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Examples

Version 7.0

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FEMAP Version 7.0 Examples
Copyright © 1986-1999 by Enterprise Software Products Inc.
Proprietary Data. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is pro-
hibited.
All Rights Reserved.
Portions of this software and related documentation are derived from GHS3D soft-
ware under license from INRIA, other portions are copyrighted by and are the prop-
erty of Electronic Data Systems Corporation and Spatial Technology Inc.
The FEMAP Examples manual may not be copied, reproduced, disclosed, trans-
ferred, or reduced to any form, including electronic medium or machine-readable
form, or transmitted or publicly performed by any means, electronic or otherwise,
unless Enterprise Software Products, Inc. (ESP) consents in writing in advance.

Use of the software has been provided under a Software License Agreement.

Information described in this document is furnished for information only, is subject

to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by ESP. ESP
assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear
in this document.

FEMAP is a registered trademark of Enterprise Software Products, Inc.

Dual Engine Geometry Modeling and FEMAP Professional are trademarks of Enter-
prise Software Products, Inc.

Enterprise Software Products, Inc.

P.O. Box 1172, Exton, PA 19341
Phone: (610) 458-3660
FAX: (610) 458-3665
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.femap.com

This manual and software product are both copyrighted and all rights are reserved by
Enterprise Software Products Inc.. The distribution and sale of this product are
intended for the use of the original purchaser only and for use only on the computer
system specified. The software product may be used only under the provisions of the
license agreement included with the FEMAP package. Unless otherwise stated, you
may only use this software on a single computer, by one person, at one time.
Trademark Information
Throughout this manual, and the software, you will see references to other applica-
tions and trademarks which are the property of various companies.
m NASTRAN and Cosmic NASTRAN are registered trademarks of NASA.
m IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
m MSC/, MSC/NASTRAN, MSC/pal, MSC/pal 2, and PATRAN are registered trademarks
of The MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation.
m CDA/Sprint is a trademark of The CDA Group.
m UAI/NASTRAN is a product of Universal Analytics, Inc.
m CSA/NASTRAN is a product of Computerized Structural Research and Analysis Corp.
m ME/NASTRAN is a product of Macro Engineering, Inc.
m ABAQUS is a registered trademark of Hibbitt, Karlsson, and Sorenson, Inc.
m CAEFEM is a trademark of Concurrent Analysis Corp.
m SDRC, SDRC I-DEAS and I-DEAS are registered trademarks of Structural Dynamics
Research Corporation.
m SSS/NASTRAN is a trademark of Schaeffer Software Systems, Inc.
m ANSYS is a registered trademark of ANSYS, Inc.
m STAAD and STARDYNE are products and trademarks of Research Engineers, Inc.
m COSMOS and COSMOS/M are registered trademarks of Structural Research and Analy-
sis Corporation.
m WECAN is a registered trademark of Westinghouse, Inc., marketed by AEGIS Software
Corp.
m ALGOR is a registered trademark of Algor Interactive Systems, Inc.
m CFDesign is a trademark of Blue Ridge Numerics, Inc.
m Pro/ENGINEER is a registered trademark of Parametric Technology Corporation
m GENESIS is a registered trademark of Vanderplaats, Miura and Associates, Inc.
m MTAB*Stress is a trademark of Structural Analysis, Inc.
m AutoCAD and DXF are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.
m Solid Edge is a trademark of Intergraph Corporation.
m MicroStation is a registered trademark of Bentley Systems, Inc.
m SolidWorks is a trademark of SolidWorks Corporation.
m MARC is a trademark of MARC Analysis Research Corporation.
m LS-DYNA is a trademark of Livermore Software Technology Corporation.
m ACIS is a registered trademark of Spatial Technology, Inc.
m Parasolid and Unigraphics are registered trademarks of Electronic Data Systems Corp.
m Windows, Windows NT, Windows 95 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Por-
tions of the software contained on your FEMAP CD are copyrighted by Microsoft Corp.

m Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
holders.
m Portions of this software are copyrighted by Spatial Technology, Inc., Electronic Data Sys-
tems, Inc., INRIA, Cypress Software Inc., and Microsoft.
Manual Conventions
This manual uses different fonts to highlight specific features, to identify data that
Windows will display, or input that you must type.

Enter, Alt Shows one or more keys that you should press. In some
cases, you will see combinations like Alt+Shift+Back-
space. The plus signs show that you should press all keys
simultaneously.

a:setup Shows text that you should type. This is very similar to
the keystrokes described above, but is typically used for
strings of letters and/or numbers. The keystrokes typi-
cally refer to the more specialized, non-alphanumeric
keys.

OK, Cancel Shows text that you will see displayed by FEMAP in a
dialog box control, or in the menu.

heading Used for headings or titles of sections of the manual.

Larger characters of the same style (or italics) are also
used depending upon the nature of the section being
introduced.

text Used for all other normal manual text.

Throughout this manual, you will see references to Windows. Windows refers to
Microsoft® Windows NT, Windows 95 or Windows 98. You will need one of these
operating environment to run FEMAP for the PC. This manual assumes that you are
familiar with the general use of the operating environment. If you are not, you can
refer to the Windows User’s Guide for additional assistance.
Similarly, throughout the manual all references to FEMAP, refer to the latest version
of our software.
1Table of Contents

1 Introduction
2 Getting Started
2.1 Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-1
2.2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-1
2.2.1 Setup Program Execution . . . . . . . . . . .2-1
2.2.2 Security Device . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3
2.3 Errors Starting FEMAP . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3
2.3.1 Improving Performance (RAM Management) . . . . . . .2-4
2.4 Which examples should I do first? . . . . . . . . . . .2-6
3 Plate with Hole
3.1 Problem Description/Objective . . . . . . . . . . . .3-1
3.2 Creating the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-2
3.3 Defining Materials and Properties . . . . . . . . . . .3-7
3.4 Generation of Nodes and Elements . . . . . . . . . . .3-9
3.5 Loading and Constraining the Model . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
3.6 Review the Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
4 Roof Truss
4.1 Creating the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-1
4.2 Materials, Properties and Meshing . . . . . . . . . . .4-4
4.3 Loads and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17
4.4 Advanced Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
5 Pressure Vessel
5.1 Import DXF Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-1
5.2 Material, Property and Meshing . . . . . . . . . . . .5-3
5.3 Loads and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6
6 Handle
6.1 Creating the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-1
6.2 Materials, Properties and Meshing . . . . . . . . . . .6-4
6.3 Loads and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7
7 Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing
7.1 Working with View Select and View Options . . . . . . . . .7-2
7.2 Groups and Layers Overview . . . . . . . . . . . .7-8
7.3 Working with Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
7.4 Working with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
7.5 Combining Grouping, Layers and View Options . . . . . . . 7-21
7.6 Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
7.7 Graphical Post-Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
7.8 XY Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-33
7.9 Reporting Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-38
7.10 Getting Your Results to Other Programs . . . . . . . . . 7-40
 72&

8 Simple Solid
8.1 Create the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
8.2 Loads and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
8.3 Meshing the Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7
8.4 PostProcessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
9 Turbine Blade
9.1 Creating the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
9.2 Loads and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
9.3 Meshing the Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
9.4 PostProcessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
10 Cylindrical Support
10.1 Creating the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1
10.2 Materials, Properties and Elements . . . . . . . . . 10-6
10.3 Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
11 Pipe Intersections
11.1 Surface Intersection . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
11.1.1 Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
11.1.2 Materials, Properties and Elements . . . . . . . . 11-6
11.2 Solid Intersection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8
11.2.1 Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8
11.2.2 Meshing the Solid . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12
12 Slotted Guide
12.1 Creating the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
12.2 Loads and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-9
12.3 Meshing the Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-10
13 Connecting Rod
13.1 Creating the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
13.2 Loads and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
13.3 Meshing the Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-10
14 Midsurface
14.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
14.2 Creating the Midsurface Model. . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
14.3 Meshing the Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-6
14.4 Applying Loads and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . 14-9
14.5 Post-Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-10
15 Hex Meshing Overview
15.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-1
15.2 Importing the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-1
15.3 Subdividing the Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-2
15.4 Preparing for Meshing . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-4
15.5 Meshing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-5
16 Hex Meshing
16.1 Importing the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-1
16.2 Subdividing the Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-2
16.3 Meshing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-3
16.3.1 Free Meshing . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-4
16.3.2 Mapped Meshing . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-5
Introduction 1
This section introduces FEMAP and explains what you can do with the software. When you
are finished with this introduction, see Chapter 2, “Getting Started” for instructions on install-
ing FEMAP and for recommendations on which of the example chapters are most appropriate
for your interests.
About FEMAP
FEMAP is a finite-element modeling and postprocessing system that allows you to perform
engineering analyses both quickly and confidently. FEMAP provides the capability to develop
sophisticated analyses of stress, temperature, and dynamic performance directly on the desk-
top. With easy access to CAD and office automation tools, productivity is dramatically
improved compared to traditional approaches.
FEMAP automatically provides the integration that is necessary to link all aspects of your
analysis. FEMAP can be used to create geometry, or you can import CAD geometry. FEMAP
then provides powerful tools for meshing geometry, as well as applying loads and boundary
conditions. You may then use FEMAP to export an input file to over 20 finite element codes.
FEMAP can then read the results from the solver program. Once results are obtained in
FEMAP, a wide variety of tools are available for visualizing and reporting your results.
Geometry
FEMAP can directly import geometry from your CAD or design system. In fact, FEMAP can
directly import a solid model from any ACIS-based or Parasolids-based modeling package. if
your modeling package does not use either of these packages, simply use the FEMAP IGES or
STEP readers. IGES files can be read and then stitched together to form a solid. This typically
requires using just one simple command. STEP AP203 solids can be read directly and auto-
matically converted to Parasolid format.
If you do not have CAD geometry, you can create geometry directly in FEMAP using power-
ful wire-frame and solid modeling tools. FEMAP Professional contains solid modeling
directly in FEMAP with not one but two popular geometry engines (Parasolids and ACIS).
You can build solid models in either engine, and then export a model. This is very convenient
if you need to export geometry to CAD packages that are either ACIS or Parasolids based.
Finite Element Modeling
Regardless of the origin of your geometry, you can use FEMAP to create a complete finite-ele-
ment model. Meshes can be created by many methods ranging from manual creation, to
mapped meshing between keypoints, to fully-automatic meshing of curves, surfaces and sol-
ids. FEMAP can even work with your existing analysis models. You can import and manipu-
late these models using the interfaces to any of the supported analysis programs.
Appropriate materials and section properties can be created or assigned from FEMAP librar-
ies. Many types of constraint and loading conditions can be applied to represent the design
environment. You can apply loads/constraints directly on finite element entities (Nodes and
Elements), or you can apply them to geometry. FEMAP will automatically convert geometric
conditions to Nodal/Elemental values upon translation to your solver program. You may even
convert these loads before translation to convince yourself that the loading conditions are
appropriate for your model.
  Introduction

Checking Your Model

At every step of the modeling process, you receive graphical verification of your progress.
You need not worry about making a mistake because FEMAP contains a multi-level undo and
redo capability. An On-Line Help system also provides the capability to review information on
FEMAP commands without ever opening a manual.
FEMAP also provides extensive tools for checking your model before you analyze it, to give
you the confidence that you have properly modeled your part. It constantly examines input to
prevent errors in the model, and provides immediate visual feedback. FEMAP also provides a
comprehensive set of tools to evaluate your finite element model and identify errors that are
often not obvious. For example, FEMAP can check for coincident geometry, find improper
connections, estimate mass and inertia, evaluate your constraint conditions, and sum your
loading conditions. Each of these methods can be used to identify and eliminate potential
errors, saving you considerable time and money.
Analyzing Your Model
When your model is complete, FEMAP provides interface to over 20 popular programs to per-
form finite element analysis. You can even import a model from one analysis program and
automatically convert it to the format for a different analysis program.
Postprocessing
After your analysis, FEMAP provides both powerful visualization Tools that enable you to
quickly interpret results, and numerical tools to search, report, and perform further calcula-
tions using these results. Defamation Plots, Contour Plots, Animations, and X-Y Plots are just
some of the postprocessing tools available to the FEMAP user. FEMAP v5.0 now supports
OpenGL, which provides even more capability for postprocessing, including dynamic visual-
ization of contours through solid parts. Section Cuts and IsoSurfaces can now be viewed
dynamically by simply moving your cursor.
Documenting Results
Documentation is also a very important factor with any analysis. FEMAP obviously provides
direct, high quality printing and plotting of both graphics and text. Frequently, however,
graphics or text must be incorporated into a larger report or presentation. FEMAP can export
both graphics and text to non-engineering programs with a simply Windows Cut command.
You can easily export pictures to such popular programs as MS Word, MS PowerPoint and
Adobe Framemaker. You can export to spreadsheets, databases, word processors, desktop pub-
lishing software, and presentation graphics, paint and illustration programs. These links enable
you to create and publish a complete report or presentation, all electronically, right on your
desktop.
With support for AVI files you can even include an animation directly in your PowerPoint Pre-
sentation or Word Document. Creating illustrations for reports and presentations has never
been this easy.
FEMAP can also write out analysis models as VRML files, deformed and contoured just as
you see on your screen. This enables you to share analysis results across networks or the web
with any standard VRML viewer.
FEMAP Documentation
In addition to the On-Line Help in FEMAP, FEMAP also comes with a complete set of docu-
mentation. Four manuals are provided with FEMAP: (1) Examples (2) Release Notes, (3)
Users’ Guide, and (4) Command Reference.
 Introduction 

Examples...
... provides an introduction to FEMAP, basics on installing the software, and a number of
detailed examples of building a finite element models from start to finish using FEMAP. This
manual provides the new user a quick tour of just some of the capabilities of FEMAP, while 1
75

,
familiarizing them with the program.
2
Release Notes... '
8
... contains a brief overview of new features in the latest release of FEMAP. This document is &
7,
especially useful to users who are upgrading from a previous version of the software. 2
Users Guide...
1
... includes general information about FEMAP. Included in this manual are descriptions of
FEMAP’s Graphical User Interface, including the command toolbars, common dialog boxes in
FEMAP, and a general overview of the finite element process. This manual also contains
information on shortcut keys, as well as the use of function keys in FEMAP.
This manual provides an excellent overview if you are not certain how to do something in
FEMAP as well as information on getting started with FEMAP.
Command Reference...
... contains explanations of every menu command in FEMAP. If you are unclear about a cer-
tain command in FEMAP, you can use this manual to find its description. In general, the com-
mands are separated into chapters which correspond to the Main FEMAP menu. The few
exceptions to this are the List, Modify, and Delete Menu commands, which are explained
under the Chapter which contains the type of entities (i.e. if you are Deleting Geometry, look
under the Geometry chapter for Delete). In addition, the Tools and List menus are combined
under the Checking Your Model chapter, and the View and Group menus are combined under
the Viewing Your Model chapter.
There is also a special Postprocessing chapter describing commands specifically used for post-
processing, and there is a brief description of using some of the View commands to check your
Model under the Checking Your Model chapter.
Overview of this Manual
This manual is designed to get you using FEMAP quickly and with proficiency. It contains a
number of examples that take you step by step through the main processes for building and
using an FEA model.
As there are many different types of real analysis problems, there are different types of exam-
ple problems shown here. There are examples using just beams, plates, or solids, as well as
combinations. They are based on real world problems but are not intended to represent any
actual part or structure. Again they are meant to be used only as an aid in learning to use
FEMAP. You may find that some of the examples do not resemble anything you will be doing
and may want to skip them, however, it is recommended that you work through all the prob-
lems because they may contain some commands you will find useful.
As mentioned before, the example problems are spelled out step by step. All necessary dialog
boxes are shown and buttons/icons pressed are indicated. Simple commands that are repeated
within the same problem may not be shown completely. If you have trouble, refer to the previ-
ous instance of that command for complete instruction. As you complete more and more
examples you should become familiar with many of the FEMAP commands, particularly the
view orientation commands, and be able to execute them on your own.
The general purpose of this manual is to familiarize you with using FEMAP to complete the
following FEA Modeling tasks.
 Introduction

Creating 2-D and 3-D wire-frame and solid geometry.

Importing geometry from popular CAD packages.
Midsurfacing techniques
Creating basic materials
Creating Line, Plane and Solid Element Property types
Using various types of meshing in your models
Applying loads and boundary conditions.
Manipulating views using the view commands and groups and layers
Viewing, postprocessing and reporting analysis results for your models
The examples in this manual should help you learn the basic FEA modeling process and some
general FEMAP commands and the FEMAP command structure. For a more complete
description of the FEMAP interface and modeling procedures refer to the FEMAP User Man-
ual. For an in depth description of all the commands in FEMAP refer to the FEMAP Com-
mand Reference
2Getting Started

Welcome to FEMAP! This section will help you install and start using the software.
To help you quickly become familiar with FEMAP there are recommendations at the
end of this chapter on which examples to do first, depending on your interests.
This section contains information specific to getting started on a PC, which includes
Windows NT (INTEL and DEC Alpha), Windows 95, and Windows 98. Information
related to FEMAP installation and operation on UNIX platforms can be found in the
FEMAP Unix Guide. Supported UNIX platforms include HP/ux, IBM RS6000/aix,
SUN/Solaris, and SGI/IRIX.

2.1 Hardware Requirements

There are no special hardware requirements for FEMAP beyond those imposed by
Windows operating systems. There are many types of hardware that will allow you
to use FEMAP. Proper choice of hardware however, can often make the difference
between frustration and productivity. Here are two suggestions concerning hardware:
Memory, RAM:
You will need at least 16 Mbytes of RAM to run FEMAP. Furthermore, if you are
going to use the solid modeling engines, 32 Mbytes of memory is required. Obvi-
ously, the more amount of RAM the better. Adding RAM can be one of the most cost
effective means of increasing performance.
Graphics Boards:
Standard graphics adapters work very well with FEMAP. Specialized boards which
contain support for OpenGL will provide increased graphical performance when
dynamically rotating large, complex models.They also usually provide higher resolu-
tion and more colors which makes graphics easier to see and more realistic.

2.2 Installation
2.2.1 Setup Program Execution
Windows NT
1. Log into your computer as Administrator.
2. Insert the FEMAP CD. Setup should automatically start within a few seconds.
Windows 95/98
1. Log on to your computer as any user.
2. Insert the FEMAP CD. Setup should automatically start within a few seconds.
 Getting Started

If the setup program does not start automatically use the Windows Explorer to view
the CD-ROM’s contents. You can manually start the setup by double clicking on the
file Setup.bat
Once setup is running you will see a license Agreement. Assuming that you agree
with the license agreement, press Yes to continue and select the directory where you
would like to have the FEMAP program files installed.
You will now be asked which type of installation to perform. There are four options
related to FEMAP, Demo System, Full System, Network Client, or FLEXlm License
Manager. The Network Client and FLEXLM License Manager are required only for
network installations, and will not be discussed here. Please see Chapter 2 of the
FEMAP Users Guide for information on network installations.
1. If you have purchased a
stand alone license of
FEMAP or have a 30-day
evaluation system,
choose FEMAP Full
System..
2. If you have requested a
Free Demonstration
License of FEMAP
install FEMAP 300-
Node Demo System.
Stand alone and evalaution
licenses come with a secu-
rity device that attaches to
your parallel port. If you have not received this device, you will need to install the
demo version.
You will now be
prompted for which
components of
FEMAP to install.
Choose Program Files
, Examples, Help for
the typical installation.
 Security Device 

2.2.2 Security Device

(7

*
Note: 7,
1
If you have the 300-Node Demo version or network version, this section should be *
skipped.
7$

6
First locate the security device. It should look like the follow- Computer 5
ing. 7(
'
Follow these steps to install the device: FEMAP
1. Turn off your computer. You should always turn off your
computer when installing any peripheral device or cable. Printer
2. Attach the security device to any standard, IBM-compatible
(Centronics) parallel printer port (or into another security device, if present).
Make certain you tighten the screws. This ensures proper electrical connection,
and allows proper installation of the printer cable in the next step.
3. Attach your printer cable, if any, into the other end of the security device.
4. Turn on your computer and proceed with the installation of the FEMAP software.
The security device (hardware key) may be destroyed if you connect any devices
other than a printer in-line with the security device. If you need to use the parallel
port to connect an external device such as a external hard drive, you must remove the
hardware key from the series during the operation.

2.3 Errors Starting FEMAP

If you receive
an error indi-
cating that the
security
device cannot
be found,
there are two
possible prob-
lems:

1. You have installed the Full Version without a security device.

2. The seucirty device is not properly installed.
If you have the 300-Node Demonstration version, you will need to re-install FEMAP
as the 300-Node Demo version. If you have a seucirty device attached to the parallel
port, turn the power off, check the connections, and then re-boot. If you still have
problems, contact ESP.
  Getting Started

If you receive an Unable to allocate Scroll Buffer File error or have any other diffi-
culty starting FEMAP where abnormal termination occurs, you either do not have
enough disk space, or your Windows TEMP is not set to a valid, accessible directory.
You may either change your Windows TEMP directory environment variable, or
specify a path for the FEMAP scratch files (which default to the Windows TEMP
directory set by the environment variable) to a valid directory.
This and all other FEMAP Preferences are stored in a file called femap.ini typically
located in the FEMAP executable directory. You will have to create this file or mod-
ify it to include the appropriate lines as shown below:
DiskModelScr=c:\femap60
DiskUndo=c:\femap60
DiskListBuff=c:\femap60
where c:\femap60 can be any valid path. The DiskModelScr, DiskUndo, and Dis-
kListBuff parameters are case sensitive, and must be defined exactly as above. Once
you make these changes and FEMAP starts, you can modify this path under File
Preferences Database.

2.3.1 Improving Performance (RAM Management)

To improve FEMAP performance on Windows 95 and Windows NT personal work-
stations, you should modify the default settings that FEMAP uses to manage RAM.
This procedure is explained in more detail in the Command Reference Manual under
File Preferences, Startup Preferences (File Manipulation Chapter). To access the
internal FEMAP memory management system, follow the procedure below:
1. Choose the File Preferences command and hit the
Database button.
2. Change Cache Pages and Blocks/Page in the dialog
box.
3. Max Cached Label should be set to a number that is
higher than any entity you will create in your model file. This sets aside a small
portion of memory that stores all of the ID’s in FEMAP.
4. Select OK and say Yes to the Permanent question. (Remember to say Yes or your
selection will not be saved).

