.

1. Access the map to geom panel through the menu bar by selecting Morphing > Map to
Geometry.
2. Change the geometry selector to line difference.
3. Select the from line and the to line as shown in figure 2.
4. Toggle the morphing entity (2nd column) from map domains to map nodes.
5. Select nodes >> displayed.
6. Verify that no fixed nodes is selected under map nodes.
7. Use map by line axis morphing with a 1.0 mvbias and fxbias.

Chapter 7: Morphing
Figure 2: The from line and the to line
8. Click map.
Summary
The profile of the bumper is changed to follow the new section line.

Chapter 7: Morphing
Exercise 7b: Using Domains and Handles

In this exercise you will create domains and handles, and morph the model.

Open and review the HyperMesh model morphing_7b.hm.
Step 2: Auto generate 2-D domains and handles.

1. Access the Domains panel, create subpanel through the menu bar by selecting Morphing >
Create > Domains.
2. Change the create method to auto functions.
3. Click generate.
Based on the models geometric features, all of the models elements are organized into various
domains and local handles are created and associated with the domains.
Step 3: Move elements into a new 2-D domain.

1. Verify you are still in the Domains panel, create sub-panel.
2. Set the selector to 2D domains.
3. Use the toggle to switch from all elements to elems.
3. Click to clear the elements that were automatically selected.

4. Using elems >> by window, select the elements indicated in figure 1.
Figure 1: Elements to select to move into a new domain

Chapter 7: Morphing
5. Verify that partition 2D domains is active.

6. Click create to create the domain.
Local handles are created for the new domain. You should now have two local domains.
Elements can only belong to one domain at a time. Thus, the elements you selected were moved
into the new domain. This functionality makes it very easy to group elements into different
domains.
Step 4: Split the edge domain of the radius to have more control when
morphing.
1. While in the Domains panel, select the edit edges subpanel.
2. Verify that the split option is selected.
3. With the domain selector active, select the edge domain of the parts radius as indicated in the
Figure 2.
The node selector automatically becomes active once the edge domain is selected. Click the
domain selector to make it active and see that you selected the desired edge domain.
Figure 2: Edge domain to select

Chapter 7: Morphing
4. Click the node selector to make it active.

5. Select the node on the positive Y-axis end of the radius, as indicated in the image Figure 3.
Figure 3: Node selection to split the edge domain of the radius
6. Click split to split the edge domain at the node.

7. Repeat the above process to further split the edge domain of the radius, this time at the node
indicated in the Figure 4.
Figure 4: Node selection to further split the edge domain of the radius
8. When complete, click return to exit the panel.

Chapter 7: Morphing
Step 5: Add local handles to the 2-D domain on the parts left side.
1. Go to the Handles panel, create subpanel through the menu bar by selecting Morphing >
Create > Handles.
2. For name =, enter local.
3. Click the attached to: domain selector to make it active.
4. Select the 2-D domain on the parts left side by selecting its red icon, as indicated in the following
image.
Figure 5: Adding handles to a 2-D domain
5. Click the by nodes: nodes selector to make it active.

6. Select the two nodes as indicated in the previous image.
7. Click create to create the handles and add them to the 2-D domain.
Step 6: Perform basic morphing to understand how domains and handles

interact with each other and the mesh.
1. Go to Morph panel move handles subpanel through the menu bar by selecting Morphing >
Morph and then select move handles.
2. With the handles selector active, select the two handles that are on the most positive X-axis end
of the part, as indicated in figure 6.
If you select one or more handle, those handles follow the handle you drag (in Step 6.6,
following).
3. Switch from on domains to on plane.
4. Click the N1 selector to make it active.
5. For N1 N2 N3, select any three nodes on the model to define a plane.
6. Click morph.
7. The message, pick handles and move to new location appears in the message bar.

Chapter 7: Morphing
8. Click on and drag one of the selected handles to morph the part.
9. As you drag the handle, the meshs size and shape is adjusted.
Notice that the following occurs as the selected local handle is moved:
The handles selected in Step 6.2 follow the handle you are dragging.
All of the elements belonging to the selected local handles 2-D domain are affected by
moving that local handle.
The 2-D domains non-selected local handles act like anchors (they do not move).
The nodes on the edge domains and between any two non-selected local domains do not
move.
None of the elements in the other 2-D domain are affected.
10. Release the mouse button to complete the morphing operation.
Figure 6: Example result of morphing the model
11. Click undo.

The HyperMorph module allows for multiple levels of undo and redo for all morphing operations.
This functionality is available for any particular HyperMesh session and its current model as long
as the session and its model remain open.
12. Click to clear the selected handles.

13. (Optional) With the handles selector active, select one or more global handles
14. Click morph.
15. Click on and drag any global handle to morph the part.
Summary
The following occurs as the selected global handle is moved:
The handles selected in Step 6.2 follow the handle you are dragging.
The non-selected global handles act like anchors (they do not move).
All of the elements, local handles and edge domains are affected.

Chapter 7: Morphing
Eercise 7c: of Morph Volumes

This exercise shows how to smoothly change the shape of a B-pillar via morph volumes.
Figure 1: B-Pillar before and after morphing

Open the HyperMesh file, Exercise_7c
Step 2: Create morph volumes.