Note:
You should never allow FEMAP to allocate more than the physical memory of the
machine. The internal memory management (swapping) in FEMAP will allow the
program to run much faster than Windows memory swapping. Therefore, you should
set the Cache Pages and Blocks/Page at a level which is comfortably below the phys-
ical memory of the machine. Also, to optimize performance, you should always
increase Cache Pages (max 15000) to its limit before increasing Blocks/Page.
 Setting Guidelines 

2.3.1.1 Setting Guidelines

Starting with FEMAP version 7.0 FEMAP handles memory differently and requires
different settings from earlier versions. (7

*
7,
.FEMAP Version 7.0 1
The following figures are provided as a starting point to improve performance. *
7$

6
Operating System Installed RAM (Mb) Cache Pages Blocks/Page 5
Windows 95/98, NT 64 10500 1
7(
'
128 12000 2
256 14000 4
512 15000 8
1000 15000 15

Actual performance will vary depending upon other concurrent applications and
model specifics. Once again, it is best to increase Cache pages to 15000 before
increasing Blocks/Page

Note:
For best performance you should have enough physical Ram to load the entire model
file into memory. i.e. if you expect your model files to be a maximum of 100 Mb
then you would want FEMAP to allocate at least 100 Mb of memory. If you had 128
Mb of physical RAM this would leave 28 Mb for windows and other programs that
may be running at the same time as FEMAP.
FEMAP Version 5 & 6
Memory is handled differently starting with FEMAP version 7.0. For earlier ver-
sions of FEMAP use the table below.

Operating System Installed RAM (Mb) Cache Pages - Max Blocks/Page

Windows 95/98 32 480 20
64 1024 24
96 1024 38
128 1024 52
Windows NT 32 390 20
64 1024 22
96 1024 36
128 1024 50
  Getting Started

2.4 Which examples should I do first?

All new users should start with Chapter 3, a basic “plate with a hole” example.
Users that will be creating FE models from CAD geometry will want to do Chap-
ters 8, 9, 14, 15 and 16. These illustrate geometry based loads and ways to idealize
geometry.
Users interested in beam and shell modeling will want to review Chapters 4 and 10.
Building geometry directly in FEMAP is covered in Chapters 6, 8, 11, 12 and 13.
Once you start to feel comfortable with FEMAP, all new users will definitely want
to spend some time with Chapter 7 on Groups, Layers and Postprocessing. This is a
very important chapter and will help unlock the power of FEMAP for many users.
Current FEMAP users will find new features of Version 6 in Chapters 4, 10, 14, 15
and 16.
Plate with Hole 3

3.1 Problem Description/Objective

In this example we need to review the physical performance of a proposed mounting bracket
configuration. We will define the geometry and material properties, prepare a finite element
mesh and define boundary conditions and loads. The bracket will be constructed of AISI 4130
Steel. We will completely fix the plate as if the hole were welded to a very rigid support, and
then apply a static tensile load of 5500 pounds. Finally, we will review how to prepare the
model for solution and then look at the results of an analysis.
25.00
20.00
Fixed
Boundary
10.00 Weld

5500 Pound
Static Load R2.00

R4.00 x 2

Process Overview

Before we begin the detailed step-by-step instructions for completing the sample model, an
overview of the process is in order. There are three basic steps to be taken to turn this sample
model into a model suitable for finite element analysis.

1 Create or Import the V1

underlying geometry.

Z X
  Plate with Hole

2 Mesh the Part using the

FEMAP Surface Mesh
Command. Material prop-
erties and any element
physical properties (such
as thickness) are also
defined in this step.
Y

3 Apply various sets of

Loads and Boundary Con-
ditions

3.2 Creating the Geometry

If you have not already done so, start FEMAP. Select New Model to begin a new modeling
session. Throughout this example, all commands that you will select from the FEMAP menu
will be shown in the following style - FILE - NEW. Which means, first select File from the
menu, and then move to the New command.
Set Snap Mode
1 Choose TOOLS - WORKPLANE. Press the
Snap Options Button.

2 Set the Grid and Ruler Spacing to Uniform

with an X grid of 1.

3 Set the Workplane Size in both directions at

0 to 25 and turn off Adjust to Model Size.

4 Set the Snap To to Snap Grid. This will snap

the coordinates that you select from the
screen to predefined grid locations.

5 Set the Grid Style to Dots. This displays the

snap grid locations as dots.

6 Press OK to accept.

7 The Grid may be displayed too coarsely. Use

the Zoom-Out Icon to adjust the view of the
default grid.
5
 Creating the Geometry 

Cursor Position
1 Turn on the Cursor Position Dialog Box by choosing TOOLS - CUR-
SOR POSITION. The Cursor Position Dialog Box appears in the top
right corner of the screen. This guide is very useful when creating
your own geometry.

2 Use the A.) Zoom Out icon and the B.) Zoom Window icons on the
toolbar to view the general area between two X-Y Positions, such as
0,0 and 30,20. Moving the cursor around in the graphics windows
and watch the values change in the Cursor Position Dialog Box.

A
B
There are many ways to create the required geometry. Here we will demonstrate one

/$

3
1 Choose GEOMETRY -
CURVE LINE - RECT-
A 7(
ANGLE and enter two
:
,7


corner points of the base
rectangle that forms this +
part, A=0,0,0 and

+
B=25,10,0. Press OK 2
after each Corner. B /(

The direct entry technique was simplest for this example. As an alternate, you may graphically
pick the locations of corner points on screen.
Graphically Select the Two Corners:
Since the Snap Mode is set to Grid, and the Grid is spaced at every 1.0 unit, it is very easy to
use the Cursor Position Dialog Box, and move the cursor in the graphics window to the precise
location required for each point, press the mouse, and have the dialog box filled in for you.

Hint:
When selecting from the graphics window, instead of moving the mouse all the way down the
OK button and pressing it when you are done, you can double click the mouse on the last
selection and FEMAP will know that you are done and effectively press OK for you.
Program Short-Cut Keys
FEMAP has a number of pre-
defined short-cut keys to speed up
the work you do. Some use the
function keys, e.g. F3 (Print), and
some use the control key (Ctrl) in
combination with another letter key.
These are denoted in the menu
structure and detailed in the full Y

FEMAP manual and in the on-line

Z X
 Plate with Hole

help (search for Command Keys). For instance, Press Ctrl-A (VIEW - AUTOSCALE command),
and FEMAP will autoscale the view. Your model should look similar to the one above.
We will now fillet the right side of the part.

1 Select MODIFY - FILLET

from the FEMAP Menu.

2 Set the select snap to

screen by using the mouse
to select the Snap Off A
Tool Bar Icon at A.)

3 The Fillet Curve Dialog Box starts off wait-

ing for you to enter the first curve of the fil-
let. FEMAP also uses the location on screen 2
that you select the curve at to determine
which of the four possible fillets between
two curves should be used. When picking 3
the top curve, move the mouse to a location
slightly inside the rectangle, towards the
right side of the line. You will notice the line
highlighting, giving you a preview of exactly
which curve will be picked. When you have
the mouse in the position indicated, press the
left mouse button to pick the curve.

Note:
By picking inside the two lines you are specifying a fillet radius whose center will
be toward the sides of the picks. The effect of picking on the other sides is illus-
trated below:
Pick here
Pick the center for this fillet
location in the
quadrant
where you

Original Curves
 Creating the Geometry 

3 Pick the right side in a similar manner with mouse positioned slightly to the inside, and
towards the top of the line.
4 Now that the curves have been selected, FEMAP highlights the fillet radius field in the dialog
box. Simply type a radius of 4.0. Press OK or Enter to create the fillet.

1 Select MODIFY - FILLET

from the FEMAP Menu.

/$

3
7(
:
,7


+

+
2
/(
Y

Z X

Fillet the bottom right corner following the same procedure. When you are done, Press the
ESC key, or Press the Cancel button to dismiss the Fillet Curves dialog box. The model should
now look like this:

Z X

We will now create the circular hole at the right side of this part.
1 Select GEOMETRY -
CURVE CIRCLE - CENTER
from the FEMAP Menu.
 Plate with Hole

2 You can enter the center

point manually, at 20,5,0 or
pick it from the screen. To
pick from the screen, move
the mouse directly on top
of the screen grid that is
between the two center 2
points of the fillet arcs and
one to the left, and press
the left mouse button. You
can watch the location
numbers in the Cursor
Position Dialog Box to
ensure that you are at
20,5,0. Press OK when fin-
ished.
3
3 You are now prompted for
the radius of the hole, type
in 2.0. Press OK to create
the circle.
Press ESC or Cancel to end
Circle Creation.

Z X

This part will be meshed by using the FEMAP Surface Mesher. The Surface Mesher is
designed to take any enclosed boundary, including internal voids, and fill that boundary with
planar finite elements.
1 Select GEOMETRY -
BOUNDARY SURFACE
from the FEMAP Menu.
FEMAP displays the 2
Standard Entity Selection
Dialog Box.
2 Move the cursor around in the graphics window. You will notice the individual curves high-
light as you pass over them. You can pick the curves individually, or, since these are the only
curves in the model, press Select All to select them. Press OK to move on.
3 FEMAP automatically detects the hole/holes in the boundary and includes them
 Defining Materials and Properties 

The boundary is displayed as a highlighted entity on top of its underlying geometry.

Z X

The geometry creation phase of this example is now complete. From now on we will be creat-
/$

3
ing entities directly related to Finite Element Analysis. First Material and Element Properties
will be defined. Then Nodes and Elements will be generated automatically using the underly- 7(
ing geometry. Finally Loads and Boundary Conditions will be defined on the finite element
:
,7


mesh.
+
3.3 Defining Materials and Properties

+
2
Before any finite elements can be created, we must first define a material.
/(
1 Select MODEL - MATE-
RIAL from the FEMAP
Menu. FEMAP displays the
Define Isotropic Material
Dialog Box. You could enter
all the physical properties of
a material in this box, or to
use the library of materials
1
included with FEMAP,
Press the Load Button.

2 FEMAP Material Librar-

ies are easy to extend with
your own materials. The
library that ships with
FEMAP contains several
common material in U.S.
(in. lb. sec.) units. In this
example select AISI 4130 2
Steel using the arrow keys
or the mouse, and Press
OK when finished.
 Plate with Hole

3 The physical properties

corresponding with AISI
4130 Steel in traditional
U.S. units from the library
will be placed in the
Define Isotropic Material
Dialog Box. Press OK to
Create the Material, and
then Cancel to end cre-
ation of materials.

Note:
FEMAP automatically repeats any creation commands assuming that during the creation of
most finite element models that each command will be required more than once. This behavior
is designed to minimize the number of times you will need to go into the menus or use the
toolbox to access commands. This feature can be turned off in the File - Preferences com-
mand.
Element properties define the physical characteristics of the actual finite elements in your
model. For example, plate thickness, or area and moments of inertia for beams, etc. Element
properties also reference a material to define their stiffness properties. We will now create a
property for the plate elements that will be used to build this model.
1 Choose MODEL - PROP-
ERTY from the FEMAP
menu.
2 Add a title by using the 2 3
TAB key to move to the
title field, or by clicking
the mouse in the title 4
field.
3 Identify the Material that
Property is associated
with by pressing the down
arrow on the Material, and
select AISI 4130 Steel we
just created.

4 A constant thickness for the plate is specified in the Thickness, Tavg, T1 field. Use the TAB
key or mouse to move to this field and enter 0.5.

The remainder of the fields can be used for more specialized capabilities of FEMAP and some
of the FEA solvers. For this example, we have entered all of the required information. Press
OK to create the Material, and then ESC or Cancel to end creation of materials.
 Generation of Nodes and Elements 

3.4 Generation of Nodes and Elements

We will now create the actual finite elements by using the FEMAP Surface Mesher.
1 Select MESH - GEOME-
TRY-SURFACE from the
FEMAP Menu. FEMAP
will display the Standard
Entity Selection Dialog
Box, and prompt you for
the Boundary to mesh.
Select the Boundary from the screen, or use Select All. Press OK to continue.
2 FEMAP will now display
the Generate Boundary
Mesh Dialog Box.
/$

3
A
A.) Select the Property to be 7(
used for the elements gener- :
,7


ated, and B.) Press OK to
generate them. There are +
many options in the Bound-

+
2
ary Mesh Dialog Box that /(
provide extensive control
over the automatic mesh.
For this example we will use B
the default settings. Defaults
have been carefully designed to generate a quality mesh for a wide variety of geometries.

The part will be meshed totally automatically. The size of the individual elements was deter-
mined by the default global mesh size, that you can control. In addition, the number of element
generated along each geometric entity can be specified with the Mesh - Mesh Control - Size
Along Curve command overriding the global mesh size. In this example, the standard default
mesh size of 1.0 was sufficient and did not need to be modified. At this point the display is
fairly cluttered with the node and element numbers. We will now use some of the View
Options in FEMAP to modify the display and remove unnecessary information.
 Plate with Hole

1 Press Ctrl-Q on the key-

board. This will bring up
the FEMAP Quick View
Options Dialog Box.
Since we are finished with
the geometry side of FEA
Pre- and Post-Processing,
A.) Press the Geometry
Off Button. To clear the
entity labeling, and clean
up the display, B.) Press
the Labels Off Button. C.)
Press Done. A

C
B

Your model should be displayed as follows:

Now would be a good time to save your work up to this point. To save a model to a new name.
:
Select FILE - SAVE AS from the
FEMAP Menu. The Windows
Common File Save Dialog box
will be displayed. The dialog box
shown here is from Windows 95.
The dialog boxes from Windows
3.1x and Windows NT are simi-
lar. Using this box, you can navi-
gate around your local computer,
and across a network. Move to or
create a directory where you wish
to store your sample FEMAP
models, type in the name
CH2MESH, and press Save.
 Loading and Constraining the Model 

3.5 Loading and Constraining the Model

Recall that we want to weld and fix the inside of the hole, then pull on the left side of the
bracket with a total force of 5,500 pounds.
We will now add the loads and constraints required to perform a static finite element analysis,
first we must first create an empty Load Set. FEMAP supports multiple load and constraint
sets to allow you to define more than one loading condition or constraint condition for the
same finite element model.

To create the empty load

set, choose MODEL -
LOAD - SET from the
menu and add a descrip-
tive name in the Title box.
Press OK to create the
/$

3
Set.
7(
:
,7


+
Similar to Load Sets, there are also Constraint Sets for storing different boundary conditions

+
for your model. To create the first empty Constraint Set, select MODEL - CONSTRAINT - SET 2
from the menu, type a descriptive name, such as “Welded Hole” and create the empty set. /(
Let’s first constrain the part. Constraints define how a part is held in reaction to the applied
loads. In this case we will completely fix all the nodes around the hole as if the plate were
welded to a significantly stiff underlying structure.

1 Choose MODEL - CON-

STRAINT - NODAL from the
menu. Again FEMAP will
display the Standard Entity
Selection Dialog Box.
Instead of box picking this
time, we will circle pick the nodes around the hole.
2 Zoom in on the area
around the circle. To do
so, press the Zoom Icon
2

on the toolbar.
 Plate with Hole

3 Now pick a box around

the hole with picks at A A
and B.

4 Circle picking is similar

V1
to box picking, but instead L1
C1
B
of pressing and holding
the shift key, you press
and hold the control key.
The trick in circle picking
is to make the first pick
A

A.) at the center of the cir-

cle and then move out to
the outside radius B.)
Y

Z X

5 FEMAP will now fill in

the nodes selected within
the circle. Press OK to
select these nodes.

6 You will now see the Create

Nodal Constraints/DOF
Dialog Box. Press the Fixed
Button to constrain all six
degrees of freedom at this 6
location. Press OK to create
the constraints. Press the
ESC Key or Press Cancel to
end creation of constraints.
 Loading and Constraining the Model 

The model should look like the one below. If you do not see all of your model, press Ctrl-A to
Autoscale the view.
V1
C1

Z X

/$

3
7(
We will now apply a load to the model along the left hand side, in the negative x direction
:
,7


totaling 5,500 pounds.
+
1 Select MODEL - LOAD -

+
NODAL from the FEMAP 2
menu. FEMAP will now /(
display the Standard
Entity Selection Box
requesting nodes.
V1

2 You could pick the 11 nodes at C1

the end of this part one by one,

A
or instead, use the box-picking
capability of FEMAP. To box
pick, press and hold down the
shift key, then, A.) move the
mouse to one corner of the rect-
angle you wish to select inside
of, and press the left mouse
button and drag the mouse to Y

B.) the other corner of the Z X B

region. You will see a dashed
rectangle on screen indicating
the region that will be selected.
3 FEMAP will fill in the
Entity Selection Dialog
box with the nodes inside
the rectangle. Press OK to
select these nodes.
  Plate with Hole

4 FEMAP now displays the

Create Nodal Loads Dia-
log Box. Move to the TX
(Translation Degree of
Freedom, X-Direction)
and enter a value of nega-
tive 500 (-500.0). Press
OK to create the loads. 4
Press ESC or Cancel to
end creating nodal loads.
You will now see the
loads on your model:

Running the Analysis

The model building stage is now complete. The model is ready for analysis by any one of a
number of finite element codes that FEMAP supports. Refer to the translation section of the
FEMAP User Guide and your analysis program documentation to analyze this model. Typi-
cally, select FILE - EXPORT - ANALYSIS MODEL from the FEMAP menu. Choose the analysis
program that you have access to, set the Analysis Type to Static, and press OK. FEMAP will
then lead you through the creation of an input deck with dialog boxes custom designed to
properly set up the analysis for your particular solver.
Once you have created an input file for your FEA program, you need to run that program.

3.6 Review the Results

After solution, FEMAP can read the output results for post-processing. Reading output results
is similar to writing the model for analysis, select FILE - IMPORT - ANALYSIS RESULTS from
the FEMAP menu, set the translator to your FEA program, and then press OK. FEMAP will
lead you through the rest of the process based on requirement of your particular analysis code.
Once read in, the results are available for a wide array of graphical and numerical post-pro-
cessing.
If you do not have access to a finite element analysis program, the results of analyzing this
sample model are available on the diskette included with this manual. Select File - Open from
the FEMAP menu, navigate to the directory where you installed the example problems for this
manual. In the /examples subdirectory, open CH3POST.MOD.
 Review the Results 

Viewing the Deformed Model

:
1 Choose VIEW - SELECT
from the menu. The View -
Select command determines
how your model will appear
A
on screen. To view the
model deformed by the
results of your analysis, A.)
change the Deformed Style
to Deform. To specify B
exactly what data to use for
Post-Processing, B.) Press
the Deformed and Contour
/$

3
Data Button.
2 The Select Post-Processing Dia-
7(
log Box is now displayed. Here, :
,7


you specify what data is used
for on-screen Post-Processing.
+

+
Data from multiple analysis 2
runs or multiple Load Set/Con- /(
straint Set combinations will be A
stored in multiple Output Sets.
The combo box at A.) is used to
specify which Output Set the
B
results will be obtained from,
C
and the B.) Deformation and C.)
Contour combo boxes are used
to choose which particular
pieces of output data are used
for the Deformed Style and
Contour Style options in the previous View - Select Dialog Box. Press OK to accept these
choices, and then Press OK in the View Select Dialog box to activate the Deformed view.

V1
L1
C1

Z X
Output S et: MS C/NAS T R AN Cas e 1
Deformed(0.00085): T otal T rans lation

Viewing the Stress Distribution

Similar to turning on the deformed plot, you can return to View - Select and change the Con-
tour Style option from None - Model Only to Contour and pressing OK. FEMAP displays the
 Plate with Hole

model with a color representation of the stress levels superimposed on top of the deformed
shape.
V1
L1 1681.
C1
1587.

1494.

1400.

1307.

1214.

1120.

1027.

933.3

839.8

746.4

653.

559.5

466.1
Y
372.6

279.2
Output SZ et: MS C/NAS
X T R AN Cas e 1
Deformed(0.00085): T otal T rans lation 185.8
Contour: Plate T op VonMis es S tres s

This chapter was designed to provide you with an overview of working with FEMAP, and to
let you work through one sample problem from start to finish. The following chapters contain
different types of examples to give you a broad range or experience with FEMAP.
Roof Truss 4

The above roof truss will be a simple example of modeling using both rod and L Beam ele-
ments. The symmetry of the truss will be used to reduce the problem to half the size. If you
have not already done so, start FEMAP. Select New Model when prompted, or if you are
already running FEMAP, select FILE - NEW from the menu.

4.1 Creating the Geometry

Create Points
1 Select GEOMETRY -
POINT from the FEMAP
Menu. Enter the following
data points:

Point X Y Z
1 0 0 0
2 40 0 0
3 80 0 0
4 120 0 0
5 20 -30 0
6 40 -30 0
7 60 -30 0
8 80 -30 0
9 100 -30 0
10 120 -30 0
  Roof Truss

After the last point is entered select cancel. After all screen picks you must select OK or
double click on the last selection to complete the command or move to the next dialog
box. Press cancel to exit a command.
Press Ctrl-A to Autoscale the view.
V1

Z X

Create Lines Between the Points

1 Choose GEOMETRY -
CURVE LINE - POINTS
from the FEMAP Menu.

2 Now create 17 lines con- V1

necting the points in this

pattern.

A
Hint:
To speed cre-
ation of the lines,
select the first B
point by A.) Y

moving the Z X

mouse on top of
the first point in
a line (you will see the point highlight) click once, and then move to B.) the point at
the other end of the line and once it highlights, double-click. By double-clicking on
the second point, it will be selected, and the OK button will be pressed for you.

Note:
Be sure to create all 17 line segments. You do not want to have any lines crossing
other lines. During mesh generation, you are guaranteed of having nodes at the end-
points of geometric entities, therefore you are guaranteed that the finite element
model will be connected at each joint.
 Creating the Geometry 

These lines will be copied in the Z direction to create the other side of the truss. Since we will
be working in 3-D for the first time, let’s rotate the view so we can see the new lines that will
be generated behind the ones you just created.
Rotate the View

1 Choose VIEW - ROTATE

from the FEMAP Menu (or
use the Ctrl-R or F8 short-
cut keys) and you will see
1
the View Rotate Dialog
Box. There are several pre-
defined 3-D views that you can select from, you may want to experiment and press some of
them. Before leaving View Rotate, press Trimetric and then OK to dismiss the View Rotate
Dialog Box.

V1

5
2
Z

)
Copy the Curves 5

7
8
66
1 Select GEOMETRY - COPY
- CURVE from the FEMAP
1
menu. Press Select All to
pick all the curves in this
model. Press OK to con-
tinue
2 FEMAP now displays the Generation
Options Dialog Box. This box allows you to
control certain features about the new enti-
ties that will be created by this generation
command, i.e. will the new entities match
the original ones regarding layer, color, etc.
or will they be created using the current set-
tings defined in the FEMAP Tools - Parameters command. Choose OK to accept the defaults
and continue.
  Roof Truss

3 FEMAP now displays the Stan-

dard Define Vector Dialog Box.
Fill in the box as shown, and
Press OK to define the vector
and complete the copy.