1. Access the Morph Volumes panel Create subpanel through the menu bar by selecting
Morphing > Create > Morph Volumes.
2. Switch the creation method to pick on screen.
3. For handle placement, select corners only.
4. Keep the auto-tangent check box selected.
5. Draw a window by clicking at the four places shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Points for creating the morph volume

Chapter 7: Morphing
Note: A morph volume is created, enclosing the area.
Step 3: Split the morph volumes.

1. Select the split/combine subpanel.
2. Verify the split toggle is set to split mvols : by edges
3. Select an edge of the morph volume close to location 1 (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Locations to split the morph volume
The green colored cross moves to the location of the black dot.
4. Click split.
The morph volume is split into two.
5. Follow the same steps to create another split at location 2.
Step 4: Change the profile of the b-pillar.

1. Access the Morph panel, move handles subpanel through the menu bar by selecting Morphing
> Morph and then select move handles.
2. Set the morphing method to translate.
3. For direction use along xyz.
4. Key in the following values:
X=0
Y = 100.00
Z=0

Chapter 7: Morphing
5. Select the eight handles by window as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Select handles for morphing
6. Click morph.
Rotate the model to observe that the b-pillar is morphed.
Summary
The b-pillar is morphed in a smooth fashion with minimum distortion to the elements.

Chapter 8: Analysis Setup
Chapter 8
Analysis Setup and Loading

Analysis setup is the definition of all information for an analysis besides the mesh including:
Specification of the solver to be used
Creation of materials, properties, etc.
Assignment of a solver specific format to HyperMesh entities
Creation of boundary conditions (constraints, loads, contacts, etc.)
Definition of other required information (solution requests, general run parameters,
etc.)
Section 1: Setting up Loading Conditions

A finite element solver can solve for responses of parts to
loading conditions placed on them. The loads can be in the
form of any combination of boundary constraints, forces,
pressures, temperatures, etc. This section focuses on defining
the loading conditions on a model.
Create constraints (RADIOSS SPC) on the channels
geometry lines
Create a force (RADIOSS FORCE) on the bracket to simulate a pressing load on it
Define a load step (RADIOSS SUBCASE)

Interacting with Solvers

HyperMesh interacts with many solvers
Each solver has its own unique formats, terminology, etc
Example : Compare nodes and elements in Abaqus and Radioss
3 nodes
2 quad elements
Format/structure is obviously different
HyperMesh can interact with different solvers using templates

The selected template tells HyperMesh which solver the model is for
The template also tells HyperMesh how entities are formatted for that solver
Each entity may have several available formats for that solver
Each format has fields that make up its definition
These fields may need to have values entered by the user
Example: A component for Radioss (Linear) can be a PSHELL or PSOLID
format
PSHELL holds shell elements, ID =1, material =1, thickness = 5.0
PSOLID holds solid elements, ID =2, material =1

Tools
Collectors > Card Edit - or - Collectors toolbar icon
View/edit the card image of any entity in the model
Includes entities that are not collectors (nodes, elements, loads, etc.)
Model Browser
Right click a collector and select Card Edit
View/edit the card image of the selected collector
Preferences > Graphics
template labels (type) option
Activate the graphic displayed names of the entities in solver (template)
terminology instead of the HyperMesh (solver neutral) terminology
Helps keep track of what is in the model
Summary panel
Displays a text window with various information about the model
Helps to review the model and make sure all information has been entered properly

Process
1. Create materials and enter values into them using the Model Browser or material
collector icon .
2. Create properties and enter values into them. Material collectors can be associated
with properties during creation. Use the Model Browser or property collector icon
to create the properties.
3. Create component collectors and organize entities into them. Property collectors
can be associated with components during creation or properties can be assigned
directly to elements. Use the Model Browser or component collector icon to
create the components.
NOTE: Steps 1-3 can be done using the Model Browser in a single step. When
creating a component collector it is possible to also create and associate properties
and materials.
4. Mesh and load the model

5. Create solver specific cards and controls.
While it is not required that events follow these steps in order, if you follow these steps then
there is no need to go back to update or assign information to collectors as the required
information will already be in place.

The goal in formatting for analysis is:

All entities have the proper formats (card image/type)
Card images of all entities have necessary information entered
This section will focus on the creation of boundary conditions.
Supported Entities:
FE Loading
o Loads (constraint, force, pressure, moment, temperature, flux, velocity,
acceleration)
o Equations (mathematical link between nodes)
o Contacts
o Groups (defines contact between entities)
o Contact Surfs (defines a list of entities that can be
used as master or slave in a group)
Reference Entities
o Sets (a simple list of a particular type of entity)
o Blocks (a list of entities contained within a box shape)
Coordinate Entities
o Systems (coordinate axes)
o Vectors
Plotting
o Curves (X-Y data)
o Plots (a display of curves with axes)
Output Requests
o Loadsteps (combinations of load collectors)
o Output Blocks (request output from an analysis for
certain entities)
Control cards (job-level, global parameters for the analysis)
Loads on Geometry
HyperMesh allows the user to place loads on geometry before the mesh is ever created.
Then using the BCs > Loads on Geometry pull-down, those loads will be mapped to the
elements that were created from that geometry. This is a time saving advantage as the user

only needs to pick one, or at most a few, geometric entities to ultimately create hundreds or
even thousands of loads or constraints.
To use this, change the entity selector from a node or element
selection to a geometric selection such as surfs or lines.
Then after the part is meshed, using the Loads on Geometry
function, the loads will be automatically mapped to elements
created from that geometry.

Exercise 8: Analysis Setup and Loading

This exercise will focus on setting up a model for analysis. At the end of this exercise,
you will run an analysis in RADIOSS. While this exercise is focused on a RADIOSS
analysis setup, the methods and techniques explored here are applicable to a setup in
any solver.
Step 1: Load the file Exercise_8_mm.hm and the RADIOSS BulkData user
profile.
Step 2: Studying the Model

The normal process for setting up an analysis would be the setup of materials,
properties and components before the meshing of the model. As this exercise focuses
only on analysis setup, the mesh has already been created for you.
This model is a quarter segment of a submarine pressure hull. The exercise will cover
the steps required to analyze the stress on the hull of a decent to a depth of 300 meters
and determine if the hull design can handle that pressure.
1. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the model and get a concept of the size
and scale of the parts.
2. Based upon measurements and knowledge of how large a submarine is, what would you
assume to units of this model to be?
Now that the scale of the model has been determined, it is important to establish a unit
scheme. These are often dictated by corporate standards, but in this case it will be
established by the units that were used to create the model. For this analysis, the
Millimeter-Ton-Second scheme will be utilized.
The first step in any analysis should be model organization. This frequently occurs
before the model is meshed but can be done post mesh as well.
To make sure each step has the information already available, the ideal order is to
create materials first, then properties and then finally component collectors.

Step 3: Component Creation with Material/Property Assignment

Component collectors are, as previously discussed, used for
model organization. One of the most logical organization
schemes for this model would be a component for the Hull
elements and then another for the Ribs. This, of course, is only
one method and could be altered for any number of
organizational reasons.
1. Right click in the Model Browser and select Create >
Component
A dialog box will open that will allow for the creation of a
component that can have Properties and Materials assigned
upon creation or the user can create the Properties and
Materials directly from this window.
2. Enter Hull in the Name: field.
3. Assign it a unique color.
4. Click the Property tab and select Assign property.
While the elements (quads and trias) have been created, they need to be defined as an
entity the solver can analyze. In the case of RADIOSS, these 2D elements are defined
as PSHELL. Creating the PSHELL property will give these elements their definition
(card Image) and will allow for the definition of the material thickness they have.
5. Name it Hull.
6. Pick a color.
7. For Card image select PSHELL.
8. Click Create property
The card editing panel for the PSHELL card is now opened. The only value that needs
to be entered in this card is [T], thickness.
9. Set the value for [T] at 19.

This will establish a thickness of 19 mm for the thickness of the pressure hull when this
property is applied to the elements representing the hull.
10. Click return.

The Create component dialog box will reopen.

11. Click the Material tab and select Assign material.
12. Enter Steel for the name.
13. For Card Image select MAT1 (A Linear Elastic Isotropic Material)
14. Assign it a unique color.
15. Click the Create material button.
16. The Material card editing panel will open.
17. Click [E], [NU] and [RHO] to open the fields beneath them.
These fields are the material properties for the material being created and are defined as
follows:
[E] Youngs Modulus (Modulus of Elasticity)
[NU] Poissons Ratio
[RHO] Density
As it has been established the Millimeter-Ton-Second unit scheme will be utilized, the
Youngs Modulus needs to be in terms of Newton/mm2 (MPa)and the Density in
Ton/mm3. Poissons ratio is unit-less and is the same no matter what the unit scheme.
Enter the following values
[E] 2.4e+5
[NU] 0.3
[RHO] 7.85e-9

18. Click return.

At this point you can see that a new field has been created in the
Model Browser, Material, and the new material, steel, is
included in it.
The Create component dialog box will reopen.
19. Click the Component tab again.
You will note that the Property and Material just created are
automatically assigned.
20. Click Create and the component will be properly created
Step 4: Property Creation

A property can be created on its own without creating a
component at the same time. This is usefull when the
components have already been created.
1. In the Model Browser right click and select Create >
Property.
A dialog similar to the Component creation will open.
2. Using the techniques explored in the previous step,
create a property with the name Ribs with the following
settings.
Type = PSHELL
Material = Steel
Thickness = 13
Step 5: Load Collector Creation

1. From the Model Browser, create a LoadCollector.
2. Name it Pressure.
3. Assign it a unique color

4. Leave the Card image as none

5. Create the load collector.
6. Follow the previous steps to create another LoadCollecter called
Constraints.
Step 6: Model Organization

In this step we will take the elements that represent the Hull and place
them into the Hull component. The collector that holds the remaining Rib
elements will then be renamed Ribs and assigned the appropriate
property.
1. Organize the Hull elements into the Hull component.
HINT: Using the extended selection option of By Geom and picking the
20 surfaces that make up the hull is the easiest way to get all of the appropriate
elements.
2. Rename the Middle Surface component to Ribs.
As this component was created prior to the creation of the properties, it is now
necessary to assign the Rib property to this component.
3. Open the component collectors panel.
4. Select the assign sub-panel.
5. Select the Ribs component.
6. In the property= field select the Ribs property.
7. Click assign.
Step 7: Model Loading

With the elements properly assigned a card image (through the property) and a material,
it is now necessary to create the loads on the model. As this is a submarine hull, a
constant pressure will be applied to the exterior of the hull, directed inwards normal to
the elements.
To establish the orientation of the pressure load, the element normals direction must first
be discovered.
1. From the Tool page, select the normals panel.
2. In the elements sub-panel select all of the elements in the Hull collector.