V1

Connect the Two Sides

We will now connect the two side of the truss. Again, use the GEOMETRY - CURVE LINE -
POINTS command, and create new lines that connect the corresponding points from the two
sides of the truss. You should create ten 10 lines.

V1

You have completed the geometry section of this example.

4.2 Materials, Properties and Meshing

We will now create the elements for the roof truss.
The first thing we need to do is set the mesh sizes for the curves (actually lines in this exam-
ple) to an appropriate value; appropriate in that it will keep the total number of nodes gener-
ated small enough to work in the demo version of FEMAP.
 Materials, Properties and Meshing 

Setting the Element Mesh Sizes

1 Select MESH - MESH
CONTROL - SIZE ALONG
CURVE from the FEMAP 1
Menu. We will press
Select All and OK to
define the number of line
elements per curve.
2 In the Number of Ele-
ments field, enter 1 and
Press OK to continue.
FEMAP prompts you for
more curves, press Cancel 2
or ESC to exit the com-
mand.

Defining Beam Property for Arbitrary Cross Section

You may not always want to use a simple Beam cross section in your model. You can define
any arbitrary cross section by either creating the corresponding surface inside of FEMAP or
importing external geomerty and then selecting a surface to calculate the Section Properties.
First create a new layer for our beam cross section so we can easily separate it from the rest of
the model.
2

5
5. Select VIEW - ROTATE XY TOP and say OK to orient our view. 2
6. Select VIEW - LAYERS and the Layer Management dialoug box will appear.
)
5

7
A.) Press New Layer and 8
create a new layer called 66
Beam Section.
B.) Select SHOW VISIBLE C
LAYERS ONLY. B
C.) Scroll Down and
change the ACTIVE LAYER D
to 2..Beam Section
D.) Use the HIDE and SHOW
keys to orient the high-
lighted layer so that the only A
visible layer is 2..Beam Sec-
tion.
Geometry has been created on the Default and Construction Layers but we are viewing the
empty Layer 2..Beam Section.
 Roof Truss

Note:
Up to this point all of the existing geomerty has been created on the Default and Construction
Layers. Since we just switched to viewing only Layer 2..Beam Section which has no entities
on it yet we will see only a blank screen.
Next we will turn on the workplane so that we have a reference when drawing the beam cross
section.
Select TOOLS - WORKPLANE and
click On (A) DRAW WORKPLANE
to activate it and press DONE (B).
Use CTRL-G to regenerate the A
screen and draw the workplane.
Next Zoom in so that the extents of B
the screen are about:
X axis = +7 Y axis = -7
Creating Geomerty for Cross Section
Now we can use the Geomerty creation commands to draw any surface.

1 S Right mouse Click anywhere

in the Default XY view and set
your SNAP to SCREEN.

2 Select GEOMERTY- POINT

and create 6 points by left
mouse clicking on the
screen to define the out-
line of a L beam approxi-
mately where the 6 points
above are located to the
right.
 Materials, Properties and Meshing 

3 Once all of the points

have been created we will
connect them with line
segments. Select
GEOMERTY - CURVE -
POINTS to connect the
points and create the
geomertric cross section

4 Now we have line seg-

ments that define our
beam section but we need
to create a surface. Select
GEOMERTY - BOUNDARY
2

5
SURFACE and pick each of 2
the curve you have just )
created. Once you choose
5

7
all the curves press OK 8
and a boundary surface 66
will be created.
 Roof Truss

Creating a New Property

1 Select MODEL - PROP-
ERTY. The default prop-
erty type is Plate. To
change to the Beam prop- 1
erty we want to use in this
example, and to change to
a different element/prop-
erty type in general, press
the Elem/Property Type
button.

2 In the Element/Property
Type Dialog Box, change
to a Line Element/Beam
and press OK to continue.

3 FEMAP now returns you to

the Define Beam Element
Dialog Box. Press Shape to
define the shape of the Gen-
eral Section.

3
 Materials, Properties and Meshing 

4 Now we can select the

surfaces you have chosen
for the cross section.
A
A) Scroll down the Shape
Drop-down list and select
the type of beam as GEN-
ERAL SECTION B

B.) Press Surface to

select the surface to use as
the cross section.

C.) Using the mouse

select the Cross Section
Boundary surface we
have just created.

D.) Define the Orientation

Vector for the sur- E
face.This vector orients
the Y-Axis of the cross-
section. Enter a vector C
coincident with the Y-
Axis.

E.) Press OK and FEMAP

D
will calculate the section
2

5
properties 2
5 FEMAP now returns you to
)
5

7
the Define Property Dialog
8
Box which now includes the 66
calculated values
Since we have yet to define a
Material, there is nothing to
select in the Material field.
Press OK to continue.

6 FEMAP determines that

we have not specified a
Material for this Property
and asks if you would like
to create one. Press Yes to
create a Material.
 Roof Truss

7 FEMAP displays the

Define Isotropic Material
Dialog Box.

A.) Press Load to access

the material library. When
the Select From Library B
box appears,
A
B.) select AISI 4340
Steel, D

C.) press OK in the Select

From Library Box, and
then

D.) press OK in the C

Define Isotropic Material
Box to create the material.
8 FEMAP returns to the
Define Property Dialog
Box with the Material ref-
erence filled in. Press OK
to create the property.

9 Select VIEW - LAYERS

and reset the active layer
to 1.. Default View.
Once again use the SHOW
and HIDE buttons so that
we can view our original
model.

Use VIEW-REGENERATE
to rebuild the screen and
CTRL - A to auto scale
the part.
At this point we have defined the property to use during meshing and the size of the ele-
ments to generate, now we can mesh the part.
 Materials, Properties and Meshing 

Creating the Mesh

We will first mesh the longitudinal curves with beams whose properties were defined in the
previous section. The second meshing section will then demonstrate meshing the cross-braces
with rod elements.

1 To mesh the curves containing beams select

MESH - GEOMERTY - CURVE. Once the selec-
tion dialog box appears, select the darkened
curves shown to the right by using your mouse.

2 The Geometry Mesh Options

dialog box then appears. Choose
the Beam Property 1 just created
under Property to mesh with this 2
property. You can accept all
other defaults and press OK.

3 FEMAP then prompts you

to define the orientation
vector that defines the Y
axis of the beam. It is
important that this vector
be identical to the one
2

5
used to define the cross- 2
section properties, other- )
wise analysis results may 5

7
be incorrect. Use an orien- 8
tation vector along the Y- 66
Axis and press OK.
4 To view the L Beam ele-
ments with there cross
section select VIEW -
OPTIONS and set
A
A.) Category to Labels
Entities and Colors
C
B.) Options to Element
Orientation/Shape

C.) Element Shape to

Show Cross Section

D.) Press OK.

B

D
 Roof Truss

5 Use the tool bar across the

top of the screen to chose

A
A.) VIEW Style and

B.) Check on SOLID

and B
C
C.)Select RENDER

The display show look

similar to (7) below.

6 Since we are now in ren-

der mode, dynamically
rotate the model simply
by left clicking in the
graphics window and 7
dragging the mouse. This
will rotate the part around
XY. If you want to rotate
around Z, Pan, or Zoom,
simply hold the Alt, Ctrl,
or Shift key down, respec-
tively, when you first
press the left mouse but-
ton.
7

7 With the cross-sections of

the beams drawn, you can
tell if there is an incorrect
orientation. Some of the
beams might be oriented
with the L section facing
outward rather than
inward (as in 7 above).
To modify the orientation
Select MODIFY - UPDATE
ELEMENTS - REVERSE, A
select the elements and
then choose A. Reverse
Normal Direction. If you
select the appropriate ele-
ments, your display
should look similar to the
one below (B), with all L
beams pointing inward.
 Materials, Properties and Meshing 

Note:
The order in which you picked the points to create each of the curves will determine which
direction the cross section will face. Therefore, you may need to use the reverse command on
elements different that the one shown in the previous picture.

Hint:
The incorrect orientation could have been avoided by defining the mesh attributes originally
along the curve. The Mesh - Mesh Control - Attributes Along Curve command allows you
to define the property, orientation of the cross-section along the curve, and any offsets before
you mesh the curve. This command, including offsets, is used in Chapter 9, Cylindrical Sup-
port. Thus, you could have avoided the Modify - Update Elements - Reverse command
above.
2

5
2
Rod Mesh )
The above section meshed the longitudinal curves with beam elements. The remaining curves
5

7
connecting the longitudinal curves as well as the cross-braces will now be meshed with rod 8
elements (all curves except those that were just meshed with beams). 66

1 Select MESH -
GEOMETRY -
CURVE from the
FEMAP menu. Use
the cursor to pick
all of the curves
shown in bold in the
diagram (the cross-
braces, as well as
the connection
between the two
rows of beams).
 Roof Truss

2 FEMAP now displays the

Generate Mesh Options
Dialog Box. Since we only
created the General Sec- 2
tion property and do not
have a rod property avail-
able, we will need to create
a new property for the
upcoming elements. Press
the New Prop. Button.
3 FEMAP now displays the
Define Property Dialog
Box. The previous prop-
3
erty we created was a
Beam type.

To change to the Rod

property we want to use in
this example, and to
change to a different ele-
ment/property type in
general, press the Elem/
Property Type button.

4 In the Element/Property
Type Dialog Box, change
to a Line Element/Rod
type and press OK to con-
tinue. 4
 Materials, Properties and Meshing 

5 FEMAP now returns to the

Define Property Dialog Box,
however the input options A
now represent those required
for a Rod element/property.
Fill in the box as shown, B D
entering C
A.) “2 in. Dia. Rod” for a
title,
B.) 3.14 for the Area,
C.) 1.57 for the Torsional
Constant,
D.) 1.0 for the Coef. for Torsional Stress.
Since we have already defined a Material we can chose it in the Material field. Press OK to
continue.
8 You are now back at the
original Geometry Mesh
Options Dialog Box with
the Property reference
filled in. Press OK to gen-
erate the rod elements.

9 To reduce the amount of

information displayed,
use the FEMAP Quick
2

5
View Options, Ctrl-Q. 2
Once the View Quick )
5

7
Options box appears:
8
A.) Press Labels Off to 66
turn off all entity labels

B.) Geometry Off to turn

off display of the underly-
ing geometry since it will
B
no longer be needed.
A C
C.)Press Done to execute
the new view options.

The display should now

look like the figure below.
  Roof Truss

Each line in this model now has either rod or beam elements along it lengths. Since they were
generated independently, there will be multiple nodes at the end of every line coincident with
the nodes generated for the other lines that also end in the same point. In the world of FEA,
these structural members will not be connected. To effectively “sew” the model together we
will use FEMAP’s ability to check and optionally merge coincident nodes of a model.
Merging Coincident Nodes:
1 Select TOOLS - CHECK -
COINCIDENT NODES from
the FEMAP menu. 1
FEMAP prompts you for a
list of nodes to check,
press Select All and then
OK to continue.
2 FEMAP now asks if you would like to select another
range of nodes to merge. If we answered yes to this ques-
tion, FEMAP would require us to select another batch of
nodes. The significance here is that the second range of 2
nodes would be merged into the first. In a finite element
model where you are trying to keep a certain node numbering arrangement, this feature
allows you to control which node numbers are kept (the first set selected), and which could be
potentially merged away. Since this example does not have any specific node numbering
requirements, press No and nodes will be merged without any consideration to numbering.
3 The Check/Merge Coincident Dialog
Box is now displayed. Since this com-
mand is titled “Check” Coincident
Nodes, it is just that a check. If you
3
took the defaults, it would just check
and list to the Message and Lists Win-
dows which nodes are coincident. To
actually merge the node, check the
Merge Coincident Entities box. Press
OK to continue.

Coincident nodes will be merged, connecting all rod and beam elements of this example
together.
 Loads and Constraints 

4.3 Loads and Constraints

Since Loads and Constraints are Set based, you must create an empty Constraint Set before
defining any actual constraints.
Create Empty Constraint Set
1 Select MODEL - CON-
STRAINT - SET from the
1
FEMAP menu. Fill in the
Title and press OK to cre-
ate the empty set.

Create the Boundary Conditions - Symmetry and Fixed End

To simulate the symmetry of this part, we will constrain the four nodes that are at the halfway
point of our structure. In this model, we are defining symmetry across the X-Plane through
these four points. By imposing this type of constraint condition, we are actually introducing a
stiffness exactly equal to the structure modeled, just mirrored about the X-Plane.

1 Select MODEL - CON-

STRAINT - NODAL from A
the FEMAP menu. B
FEMAP prompts you for
the nodes to constrain,
select the four nodes at A,
B, C and D. Press OK. C 2

5
2
D )
5

7
8
66

2 FEMAP now prompts you

for the constraint condi-
tions to apply to the
selected nodes. You could
control the constraint of 2
each degree of freedom
individually in the DOF
box, or use the built in
quick keys to apply common constraint conditions. For this example press the X Symmetry
button to apply constraints that impose symmetry about the X-plane. Press OK to create the
constraints.
 Roof Truss

3 FEMAP automatically
prompts you for more
nodes to constrain. Select
the two nodes A and B at A
the left end of the truss.
Press OK to continue. B

4 Again, the Create Nodal

Constraints Dialog Box is
displayed. This time, we
will fix these nodes. Press
the Fixed button, which 4
will toggle all six degrees
of freedom to constrained,
and then press OK to con-
tinue.
5 Since we will be loading
this part in the negative Y
direction, this part will
A
also require constraint B
against movement in the
global Z direction and
against all rotations. To
achieve this, we will con-
strain all nodes against
translation in the Z direc- D E
tion. C
A.) Press Select All in the
Entity Select Box and then
B.) Press OK. FEMAP now displays the Create Nodal Constraint Dialog Box,
C.) Press the No Rotation button,
D.) Toggle the TZ Degree of Freedom, and
E.) Press OK to continue.
5 Since some of the nodes already have constraints,
FEMAP asks you whether to overwrite or combine,
press No to combine. Again FEMAP will prompt
you for more nodes to constrain. Press Cancel or the
ESC key to dismiss the dialog box.
 Loads and Constraints 

The constraints are displayed as small triangles.

Since all labels were turned off back in the geometry creation phase, you will not see any
labels on the constraints themselves. If you were to turn the constraint labels on, you would
see the actual degree of freedom numbers displayed for each constraint.
Loading the Model
We will now apply a load in the negative Y direction to simulate something hanging from this
truss. Again, like constraints, loads are grouped in sets. Before creating any loads we must cre-
ate a set to hold them.
Loads will be placed along the bottom nodes at the symmetry plane of the truss. To create the
load

5
Select MODEL - LOAD - 2
SET from the FEMAP )
menu. Similar to the Con- 5

7
straint Set previously cre- 8
ated, enter a Title and 66
press OK to create the
new empty Load Set.
 Roof Truss

1 Select MODEL - LOAD -

NODAL from the FEMAP
menu. FEMAP prompts
you for the nodes. Select
two nodes, at A and B.

A
B

2 FEMAP now displays the

Create Nodal Load Dialog
Box. By default the load
Type is set to Force. Enter
-200 in the TY field to cre-
ate a 200 pound load in the
negative Y direction. Press
OK to create the loads.
Again, FEMAP automati- 2
cally prompts you for more
nodes for load application.
Press the ESC key or the
Cancel button to terminate
creation of loads.

This model is now complete and ready for analysis. Again, you may save the model now, com-
plete with the loads and boundary conditions applied for later analysis.
 Advanced Loading 

4.4 Advanced Loading

Previously we applied a static load to our roof truss. In this section we will apply a load that
varies with time in preparation for a NASTRAN Transient Dynamic Analysis. We will now
create a time varying load to obtain a response history. The load will be a sinusoidal load with
a frequency close to the natural frequency. We have already performed a modal analysis and
determined that the first mode natural frequency is close to 51 Hz. If necessary, open
CH4DONE.MOD in the /examples subdirectory.
Create a New Load Set
In the current model, Load Set 1 contains the static loading. We must first create a new load set
to define our time dependent loading and Transient Dynamic Analysis setup information.

1 Select MODEL - LOAD - SET from the FEMAP

menu. You will see the first Load Set that was
previously defined. To add another Load Set, A B
A.) Type a 2 in the ID Field, and B.) Type a new
title in the Title field. Press OK to create the
empty set.

Create the Magnitude vs. Time Function

Before we can define a time varying load, we must first create a FEMAP Function that defines
the multiplier at each time step. We will use direct transient analysis, 1200 steps, a time per
step of 0.00005 and output interval of 40. The number of steps and time per step gives a total
time of 0.06 seconds which corresponds to about 3 cycles. To create a time-dependent function
1 Select MODEL -
2

5
FUNCTION from the
2
FEMAP menu. A )
5

7
A.) Set the Type of 8
Function to vs. Time. D 66
B
B.) Selection Equation E
under Data Entry.
C

We will now define an F

equation for X=0.0 to
X=0.06, first,

C.) set the X and To X values as to 0.00 and 0.06, respectively.

D.) Next, since we want 1200 steps between 0.00 and 0.06, enter a Delta X of 0.00005.

We now need to enter the equation. You will notice that the X variable is defined as x, there-
fore in our equation, we will use the !x FEMAP convention for accessing a variable.

E.) Type in the equation: sin(!x*360*51).

F.) Press More to see the function values calculated. Press OK to create the function and con-
tinue. Press Cancel or ESC to exit the command.
 Roof Truss

To view this function, and make certain that it represents the sinusoidal time history that we
want, do the following:

1 Choose VIEW -
SELECT (F5 or Ctrl-S)
from the FEMAP
menu. A.) Change the
XY Style to XY of
Function. You will
notice the Push Model
Data...to select Func- A
tion text appear at the
bottom. B.) Push the B
Model Data button.
2 In the Select Model Data
for View Dialog Box,
select the Function that
we just defined and then
press OK to return to the
View Select Dialog Box.
Press OK in the View
Select Dialog Box to view
the XY Function plotted
on screen.
2

An XY plot of the function will now be displayed:

1.

0.867

0.733

0.6

0.467

0.333

0.2

0.0667

-0.0667

-0.2

-0.333

-0.467

-0.6

-0.733

-0.867

-1.
0. 0.005 0.00999 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 0.04 0.045 0.05 0.055 0.06
3 Cycles - S ine 51 Hz

To return to the regular model view,

1. Access VIEW - SELECT either from the menu or press F5 or Ctrl-S.
2. Change the Model Style back to Draw Model.
3. Press OK to redraw the model.
 Advanced Loading 

Create the Time Varying Load

Creating a time varying load is almost as easy as creating a regular static load, with the addi-
tional step of attaching a function to it. To create our time varying load:

1 Select MODEL - LOAD -

NODAL from the FEMAP
menu. Just like we did in
the static loading exam-
ple of Chapter 4, pick the
bottom two nodes A.) and
B.), and press OK to con-
tinue. A
B
FEMAP will now display
the Create Nodal Loads
Dialog Box. Again, simi-
lar to applying a static
load, C.) enter a value of -
100.0 in the TY field. To
attach this load to a func-
tion, move to the Temp/
Time/Freq. Dependence
field and D.) select the
function that we just cre-
ated. Press OK to create D
C
the loads. Press Cancel to
end creation of nodal
loads.
2

5
2
)
5

7
8
66
  Roof Truss

Set up the Transient Dynamic Analysis

In addition to a time varying load, a transient dynamic analysis also requires some additional
input that defines the analysis. We are going to specify 1200 steps, a time per step of 0.00005
and an output interval of 40. The number of steps and time per step gives us a total time of
0.06 seconds which corresponds to about 3 cycles. The output interval of 40 will give us 30
data sets. Set the overall structural damping coefficient to 5% of critical or 0.05.

Select MODEL - LOAD -

DYNAMIC ANALYSIS
from the FEMAP menu.
A.) Choose Direct Tran- A
sient as the solution
method and Enter:
B
B.)0.05 as the damping
coefficient.
C
C.) 1200 for the Number D
of Steps, E

D.).00005 for the Time

Step

E.) 40 for the output inter-

val.

Press OK to set the

Dynamic Analysis
options.

The model is now ready for transient analysis. Refer to the translator reference for your partic-
ular analysis program. Save this model if you wish. A completed version is available in the /
function subdirectory titled CH4FUNC.MOD.
Pressure Vessel 5

In this example we will take advantage of the axisymmetric nature of this and most pressure
vessels and analyze the part using axisymmetric finite elements.
In the previous examples we created geometry completely inside of FEMAP. Many times,
geometry for your part may already exist in a CAD system. In this example the geometry
required for building the finite element model will be imported.
Again, first start FEMAP and create a new model, or if FEMAP is already running, select
FILE - NEW from the menu.

5.1 Import DXF Geometry

The geometry for this example was created in AutoCAD. From AutoCAD, the geometry was
exported as an AutoCAD DXF file. DXF files are a popular means for transferring geometry
between CAD programs and desktop publishing packages. To import the geometry:

1 Select FILE - IMPORT -

GEOMETRY from the
FEMAP menu.
2 FEMAP will now display
the Windows File Open
Common Dialog Box,
maneuver to the directory
where the examples for A
this manual are stored, go
to the /example subdirec-
tory, and A.) select
CH5.DXF, and then B.)
Press Open to begin B
importing the geometric
information.
 Pressure Vessel

3 FEMAP now displays

DXF Read Options Dia-
log Box. This box con-
tains various options to
control how the informa-
tion in the DXF is read in
and stored in FEMAP.
Once again, the defaults
have been designed to
work best in the general
situation of importing
geometry, therefore, just
press OK to continue.
1

6
7 3 5
30
V1 4
9
8 5 10
26 12
29
11
25

23
27 11 28
24 4

12
18

9
19 17
2

21
20

10

31
35 22 38
34 3

Z X 13
33
14
15 7 13
32 14
37
8
1
16 1 2
36

If the labels for the points and curves that make up the geometry of this example are displayed,
use the FEMAP Quick View Options (Ctrl-Q), and turn off all labels.
V1

Z X

The geometry section of this example is complete, representing the simple import of existing
geometry that will later form the basis of your finite element.
 Material, Property and Meshing 

5.2 Material, Property and Meshing

We will first set the global mesh size, then view it to verify that the mesh spacing is appropri-
ate.
Set the Global Mesh Size
Select MESH - MESH
CONTROL - DEFAULT
SIZE from the FEMAP 1
menu. Enter a Size of 0.25
as shown, press OK to
continue.

The global mesh size is not displayed on your model by default. To turn on the mesh size pre-
view:

Select VIEW - OPTIONS from the FEMAP

menu (shortcut keys are F6 or Ctrl-O). The
View Options Dialog Box is displayed. View
options are divided into three specific catego- A
ries as shown in the figure to the right. Make
sure that C
A.) The Category is set to Labels, Entities and
Color.
B.) Switch the Option to Curve - Mesh Size, B
and then,
C.) Change the Show As option to “2..Symbols
(all curves)”.
Press OK when completed to update the view.