Arrows should now indicate the element normal direction.
4. The element normals should be pointing outward from the hull so if they
are not, click reverse normals.
5. Make the Pressure Load Collector current.
6. From the BCs pull-down, proceed to the create pressures panel.
7. In the create sub-panel, select the elements in the Hull collector.
8. Set the magnitude = to -3.0. (This value is in MPa and corresponds to
the approximate pressure at a depth of 300 meters)
The direction switch under the magnitude field allows for the direction of the pressure to
be set. If this value is NOT set then the default is to make the pressure normal to the
element. The value previously entered was negative so that the pressure is opposite the
element normal and thus directed inwards.
9. Change the magnitude% = toggle to uniform size = and set it to 200.
This option establishes the size of the arrow that will graphically represent the load.
Magnitude% will make the arrow length the set percentage of the value of the load in
model units. For example in our case of a 3.0 magnitude load, a magnitude%= value of
200 would result in a load arrow of 6 units in length. Uniform size will set the length to
the set number of model units regardless of the magnitude value.
10. Click the load types= button and select PLOAD.
PLOAD is the standard pressure loading card in RADIOSS. For

explanations of other types of pressures and loads you can consult the
online help files.
11. Create the pressures. The model should now look similar to this picture.
Step 8: Save the Model

While this step is optional, it is good practice to frequently save your model.
Step 9: Constraints
Constraints hold the model in place. Without them any force applied to the model would
send it flying off. Constraints typically represent the physical restrictions on a part, some
examples being welds, fasteners or other parts that constrain the part and allow it to
resist the forces applied. These are represented through the use of an SPC (single point

constraint) which restricts the movement of a single node in any of 6 degrees of freedom
(X,Y Z translational and X,Y,Z rotational)
In the case of this model, a special constraining system called Symmetric Constraining is
used. This is a common practice when analyzing a part with some form of symmetry. In
the case of this Submarine Hull model, it represents of the complete hull circle.
Analyzing only part of a symmetric model saves time in both model setup and analysis.
The results can be assumed to be identical across planes of symmetry, assuming the
loading is also identical across the plane.
1. Make the Constraints load collector current.
2. From the BCs pull down enter the create constraints panel.
3. Select the YZ Front Plane View .

4. Select or de-select the appropriate check boxes so that the only DOFs selected are 2, 4
and 6.
5. Using a box select (HINT: Shift-Left Mouse Drag a box) to pick the nodes shown in the
image below.
6. Click create.
7. Select and de-select the appropriate check boxes so that the only DOFs selected are 3,
4 and 5.
8. Using a box select pick the nodes shown in the image below.

9. Click create.
10. Select the XY Top Plane View .

11. Select and de-select the appropriate check boxes so that the only DOFs selected are 1,
5 and 6.
12. Using the standard views and model rotation tools, select all of the nodes on both
remaining edges of the Hull elements.
13. You will have to manually select the nodes at the end of the ribs on the right side of the
image above.
14. Click create.
15. The model is now properly constrained for the analysis.
Step 10: Control Cards

Control cards are special cards in the deck that control aspects of the solver run. They
can be used to:
Set parameters of the analysis.
Control aspects of the analysis.
Request certain types of output.
1. From the Analysis page select the control cards panel.

2. Find the FORMAT card. (Use the next button move scroll through the cards).
3. Change the number_of_formats field to 2.
4. Change the second FORMAT card to HM.
This will provide output in both HyperView and HyperMesh formats.
5. Click return and then use next to find the SCREEN card.

6. Set the SCREEN_V1 to OUT.
Step 11: Define the LoadStep

The final step in the analysis setup is to establish a load step. A load step is
combination of constraints and loads that will define a single analysis in the solver.
Multiple load steps can be defined in a single model allowing for one run of the solver to
conduct numerous studies.
1. From the Setup pull down enter the Create LoadSteps panel.
2. Name the load step.
3. Set the type switch to linear static.
4. Click the check box next to SPC and click the = button to select the Constraint Load
Collector.
5. Click the check box next to LOAD and click the = button to select the Pressure Load
Collector.
NOTE: Your LoadCollector IDs may differ from those above, do not copy the values
above.
6. Create the Load Step.
Step 12: Run the Analysis

For any other solver the next step be to export a solver deck and use the individual
solver tools to being the study. As RADIOSS is an Altair product it can very easily be
invoked from within HyperMesh.
1. From the Analysis page click the Radioss button.
2. Set the panel options to match those below
NOTE: Your model name and path will differ from the picture, leave the default.
3. After the settings are made, click the Radioss button to being the analysis
4. A new window will open to show the Radioss analysis is running

5. When the message ANALYSIS COMPLETED appears, the run is complete and the
window can be closed.
Step 13: Post Processing

While the workings of HyperView will be discussed in greater length in the Post
Processing section of the class, this step will cover basic post processing steps to review
the analysis you just ran.
1. In the RADIOSS panel click the HyperView button
to load the results in HyperView.
2. Close any message that pops up.
3. Enter the Deformed Panel .

4. Set the Value to 100 and click Apply.
5. Change the animation type to Linear Animation
Mode.
6. Go to the Contour Panel .

7. Select the Result Type to be Element Stress 2D&3D.
8. Change Averaging Method to Advanced.
9. Click Interpolate Color.

10. Click Apply.
11. Click the animate icon .

12. Rotate the model to review it using the same keys and buttons as HyperMesh.
Step14: Engineering Review

1. Given that the Yield Strength of an HSLA Steel is around 360 MPa, do you think this
structure, as designed, will survive a dive to a depth of 300 meters?
2. Using the Card Editing functions, experiment with thickness values to determine how the
changes affect the stress and deformation of the model and achieve a model that does
not exceed the yield strength.
NOTE: The more weight of the structure, the less weight that can go in it so try to keep
the materials as thin as possible.


Chapter 9: Capstone Project
Chapter 9
Capstone Project
Bringing it all together.
At this point all of the major introductory topics have been discussed, demonstrated and
tried. Now it is time to put them all together and experience a project on the full process that
the engineer will experience using HyperMesh in a real world situation. This final exercise
will cover the following topics:
Importing a Model
Geometry Cleanup
1D Meshing
2D Meshing
3D Meshing
Analysis Setup
Model Loading
Analysis
Post Processing
Each of these topics has been covered in previous chapters and the student is encouraged
to use this manual as a reference guide to assist in performing these tasks.

Exercise
This is a pseudo realistic situation where you as an analyst will be asked to determine the
inertial effects of a thrust scenario on a satellite in orbit. This will be an idealized analysis as
satellites typically do not have thrusters of this sort and in that we will be assuming many
things. We will also be ignoring other external factors such as micro gravity.
Step 1: Loading the model and setting the User Profile

1. Import the IGES model SolarPanels.igs.
In most cases you will be asked to start your analysis from a CAD model. This is a
geometric representation of the solar panels that will be attached to the satellite that we
need to study.
2. Import the HyperMesh Model SatelliteBody.hm.
There are often times when you or a coworker will have a HyperMesh model of a part
that needs to be included in your model. In this case we can import a HyperMesh model
into our current session.
3. Save the model.
Name the model whatever you wish but be aware of the location the model is being
saved. It will be the working directory unless that has been changed during the session
of HyperMesh.
4. Load the RADIOSS Bulk Data User Profile.
Step 2: Clean up the geometry

1. There are some issues with the model that need to be fixed to assure an accurate
representation of the geometry. Find and fix them.
HINT: Do not use the AutoCleanup tool on this model. Remember to use visualization
tools. There are 4 areas that need to be fixed.
2. Defeature the surface fillets.
Surface fillets can interfere with the quality of the mesh and can often be defeatured out
of the model.
3. Eliminate the solar panel mounting holes on the satellite body.
Holes can have an especially detrimental effect on the quality of mesh and if they are not
needed, it is best to remove them.
HINT: The hole locations are important as we will be attaching the solar panels at their
location after we mesh. Make sure there is a fixed point at each hole location so a node
will be placed there in the mesh.

Step 3: Organize the model

1. Move the Solar Panel surfaces to a component called SolarPanels (Choose any color
you wish).
2. The component Electrnics is misspelled. Correct the spelling of the component name to
Electronics.
3. Green is often a poor choice for a component color as it can hide topolological colors of
shared edges. Change the color of the Engine component to Grey.
Step 4: Materials and Properties

The best practice for model setup is to create your materials first, then your properties
and then your mesh. This prevents the need to go back and assign properties later.
1. Create a Material for the Aluminum body of the satellite.
Type: MAT1
Name: Aluminum
E: 7.0e+04
NU: .330
RHO: 2.1e-09
2. Create a Material for the Electronics Packages.
Type: MAT1
Name: Electronics
E: 1000
NU: .300
RHO: Leave Blank for now. To be explained later
3. Create a Material for the Solar Panels.
Type: MAT1
Name: SolarPanels
E: 2.0e+04
NU: .400
RHO: 1.0e-09
4. Create a Property for the elements that will make up the Body of the satellite.
Type: PSHELL
Material: Aluminum
Thickness: 5.00mm
5. Create a Property for the elements that will make up the Electronics.
Type: PSOLID

Material: Electronics
6. Create a Property for the elements that will make up the SolarPanels.
Type: PSHELL
Material: SolarPanels
Thickness: 1.50mm
7. Create a Property for the elements that will make up the Engine.
Type: PSOLID
Material: Aluminum
8. Assign the properties to the appropriate components.
HINT: The Components view can help.
Step 5: Mesh the part

When solids are connected to surfaces, as is the case with the Electronics Packages
and the Engine, it is often best to model the solid elements first.
1. Split the Engine into mappable regions and solid mesh with an element size of 100.
Make sure to have a good circular pattern of elements. Also make sure you always
have at least two elements through the thickness.
2. Solid Mesh the electronics Packages with a size of 100.
3. With the solids now meshed, mesh the body of the Satellite with an element size of 100.
Assure good mesh pattern and quality as the quality of the analysis is highly dependent
on mesh quality.
TIP: Avoid using automatic element cleanup as it can cause distortion in solid elements
that are connected to shells.
HINT: Differences in mesh densities for edges across from each other cause trias.
Projecting points to edges can help mesh pattern problems around nodes enforced by
fixed points.
4. Mesh the Solar Panels with an element size of 200.
Step 6: Import the Satellite Dish

Often we can take information from previously run FEAs and incorporate it into our FEA
model. In this case, we will take a Satellite Dish that has been previously modeled and
saved in a RADIOSS .fem format and import it into our model.
1. Import the file Dish.fem.
This model has previously defined materials and properties.
2. Verify that all the components have materials and properties assigned to them.
While the elements are properly imported into location, importing an FEM file will not
connect the nodes of the imported model into the existing model. We need to attach the
dish supports to the body of the satellite.
Equivalence the nodes at the 4 connection points where the Dish Supports meet the
Body of the Satellite.
HINT: Node equivalence is found on the edges panel.
Step 7: Connect the Solar Panels to the Body