You should see small diamonds along each of the geometric entities in FEMAP. These dia-
monds indicate where nodes will be created during any automatic meshing commands that use
this geometry.
5
3

(6
V1

68
5
(
(6
9

6(
/
Y

Z X
  Pressure Vessel

Create a Material
Select MODEL - MATE-
RIAL from the FEMAP
menu. A.) Press the LOAD
button and choose 15-5PH
Stainless Steel from the
FEMAP material library.
Press OK to return to the
material creation dialog
box. The physical proper- A
ties will now be filled in,
B.) Press OK to continue, B
and then ESC or Cancel
since this is the only mate-
rial required in this model.

Create the Axisymmetric Property

We will now create an Axisymmetric Property that references the 15-5 Stainless material that
we just created.
Select MODEL - PROPERTY
from the FEMAP menu. Ini-
tially, the default Property
Type is Plate, A.) press the
ELEM/PROPERTY TYPE
button, and select Axisym-
metric for the element type.
Press OK to return to the property creation dialog box. Fill in the Title as shown, select the
15-5PH Stainless that we just created as the material, and press OK to continue. FEMAP now
prompts you for the creation of another property, press Cancel or hit the ESC key to end cre-
ation of properties.

Create a Boundary
This shape could be broken down into simple geometric regions for mapped meshing, but it is
much easier to create a FEMAP Boundary Surface and automatically mesh the whole part.
1 Select GEOMETRY -
BOUNDARY SURFACE
from the FEMAP Menu.
1
FEMAP prompts you to
select the curves for the
boundary, Press Select All,
and then OK to continue.
 Material, Property and Meshing 

V1

Z X

Boundary Mesh
We are now ready to mesh the part.

1 Select MESH - GEOME- V1

TRY - SURFACE from the

FEMAP menu, A.) select
the Boundary from the
graphics window and B.)
press OK to continue. As
an alternate, recall that A
you could simply double-
click on the boundary,
which selects the bound- Y

ary and accepts the selec-

Z X
tion immediately.

2 The Automesh Surfaces

Dialog Box now appears.
A.) Select the Axisym-
5
3

metric Property we just

A (6
created in the Property 68
Box, and B.) change the
5
Element Shape option to B C (
All Triangles.
(6
9

C.) Check the box for Fast

Tri Mesh and Press OK to 6(
generate the mesh. /
  Pressure Vessel

Use the FEMAP Quick View Options (Ctrl-Q) and turn off labels and geometry. The mesh will
look like:
V1

Z X

The meshing portion of this example is now complete.

5.3 Loads and Constraints

In the previous examples every step of creating the model geometry, finite element data, loads
and boundary conditions was detailed. We will now assume that you have acquired sufficient
proficiency in FEMAP that you will require less step-by-step instructions.
We will now constrain the vessel and apply an internal pressure load.
Create Empty Load and Constraint Sets
Similar to the last example, create empty load and constraint sets.
Constrain the Model
We will constrain this model at its base. Since this model is axisymmet-
ric, there is no need to apply any loads and constraints out of plane. We
will constrain the bottom nodes along the flat edge against vertical
movement.

1 Select MODEL - CONSTRAINT - NODAL from

the FEMAP menu. When the Create Nodal
Constraint Dialog Box appears, select the four
nodes along the bottom of the part. You can
select these nodes individually, or use the
method of box picking previously described in
this manual.
 Loads and Constraints 

2 Constrain these nodes in

the vertical direction by
toggling the TY DOF box.
Press OK to continue, and
then Cancel to end the
Create - Constraint -
Nodal command.

Applying the Internal Pressure Load

In an axisymmetric model, a pressure load is applied along the edges of the axisymmetric ele-
ments. Be careful when applying an internal pressure to an axisymmetric model, some analy-
sis codes require a pressure load per radian, while others want a pressure load per degree. Be
sure to check your analysis code’s documentation and verify which convention is appropriate.
Since the load is applied to the edges of the elements, in addition to the element number itself,
FEMAP requires you to specify which face of the element gets the load. Here we will use a
FEMAP feature that makes applying loads to the outside of an axisymmetric or solid model
very easy - the Adjacent Faces method.

1 Select MODEL - LOAD -

ELEMENTAL from
FEMAP menu. Even
though we only want to
apply a load to the ele-
ments that border the inte-
rior of this part, we will first select all elements, and then narrow this selection down with the
Adjacent Faces Method. Select all the elements and then press OK to continue.
2 In the Create Elemental
Loads box, enter a pres-
sure of 100.00 and press
OK to continue.

5
3

(6
68
5
(
(6
9

6(
/
 Pressure Vessel

3 A.) Change the Method to

Adjacent Faces. B.) Now
click in the Face Box, this
will move the focus (flashing B
cursor) to the face box. Since D
the focus is in the Face box, A
when you now select from the
graphics window, FEMAP
will know that you are trying
to pick a particular face.
Move to the graphics window
and C.) pick one face on the
inside of the part. You will
see that face that you choose
highlighted. Make certain
that it is on the inside of the
vessel. Now move to the tol-
erance field and enter a value
of 85.00. Press OK to gener- C
ate the loads. Press Cancel to
end the creation of elemental
loads.

The Adjacent Faces Method simply

walks connected free faces (or edges
in this case) until it gets to a connected
free face that exceeds the angle toler-
ance. In this example, by entering a
very large angle tolerance of 85.0
degrees, all the internal faces are
selected right up to the corners along
the Y Axis. To go around this corner,
an angle of 90.0 degrees or greater
would be required as a tolerance.
The model is now complete and ready
for analysis. You can save it now for
later analysis, or simply use the pre-
made version CH5DONE.MOD in the
/examples subdirectory when the time
comes.
Handle 6

The above handle represents a good model for solid elements. The curved shape and rounded
profile together with the variable loading conditions would not be possible to achieve with
other types of elements. Because we are limited to 300 nodes in the demo version we will only
model half of the handle and with a lower mesh density than we would like for normal analy-
sis.
You must be licensed for the PARASOLID Geomerty Module and have it
active (under Tools - Advanced Geometry) to complete this example.
Again, start FEMAP or start a new model from an existing FEMAP session.

6.1 Creating the Geometry

Importing the Curve Geometry
Once again the geometry for this example has been created for you. It is a simple series of
curves that were created in FEMAP and written out as a neutral file. To import the base geo-
metric data:

1 Select FILE - IMPORT - FEMAP NEUTRAL from the FEMAP menu.

 Handle

2 FEMAP displays the standard Win-

dows File Open Dialog Box.
Maneuver to the /examples subdi-
rectory and A.) select the A
CH6GEOM.NEU file, and B.) Press
Open.

3 The FEMAP Neutral Read Options Dialog Box is displayed,

providing several options for how to treat the incoming data.
Accept the defaults and press OK to continue.

Y
4

4 X

-0.4 -0.2 0. 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1. 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2. 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.

Z X

To modify the view to view the three dimensional nature of the imported geometry, use the
Dynamic Rotate button on the FEMAP toolbar.
 Creating the Geometry 

Rotate the View

1 Press the Dynamic Dis-
play button on the toolbar.

+
1
1
'
/(
2 FEMAP displays the
Dynamic Display dialog
box at the bottom of the
screen.

3 To dynamically rotate your

model, move the cursor
inside the graphics window,
and then press and drag it left
to right and up and down.
This will dynamically rotate
the model. By pressing and
holding the Shift key, and
pressing and dragging the 0.4
Y

mouse up and down, you can 0.2

scale the view dynamically. 0.

Using the Ctrl key in combi- 0.2

4 X X
nation with pressing the left -0.4 -0.2 0. 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1. 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2. 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.

mouse button and dragging,

you can dynamically pan the view. When you get the model in an orientation similar to the
one shown, press OK or the Return to key to leave Dynamic Display.

We will now create the surfaces that represent the outside of this part.
Create Surfaces
The surfaces that represent the outside of this handle will be created with the Geometry - Sur-
face - Aligned Curves function. Geometry - Surface - Aligned Curves takes curves aligned in
the same parametric direction and construct a lofted surface between them.

1 Select GEOMETRY -
SURFACE - ALIGNED
CURVES from the
FEMAP Menu. FEMAP
prompts you for the
curves. Select All and
press OK to loft the sur-
face.
  Handle

The surfaces are now

defined. It is also necessary
to mesh the end of the part
so that a complete enclosing
triangular surface mesh can
be generated. We will do this
with two FEMAP Bound-
aries. For each of the closed
Y
curve ends, select GEOME-
0.4

0.2
TRY - BOUNDARY SUR-
0. FACE from the FEMAP
Z Y-0.2 menu, select the curves at
-0.4 X X
one end, repeat the com-
-0.4 -0.2 0. 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1. 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2. 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.
mand and select the other.
The geometry portion of this example is now complete.

6.2 Materials, Properties and Meshing

We can now mesh the sur-
faces and boundaries just
created. This part will be
solid meshed with the tetra-
hedral automatic mesher.
The first step in a solid tetra-
hedral mesh is to create a tri-
angular surface mesh that
Y
0.4
completely encloses the
0.2

0.
solid. This triangular surface
Z Y-0.2
mesh is used as the starting
-0.4 X point for the volume mesher X

which fills the interior of the

triangular surface mesh with elements. In this example the solid mesh command automatically
creates the surface mesh needed for the solid mesh and deletes it when the solid mesh is com-
plete.
Mesh the Surfaces

1 Choose MESH - GEOME-

TRY - SOLIDS FROM SUR-
FACE from the FEMAP
menu. Press Select All to
1
mesh all the surfaces in
this model. Press OK to
continue.
 Materials, Properties and Meshing 

2 FEMAP now displays the

Automatic Mesh Sizing
Dialog Box. A.) Change
the Element Size to 0.4 2
and press OK.
$

+
1
'
/(

3 Since no material has

been created FEMAP
prompts you to make one.
You can enter in values or
press the Load button to
bring up the material
library.
3

4 The material library

shipped with FEMAP
contains material proper-
ties using English units
(lb, ft, sec). You can cre-
ate your own materials
and store them in this 4
library or create your own
library. For this example
select a material from this
library and press OK.

Note:
Remember, there are no units in FEMAP. All dimensions must be kept consistent with
the unit system you use to define your material properties. Always make certain your
units are consistent from the beginning of model creation because it is extremely diffi-
cult to fix inconsistencies in units once the model is built.
5 Press OK in the define
material dialog box when
the properties have been
loaded.
  Handle

6 The automesh solids dia-

log box appears. Leave
the values as the defaults
and press OK.

7 FEMAP asks you if it is

OK to mesh boundary
surfaces. In this case they
are part of the solid so
press Yes.

Press Ctrl-Q to bring up the FEMAP Quick View Options Dialog Box. Select Geometry Off,
Labels Off and press Done.

Y X

The model is shown in wire-frame mode. As your models become more complicated, it is
often necessary to view them with their hidden lines removed. To do so:
Switch to Hidden Line Mode
1 Choose View - Select
from the FEMAP menu
(shortcut keys Ctrl-S or
F5). Press OK to con-
tinue.
A

FEMAP now displays your model sorted back to front, effectively hiding elements that are
behind other elements.
 Loads and Constraints 

+
1
'
/(

6.3 Loads and Constraints

Use VIEW - SELECT (F5 or Ctrl-S) and change the Model Style to Draw Model.

Y X

Use VIEW - ROTATE (F8 or Ctrl-R) and rotate the view to ZX Front.

Y X
  Handle

Constraining the Model

Since this model uses tetrahedral elements, the individual nodes only use translational degrees
of freedom. We will first fix the base by constraining all three translational degrees of free-
dom, and then constrain the right side with an X-Symmetry boundary condition.
1. Select MODEL - CONSTRAINT - NODAL from the FEMAP menu.
2. Box pick the nodes along the bottom side of the handle. Press OK.
3. Constrain the TX, TY and TZ degrees of freedom. Press OK.
4. Box pick the nodes along the right side of the handle. Press OK.
5. Press the X-Symmetry button, or just constrain the TX degree of freedom. Press OK
6. Press Cancel or use the ESC key to end the Create - Constraint - Nodal command.
Loading the Model
A load will be applied to the center of this handle in the plane of symmetry. Since we are
applying a load in the plane of symmetry, we are effectively applying twice the load that is
input. To apply the load:
1. Select MODEL - LOAD - ON SURFACE from the FEMAP menu.
2. Pick the edge surface the right side of the handle (the plane of symmetry). Press OK.
3. We want to apply a total load of 5000 pounds. Select a load type of Force. Enter a value of
5000 in the Z direction. This will apply a total force of 5000 pounds on the surface. The
load will be expanded to the nodes during translation. Press OK to create the loads. Press
Cancel to end input of nodal loads.
This model is now ready for analysis. As usual, you can save it, or use the model provided.

1
1

X
Groups, Layers, Viewing
and PostProcessing 7

This chapter is a break in the model creation format of the manual and instead deals with many
of the model manipulation commands. These commands are useful in any FEMAP model so
review them carefully.
In addition to the numerous Pre- and Post-Processing options provided by FEMAP to make
the generation and interpretation of FEA easier, FEMAP also provides a wide array of viewing
options that play a key role in increasing your FEA productivity.
The options and methods for controlling how your model is displayed on screen can be
divided into two broad categories:
View Select and View Options:
View Select controls the top level display options. With View - Select you can control whether
your model is displayed in hidden line or plain wire-frame mode, turn on and off stress con-
tours, animations and deformed plots, etc. View - Options provides the detailed control over
how entities are displayed, i.e. what color elements are drawn with, whether or not labels for
nodes are displayed, whether or not perspective is turned on, etc. View - Options also provides
extensive control over the display of post-processing options that is more fully described later
in this chapter.
Groups and Layers:
By using groups and layers, you can segment your model into smaller, more manageable, dis-
crete pieces. These pieces can then be used to minimize the amount of information presented
in the graphics windows or in printed reports by specifying which group will be seen or which
group will be used to create a report. Groups and layers also make it easier to manipulate,
update, and apply loads to your model.
Throughout this chapter the
following model will be
used to demonstrate the
grouping, layer, and view-
ing capabilities of FEMAP.
If you wish to follow the
upcoming examples, load
the model now. Start
FEMAP, move to the /exam-
ples subdirectory in the
directory where the exam-
ples for this manual were
installed, and open
CH7WING.MOD.
The model represents an extremely simplified version of an aircraft wing. The model is con-
strained at its base, and loaded vertically at the front and back spars with nodal loads. It con-
tains multiple materials, properties, and element types. We will use the various grouping,
layering and view options available in FEMAP to better understand the model and its analysis
results.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

7.1 Working with View Select and View Options

View Select
View - Select provides top
level control of how your
model is displayed.
We will concentrate on the
Model Style and Model
Data options in this section.
The XY Style, Deformed
Style, and Contour Style
options will be discussed
later in the Post-Processing
section.
FEMAP provides numerous styles in which you can display your model. Each style provides
certain benefits. Choice of the best style depends upon what you need to accomplish. The fol-
lowing table describes all of the styles, their advantages and disadvantages:

Table 1:
Style Description Advantages Disadvantages
Draw Simply displays Fast. Everything visi- Complex 3D models
Model all entities. ble. Usually best can be hard to visual-
“working mode”. Good ize. Entities drawn on
for screen selection. top of each other may
make it difficult to
locate a particular
detail.
Features Draws all entities. Fast. Results in a plot Not usually appropriate
Lines of the same which only shows color for screen selection.
color, which over- boundaries. With Resulting display
lap, alternately proper color assign- depends on your color
draw and erase ments can show prop- choices.
themselves. erty or material
boundaries.
Quick Sorts all elements, Good for final display Not usually best for
Hidden then displays from and visualization of picking - many entities
Line the back of view. complex 3D models. are not visible. Does
Only shows enti- Can be helpful for not properly remove
ties which are visi- screen selection in hidden lines for some
ble - hidden lines complicated models. elements (see Full Hid-
are removed. den Line).
Full Same as Quick Same as Quick Hidden Same as Quick Hidden
Hidden Hidden Line, but Line. Line. Slower than
Line does additional quick hidden line due
checking to prop- to the additional check-
erly remove all ing required.
hidden lines.
 Working with View Select and View Options 

Table 1:
Style Description Advantages Disadvantages
Free Finds and dis- Can quickly point out Not appropriate as a
Edge plays all element holes or disconnec- working mode. Really
edges which do tions in your model. just intended for check-
not join to another ing your model.
element.
Free Finds and dis- Can quickly point out Usually not used for a
Face plays all element disconnections between working mode.
faces which do not solid elements. Intended for checking
join to another ele-Reduces complexity of model.
ment. solid model plots. Can
help to find duplicate
plate elements.
Render Turns on OpenGL Faster graphics. Not all view options/
,(

9
drawing mode. It Dynamic rotations of styles available in this
is either on or off shaded solid models. mode. :
,1
and another view Extra postprocessing
style must still be features for solids.
*
selected.
The pictures, below, show examples of the various model styles.
Draw Model Hidden Line

Free Edge Free Face

Although the hidden line removal options do require substantial calculations, and are therefore
somewhat slower, they can often be the best approach to understanding a complex model. This
is especially true for 3D models. After you make the first hidden line display, FEMAP retains
a display list of the sorted information. This dramatically speeds up redrawing hidden line
views. Refer to the View Redraw and View Regenerate commands for more information.
For Solid Element Models, you can also use the Free Face option
to simulate a hidden line view. In fact, you can even use this
mode to show hidden lines in a different line style (like dashed),
instead of removing them. To remove backfaces, use the Fill,
Backfaces and Hidden Option, in the View Options command,
and chose one of the “Skip” methods. Choose the “Show All
Faces” method to show hidden lines as a different color/style,
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

then go to the Free Edge and Face option and set the Free Edge Color to “Use View Color”.
Finally, choose the color and linestyle that you want to use.
Selecting Data for a Model Style
You can control what portions of your
model are displayed by any of the model
styles by pressing the Model Data com-
mand button in the View - Select Dialog
Box. The Select Model Data for View
dialog box will then be displayed.
Here you can choose the Load Set, Con-
straint Set and Group which will be dis-
played in the view. By default, whatever
load and constraint set you activate will
be displayed. You can however eliminate
loads and/or constraints by choosing the
None options, or you can Select a partic-
ular set for display whether or not it is active. If you choose the Select option, you must spec-
ify an existing set in the appropriate drop-down list.
By default, your entire model will always be displayed. Since the Group option is set to None,
activating a Group will not change the display. This enables you to activate a Group and then
graphically select entities, from your entire model, into the Group. If you want to display only
a portion of your model, switch this option to either Active or Select. Then only the entities
which are in the appropriate Group will be displayed.
The final section of this dialog box, Function, is used to select the function that will be dis-
played when you choose the XY of Function display style. Even though this is obviously an
XY style of plot, you must choose the function to be displayed from this dialog because it is a
display of model information - not postprocessing information like all other XY plotting
styles.
Example Using View - Select
Instead of walking you through View - Select option by option, we encourage you to use
CH7WING.MOD and experiment with how the various option affect the model display. To do
so, go to View - Select in the FEMAP menu (shortcut keys Ctrl-S or F5, and change the model
between the various Model Style and Model Data options.
View Options
The View - Options command in FEMAP provides detailed control of the display of all enti-
ties in the FEMAP graphics window(s). Each view in FEMAP is independent, and the View -
Select and View - Options changes will affect only that view, unless you select the All Views
option. The quickest way to assess how View - Options can help you tailor the display of a
finite element model is to experiment with the various settings on our sample wing model.
 Working with View Select and View Options 

If you have not already done V1

L1

so, or if you have and already C1

significantly changed its dis-

play, open CH7WING.MOD
in the /examples subdirectory
of the example problems for
this manual. Use VIEW -
SELECT, and change the
Model Style to Quick Hidden
Line: Y

This model will now be uti- Z X

lized to demonstrate some of

the available choices under View Options.
Using View - Options
In the following walk-through we will adjust several of the options that control the details of
how a finite element model is displayed on screen.
,(

9
Select VIEW - OPTIONS from the FEMAP :
,1
menu. The View - Options dialog box is dis-
played. Some highlights:
*

A.) Category - View - Options is divided A

into three distinct categories. In this portion
of the manual we will look at the first two:
(1) Labels, Entities and Colors which con-
trols how the individual geometric and anal-
ysis entities will be displayed, and (2) Tools
and View Style which provides control over B
some broader aspects of how a model is dis-
played. As you change between the three
categories, you will see the list of available
options change:
C
D
E

B.) The individual options themselves are displayed in the Options Box. Once you have
selected a broad category in A, you then move to B to choose the particular view option that
you wish to adjust.
As you move from option to option you will notice the controls on the right side of the dialog
box will change to reflect what aspects of the current view option are available for modifica-
tion.
C.) The Apply button allows you to preview the changes you make to the View - Options
before returning to FEMAP. As you adjust various options in the View - Options dialog box
you can press Apply at any time to see what effect they have.
D.) The OK button will update the display based on your changes to the various options and
return you to FEMAP.
E.) Cancel will return you to FEMAP without any changes you have made to the View -
Options.
 Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

2 We will first change the View - Options to dis-

play the elements based on their property color.
Make sure that the Category is set to Labels,
Entities and Colors.
A.) Change the Option to Element.
B.) Change the Color Mode to 3..Property Col-
ors.
C.) Press Apply to preview the changes.
B
Note:
Initially, elements were displayed with A
the color model set to “Entity Color”,
therefore, each element is displayed
based on its own color which is held C
inside FEMAP with the element itself. By
changing to “Property Colors”, FEMAP
draws each element based on the color of that element’s property. This capability
is very useful for visualizing how the various properties in your model are distrib-
uted, and to guarantee that elements reference the appropriate properties.
Now that multiple colors are L1
C1

being used to display the

elements, areas where ele-
ment edges overlap will be
the color of the last element
drawn. A View - Option that
can make the elements
clearer is Shrink Elements.
Y

3 A.) Change the Category to Tools and View

Style.
B.) Change the Option to Shrink Elements. C
C.) In the upper right corner you will notice
A
a “Option On”. Toggle it to the checked
position to turn on Element Shrink.
D.) Press Apply to see the effect.
B

Note:
This toggle control will be found on
almost every option in view options.
A shortcut for toggling is to double-
click on the Option itself in B. If you
double-click on any “option” in the D
Options list, it will select it and
reverse the state of this toggle.
 Working with View Select and View Options 

The model is now displayed V1

L1

with the element shrink C1

turned on. Shrinking the ele-

ments makes it easier to see
the now colored property
boundaries since elements no
longer overlap. In addition,
the line elements representing
the caps of the spars and ribs
are now visible between adja- Y

cent plates. Elements are Z X

drawn by default by their out-

line only, to view the ele-
ments filled in, we will turn the fill on.
4 To turn the fill on, again in the Tools and
View Style category, change:
A.) the Option to Fill, Backfaces and Hidden. ,(

9
B.) Toggle the Fill On in the upper right hand :
corner, and ,1
C.) Press Apply to preview the changes. *

Note:
The View Option Fill, Backfaces and Hidden actually combines three separate
view options. In this command, the “Fill” part of the title refers to the toggling fill
on or off for elements and surfaces, the “Backfaces” part is controlled by the sec-
ond box, and controls which faces of a model are considered in a hidden line plot,
and the “Hidden” part refers to the third box which provides some additional Hid-
den Line Options. Several of the individual view options are grouped this way to
reduce the overall complexity of this dialog box.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

The model is now dis- V1

L1

played with the elements C1

“filled” with their prop-

erty color.