1. Using HyperBeam, create a BeamSection that is a thinwalled box that is 100mm on
each side and 10mm thick. Name it Square_SolarPanel_Support.
2. Create a PBAR property and assign the Square_SolarPanel_Support and assign the
material Antenna that was imported in with the Dish.
3. Create a component for the Solar Panel Supports.
4. Create BAR2 elements that connect the top and bottom innermost nodes to the nodes at
the center of the connection holes you eliminated previously. Make sure they have the
Solar Panel Support property and align them with the Z axis.
5. Turn on the beam visualization mode to assure they were created properly.
Step 8: Analysis Setup.

By this stage all elements should be properly assigned properties and all properties
should be assigned materials. Shell elements should have thicknesses and a PSHELL
card and solids should have a PSOLID card. At this stage we begin the loading of the
model.
The analysis we will be conducting is an Inertial Relief Analysis. This method was
specifically designed to study spacecraft and aircraft in flight. The difficulty of studying
situations such as those is the lack of a constraint system. Free flying objects are not
constrained in a traditional manner so the SPC (Single Point Constraint) we have used
up to now will not work for this type of study. Instead we shall define a structure of
SUPORT1 constraints. These work to limit Rigid Body Motion (movement of the entire
structure without deformation) but do not constrain the body against local deformation
and thus are ideal for studying a free flying object.
An inertial relief analysis can only have 6 TOTAL Degrees Of Freedom (DOF)
constrained. When creating the SUPORT1 constraint system, the exact location of the
constraints is not critical but typically follows this pattern:
a) Create a SUPORT1 constraint at an extreme location of the part with X,Y and Z
translational DOF constrained (1,2 and 3).
b) Pick another node at an extreme location and whichever direction that node is
from the original node, that DOF is removed. For example, if to reach the second
node you traveled in the Z axis direction, the Z DOF (3) would be removed
making a new DOF of 1 and 2.
c) For the final location, pick one more extreme position and remove the DOF that
corresponds to the direction moved from the constraint created in step b. For
example, if you traveled in the Y axis direction from the b constraint, you would
remove the Y DOF (2) and would make the final constraint DOF 1 only.

1. Create a Load Collector called Supports.

2. Create the SUPORT1 constraints in the following pattern.
Now a force needs to be applied to the thruster. While it is not entirely representative of
an engine giving thrust, what we will do is to place a distributed force on the nodes of the
flat outer ring of the engine. The net force we will place on the thruster is 500N.
Because this net force is to be split across many nodes, we need to calculate the portion
of the force that will be applied on each node.
3. Create a Load Collector called Thrust.
4. Count the number of nodes on the flat outer ring of the thruster.
HINT: HyperMesh has a count function and selecting the nodes by plane makes
counting them easy.
Number of nodes on Thruster ____________
5. Divide the Net Force (500N) by the number of nodes counted.
500N/_______(number of nodes)=__________N (Force per node)
6. Create forces in the Z direction at each node with the value calculated above.
Now all of the loads are in place for our Inertial Relief Analysis. Next a Control Card
must be set to tell the solver this will be that type of analysis.
7. In the PARAM control card, activate the INREL keyword and give it a value of -1.
This value indicates it is an Inertia Relief Analysis with SUPORT1 constraints. For more
information about the PARAM, or any other control card, consult the RADIOSS Bulk
Data Format Reference Guide in the HELP Documentation.
The final step in setting up an analysis is to define a LOAD STEP. The load step is a
combination of loads and constraints that represent an analysis in the solver. There can
be multiple load steps in a single model containing any combination of defined loads and
constraints. This saves time as multiple runs of a solver can be defined in one model.
8. Create a Linear Static Load Step that combines the Supports Constraints and the Thrust
Force.
HINT: Remember that the Supports are SUPORT1 loads and NOT SPCs. Make sure
you reference them in the correct location.
The model is now set to run. Save it.
Step 9: Emergency Engineering Change

At the last minute it has been decided that the Dish on this satellite is not large enough
to properly broadcast back to Earth. Engineers have determined the Dish needs to be
4500mm in Diameter.
Much time has been spent setting up the model. While it would be possible to remodel,
remesh and re-setup the analysis, this would take time. Morphing is a perfect tool to
quickly alter the already created mesh.
1. Using Morphing, create a domain and then change the dimension of the diameter of the
Dish to 4500mm.
HINT: Its a 2D Domain.
Step 10: Run the Analysis

With everything set up and the emergency engineering change dealt with, it is time to
run the analysis.
1. Run the Analysis in RADIOSS.
Step 11: Post Process

1. In the RADIOSS Panel click the HyperView button to load the results in HyperView.
2. Close any message that pops up.
3. Change the animation type to Linear Animation Mode.
4. Go to the contour panel.
5. Select the Result Type to be Element Stress 2D.
6. Change Averaging Method to Advanced.
7. Click Interpolate Color.
8. Click Apply.
9. Click the animate icon.
Step 12: Design Changes

As you can see from the results, the bottom of the satellite is not strong enough.
1. Using the tools within HyperMesh, increase the strength of the satellite. Some options
are:
Material Thickness
1D Reinforcement Beams.
Material Changes

Keep in mind though that it costs roughly $3,000-$4,000 per Pound to place something
in Low Earth Orbit and closer to $10,000/lb for a Geosynchronous Orbit, so try to
engineer the design and not just beef it up!

Appendix A: HyperWorks Enterprise Collaboration Tools
Appendix A
HyperWorks Enterprise
Collaboration Tools
HyperWorks Enterprise (HWE) is a set of modules that deliver enterprise features and
functionality to HyperWorks users. Tightly integrated into the HyperWorks suite of
applications, HWE includes: With the HyperWorks Desktop collaboration tools, you can
explore, organize and manage your personal data, collaborate in teams, and connect to
other data sources, such as corporate PLM systems to access CAD data.
Terminology and Concepts

Common terminology used with the HyperWorks Desktop collaboration features.
Explore Dialog
The Explore dialog provides access to data and information, beyond what is possible
through typical file browse dialogs. This additional and enhanced access, consisting of
keyword searching, as well as metadata based querying and full text searches, is
provided through the Explore dialog, which is an extension of the standard file dialog and
the Organize Browser.
Repository
A repository, is where data, information, and associated files are located. There are two
out-of-the-box repositories: My Computer and Personal. My Computer is an unmanaged
repository. Personal is a managed repository. Additional repositories can be added, such
as corporate PLM systems. An out-of-the-box Teamcenter Connector is available and
can be used if an existing Teamcenter instance is available.
Library
Libraries can be created within a repository to logically organize or group the contents
stored within a repository.

Note Repositories can contain one or more libraries.
Content Type
Contents stored within a library are typed, according to content definitions, based on the
Altair Unified Data Model (UDM). The content definitions (for example, Solver Deck,
HyperMesh model, etc.) define the metadata, which describes the contents.
Categories
A category is a special type of content which can be used to classify or organize other
content. For example, parts, materials, or results can be defined as categories.
Categories can have a hierarchical structure, meaning that categories can contain other
categories in a nested fashion. Contents can belong to any number of different
categories.
Folders
A folder refers to the physical location of a file on the operating system, in a vault or a
workspace. Files may belong to only one folder.
Unmanaged/Managed
HyperWorks Desktop organizes and provides access to content and files in two different
types of libraries: Unmanaged and Managed.
In the unmanaged case, contents are not versioned; whereas, in the managed case
contents can be versioned, allowing for full lineage of the content. In the unmanaged
case, files are not moved from their current locations on the disk.. In the managed case,
files are moved to the librarys managed vault.
Content
Content refers to any information stored in a library.
Contents hold information such as:
Metadata (like content name)
Zero or more documents
References to other contents
Anything that can be described using the HyperWorks content definition XML format can
be managed as content.
Content Definition
Content Definitions encapsulate information about the types of information managed by
the HyperWorks libraries. The information is captured as:
Metadata that is associated with the content
Dependencies between the metadata, if any
Relationships that can be achieved between this content type and others
The Organize Browser has three special content types that are reserved. They are:
ContentType
Category
FolderType
Out-of-the-box content definitions are provided for CAE content types, which are used
when creating a managed CAE library.

Exercise A-1: Unmanaged Libraries

In this exercise, you will learn to:
Add files to the out-of-the-box My Computer Repository and Library
Search for files both in the Organize Browser and Explore Dialogs
Load files into HyperMesh using the Organize Browser
Step 1: Add Files to My Computer

1. Launch HyperMesh Desktop.
2. Click View > Browsers > HyperWorks > Organize to open the Organize
Browser.
3. Select My Computer from the Repository list.

4. Click Add Folder from the toolbar.

5. Navigate to and select the directory <installation_directory>\demos\hm
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK in the notification dialog.
Wait for the indexing process to complete (it should take 10-20 seconds,
depending on your client.)
8. When notified that the indexing is complete, click Yes to refresh the Organize
browser.
Step 2: Import Solver Deck file from Organize Browser

1. Click Show/Hide Filter Bar from the toolbar to show the Filter bar.
2. Click the drop-down to the right of Show: to reveal the content filter.
3. Uncheck all content types, leaving only Solver Deck selected.
4. Click Ok.
Only solver deck files remain displayed in the browser.
5. Select plate.fem.
Its properties can be seen in the Properties panel at the bottom of the browser.
6. Click Show/Hide Properties in the toolbar to toggle the display of the

Properties panel.

Note Some automatic metadata extraction has occurred during indexing done in Step
1. Component names, number of nodes, elements, etc. have been extracted and
stored as metadata. These can now be leveraged to search upon, as will be
done in the next step.
7. Right click on plate.fem and select Import FE Model.
The Import tab is opened with the selected file.
8. Click Import.
Plate.fem is imported into HyperMesh.
Step 3: Use the Explore Dialog to Search for and Open HyperMesh Model
1. Click File > Open > Model.
2. Click on the Explore button.
The Explore dialog is displayed.

3. Type b*.hm in the Query field, and click Simple Query.

Only those HyperMesh model files starting with the letter b are displayed.
4. Select bezel.hm.
5. Click Open.
6. Click Yes to continue when prompted.
bezel.hm is opened in HyperMesh.
Note The Explore dialog is found in each native HyperMesh File dialog. Try indexing
some additional directories and searching for files through some of the other
entry points.
7. Repeat steps 1. 3, only rather than typing b*.hm in the Query field, type center
and click Simple Query.
Note what file is found, and consider why it was.
8. Select Properties from the Display Options:
9. Select bumper.hm.
Notice that bumper has a component (and material) named center.
10. Click Open.
11. Click Yes to continue when prompted.
bumper.hm is opened in HyperMesh.
Summary
In this exercise you worked with the out-of-the-box My Computer Library by adding files
to the library. Automatic metadata extraction was seen, allowing for information capture
with no additional effort to the user. Finally, some of the basic filtering and searching
features were observed as well as basic integration to HyperMesh.