Z X

As you can see from the View - Options Dialog Box there is an enormous amount of control
over how your model is displayed. Describing how each option affects the display of your
model is beyond the scope of this manual. Detailed descriptions of each option can be found in
the FEMAP Command Reference, and in the on-line help. At this point we encourage you to
try the various options and see how they affect this sample model.

7.2 Groups and Layers Overview

Some main points about groups and layers that will help you understand them better:
m Each entity in FEMAP can have only one layer reference.
m An entity can be in more than one group.
m Only one group can be displayed, by itself at one time.
m Any combination of layers from none to all can be displayed at any time.
m A model can have only one “active” group at a time.
m FEMAP graphics windows can use the entities in a group to display one of the following:
- Entities from the active group.
- Entities from a specified group.
- All Entities, i.e. no group.
Groups are designed to mimic how FEA models were numbered and arranged when there
were built by hand. For example, in the aircraft industry, a model of a complete aircraft would
be very carefully numbered. All the nodes and elements at a frame at a particular location
along the fuselage would be numbered in such a way to clearly identify them as belonging to
that frame. FEMAP grouping makes it very easy to isolate portions of a finite element model
that are numbered in such a manner.
Layers are designed similar to layering in most CAD systems. The name layer comes from the
clear sheet of paper analogy for CAD layering, where all the entities associated with a given
layer would be drawn on a clear sheet of paper, and only the “active” clear sheets being over-
laid to produce a visual image.
Clean Up the View
Again, open CH7WING.MOD in the /examples subdirectory where the examples for this man-
ual were installed.
 Groups and Layers Overview 

The wing model will come up with all entities on, and all labels on, in wire-frame mode. To
clean up the display:
1 Press CTRL-Q to access
the FEMAP Quick View
Options. First, turn off
everything by
A.) pressing All Entities
Off.
B.) Press Labels Off to C
turn off all labeling.
C.) Toggle the Element
selection box to turn only
elements on.
Press Done to return to
A
FEMAP.

B ,(

9
:
,1
The model will now look like the *
picture shown here, a plain wire-
frame representation of all the ele-
ments that comprise this model. The
elements are drawn along their
edges only, with no fill in the mid-
dle, which is why you can see
through the closer elements to the
ones behind. To achieve a hidden
line view, a hidden line being a view
that would show only those ele-
ments that you would see if this
were a real combination of plates
and line in space, we will use the FEMAP View - Select command.

1 Choose VIEW - SELECT

from the FEMAP menu.
Instead of using the mouse
to pick this command, you
could also use the F5 or 1
Ctrl-S shortcut keys to
access the command. To
change to a hidden line
view, change the Model
Style option from Draw
Model (wireframe) to
Quick Hidden Line. Press
OK to return to FEMAP.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

The model will now appear as follows:

Note:
You may have noticed both the “Quick” Hidden Line and “Full” Hidden Line options in View
- Select. A Quick Hidden Line is a depth sort, where the center of the elements are sorted, back
to front, based on their distance along an axis perpendicular to the screen. For most models,
this will produce a true hidden line plot. The Full Hidden Line plot will first do the same depth
sort of all the element being displayed, and then go through some additional checks to remedy
situations where the depth sort could not produce the true hidden line plot. During model gen-
eration and construction, it is best to use the Quick Hidden Line option since it is faster, and
use the Full option for final prints. In the OpenGL accelerated Render mode there is no differ-
ence between quick and full hidden line since OpenGL contains its own depth buffer.

7.3 Working with Groups

To jump start you into the world of grouping in FEMAP, we will use our wing test model. In
this first example, we will use FEMAP’s group creation capability to create a group that repre-
sents just the upper and lower wing skins.

1 To create a new, empty group, select GROUP - SET

from the FEMAP Menu. Enter a title of “Wing Skins”
in the title field, and press OK to continue. 1
 Working with Groups 

2 A new group is completely

empty. To add all the ele-
ments that represent the top
and bottom wing skins,
select GROUP - ELEMENT
- PROPERTY. This com-
mand will modify the elements in the current group based on their property reference.
FEMAP displays the standard entity selection dialog box asking for properties. Just like pick-
ing elements in the graphics window, you can also pick properties. Move to the graphic win-
dows and select one element from the top wing skin (Property 2) and one element from the
bottom wing skin (Property 3). Press OK to continue.

Note:
Even though we were selecting elements on screen, FEMAP extracts the property
that the element selected references and fills in the selection box accordingly.
,(

9
At this point we do not see anything different on screen. A group has been created, elements
:
added to that group, but the display will still show the entire model. To cause FEMAP to dis- ,1
play only the entities in a certain group, we will once again use the View - Select command. *
1 Select VIEW - SELECT
from the FEMAP menu
(or press F5 or Ctrl-S).
Press the Model Data but-
ton to access control of
group display.

2 FEMAP now displays the Select Model

Data for View. In addition to controlling
what group is displayed in the current
view, this dialog box can also be used to
set which Load Set and Constraint Set
are seen. To view the group we just cre-
ated, A.) toggle Group Option to Select,
and then B.) select the group that we just A B
created. Press OK to return to the View -
Select dialog box. Press OK in the View -
Select Box to make the changes to the
view.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Only those elements referenced by Property 2 and Property 3 are shown.

Hint:
To quickly get in and out of the Select Model Data for View dia-
log box, you can use the shortcut menu that is attached to the right
mouse button. First left-click in the graphics window you want to
change to make that view current, then right-click anywhere in
that graphics window. The short-cut menu will appear. You can
then move down and select the Model Data option and go directly
to the model data dialog box.
At this point you may be asking “What is grouping good for, and
why do I want to use it?” With a model as simple as this, grouping
for visualization and mesh construction is not that important, but
as your models grow in size (they will), grouping makes it possi-
ble to work on discrete areas of your model more efficiently. Even
in a small model, grouping can be very useful, consider:
Using a Group to Trim Down a Report
FEMAP provides numerous capabilities for creating printed reports that will be covered in a
later section. We will print a quick report here to demonstrate how groups can be useful.
Say you are interested in finding the element in either the upper and lower wing skins with the
maximum shear flow (FXY Force). Now that we have a group defined that includes all the
wing skin elements, this will be easy.

1 Select LIST - OUTPUT -

STANDARD from the
FEMAP menu. FEMAP
first asks you which output
set to use. Since this model
contains only one set of
output data from a single static stress run, just press OK to select Output Set 1 and continue.
 Working with Groups 

2 Next, FEMAP displays

the List Formatted Out-
put dialog box. Fill the
box in as shown, with: A
A.) the sort field speci-
fied as data vector
7208.Plate XY Mem-
brane Force, B D
B.) that we want the Top
5 elements, B
C.) that the report format
we want to use is number
8..NASTRAN CQUAD4 C
Forces, and
D.) Details Only in the
Options section to limit
the information to
,(

9
details. Press OK to continue.
:
3 FEMAP now prompts for ,1
which elements to use. *
Instead of box picking or
individually picking, we
3
now have a new option
that uses the group we just
created. Move to the Group field, and select the Wing Skins group. Press OK to generate the
report.
The report now appears in the FEMAP Messages and Lists Window. Press CTRL-U to tempo-
rarily maximize the Messages and Lists Window. You will see a report that list the plate ele-
ment forces corresponding to the top five shear flow plates in the upper and lower wing skins.
The report is sorted in ascending order as specified in the List Formatted Output dialog box.
We can now easily see that the maximum shear flow is 62.29 #/in. and can be found in element
number 120. Press CTRL-U again to return to the regular view style.

Hint:
To quickly find element number 120, do the following:
1 Select VIEW - SHOW
from the FEMAP menu.
Set the Entity Type to Ele-
ment and press OK to
continue.
1
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

2 FEMAP now displays the

standard entity selection
dialog box. Type 120 in 2
the ID box. Press OK and
element 120 will be tem-
porarily highlighted on
screen so you can easily identify it. View - Show can be very useful for finding entities in
complicated FEA models.

Note:
The default ID (usually the highest numbered entity) is already highlighted when
you enter the entity selection dialog box. If you want to select a different entity,
simply type in the number of your selection. Since the text in the box was high-
lighted, it will be replaced just like any highlighted text in any Windows program.
As you have just seen, a group can be used in the standard entity selection box. Any time
FEMAP is prompting you to select entities, you can specify a group. FEMAP will then use the
group information, and bring all of the requested entities from the group into the current selec-
tion. This is extremely useful when applying loads to a portion of your model, or when you
wish to update sections of your model.
Automatic Generation of Groups
Once you become proficient in FEMAP, you will probably find yourself creating groups as
you build a finite element model to keep important areas of the model together for use down-
stream. If you do not do this, or if you import an existing model, FEMAP has several tools for
automatically grouping together portions of your model based on changes in material proper-
ties, element properties or even geometric regions. To automatically split our the wing model
up into groups based on properties:

1 Select GROUP - OPERA-

TIONS - GENERATE PROP-
2
ERTY from the FEMAP
menu. Press Select All, and
then OK to create groups
based on distinct properties
in the model.

FEMAP creates seven groups of elements corresponding to the seven different properties in
this model. To cycle through them, use the right-button shortcut in the graphics windows, go
to Model Data, and change the selected group, press OK to redraw the display. Do this several
times and you will see the various pieces that make up this model based on property.
 Working with Groups 

1 Stiffeners

Z X

2 Upper Wing Skin

,(

9
:
,1
*

Z X

3 Lower Wing Skin

Z X

4 Ribs

Z X
 Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

5 Spar Webs

Z X

6 Lower Stringers

Z X

7 Upper Stringers

Z X
 Working with Groups 

Another Example of Using the Group Information

In this example we want to examine the axial forces in the upper stringers.

1 Click the right mouse but-

ton in the graphics win-
dow. The shortcut menu
will appear, select the
Model Data button.
2 FEMAP displays the
Select Model Data for
View dialog box. Change
the selected group to the
group that was created 1
using Property 7. Press
OK to continue.

,(

9
:
,1
*
3 FEMAP will now display V1
L1
C1
G8

only the upper stringers.

Z X

4 To view the axial forces in

these elements, first select
VIEW - SELECT (F5 or
Ctrl-S).
A.) Change the Contour A
Style to Criteria, and then,
B.) Press the Deformed and
Contour Data button to
choose what data to use in
the post-processing plot.
B
 Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

5 FEMAP now displays the

Select PostProcessing
Data dialog box. Change
the Contour selection to
point to Data Vector num-
ber 3022...Beam End A
Axial Force. Press OK to
return to View - Select,
and then press OK in
View - Select to initiate
the plot.

FEMAP now displays a V1

L1 743.8

Criteria Plot of the axial C1

G8
-372.31
665.8

forces for the elements dis- -350.34 -379.46

587.7

509.7

played. -282.04 -351.54 -335.24

431.6

-296.11 -291.55 -325.87 353.5

You will notice that the leg- -276.08

-297.71 -259.47 275.5

-279.08 -264.65 197.4

end on the right side of the -227.51
-232.51 -249.12 119.4
-174.96
screen does not correspond -114.71
-179.21 -207.24 41.33

-36.73
to the maximum and mini- -47.667
-114.99

-110.84
-166.31
-114.8
-51.29
mum values of the elements -44.042
-192.8

-270.9
on screen. This is because Y
-348.9

the legend is drawn based Z X

Output S et: MS C/NAS T R AN Cas e 1
-427.

-505.1
on the max/min of the Criteria: B eam E ndA Axial Force

entire data vector, that is,

all beam elements in this model. To adjust the legend to reflect the current group
:
1 Select VIEW - OPTIONS (F6 or Ctrl-O) from
the FEMAP menu.
A.) Set the Category to PostProcessing.
B.) Set the Option to Contour/Criteria Leg-
end. A C
C.) Set the Level Mode to Auto-Group.
Auto-Group will now automatically set the
max/min values of the legend to correspond
to elements in the group being displayed.
Press OK to update the graphics window.
B
 Working with Layers 

V1
L1 -44.04
C1
G8 -65.01
-372.31
-85.97
-350.34 -379.46
-106.9
-282.04 -351.54 -335.24
-127.9

-296.11 -291.55 -325.87 -148.9

-297.71 -259.47 -169.8

-276.08

-279.08 -264.65 -190.8

-227.51
-232.51 -249.12 -211.8
-174.96
-207.24 -232.7
-179.21
-114.71
-253.7
-114.99 -166.31
-47.667 -274.6
-110.84
-51.29
-295.6
-44.042
-316.6
Y
-337.5

Z X -358.5

Output S et: MS C/NAS T R AN Cas e 1 -379.5

Criteria: B eam E ndA Axial Force

7.4 Working with Layers

As long as you understand the basic layering concept, that every entity
,(

9
in FEMAP has a reference to a layer, and that layer is either on or off,
:
working with layers is quite easy. Control of which layers are displayed
,1
is provided in the View - Layers command. View - Layers can be
accessed from the FEMAP menu, or with the View - Layers button on
*
the toolbar.
Layer Example
If you have been working along in this chapter with CH7WING.MOD, the display still con-
tains the Criteria Plot of the upper stringers axial forces. To reset the display, do the following:
1. Go to View - Select (Ctrl-S), and turn the Contour Style to None.
2. Still in View - Select, press the Model Data button, and change the Group display option to
none.
3. Press OK to return to View - Select.
4. Press OK to update the display.
The model will look like:
 Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Viewing different layers:

1 Select View - Layers from the

FEMAP menu, or press the
VIEW - LAYERS button on the
toolbar. By default, the layer
option is set to Show All Lay-
ers. As long as this option is set
to Show All Layers, the list of
Hidden and Visible layers will
have no effect on the graphics
window. Once the Layer Man-
agement is set to Show Visible
Layers Only, only those layers
in the right column, Visible
Layers, will be displayed. The layers themselves can be moved from the right column to the
left column and vice-versa using the four buttons in the middle of the dialog box. In addition,
you can double-click on a layer and it will be transferred to the opposite column. Set up the
dialog box as shown and press OK to activate the layer configuration.
2 The display will be V1
L1

updated to: C1

Z X

3 Access View - Layers

again, and change the
layer options as shown,
press OK to update the
display.
 Combining Grouping, Layers and View Options 

4 The display now shows:

5 Access View - Layers one

more time and change the
mode back to Show All
Layers.

,(

9
:
,1
*

7.5 Combining Grouping, Layers and View Options

Between Grouping, Layers, and the wide array of View Options, there is a tremendous amount
of control over how your model will be displayed on screen. However, with all these different
methods of control you can run into problems. These three methods of view controls are not
exclusive. They each affect how the others work.
For example, say you create a new group, add all elements of property 1, and all the nodes
associated with these elements, and then use View - Select/Model Data to display just that
group. What you would expect to see is the exact entities that you just put in the group. The
problem arises out of the fact the layering and the options picked in View - Options also come
into play. If all the nodes that were added into this group were on a layer that is not currently
being displayed, they will still not be displayed. Similarly, if the nodes have been turned off in
View - Options, they will not be displayed.
If you ever get into the situation where you think something should be visible on the display
and it is not, first check View - Options and verify that it is on, next check View - Layer and
verify that the layer associated with the missing entities is being displayed, and finally, make
sure that if a group is being used for the view, that the missing entities are actually in the
group. Once you become more familiar with FEMAP and the various options which control
the model display, the benefits of the multiple view options methods will become apparent.

7.6 Printing
As a Windows application, FEMAP provides What You See is What You Get printing. By
default, graphics sent to any printer are vector images, the actual lines, curves and polygons
that comprise the graphical representation of your model on screen. As a vector image, the
printer driver will break the components down into the colored (or gray scale) dots that form
that actual print out. In this manner, FEMAP takes full advantage of the resolution of the out-
put device. Traditional DOS-based FEA (and some Windows ones too), simply dump the bit-
 Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

map of the screen to the printer. By doing so you are limited to the resolution of the screen,
and not that of the printer.
To print any graphics window, select FILE - PRINT from the FEMAP menu. If you have more
than one graphics windows displayed, you will need to make the window that you want to
print from the current graphics window, to do so, click the mouse in the window.
File - Print will display the following
dialog box that provides control over
how your FEMAP graphics will be
printed.
Here you can quickly add a Header and
Footer to describe the plot being made
in more detail and adjust several
aspects of the print including the Page
Setup and Printer Setup. Printer Setup
is most useful for changing the orienta-
tion of the plot between landscape and
portrait and for controlling aspects par-
ticular to your printer.
Page setup makes it possible to
control aspects of you print
more closely related to FEA.
The most important being in the
Plot and Metafile Style. Here,
you find the Swap Black and
White very useful if you work
in the FEMAP default black
background with white ele-
ments. Without Swap Black and
White any prints made would be
What You See Is What You Get
including the black background.
With Swap Black and White, all
black entities are switched to
white and vice-versa, saving
you both toner and making the
plot easier to see.

The first step in post processing is to obtain the results. If your analysis program does not
launch from FEMAP and automatically return the results, you must read them in. Use File -
Translate, select the proper format and press Read Analysis Results. Select the results file for
your model from the standard file selection box using the default file extension for your analy-
sis program. Similar to Loads and Constraints, output data is also stored in sets. If you run
your model with several different loading conditions or through several different analysis
types, FEMAP will keep the output data from each analysis, each mode shape, or each time
step in a different output set. Post-Processing can be divided into two main categories, graphi-
cal and report. Graphical post-processing can be further divided into:
1. Deformation Plots
2. Contour/Criteria Plots
 Graphical Post-Processing 

3. XY Plots
Deformation and Contour/Criteria plots can be combined in the same view. All model style
options (such as Hidden Line) are available for deformed and contour styles.
Report based post-processing is fairly straight forward, providing text output of results data in
a variety of formats, printing options, and sorting options.

7.7 Graphical Post-Processing

The first step in post-
processing is to define
the type of plot desired,
and the data to be used in
the post-processing dis-
play. The main control
for how your model is
displayed including what
,(

9
post-processing options
are being used is the :
View - Select menu ,1
option. *
From View Select you can invoke five different types of deformed style plots:
1. Deformed - Show a plot of the deformed shape.
2. Animate - Animate the deformed shape.
3. Animate Multi-Set - Perform animation across several sets. Good for transient, nonlinear
and frequency response analyses.
4. Vector - Show vectors representing direction and magnitude of output.
5. Trace - Similar to Multi-Set Animation except displays trace lines connecting historical
positions of nodes.
For Multi-Set Animation and Trace plots, you may also decide to only animate the contours by
selecting the Skip Deformations plot. This can be extremely useful for heat transfer and simi-
lar types of analyses.
From View Select you can invoke six general contour style options:
1. Contour - Provides smooth representation of data.
2. Criteria - Elemental values displayed at centroid of element.
3. Beam Diagram - Similar to 3-D shear and bending moment diagrams. Display results along
the length of Line Elements.
4. IsoSurface - Provides interior surfaces of constant values in solid models.
5. Section Cut - Shows contours through any planar cut of a solid model.
6. Vector - Vectors at centroids of elements.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Selecting the Data to use for Post-Processing

Control over what data is
used in deformed or con-
tour plots is provided by
the Select PostProcessing
Data dialog box. This dia-
log box is accessed
through the View - Select
command or the shortcut A
(right mouse) menu as
Post Data. It allows you to
control the output set and B
output vectors shown with
the deformed and contour C
plots. To choose what data
is used in the display, sim-
ply choose A.) the output
set, B.) the data vector to
use for deformation, and
C.) the data vector to use for contouring. You can limit the category and type of output you see
in the drop down lists with the data selection area. If you are animating a multi-set you can
choose the final output set to animate as well. Section cuts are defined with the standard plane
definition dialog box and are accessed here by pressing the Define Section button.
Specifying Detailed Post-Processing Display Options
Options for controlling the detailed aspects of
post-processing can be found in the FEMAP View
Options command. Each graphics window can
have its view options modified independent of
other views. The number and depth of the various
view options is such that a full discussion of each
is not possible in this manual. Please refer to the
full FEMAP Commands manual for a detailed
description of what each option does, and how to
use it. You are encouraged to go to View - Options,
and set the Category to PostProcessing and review
the various options. A few of the more important
View Options are explained more fully below.
Deformed Style
For all deformed styles, FEMAP uses these set-
tings to determine the on-screen scale of the defor-
mations. If the “% of Model” option is checked,
FEMAP will scale all deformations so that the largest one is equivalent to the percentage of
the model size you specify as “Scale %”. If “% of Model” is not checked, FEMAP will deform
your model by the amount of the actual deformations.

Hint:
For large displacement analysis, the Deformed Style should almost always be on Actual to
obtain an accurate representation of the deformations.
 Graphical Post-Processing 

Animated Style
Many aspects of animation are con-
Sine - Full Linear - Full
trolled by the settings for this option. If +1 +1
you choose Single Step, the view will
calculate all of the animation frames
and then wait. The animation will not
-1 -1 Number of Fra
begin until you choose the View-
Advanced Post-Animation command Sine - Full Absolute +1 Linear - Full Absolute
+1
and press Start. Shape controls the
deformations in the frames that are
calculated. Full cycle shapes smoothly
return to their starting position, half 0 0
cycle shapes jump back. Sine - Half +1 Linear - Half
+1
By selecting the number of frames in
the animation, you control both the
animation quality and speed. More
-1
frames take longer to calculate, and -1
,(

9
produce a slower, but smoother anima- Sine - Half Absolute +1
Linear - Half Absolute
:
,1
+1
tion. Fewer frames are desirable if you
want a quick look, or fast animation. If *
you are using the “Animate” setting,
for the Contour/Criteria Levels option, 0 0
best results are obtained with a larger
number of frames.
The Delay factor specifies the initial speed of the animation. This can be varied using the
View-Advanced Post-Animation command. Larger numbers result in slower animations.