Exercise A-2: Unmanaged Libraries

In this tutorial, you will learn to:
Create and populate a new library in the My Computer Repository
Search for files in the library and load them into the active HyperWorks Client
Step 1: Create a new Unmanaged Library

1. Launch HyperWorks
2. Click View > Browsers > HyperWorks > Organize to open the Organize Browser.

3. Select My Computer from the Repository list.

4. Select the Library drop-down and click New.
5. Give your new library a name and select a location to store it in, as shown below.
6. Click OK.
The new library is created and becomes the active library within the My Computer
repository.
Step 2: Populate the New Library

1. Click Add Folder from the toolbar.
2. Navigate to and select the directory
<installation_directory>\demos\mv_hv_hg\animation\dyna
3. Click OK.
4. Click OK in the notification dialog.
Wait for the indexing process to complete (it should take around 5 seconds,
depending on your client.)
5. When notified that the indexing is complete, click Yes to refresh the Organize
browser.

Step 3: Open Animation file into HyperView from Organize Browser
1. Make sure HyperView is the active HyperWorks client, .

2. Select d3plot in the Organize Browser
Its properties can be seen in the Properties panel at the bottom of the browser.
3. Click Show/Hide Properties button in the toolbar to toggle the display of the
Properties panel.


Note Some automatic metadata extraction has occurred during indexing done in Step
2. Display name, Solver, and Type have been extracted and stored as metadata.
4. Right click on d3plot
Or, use the drop down in the File area in the Properties panel.
Notice the available options.
5. Select Load Model and Result.
d3plot model and results are loaded into the HyperView Client.
Step 4: Open Plot file into HyperGraph from Organize Browser

1. Select Page Window Layout drop down from the HyperWorks Desktop
toolbar.
2. Select a two column layout, .

3. Click anywhere in the right hand panel to make that the active window.
4. Set the client for the right hand panel to HyperGraph 2D .
5. Right click on d3plot in the Organize Browser.

Or use the drop down in the File area in the Properties panel.
Note Notice the available options. The same file has been selected as in Step 3.
However, because this file contains both animation and plot results, and
HyperGraph is now the active client, different integration options appear.
6. Select Load Plot.
The d3plot file has been selected and loaded into the HyperGraph Open Plot panel.
7. Select Y Type = Displacement, Y Request = N1, and Y Component = X
8. Click Apply.
The plot is created in the HyperGraph Client.

Summary
In this tutorial you worked with the out-of-the-box My Computer Repository by adding a
new library. Subsequently, this library was populated, and automatic metadata
extraction was seen, allowing for information capture with no additional effort to the user.
Finally, files were loaded from the library into different HyperWorks clients using the
Organize Browser integration to HyperWorks.


Hyper Mesh

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A Platform for Innovation TM

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

Location Telephone e-mail

The following countries have distributors for Altair Engineering:

Chapter 1: Basic Interaction with HyperMesh ...................................................... 1

Chapter 2: Geometry Clean-up ............................................................................. 29

Chapter 3: Shell Meshing ..................................................................................... 55

Chapter 5: 3D Solid Meshing Tetrahedral Elements ........................................ 121

Chapter 6: 1D Meshing and Connectors ........................................................... 139

Chapter 7: Morphing ........................................................................................... 155

Chapter 8: Analysis Setup and Loading............................................................ 171

Chapter 9: Capstone Project .............................................................................. 189

Appendix A: HyperWorks Enterprise Collaboration Tools.............................. 197

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction ii

Basic Interaction with HyperMesh

Overview of Finite Element Analysis

Step 1: Pre- Processing

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 1

2 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 3

HyperMesh Graphical User Interface

4 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

Graphics area displays the model

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 5

Section 2: Opening and Saving Files

New .hm File Creates a new session in the current window

.hm Models FE Models

Geometry Files Connectors into the current model

.hm Models FE Models

Geometry Files Connectors

Load User Profile Opens the User Profile Window.

6 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

Open Current Command File Opens a window displaying the current

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 7

Section 3: Working with Panels

The Basic Panel

8 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

Panel with Sub-Panels

Project/to plane panel

Panel with Sub-Panels as icons

Panel with Sub-Panel and Columns

Surface Edit/trim with nodes subpanel

Step 2: Method to Use

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 9

Surface Edit/trim with surfs/planes subpanel

Step 5: Do the action

Tools within the Panels

10 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 11

12 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

Section 4: Organizing a Model

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 13

Collectors can be created in a number of ways.

14 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 15

Section 5: Controlling the Display

16 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

HyperWorks 11.0 HyperMesh Introduction 17

18 HyperMesh Introduction HyperWorks 11.0

MASK Allows for the selection of entities to hide

REVERSE Flips the display of masked and unmasked entities.

UNMASK ADJACENT Unmasks entities immediately adjacent to those shown.

UNMASK ALL Unmasks all entities.

SPHERICAL CLIPPING Allows for a sphere of visualization to be defined.