Hint:
Here are a few suggestions that can help when you are doing animations:
m FEMAP retains all of the frames that you calculate in memory. You can specify a very
large number of frames but you must have enough memory to hold those images.
m You can simultaneously animate multiple windows, even at different speeds, but your
computer and graphics adapter need to be fairly fast. It takes the combination of a fast
computer and a good graphics adapter to adequately handle animation.
If animations are not as fast as you would like, check the following:
m Make sure you are not running other applications in the background on your computer.
m Reduce the number of frames.
m Reduce the size of your graphics window. This may be the biggest savings - although at a
price. It can dramatically reduce the amount of data needed for an animation, and hence
increase the speed.
m Once an animation has been created, you can control it with the View Animation com-
mand.
 Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Deformed Model
Deformed Model Controls the colors that will be
used for a deformed style dis-
Undeformed Modeplay. Refer to Undeformed
Model for additional informa-
tion.
Undeformed Model
Allows you to display your
undeformed model, along with a
deformed or animating style
model. This option should not
be turned on for filled or hidden line view styles. If you do, the deformed and undeformed
models will obscure each other.
Contour Type
These options enable you to pick between elemental and nodal contouring. Nodal contouring
typically provides a smoother pattern, but can misrepresent values at geometric and material
breaks. Elemental contouring provides a more accurate representation in these circumstances,
and also provides the capability to plot top and botom stresses on the same graph (with an
additional solid value if solids exist in the model).
You can also chose to have continous contours or level contours in Render mode.
Contour/Criteria Style
Allows you to choose whether solid/filled contours will be drawn or just the contour lines. The
same setting also applies to filled or unfilled elements for criteria displays. Refer to the Fill
Element and Fill-Edges options (earlier in this section) for more ways to customize the appear-
ance of contour and criteria plots.

Filled Contours

-7662.
Line Contours

6028.

Max Min Labels

If you select the “Max Min” labelling option, the two locations with the maximum and mini-
mum output values will be labelled. ID labelling is not used for filled contours. For line con-
tours, the lines are labelled with letters that correspond to those in the Contour Legend. Label
Freq controls how many of the lines are labeled. If Label Freq is 5, every fifth contour line will
be labeled.
The Data Conversion options control how FEMAP will calculate the Nodal data that is
required for contours when you select an Elemental output vector. By default, all elemental
data is averaged at the nodes. If you would rather use the maximum values, choose Maximum
Value. If you have recovered or calculated elemental corner output, but do not want it to be
considered in the contour, choose one of the Skip Corner options.
 Graphical Post-Processing 

Contour/Criteria Levels
Specifies the number of contour levels that will be displayed. FEMAP supports up to 255 lev-
els. This option is also used to select the output values where contours will be calculated, and
the contour colors.
If you choose the Automatic or Auto-Group Level Modes, FEMAP will determine the maxi-
mum and minimum contour values (and the intermediate ones) from the maximum and mini-
mum output values in the output vector you select. Automatic considers data from the entire
output vector. Auto-Group is identical, unless you have selected a group. If a group is selected,
the maximum and minimum output values of only the entities in the group will be used.
Criteria Limits/Beam Diagrams
Although criteria displays can be used simply as an alternative to contours, where each ele-
ment is colored based on its output value, their primary purpose is to limit the display based on
a selected criteria. This option selects the criteria. You select the type of criteria from the Lim-
its Mode list, and then specify the appropriate values in Minimum and Maximum. The follow-
ing table lists the available modes and their uses:
,(

9
Table 2:
:
,1
Limits Mode Min Max Result *
No Limits - - No Criteria. All Elements Pass.
Above Maximum - Yes Elements with output values greater than Maximum Pass.
Below Minimum Yes - Elements with output values less than Minimum Pass.
Between Yes Yes Elements with output values between Minimum and
Maximum pass.
Outside Yes Yes Elements with output values less than Minimum or
greater than Maximum pass.

If you choose Abs Value, the absolute value of the output data is compared to your selected
criteria. The “Criteria - Elements that Pass”, and “Criteria - Elements that Fail”, options con-
trol how elements that pass or fail the criteria will be displayed.

6028. 4317. 2606. 894.5 -816.8 -2528. -4239. -5951. -7662.

Elements that
failed criteria

6028.3

4823.1 6028.3
Elements that 4823.1
passed criteria 2974.7
2974.7
1741.9

Beam Diagrams are also controlled through this option. The Default Direction option sets the
elemental or global plane where the beam diagram will be drawn. FEMAP always draws the
diagram in the plane that you choose, even if the output is actually based on forces/stresses/...
in a different plane. The FEMAP translators should automatically setup the proper information
in your model to draw the correct Beam Diagram as you read the output from one of the sup-
ported programs. If you create output through some other means, or if sign conventions
change in the analysis programs, the “RevB” Default Directions can be used. If you see a
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Beam Diagram where End A and End B have reversed signs, when they should be of the same
sign, choose one of these options - otherwise use the regular options. The Beam Diagram
Color sets the color that will be drawn around the outer edges, and between elements along the
diagram.
Criteria - Elements that Pass and Elements that Fail
Are both used for criteria style displays. The settings for the first option are used for all ele-
ments that pass your selected criteria, or for all elements when you do not specify any criteria.
The second option settings are used only for elements that fail the criteria. You can skip dis-
playing either category of elements by turning off the appropriate option. If you select Output
Value labeling, the output values will be displayed as a label near the center of the elements.
For criteria displays, element colors are also determined by this option. By default, elements
that pass the criteria will be colored using Contour Colors. For this setting, FEMAP compares
the elemental output value to the specified contour levels. The element color is then set to the
color for the appropriate contour level. By default, elements that fail the criteria are not dis-
played. If you simply turn them on, the default View Color will cause them to be displayed as
dashed/phantom lines.
Example of using the Post-Processing Option in FEMAP
Open CH7WINGPOST.MOD in the /examples subdirectory where you installed the sample
files that accompanied this manual.
The model will look like:

Z X

Viewing the Deformed Model

Choose VIEW - SELECT
from the FEMAP Menu
(Ctrl-S or F5).
A.) Choose Deform for the
A
Deformed Style.
B.) To select the data vec-
tors to use for the deformed
plot, press the Deformed
and Contour Data button.
B
D
 Graphical Post-Processing 

FEMAP now displays the

Select PostProcessing Data
dialog box. By default, the
only Output Set is selected,
and the Deformation data
vector is set to Total Transla-
tion and the Contour data
vector is set to Plate Top
VonMises Stress.
C.) Press OK to accept the
defaults.
FEMAP returns you to the
View - Select dialog box.
D.) Press OK to accept all
options and generate the
plot. C

,(

9
:
FEMAP displays the deformed model (exaggerated so that you can visualize the deformation)
,1
on top of the undeformed model.
L1
C1
*

Z X
Output S et: MS C/NAS T R AN Cas e 1
Deformed(0.336): T otal T rans lation

To turn off the undeformed plot:

Select VIEW - OPTIONS
from the FEMAP menu
(Ctrl-O or F6). C

A.) Change the Category A

to PostProcessing.

B.) Select the Unde-

formed Model option.
B
C.) Toggle the Draw
Entity switch.

D.) Press OK to continue.

D
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Only the Deformed model will be drawn:

V1
L1
C1

Z X
Output S et: MS C/NAS T R AN Cas e 1
Deformed(0.336): T otal T rans lation

Use the Quick View Options (CTRL-Q) and turn off the Nodal Forces. Press the Done button
in View Quick Options to update the display and return to FEMAP.

Viewing Stress Contours

To turn on the display of stress contours, we will again use the View - Select command.

Select VIEW - SELECT

from the FEMAP menu.

A.) Changed the Contour A

Style to Contour.

We do not need to enter the

Deformed and Contour
Data section since the con-
tour data vector was set to
Plate Top VonMises Stress B
when we created the
deformed plot. To view the stress contours,

B.) Press OK.

The model is now displayed with both the deformed and stress contours shown at the same
time
 Graphical Post-Processing 

,(

9
:
,1
*

The above display used Nodal Contouring, which averages across both property and geomet-
ric breaks. To eliminate this averaging, and produce a more accurate plot, go to View Select -
Deformed and Contour Data - Contour Options and select Elemental under Contour Type.
The defaults can be accepted for the element discontinuities.
The resulting display (after hitting three OKs) is shown below. As you will notice, the stress
levels are slightly higher (A), and the distribution along the edge connections are changed sig-
nificantly (especially at B). The elemental contouring option provides a more accurate repre-
sentation by “smart averaging” the results only at locations where appropriate.

B
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Setting up an Animated Contour Plot

To view an animation, we will first enter the number of frames of the animation, and set the
option to make the contour levels animate with the deformation.

1 Select VIEW - OPTIONS

from the FEMAP menu.
Set the animations options
as shown:

A.) Set the Category to A

PostProcessing. C

B.) Select the Animated B

Style Option.

C.) Set the Animation

Shape to 5..Sine - Full
Abs. D

D.) Set the Frames to 8.

2 The color contours can

either animate with the
deformation, or remain
constant. By default, they B
will remain constant. To
cause them to animate:

A.) Change to the Con-

tour/Criteria Levels
option.

B.) Toggle the Animate

Box to On.
A

C.) Press OK to continue.

At this point we have only established the animation options. We must now enter VIEW -
SELECT to change the Deformed Style from Deform to Animate to actually create the anima-
tion.
 XY Style 

3 Choose VIEW - SELECT

from the FEMAP menu.

A.) Change the Deformed

Style to Animate. A

B.) Press OK to view the

animation.

FEMAP will first calculate each of the eight frames of animation, scaling the deformations
and contour levels based on a sine-wave distribution. Once the individual frames have been
created in memory, they will be played back at full speed. If the animation is going to fast, use
the VIEW-ADVANCED POST-ANIMATION command and press the Slower button to slow it
,(

9
down. Once you have adjusted the animation to a comfortable speed, press the OK button in
the Animation Control dialog box. :
,1
Like the other two categories of View - Options, the Post-Processing category provides a sig- *
nificant number of options that control how your model results are displayed. You are encour-
aged to experiment with the various options in the Post-Processing section and see how they
affect the display of FEA results.

7.8 XY Style
FEMAP can also provide
XY plots of your results.
Just like the Deformed and
Contour options discussed
above, View - Select also
controls (1) whether or not
an XY Plot is displayed at
all, and (2) what type of XY
Plot will be shown.
The available types are:
m XY vs. ID - Plots XY
Data as a function of ID number for an Output Vector in one Output Set.
m XY vs. Set - Plots XY data versus the output set number for an Output Vector across sev-
eral Output Sets.
m XY vs. Set Value - Similar to XY vs. Set except uses Output Set value for X.
m XY vs. Position - Plots XY data versus the position of nodes or elements in an axis direc-
tion for an Output Vector in one Output Set.
m XY as a Function - Plots XY data for functions. Not a Post-Processing option.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Controlling an XY Plot
Control over the contents
of an XY plot is provided
by the Select XY Curve
Data Dialog Box, accessed
by pressing the XY Data
button in View Select, or
from the right mouse but-
ton shortcut menu as XY
data. It allows you to con-
trol the output set and out-
put vectors shown on the
XY data plots. Simply
choose the output set and
the output vector from the
appropriate drop down
boxes. You can limit the
category and type of output
you see in the drop down lists with the data selection area.
If you are plotting by position you can choose which direction. If you are plotting multiple sets
you can choose a starting and ending set and a node or element to plot. You can also choose a
group to limit the data viewed. You can plot up to nine curves on the same plot.
View Options Post-Processing
View - Options (F6) Post-Processing is where you
control the appearance of the XY plots.
Title and legend control the appearance to these item.
Axes style change the axis from linear to semi-log or
log-log. Range/Grid controls the range of the axes
and the grid style. The curve #’s control the color and
style of the curve.
XY Titles
. . . specifies a title and subtitle for an XY display,
and to locate those titles. You can choose any of the
standard eight locations for the Titles. In general,
Center Left and Center Right are not good choices.
Unless you use very short titles, these positions will
significantly reduce the size of the graph. The titles
are always displayed in the View Color. The title
View Color is also used for all axis labels.

When you press Titles, FEMAP will display the XY Titles dialog box. You can specify any
titles, each up to 25 characters in length.
 XY Style 

XY Legend
. . . controls the location, and format of the XY legend. This legend contains one line for each
active curve. It defines the output data which is selected for the curve. The format of the lines
in the legend is:
Curve Number: Output Set, Output Vector (Curve Scale Factor)

Output Set and Output Vector are either the IDs or Titles, depending on the labeling option you
choose. Each line of the legend is drawn in the same color as the curve it defines.
9629.

7708.

5787.

3865.

1944.

22.94

-1898.

,(
-3819.

9
-5741.
:
Legend -7662. ,1
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15
Element ID *
1: NASTRAN Case 1, Plate Top X Normal Stress
2: NASTRAN Case 1, Plate Top Y Normal Stress

You can position this legend in any of the eight standard locations. Make certain you do not
locate the legend at the same position as the XY Titles, or they will overwrite each other.
XY Axes Style
. . . defines the colors of the X and Y axes, and the number of axis divisions (tics). This option
controls the color of the axis lines. Refer to XY Titles, if you want to change the colors of the
axis labels.
You can also change the plot type between Rectilinear (the normal default), SemiLog and Log-
Log, which are often used for Dynamic Analyses.
When you specify zero X Tics or Y Tics, FEMAP will automatically calculate the number of
axis divisions. The number will be chosen so the labels do not overwrite one another. If you
want a specific number of divisions, specify that number plus one. You must add one because
there is always one more tic than division, for the end of the axis.
XY X Range/Grid
. . . controls the minimum and maximum X axis values, and the display of the vertical grid
lines.
If you choose Automatic, FEMAP will set the minimum and maximum axis values equal to
the smallest and largest X values from your entire model. The nature of these values depends
on the type of XY plot (vs. ID, vs. Set. . .) you are performing. Auto-Group is similar, but only
considers values which are in the group you chose in the View Select command. If you pick
“Max Min”, you must manually set the Minimum and Maximum axis values.
Your Axis Range choices can be automatically updated by the View Autoscale, Pan, Zoom, or
Magnify commands. You can use these commands for XY-plots, just like they are used for
model displays.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

XY Y Range/Grid
. . . is identical to XY X Range/Grid, except that it controls the Y axis and the horizontal grid
lines.
XY Curve 1 through XY Curve 9
. . . controls the visibility, style, color, and labeling of the data curves for an XY-plot. By
default, any curve that you select in the View Select command will be drawn. You can selec-
tively skip curves, by turning off these options. ID and Output Value labels will be drawn at
every data point on the curve. Only two labels will be drawn for Max/Min ID and Max/Min
Value labeling. These labels will be drawn at the data point with the minimum and maximum
output values. The Curve Style setting controls the type of curve or points that will be drawn.
The Scale factor multiplies the actual output values. You can use this factor to display several
curves, that have very different magnitudes, in the same Y range. When you specify a scale
factor other than one, the position of the curve will be updated appropriately. The output value
labels however, will still show the actual, unscaled output values. In addition, any scale fac-
tors, other than 1.0, will be shown in the XY Legend.
Example of Using XY Plots
If you have been following along in this chapter, and have CH7WINGPOST.MOD animating
on screen, use VIEW - SELECT, set the Deformed Style to None and the Contour Style to
None. If you have not been working along, open CH7WINGPOST.MOD in the /examples sub-
directory of the directory where the samples for this manual were installed.
This model has saved with it a group that includes the beam elements along the upper cap of
the front spar. To see which elements we will use in this XY plot, we will use the View - Show
command.
1. Select View - Show from the FEMAP menu.
2. Change the Entity Type to Elements, Press OK.
3. FEMAP displays the standard entity selection box. In the Group Field, select Group num-
ber 9. Press OK to View the elements.

V1
L1
C1

Z X
 XY Style 

To set up the XY Plot:

1 Choose VIEW -
SELECT from the
FEMAP menu.

A.) Change the XY

Style to XY vs.
A
Position..

B.) Press the XY Data

button to define the XY B
Plot.

The Select XY Curve

Data dialog box is now
displayed. C
,(

9
C.) Change Position to D :
the Global Z-Axis. ,1
*
D.) Set the Group E
Option to Select, and
then select Group 9.
F
E.) Pick Output Set 1.

F.) Pick data vector G

number 3022..Beam
End A Axial Force.

G.) Press OK to return to View - Select.

Press OK in View Select to accept the options and create the plot.

An XY Plot representing the axial force in the beam elements of the upper spar is now dis-
played.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

XY Plots are just like any other FEMAP graphics window. You can use the View Zoom and
Pan controls to adjust the range of display, and File - Print to send this information to a printer.
And, just like other graphics windows, you can use File - Picture - Copy, copy the XY plot as
vector graphics to the Windows clipboard, and then paste this graph into any other Windows
application.

7.9 Reporting Results

In addition to the graphical post-processing capabilities of FEMAP, there is also a powerful set
of report based tools for examination of FEA results.
Directing Output
Reports are created using the command in the
List Output SubMenu

By default, all listings go to the Messages and

Lists Window. You can also direct listings to a
printer and/or a file. To control where listings
appear, choose List - Destination from the
FEMAP menu. Here you can toggle on and off
the listing destination.

Note:
Make certain to toggle off listings to a printer or a file when you are finished listing the desired
information. FEMAP will continue to send all listings to whatever destinations have been cho-
sen until they are turned off.
Example of Using Output Listings
We will once again use CH7WINGPOST.MOD. One very handy feature of List Output is the
ability to list a summary of the output data we read from an FEA analysis.

1 Select List - Output -

Unformatted from the
FEMAP Menu. FEMAP
then prompts for the Out-
put Set(s) to use. Press OK
to use Set 1 and continue.
 Reporting Results 

2 Options associated with

listing output are now dis-
played. Toggle off all list-
ing options except for List
Summary, then press OK
to continue.

FEMAP lists a summary of the Output Data for the Sets selected. This summary contains max-
imum and minimums for the entire output set that will help you quickly locate high levels of
displacement, force and stress.
Displacement Summary
Maximum Value 0.33584 Output Vector 1 - Total Translation
Minimum Value -0.038524 Output Vector 6 - R1 Rotation
Force Summary
,(

9
Maximum Value 2990.69 Output Vector 51 - Total Constraint Force
:
Minimum Value -2946.71 Output Vector 54 - T3 Constraint Force ,1
Stress Summary *
Maximum Value 7022.13 Output Vector 3154 - Beam EndB Pt4 Comb Stress
Minimum Value -6007.5 Output Vector 100227 - PltC1 Top MinorPrn Stress

Listing Formatted Output

The most powerful commands associated with listing output are List - Output - Standard and
List - Output - Use Format. Both are used to process the nodal and elemental data recovered
from a finite element analysis and repackage that data into standard formats or ones you
define, and then list that data in printed format. An example of this was presented earlier in the
chapter. A report was created listing element forces to the Messages and Lists Window, sorted
by element shear force. Instead of duplicating that example here, please go back to the previ-
ous one and review it.
Describing how to create your own report formats is beyond the scope of this manual. Details
are provided in the other FEMAP manuals and in the on-line help. One of the easiest methods
of creating your own format is to load a standard format and then edit it.
Querying Your Model
List - Output - Query provides a quick method for retrieving the output results for a particular
node or element, or group of nodes or elements in your model.
  Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing

Query Example
Choose List - Output -
Query from the FEMAP
Menu. Simply set the Out-
put to List options to the
Output Set and type of data
you wish to query, and then pick a node or element of your choosing. Remember, move the
mouse to the ID field and then click in it to make it current. You can then type a node or ele-
ment number, or pick one from the graphics window with the mouse. Once a node or element
is selected, press the More button and the output data associated with that node or element
will be sent to the List Destination(s). Press Cancel when finished.

Dynamic Query
You can obtain results for a given deformation and/or contour plot at specific nodes and ele-
ments very rapidly. Simply turn on Dynamic Query (usually says Off and is on the right corner
of the Status Bar/Tray) to Node or Element, and then simply hold the cursor at a node or ele-
ment. FEMAP will then show a box providing information on the given node or element, as
well as the data at that location which corresponds to the deformed contour plot (if any).
You can even right click in the information to create that exact text to annotate the model at
that location, or left click to send the information to the List Destination, typically the Mes-
sages and Lists Window.

7.10 Getting Your Results to Other Programs

There are two ways you can report results into other programs. You can copy or save the
screen views, or you can create lists of the actual data. FILE - PICTURE - COPY (Ctrl-C) copies
the active view to the clipboard. As previously described in this manual, the data copied to the
clipboard is a vector image, and will paste as a vector image into any other Windows program.
The image can also be transferred in a standard Windows Bitmap, or as a Windows Device
Independent Bitmap. The File - Picture - Save command will save the active view as a file of
any of the above types.
If the selected view is animating, a special bitmap format that can be displayed with the
FEMAP REPLAY program will be created. You can also create a series of bitmaps that repre-
sent each frame of the animation. This series of bitmaps can be processed by other programs to
create animated GIF’s for the Internet, or to create AVI files.
The current model can also be written out as a VRML file to be shared across the network or
web with any standard VRML viewer. You can write out solid geometry or meshes and even
deformed and contoured meshes.
Example of Copying a Graphics Image
For this example, set up CH7WINGPOST.MOD as a stress contour plot as previously
described in this chapter.
 Getting Your Results to Other Programs 

V1
L1 4506.
C1
4243.

3980.

3716.

3453.

3190.

2927.

2663.

2400.

2137.

1874.

1611.

1347.

1084.
Y
821.

Z X 557.8

Output S et: MS C/NAS T R AN Cas e 1 294.6

Contour: Plate T op VonMis es S tres s

Once the image is displayed on screen, press Ctrl-C to copy it to the clipboard. Now, go to any
other windows programs that support graphics (Microsoft Word or Excel, PowerPoint etc.)
and paste the image in, usually with the Shift-Ins or Ctrl-V key combinations.
,(

9
:
,1
*

This entire manual was created by cutting and pasting FEMAP graphics and listings into
FrameMaker.
 Groups, Layers, Viewing and PostProcessing
Simple Solid 8

This example is used to show some simple solid modeling while keeping the number of nodes
of the solid mesh under the 300 node limit of the demonstration version.

Again, first start FEMAP and create a new model, or if FEMAP is already running, select
FILE - NEW from the menu.

8.1 Create the Geometry

The Base Primitive

1 Select GEOMETRY-SOLID-PRIMITIVES.
The solid primitives dialog box gives you a
choice of five different solids to create. Two
types of blocks, a cylinder, a cone or a
sphere. You can control the position of the
origin and the direction, both relative to the
workplane. For this example the default val-
ues of a unit cube centered at the origin are fine, so press OK.
 Simple Solid

Slice the Base

1 First we will set up points

to use to define our cut- V1

ting plane. Choose

GEOMETRY-POINT. The 3
standard coordinate loca-
tion dialog box is shown.
Press the methods button
and select midpoint.
Select curves 1,2 and 3 2
pressing OK after each
selection. Press cancel to 1
exit the command.
Y

Z X

2 Select GEOMETRY-
SOLID-SLICE. Pick the
solid and press OK.
 Create the Geometry 

3 The standard plane defini-

tion dialog box is shown.
First, change the snap
mode to point, by either
A) Pressing the right A
mouse button in the
graphics window, and
then clicking the point
option under Snap To, or
B) Using the toolbar Snap
To Point icon, or C) Using
the Ctrl-P keyboard short-
cut. D) Choose the three B
points you created in the
previous step and press
OK.

4 Select DELETE-GEOME-
TRY-SOLID. Pick the
small corner section and
press OK. Press Yes to
delete the solid.

,0

6
3/
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6
/,
'
 Simple Solid

Add the Rectangular Boss

V1

1 3
2

Z X

1 Select TOOLS-WORK-
PLANE. Press the on Sur-
face button. Pick surface
1, and points 2 and 3 as
shown in the above dia-
gram and press OK.

2 Choose GEOMETRY-
CURVE LINE-RECTAN-
GLE. A) Press the meth-
ods button and choose
Locate in Workplane. B)
Enter points at 0.2, 0.1
and 0.8, 0.4 pressing OK A
after each one.

3 Select GEOMETRY-
BOUNDARY SURFACE.
Select the four curves of
the rectangle and press
OK.
 Loads and Constraints 

4 Select GEOMETRY-
SOLID-EXTRUDE. A)
Make it add-protrusion in
B) The positive direction B
and C) To a depth of 0.25. C
A

5 Select GEOMETRY-
SOLID-FILLET. Again
select the four curves of
the rectangle and press
OK.
6 Enter a radius of 0.1 and
press OK.

View as Solid

1 A) Press the view style

button on the toolbar and
choose solid. B) Press the
view style button on the
toolbar and choose Ren- A
der. This puts you in the
OpenGL graphics mode. B
,0

6
3/
(
2

6
/,
'

8.2 Loads and Constraints

B
 Simple Solid

Loads

1 Select MODEL-LOAD-ON
SURFACE. FEMAP
prompts you to create a
load set. Enter a name
and press OK.

2 Select surface A as shown

and press OK

3 A) Select the load type

force/area. B) Make the
direction Normal to Sur-
face and C) enter a value
of -500. Press OK. A

B
C

Constraints

1 Select MODEL-CON-
STRAINT-ON SURFACE.
FEMAP prompts you to
create a constraint set.
Type a name and press
OK.
2 Select the bottom surface
of the solid, surface B,
and press OK. Fix this
surface.
 Meshing the Solid 

8.3 Meshing the Solid

1 Choose MESH-GEOME-
TRY-SOLIDS.

2 The default values for solid meshing determined by FEMAP

are usually adequate to produce a good mesh, especially when
Tet Meshing. However, in this case we are trying to keep the
number of nodes below 300. Enter an element size of 0.2.
This will produce a coarse mesh, but again this is just a dem-
onstration problem.

3 Since no material has

been created FEMAP
prompts you to make one.
You can enter in values or
press the Load button to
bring up the material
library.
3
,0

6
3/
(
4 The material library
2

6
shipped with FEMAP /,
contains material proper- '
ties using English units
(lb, in, sec). You can cre-
ate your own materials
and store them in this
library or create your own
library. Select a material
and press OK.

Note:
Remember, there are no units in FEMAP. All dimensions must be kept consistent with
the unit system you use to define your material properties. Always make sure this is cor-
rect from the beginning because it is extremely difficult to correct any inconsistencies in
units once the model is built.
  Simple Solid

5 Press OK in the Define

Material dialog box when
the properties have been
loaded.

6 The automesh solids dialog box

appears. Deselect the midside
nodes box to turn off automatic
insertion of midside node. This
is not a recommended practice
for any model, as four noded
tetrahedral elements behave
too stiffly to get accurate
answers. It is only done here to keep the number of nodes below 300. Press OK.
The model is now ready for analysis

8.4 PostProcessing
Reading in Results
For this example we have included a FEMAP model file with results that you can use for post-
processing. If you have run your own analysis you may use those results.

1 Select FILE - OPEN. The

standard file open dialog
box appears. Navigate to
the /Examples directory
and choose the
CH8Post.Mod file. Press
open.

Postprocessing
This section will take you through some of the ways you can use FEMAP to view analysis
results.
 PostProcessing 

1 A) Press the view style

button on the toolbar and
choose solid. B) Press the
view style button on the
toolbar and choose Ren- A
der.
B

2 Press Ctrl-Q or the view

quick options toolbar but-
ton to bring up the view
quick options menu. Press
the geometry off button
and the labels off button.

3 Select VIEW-SELECT,
press F5 or the view select ,0

6
button on the toolbar to 3/
bring up the view select
dialog box. Set the
(
2

6
Deform Style to Deform
/,
and the Contour Style to
Contour. Press the
'
Deformed and Contour
Data Button.
4 This brings up the Select
PostProcessing Data dia-
log box. A) select an out-
put set. B) select an output
vector to use for the
model deformation. C)
select an output vector to
use for the contour plot.
A
Press OK. Press OK in the
view select dialog box. B
C
 Simple Solid

5 Press the Dynamic Dis-

play button on the toolbar.
Rotate the view to see the
deformations and con-

1
tours on all sides of the
model.
6 Select VIEW-SPECIAL POST-DYNAMIC
CUTTING PLANE. Move the slider bar to
move the cutting plane through the model.
Press the plane button to define a different cutting plane using the standard plane definition
dialog box. Press the Dynamic Display button to rotate the view of the cutting plane. Press
OK when done.
7 Select VIEW-SPECIAL POST-DYNAMIC
ISOSURFACE. Move the slider bar to
change the value of the isosurface being
shown. The isosurface itself is calculated
from the output vector chosen for the contour vector. Put the cursor in the value box, enter a
value and press apply to see an isosurface at that value. Rotate the view if you would like.
Press OK when done.
8 Select VIEW-SELECT,
press F5 or the view select
button on the toolbar to
bring up the view select
dialog box. Set the Con-
tour Style to IsoSurface.
Press OK.

9 Select VIEW-OPTIONS or press F6. A) Pick postpro-

cessing as the category. B) pick IsoSurface as the
option. C) Check the Contour Deformed box to see C
the deformed output vector contoured on the isosur- A
face. Press Apply. Change the IsoSurface At value
and press Apply to see a different isosurface. Press
OK. Use VIEW-SPECIAL POST-DYNAMIC ISOSUR-
FACE to dynamically change the isosurface value.

B
 PostProcessing 

10 Select VIEW-SELECT,
press F5 or the view select
button on the toolbar to
bring up the view select
dialog box. Set the
Deform Style to Animate
and the Contour Style to
Contour. Press OK.

11 Select VIEW-OPTIONS or
press F6. In the Postpro-
cessing category select
Animated Style. Change
the number of frames to
get a smoother animation.
Increase the delay to slow
down the animation.
Select the Contour/Crite-
ria Levels option. Check
the animate box to ani-
mate the contour colors as
well as the deformation.

This is the end of this example. Before moving on, experiment with some of the different post-
processing options on your own.
,0

6
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6
/,
'
 Simple Solid
Turbine Blade 9

This example will illustrate some simple

solid modeling in FEMAP. First we will
read in an IGES trimmed surface part.
Then in FEMAP we will stitch the sur-
faces into a solid, and then modify the
solid so we can get a proper FEA mesh.
We can then add loads and constraints
directly to the geometry of the solid
model. The final step in analysis prepara-
tion will be to create a material and then
use the automatic tetrahedral element
mesher to mesh the solid. To complete
this example you must have purchased
FEMAP Professional.

Note:
You will not be able to save your model file or export to an analysis program if you are using
the 300-Node Demonstration version. A file with results is provided to use for the postpro-
cessing section of this example.
First start FEMAP and create a new model, or if FEMAP is already running, select FILE -
NEW from the menu.

9.1 Creating the Geometry

Reading the IGES File

1 Select FILE-IMPORT-GEOMETRY from

the FEMAP menu. The Windows File
Open Common Dialog Box appears.
Navigate to the \Examples directory and A
A) Select the TurbineBlade.igs file and
B) Press open.

B
  Turbine Blade

2 The IGES Read Options dialog box

appears. The default values should work
for most IGES files and they will here,
so press OK.

The messages and lists window will tell you what has been read and also log any errors in the
import operation.
Stitch the IGES trimmed surfaces into a solid

1 Choose GEOMETRY-
SOLID-STITCH. The
Standard entity selection 1
dialog box appears and
prompts you to select the
surfaces to stitch. For
this model A) select all surfaces and B) press OK.

The messages and lists window informs you that the model has been stitched and conforms to
Parasolid modeling tolerances. This simply means that the stitching operation was successful
and the model is now a FEMAP solid that can be operated on with FEMAP geometry com-
mands.
Rotate the View

1 Choose VIEW - ROTATE

from the FEMAP Menu (or
use the Ctrl-R or F8 short- 1
cut keys) and you will see
the View Rotate Dialog
Box. There are several pre-
defined 3-D views that you can select from, you may want to experiment and press some of
them. Before leaving View Rotate, press Dimetric and then OK to dismiss the View Rotate
Dialog Box.
 Creating the Geometry 

D
C
B
A

Split Surface Along Constant UV Line

We now want to split the two large surfaces that make up the blade at the blade’s edges so that
the mesh will not wrap across the edges. We will do this by imprinting a curve made from a
constant parametric value of the surface.

1 Choose GEOMETRY-CURVE FROM SURFACE-UPDATE SUR-

FACES. This toggles whether or not the created curve imprints on 1
and splits the surface or surfaces it intersects. We want this option
on.

2 Choose GEOMETRY-CURVE FROM SURFACE-PARA-

METRIC CURVE. FEMAP prompts you to select a sur-
face. Move the cursor to highlight surface A and press
the left mouse button to pick it. Press OK.

3 FEMAP prompts you for

a location for the curve.
Press the methods button
and choose Midpoint
from the list. Move the
cursor over curve B in the
diagram above to high-
light it and select it with
the left mouse button.
Press OK.
8
7

5
%
,1
(
/$
%

4 FEMAP prompts you for a parametric curve direction. You can use
'
the surface lines to determine the proper direction. By default (
FEMAP draws 3 divisions in the U direction and 4 in the V direc-
tion. So in this case select the U direction and press OK.
  Turbine Blade

5 Repeat the above procedure this time

using surface C and curve D. There
should now be curves along the edges
as shown here.

9.2 Loads and Constraints

Add Loads on Geometry

1 Choose MODEL-LOAD-
ON SURFACE, FEMAP
prompts you to select a
load set or create a new
one. Type in a title and
press OK.

2 FEMAP now asks you to

select the surfaces to
apply the load. Pick the
two large surfaces on the
top of the blade and press
OK.
 Loads and Constraints 

3 FEMAP displays the

Load on Surfaces dialog
box. A) Select pressure as
the load type B) Leave the
direction as normal to ele- B
ment face C) Enter a
value of 10 and D) Press
OK.

A C

4 Repeat the procedure above, this time selecting the bottom surfaces of the blade and entering
a pressure of negative ten (-10).

Add Constraints on Geometry

1 Choose MODEL-CON-
STRAINT-ON SURFACE.
FEMAP prompts you to
select a constraint set or
create a new one. Type in
a name and press OK.

2 FEMAP prompts you to

select surfaces. Pick the
two halves of the cylinder
at the bottom of the blade
and press OK.

8
7

5
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,1
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%

'
(
  Turbine Blade

3 Constraints on surfaces
are always relative to the
global coordinate system
and can only be fixed,
pinned or have no rota-
tions. Make these sur-
faces fixed. Press OK to
create the constraints,
press cancel to end the
command.

9.3 Meshing the Solid

Suppress Small Features
The small hole in the base of the turbine blade will not affect the results of the analysis but will
cause the mesh to condense in that area. To reduce the number of elements and our overall
problem size we will suppress this small hole before meshing.

1 Choose MESH-MESH
CONTROL-FEATURE
SUPPRESSION. Select the
turbine blade as the solid
model.
 Meshing the Solid 

2 In the feature suppression

dialog box, A) Select
manual, B) Select remove
and C) Press the Loops A
button.
B C

3 Select one of the two

curves that make up the
top of the small hole and
press OK. The surfaces of
the hole should be grayed
out indicating that they
are suppressed.

Meshing the Model

1 Choose MESH-GEOME-
TRY-SOLIDS.
8
7

2 Change the Element Size to 0.05 and press OK. This element
5
size is determined by the shape and size of the various fea- %
tures of the model. The default values determined by ,1
FEMAP are usually adequate to produce a good mesh. How- (
/$
%

ever, as you gain experience with the solid mesher you may
find that a slightly larger element size will still give you a '
good mesh but greatly reduce the number of elements. On (
the other hand some parts may need a smaller element size to
produce a good mesh in certain areas. Also, keep in mind
that you can specify mesh spacing and mesh hard points on
all curves and surfaces individually. This is often the best
way to get the best mesh although it does take more time and careful planning.
 Turbine Blade

3 Since no material has

been created FEMAP
prompts you to make one.
You can enter in values or
press the Load button to
bring up the material
library.
3

4 The material library

shipped with FEMAP
contains material proper-
ties using English units
(lb, in, sec). You can cre-
ate your own materials
and store them in this
library or create your own
library. For this example
select a material from this
library and press OK.
4

Note:
Remember, there are no units in FEMAP. All dimensions must be kept consistent with
the unit system you use to define your material properties.
5 Press OK in the define
material dialog box when
the properties have been
loaded.
6 The automesh solids dia-
log box appears. Leave
the values as the defaults
and press OK.

When the model finishes meshing it will be ready for analysis.

Note:
You should always check the shapes of your elements before you run an analysis. Badly dis-
torted elements can cause incorrect results and analysis failure. For information on checking
element distortion refer to the FEMAP Command Reference.
 PostProcessing 

9.4 PostProcessing
Reading in Results
For this example we have included a FEMAP model file with results included that you can use
for Postprocessing. If you have run your own analysis you may use those results.

1 Select FILE - OPEN. The

standard file open dialog
box appears. Navigate to
the /Examples directory
and choose the
CH9Post.Mod file. Press
open.

Graphical Postprocessing
This section will take you through some of the ways you can use FEMAP to view analysis
results.

1 A) Press the view style

button on the toolbar and
choose solid. B) Press the
view style button on the
toolbar and choose Ren- A
der. This puts you in Ren- B
der mode which allows
dynamic pan, zoom and
rotate of solid contoured
models as well as
dynamic isosurfaces and
sections cuts and also
speeds up general graph-
ics.

8
7

5
%
,1
(
/$
%

'
(
 Turbine Blade

2 Press Ctrl-Q or the view

quick options toolbar but-
ton to bring up the view
quick options menu. Press
the geometry off button
and the labels off button.

3 Select VIEW-SELECT,
press F5 or the view select
button on the toolbar to
bring up the view select
dialog box. Set the
Deform Style to Deform
and the Contour Style to
Contour. Press the
Deformed and Contour
Data Button.
4 This brings up the Select
PostProcessing Data dia-
log box. A) Select an out-
put set. B) Select an
output vector to use for
the model deformation. C)
Select an output vector to A
use for the contour plot.
Press OK. Press OK in the
view select dialog box. B
C

5 In Render mode simply

click the left mouse but-
ton in the graphics win-
dow and drag the cursor.
The model will rotate in
XY. You can also use the
same Dynamic Display
options with the Alt, Ctrl,
and Shift (Rotate Z, Pan,
Zoom)
 PostProcessing 

6 Select VIEW-SPECIAL POST-DYNAMIC

CUTTING PLANE. Move the slider bar to
move the cutting plane through the model.
Press the plane button to define a different cutting plane using the standard plane definition
dialog box. Press the Dynamic Display button to rotate the view of the cutting plane. Press
OK when done.
7 Select VIEW-SPECIAL POST-DYNAMIC
ISOSURFACE. Move the slider bar to
change the value of the isosurface being
shown. The isosurface itself is calculated
from the output vector chosen for the contour vector. Put the cursor in the value box, enter a
value and press apply to see an isosurface at that value. Rotate the view if you would like.
Press OK when done.
8 Select VIEW-SELECT,
press F5 or the view select
button on the toolbar to
bring up the view select
dialog box. Set the Con-
tour Style to IsoSurface.
Press OK.

9 Select VIEW-OPTIONS or press F6. A) Pick post-

processing as the category B) Pick IsoSurface as
the option. C) Check the Contour Deformed box to C
see the deformed output vector contoured on the A
isosurface. Press Apply. Change the IsoSurface At
value and press Apply to see a different isosurface.
Press OK. Use VIEW-SPECIAL POST-DYNAMIC
ISOSURFACE to dynamically change the isosur-
face value.

10 Select VIEW-SELECT,
8
7

press F5 or the view select 5

%
button on the toolbar to ,1
bring up the view select (
dialog box. Set the
/$
%

Deform Style to Animate

and the Contour Style to '
Contour. Press OK. (
 Turbine Blade

11 Select VIEW-OPTIONS or
press F6. In the Postpro-
cessing category select
Animated Style. Change
the number of frames to
get a smoother animation.
Increase the delay to slow
down the animation.
Select the Contour/Crite-
ria Levels option. Check
the animate box to ani-
mate the contour colors as
well as the deformation.

Experiment with some of the other postprocessing and viewing options on your own.
Cylindrical Support 10

This example will demonstrate some basic line and surface modeling used to produce beam
and plate elements using the PARASOLID modeling engine. (You can also use the ACIS
solid modeling engine to complete this problem, but some aspects of the mesh may be slightly
different due to differences in the parametric definitions of the created surfaces in ACIS and
Parasolid). It will also show you how to build, orient and view beams so you can be certain
they correctly represent your model. Again, first start FEMAP and create a new model, or if
FEMAP is already running, select FILE - NEW from the menu.

10.1 Creating the Geometry

Making the Underlying Surface

1 Choose GEOMETRY-CURVE LINE-

PROJECT POINTS. The standard coordinate
location dialog box appears. Enter a point of
4,3,0 and press OK. Enter a point of 4,0,0
and press OK. Press cancel to exit the com-
mand. Press Ctrl-A to autoscale the view.
2 Choose GEOMETRY-SUR-
FACE-REVOLVE. The
standard entity selection
dialog box appears.
Select the line you just
drew and press OK.
3 You are now prompted for
a vector to rotate about.
Enter coordinates of 0,0,0
and 0,1,0 and press OK.
Enter a Rotation Angle of
30 degrees
 Cylindrical Support

4 You should have created 1/12 of a cylindrical surface 3 units high with a radius of 4. Rotate
the view to check you model.
5 Press the Dynamic Dis-
play button on the toolbar.

5
6 FEMAP displays the
Dynamic Display dialog
box at the bottom of the
screen.

7 To dynamically rotate your model, move the cursor inside the graphics window, then press
and drag it left to right and up and down. This will dynamically rotate the model. By press-
ing and holding the Shift key, and pressing and dragging the mouse up and down you can
scale the view dynamically. Using the Ctrl key you can dynamically pan the view. Orient
your model similar to the view below and press OK or the Return key to leave the Dynamic
Display
Creating the Cutout Geometry

Z X
1 2

1 Choose TOOLS-WORK-
PLANE. Press the select
plane button. The stan-
dard plane definition dia-
log box appears.
 Creating the Geometry 

2 First, change the snap

mode to point, by either <

&
A) Pressing the right /,
1
mouse button in the '
graphics window, and A 5
,&
then clicking the point
$
option under Snap To, or /
B) Using the toolbar Snap
8

6
To Point icon, or C) Using 33
the Ctrl-P keyboard short- 2
cut. D) Choose point 1, 5
then 2, then 3 as shown in 7
the previous diagram and
press OK.
B

3 Choose VIEW-ALIGN BY-

WORKPLANE to orient the
view so you are looking
directly at the workplane.

4 Choose GEOMETRY-
CURVE LINE-RECTAN-
GLE.

A) Press the methods but-

ton and choose Locate in
Workplane. A

B) Enter points at 0.3,0.3

and 1.77,2.7 pressing OK
after each one.

C) Set Your Snap Mode

back to Screen.
C
 Cylindrical Support

5 C) Select MODIFY-FIL-
LET. The Fillet Curve
Dialog Box requires input
of the two curves and a
location. FEMAP uses the
location on screen that
you select the curve at to
determine which of the
four possible fillets
between two curves 2
should be used. 1
When picking the first
curve on the right side,
move the mouse to a loca-
tion slightly inside the
rectangle, towards the left
side of the curve. You will
notice the line highlight-
ing, giving you a preview
of exactly which curve Y
will be picked. When you
have the mouse in the
position indicated, press X
Z

the left mouse button to

pick the curve.
Pick the top curve, again
from inside the rectangle.
Make the fillet radius 0.3.
Continue until all four
corners are filleted.

Note:
By picking inside the lines you specify a fillet radius whose center will be toward
the sides of the picks. The effect of picking on other sides is illustrated below:
Pick here
Pick the center location for this fillet
in the quadrant where
you want the fillet.

Original Curves
 Creating the Geometry 

Project onto Surface

<

&
/,
1 Choose GEOMETRY - 1
'
CURVE-FROM-SURFACE -
1 5
,&
UPDATE SURFACES if it is
$
not already checked. This
is so that the curves pro-
/
8

6
jected onto the surface
will imprint on the sur-
33
2
face. 5
2 Choose GEOMETRY-
7
CURVE FROM SURFACE-
PROJECT ALONG VEC-
TOR. Select the surface
and press OK.

3 The standard entity selection dialog box appears and prompts you for curves to project.
Select the eight curves that form the cutout (4 lines and 4 arcs) and press OK.
4 The standard vector dia-
log box appears. A) press
the methods button and
choose normal. You now
pick three locations to
define a plane, the normal
of which will be the vec-
tor of projection. B) Set
your snap mode to points
and C) Choose points 1, 2,
and 3 as shown. Rotate A
the view if necessary and
press the preview button
to be sure the vector is
pointing at the surface. If
not, re-select the points
remembering the right
hand rule to define the
3
vector direction. Press
OK when done.

2 1
  Cylindrical Support

10.2 Materials, Properties and Elements

Mesh the Surface
Create the Material and Property

1 Choose MODEL-MATE-
RIAL. You can enter in
values or press the load
button to bring up the
material library.

2 The material library

shipped with FEMAP
contains material proper-
ties using English units
(lb, in, sec). You can cre-
ate your own materials
and store them in this
library or create your own
library. For this example
select a material from this
library and press OK.

3 Press OK in the define material dialog box to create the material. The dialog box stays up and
allows you to create another material. We only need one for this example so press cancel to
exit the command.
4 Choose MODEL-PROP-
ERTY. A) name the prop-
erty plate. B) Enter a
A C
thickness of 0.025 C)
Select material 1 from the
drop down list. D) Press B
OK to create the mate-
rial. The dialog box stays
up and allows you to cre-
ate another property.
Press cancel or ESC to
exit the command.
 Materials, Properties and Elements 

Mesh the Surface

1 Choose MESH-MESH <

&
CONTROL-DEFAULT /,
1
SIZE. Make the size 0.35 '
and the minimum ele- 5
,&
ments 2 and press OK. $
2 Choose MESH-GEOME-
/
8

6
TRY-SURFACE. Select the
outer surface and press 33
2
OK.
5
3 The automesh surface dia- 7
log box appears. A)
Choose the plate property
from the drop down list.
A
B) Make the element
shape all triangles and C) B
press OK.

Z
X
 Cylindrical Support

Add Beam Stiffeners

Create the Beam Property

1 Choose MODEL-PROP-
ERTY.
A
A) Name the property B
beam.

B) Press the Elem/Prop.

button

C) Select beam as the

property type and press
OK.
D
D) Press the shape button
in the Define Property
dialog box.

2 A) From the drop down

list select Angle (L) Sec-
tion for the shape.
B) Enter values of 0.1 and A
0.15 for height and width.
C) Make both thicknesses B
0.025.
D) Press the draw section
button to draw a cross C
section of the shape.
E) Take note that the Ref-
erence Point is in the bot- E
tom left hand corner. This
will be important when D
we mesh the curves

Press OK to exit to the D

Main Beam Element Type
selection screen and say
OK to create the property.
 Materials, Properties and Elements 

3 We now want to set the

offsets so that the beam <

&
will sit on top of the plate /,
1
as shown below. This '
could be difficult for each 5
,&
individual element, but BEAM $
we will use Mesh /
Attributes to automati-
8

6
PLATE
cally assign the proper 33
orientations to curves that 2
we will automesh. 5
7
Select Mesh-Mesh Con- 1
trol -Attributes Along
Curve, select the three
curves around the surface,
one straight and the two
arcs. In the Curve Mesh
Attributes dialog box
A
(A) pick the beam prop-
C E
erty we just created B
(B) pick Location as the
type of offset
(C) press End A Offset.

This brings up the Offset

from Ref Point dialog box
which allows you to D
locate the beam with
respect to its Reference
Point. Enter (D) a Y Loc
on Curve value of -0.025/
2 (half the plate thickness) F
and press OK.

Back in the Curve Mesh

Attributes box press End
B = End A (E) and then
press OK.

The vector locate dialog

box will appear. Change
the method to Normal to
Surface, pick the surface
and a point on the straight
curve you selected. Check
the reverse direction but-
ton (F) so that the vector
points toward the center
of the cylinder.
 Cylindrical Support

Repeat the above process on the straight curve you did not select before. Refer to the command
reference for more information on mesh attributes and offsets.
5 Choose VIEW-OPTIONS.
The view options dialog
box is displayed.
A
A) Select the Labels, Enti-
ties and Color category,
C
B) Choose Element-Ori-
entation/Shape as the
option, and

C) Select Show Cross

Section as the Element
Shape option.

Press OK and the Cross

Sections of the mesh B
attributes are drawn. The
picture should resemble
the one below. Notice, the
beam cross sections are
on top of the plate.
 Materials, Properties and Elements 

Generate the Beam Elements

<

&
/,
2 Choose MESH-GEOME- 1
'
TRY-CURVE. Select the
5
,&
four curves along the out-
$
side of the rectangular
surface.The Geometry
A /
8

6
Mesh Options dialog box
appears. A) Notice that 33
2
use-meshing-attributes 5
has been selected for you. 7
Press OK to mesh

Note:
Remember, Beam elements have their X-direction defined as going from the first node to
the second, the Y-direction defined by the user (usually a vector orientation) and the Z-
direction defined by the cross product of the X and Y directions.

Copy the Elements to Make a Quarter Cylinder

1 Select MESH-ROTATE-
ELEMENT. Select all the
elements, beams and
plates.

2 In the Generation Options

dialog box change the
number of repetitions to 2 2
and press OK.

3 In the Vector Definition

dialog box change the
method to locate and enter
a vector with a base of
0,0,0 and tip of 0,1,0.
Press OK.
4 Make the rotation angle
30 degrees. This will
make two copies of the
elements, each 30 degrees 4
from the previous one.
 Cylindrical Support

Merging Coincident Nodes

1 Select TOOLS-CHECK -
COINCIDENT NODES from
the FEMAP menu. 1
FEMAP prompts you for a
list of nodes to check,
press Select All and then
OK to continue.
2 FEMAP now asks if you would like to select another
range of nodes to merge. Answer No to continue.

3 The Check/Merge Coincident Dialog Box

is now displayed. Check the Merge Coinci-
dent Entities box. Press OK to continue.
3
 Constraints 

10.3 Constraints
<

&
Adding Constraints /,
1
We want to fix the bottom of the cylinder to simulate sitting on the ground. We also need to
'
add symmetry constraints to the ends of the quarter cylinder so it solves as if it were a com- 5
,&
plete cylinder.
$
/
8

6
1 First we need to rotate the 33
view to facilitate easy node 2
1 5
selection. Choose View -
Rotate from the FEMAP
7
Menu (or use the Ctrl-R or
F8 shortcut keys) and you
will see the View Rotate Dialog Box. There are several pre-defined 3-D views that you can
select from, you may want to experiment and press some of them. Before leaving View
Rotate, press X-Y Top and then OK to dismiss the View Rotate Dialog Box.
2 Select MODEL-CON-
STRAINT. FEMAP
prompts you to create a
constraint set. Type in a
name and press OK.

3 Hold down the shift key

to enable box picking (or
use the Pick Menu) and
carefully select all the
nodes on the left edge of
the model.
4 A) Constrain these nodes
by pressing the X-Sym-
metry button. Press OK.
5 FEMAP prompts you to 4
select more nodes. Again
make a box pick but this
time choose the nodes on
the right edge of the
model. You may need to
re-orient your view to do
this.
6 A) Constrain these by
pressing the Z-Symmetry
button. Press OK.

6
 Cylindrical Support

7 Again FEMAP prompts you for

more nodes. This time we want to
select all the nodes along the bot-
tom edge. You may need to re-ori-
ent the view to make the picking
easier. When you have finished picking press OK.
8 Completely constrain these nodes by press-
ing the Fixed button. Press OK. Since
some of the nodes on the bottom are the
same as those on the side (the corner nodes) 8
FEMAP will ask you if it is OK to over-
write the existing constraints. In this case it
does not matter whether you overwrite or
combine since the constraints you are add-
ing also constrain the DOF you are over-
writing. However, in other cases you may
have to be sure one way or the other.
The model is now ready for modal analysis. Try adding a distributed load on the top of the
model and do a structural analysis.
Pipe Intersections 11

The following example is actually two examples in one. The first will show you how to inter-
sect pipes using surfaces for meshing with plate elements. The second one will make a solid
model for solid elements. These will not be complete examples, no loads or constraints will be
added, and the models are not meant to resemble any actual parts. These examples are mainly
meant to present some new modeling techniques available in FEMAP. To perform this exam-
ple, you will need to have either the ACIS or Parasolid modeling engine active. If you have the
300-Node version, you will not be able to save your model file or change the model after
meshing due to size limitations.

First start FEMAP and create a new model, or if FEMAP is already running, select FILE -
NEW from the menu.

11.1 Surface Intersection

11.1.1 Geometry
In this example we will create a number of intersecting cylindrical surfaces. We will break the
surfaces along their curves of intersection and then mesh the surfaces we need.
Create Surfaces

1 Choose GEOMETRY-CURVE-CIR-
CLE-RADIUS. The coordinate loca-
tion dialog box appears and prompts
you to enter the center of the circle.
Pick a point on the screen and press
OK. The box appears again and
asks you for a location on the circle.
Pick a point about half a unit away
from the first point and press OK.
A circle should be drawn.
 Pipe Intersections

2 Choose GEOMETRY-SUR-
FACE-EXTRUDE. FEMAP
prompts you to select a
curve to extrude. Select
the circle and press OK.

3 FEMAP prompts you for a vector to

extrude along. Enter a base of 0,0,0 and a
tip of 0,0,3 and press OK. This will pro-
duce a cylindrical surface 3 units long in
the z direction. Press cancel to exit the
command.
4 Press the Dynamic Dis-
play button on the toolbar.

1
5 FEMAP displays the
Dynamic Display dialog
box at the bottom of the
screen.

6 To dynamically rotate
your model, move the
cursor inside the graphics
window, and then press
and drag it left to right 2
and up and down. This
will dynamically rotate
the model. By pressing
and holding the Shift key, 3
and pressing and dragging
the mouse up and down, 1
you can scale the view
dynamically. Using the
Ctrl key in combination
with pressing the left mouse button and dragging, you can dynamically pan the view. When
you get the model in an orientation similar to the one shown, press OK or the Return key to
leave Dynamic Display.
7 Choose TOOLS-WORK-
PLANE. Press the select
plane button. The stan-
dard plane definition dia-
log box appears.
 Geometry 

8 First, change the snap

mode to point, by either
A) Pressing the right
mouse button in the
graphics, and then click- A
ing the point option under
Snap To, or B) Using the
toolbar Snap To Point
icon, or C) Using the Ctrl-
P keyboard shortcut. D)
Choose point 1, then 2,
then 3 as shown in the
above diagram. E) Press B
the preview button to be
,3

3
sure the plane is slicing
the cylinder in half. Now (
1

,
press OK. E 7(
5
6(
&
7,
9 Choose VIEW-ALIGN BY- 2
1
WORKPLANE to orient the
view so you are looking
6
directly at the workplane.

10 Set your snap mode back

to screen. Repeat the V1 3.
Y

2.85
GEOMETRY-CURVE-CIR- 2.7

CLE-RADIUS command 2.55

2.4

and put a circle on the 2.25

2.1
workplane somewhere 1.95

inside the boundary of the 1.8

1.65

cylinder as shown. 1.5

1.35

1.2

1.05

0.9

0.75

0.6
Y X
0.45

0.3
Z
0.15
X
0.
 Pipe Intersections

11 Choose GEOMETRY-SUR-
FACE-EXTRUDE. FEMAP
prompts you to select a
curve to extrude. Select
the circle and press OK.

12 FEMAP prompts you for

a vector to extrude along.
A) Press the methods but-
ton and choose normal. B)
Set your snap mode back
to points. C) Pick three D
points on the circle you
are extruding to define a
vector normal to the cir-
cle. D) Change the length
to 1.5 and press OK. Press
cancel to exit the com- A
mand. You should now
have two cylindrical sur-
faces.

Intersect Surfaces

1 Choose GEOMETRY -
CURVE-FROM-SURFACE -
UPDATE SURFACES if it is
not already checked. This
is so that the curves cre-
ated on the surface will
split the surface.
2 Choose GEOMETRY-
CURVE FROM SURFACE-
INTERSECT, select one of
the surfaces and hit OK.
 Geometry 

3 Select the other surface

and press OK. A curve
should be created where
the two surfaces intersect
and the surfaces will be V1

split along this curve. We

now have surfaces we can
mesh to form intersecting
pipes.

,3

3
Y (
1

,
7(
Z
X

5
Create Material and Properties 6(
&
7,
2
1
1 Choose MODEL-MATE- 6
RIAL. You can enter in
values or press the load
button to bring up the
material library.

2 The material library

shipped with FEMAP
contains material proper-
ties using English units
(lb, in, sec). You can cre-
ate your own materials
and store them in this
library or create your own
library. For this example
select a material from this
library and press OK.

3 Press OK in the define material dialog box to create the material. The dialog box stays up and
allows you to create another material. We only need one for this example so press cancel to
exit the command.
  Pipe Intersections

4 Choose MODEL-PROP-
ERTY. A) Name the prop-
erty large pipe. B) Enter a A C
thickness of 0.1. C) Select
material 1 from the drop
down list. D) Press OK to B
create the material. The
dialog box stays up and
allows you to create
another property.

5 A) Name the second prop-

erty small pipe. B) Enter
a thickness of 0.05. C)
Select material 1 from the
A C
drop down list and press
OK to create the material. B
The dialog box stays up
and allows you to create
another property, but we
are done so press cancel
to exit the command.

11.1.2 Materials, Properties and Elements

Meshing the Surfaces

1 Choose MESH-MESH
CONTROL-DEFAULT
SIZE. Enter a size of 0.1
and press OK. This size 1
will give us an adequate
mesh.
2 Choose MESH-GEOME-
TRY-SURFACE. Select the
two large surfaces of the
longer pipe and press OK.
 Materials, Properties and Elements 

3 The automesh surfaces

dialog box appears. A)
Select the Large Pipe
property from the drop
down list and press OK. 3

4 Choose MESH-GEOME-
TRY-SURFACE. Select the ,3

3
two sections of the sur- (
faces of the shorter pipe 1

,
that stick out above the 4 7(
longer pipe and press OK. 5
Select the Small Pipe
6(
property from the drop &
7,
down list and press OK. 2
1
6

Clean up the View

Press Ctrl-Q to bring up the FEMAP Quick View Options Dialog Box. Select Geometry Off,
Labels Off and press Done.
1 A) Press the view style
button on the toolbar and
choose solid. B) Press the
view style button on the
toolbar and choose Ren- A
der. You can now dynami- B
cally rotate the model in
render mode simply by
holding the left mouse
down and dragging it in
the graphics window.

Y
  Pipe Intersections

11.2 Solid Intersection

11.2.1 Geometry
Create Solid
1 First start a new model with the FILE-
NEW command. Choose GEOMETRY-
CURVE CIRCLE-RADIUS. The coordi-
nate location dialog box appears and
prompts you to enter the center of the
circle. Pick a point on the screen and
press OK. The box appears again and
asks you for a location on the circle.
Pick a point about half a unit away
from the first point and press OK. A circle should be drawn. Press cancel to exit the com-
mand.
2 Choose GEOMETRY-
BOUNDARY SURFACE.
Select the circle you just
drew and press OK.

3 Choose GEOMETRY -
SOLID - EXTRUDE. A)
Make it a new solid. B)
The direction should be
A B
positive. C) Make it to a C
depth of 3.

4 Press the Dynamic Dis-

play button on the tool-
bar.(If you switch to
Render mode first, you
4

can dynamically rotate the

model without going into
Dynamic Display - all
other options remain the
same).
5 FEMAP displays the
Dynamic Display dialog
box at the bottom of the
screen.
 Geometry 

6 To dynamically rotate
your model, move the
cursor inside the graph-
ics window, and then
press and drag it left to 2
right and up and down.
This will dynamically
rotate the model. By
pressing and holding 3
the Shift key, and press-
ing and dragging the 1
mouse up and down,
you can scale the view
dynamically. Using the
,3

3
Ctrl key in combination with pressing the left mouse button and dragging, you can dynami-
cally pan the view. When you get the model in an orientation similar to the one shown, press (
1

,
OK or the Return to key to leave Dynamic Display.
7(
7 Choose TOOLS-WORK- 5
PLANE. Press the select 6(
plane button. The stan- &
7,
dard plane definition dia- 2
log box appears. 1
6

8 First, change the snap

mode to point, by either
A) Pressing the right
mouse button in the
graphics, and then click- A
ing the point option under
Snap To, or B) Using the
toolbar Snap To Point
icon, or C) Using the Ctrl-
P keyboard shortcut. D)
Choose point 1, then 2,
then 3 as shown in the
above diagram. E) Press B
the preview button to be
sure the plane is slicing
the cylinder in half. Now
press OK.

E
 Pipe Intersections

9 Choose VIEW-ALIGN BY-

WORKPLANE to orient the
view so you are looking
directly at the workplane.

10 Set your snap mode back

to screen. Repeat the V1 3.
Y

2.85
GEOMETRY-CURVE-CIR- 2.7

CLE-RADIUS command 2.55

2.4

and put a circle on the 2.25

2.1

workplane somewhere 1.95

inside the boundary of the 1.8

1.65

cylinder as shown. 1.5

1.35

1.2

1.05

0.9

0.75

0.6
Y X
0.45

0.3
Z
0.15
X
0.

11 Choose GEOMETRY-
BOUNDARY SURFACE.
Select the circle you just
drew and press OK.

12 Choose GEOMETRY -
SOLID - EXTRUDE. A)
Make it add. B) The direc-
tion should be positive C)
Make it to a depth of 1.5.
B
C
A

13 Choose VIEW - ROTATE

from the FEMAP Menu (or
use the Ctrl-R or F8 short-
cut keys) and you will see 1
the View Rotate Dialog
Box. There are several pre-
defined 3-D views that you can select from. You may want to experiment and press some of
them. Before leaving View Rotate, press Isometric and then OK to dismiss the View Rotate
Dialog Box.
 Geometry 

Removing the inner Material

1 Choose TOOLS-WORK-
PLANE. Press the on sur-
face button. The standard
plane definition dialog
box appears.

2 The Plane Normal to Sur-

face dialog box appears.
A) Select surface A in the
,3

3
diagram below and
choose two points on the (
circle. Align the view to 1

,
the workplane.
V1
7(
5
A 6(
&
7,
2
1
6

Y
B
Z X

3 Choose GEOMETRY-
CURVE-CIRCLE-RADIUS. V1

Change the method to

Center, pick the circle,
and FEMAP will select
the center of the current Y

circle to be the center of

the new circle. Then
change the method back 0.

to Locate, and with the

Snap To on Screen pick a
point inside the circle to Y
X X

give you the proper wall Z

0. 0.15

thickness. Something sim-

ilar to that shown.

4 Choose GEOMETRY-
BOUNDARY SURFACE.
Select the circle you just
drew and press OK.
  Pipe Intersections

5 Choose GEOMETRY -
SOLID - EXTRUDE. A)
Make it remove. B) The
direction should point into
the solid, either positive B C
or negative. Make it both
A
if you cannot tell. C)
Make it to a depth of 1.5.
6 Repeat the above procedure on surface B but when extruding make the length through all.
You should now have a complete solid model of two pipes intersecting
Change the View
1 A) Press the view style
button on the toolbar and
choose solid. B) Press the
view style button on the
toolbar and choose Ren- A
der. B

11.2.2 Meshing the Solid

1 Choose MESH-GEOME-
TRY-SOLIDS.
 Meshing the Solid 

2 The default values

FEMAP calculated for Tet
meshing this model are
fine. Press OK to accept
them. Feel free to experi-
ment with different mesh
sizes to become familiar
with the meshing process.

,3

3
3 Since no material has (
1

,
been created FEMAP
prompts you to make one.
7(
5
You can enter in values or 6(
press the Load button to &
7,
bring up the material
2
library. 1
3 6

4 The material library

shipped with FEMAP
contains material proper-
ties using English units
(lb, ft, sec). You can cre-
ate your own materials
and store them in this
library or create your own
library. For this example
select a material from this
library and press OK.

Note:
Remember, there are no units in FEMAP. All dimensions must be kept consistent with
the unit system you use to define your material properties. Always make sure this is cor-
rect from the beginning because there is no way to correct inconsistencies in units once
the model is built.
5 Press OK in the define material dialog box when the properties have been loaded.
 Pipe Intersections

6 The automesh solids dia-

log box appears. Leave
the values as the defaults
and press OK.
Slotted Guide 12

This example will build a solid model from beginning to end completely in FEMAP. We will
then run the solid mesher and add loads and constraints.
To perform this example, you will need to have either the ACIS or Parasolid modeling engine
active. If you have the 300-Node version, you will not be able to save your model file or
change the model after meshing due to size limitations.

V1

Z
X

First start FEMAP and create a new model, or if FEMAP is already running, select FILE -
NEW from the menu.

12.1 Creating the Geometry

The Base Curves

1 Select GEOMETRY-
CURVE CIRCLE-RADIUS.
Enter a point of 0,0,0 for
the center, press OK.
Enter 50,0,0 for the radius
and press OK.
2 The command allows you to enter another circle. Enter a point of 0,95,0 for the center and
press OK. Enter 25,95,0 for the radius and press OK. Press cancel after both circles are drawn
to exit the command.
 Slotted Guide

3 We need to change the

snap mode to point. Do
this by either A) pressing
the right mouse button in
the graphics window, and A
then clicking the point
option under Snap To, or
B) Using the toolbar Snap
To Point icon, or C) Using
the Ctrl-P keyboard short-
cut.

2 1

Z X

4 Select GEOMETRY-CURVE LINE-PROJECT

POINTS. The standard coordinate location
dialog box is shown. Pick point 1 in the pre-
vious diagram and press OK.
5 FEMAP prompts you for a second point.
Pick point 1 again but before you press OK
subtract 60 from the Y value in the dialog
box.
6 The dialog box stays active. Pick point 2 in
the previous diagram and press OK.

7 FEMAP prompts you for a second point.

Pick point 2 again but before you press OK
subtract 60 from the Y value in the dialog
box.
 Creating the Geometry 

8 We now need to break the

circles so we can fillet the
curves and make this a C
single boundary. D

Y
A
Z X

9 Select MODIFY-BREAK.
Pick circle A from the
previous diagram and
press OK.

10 Select point B as the loca-

tion to break at and press
OK.

11 The command repeats.

Pick circle C in the selec-
/2

6
tion box and press OK.
77
('
12 Select point D as the loca-

*
8
tion to break at and press ,'
OK. Press cancel to exit (
the command.
 Slotted Guide

13 Set your snap mode back

to screen. Choose MOD-
IFY-FILLET. The fillet
curves dialog box is
shown. Pick curves 1 and
4 1
2 from the side shown,
enter a radius of 143 and
press OK.
14 The command repeats. 3 2
Pick curves 3 and 4 from
the side shown and press Y

OK. Press cancel to exit

the command. Z X

15 Select DELETE-GEOME-
TRY-CURVE. Pick the
inside half of the top cir-
cle and press OK. Press
yes to delete the curve.

The Solid
First we must create a boundary from the curves we just created, and then extrude the bound-
ary to form a solid part.
1 Select GEOMETRY-
BOUNDARY SURFACE.
Select the five curves and
press OK.

Z X

2 Choose GEOMETRY-
SOLID-EXTRUDE. Since
there is only one bound-
ary it will be selected A
automatically. Make it A) B C
New solid, B) Negative
and C) To a depth of 10.
 Creating the Geometry 

The Slot at the Top

1 Select GEOMETRY-
CURVE CIRCLE-RADIUS.
Enter the point 0,95,0 for
the center and 11,95,0 for
a location on the circle.

2 The command repeats.

This time enter the point
0,50,0 for the center and
11,50,0 for a location on
the circle. Press cancel
when done to exit the
command.

3 Select GEOMETRY-
CURVE LINE-POINTS.
Pick points 1 and 2 and
press OK. 3 1
4 Pick points 3 and 4 and
press OK. Press cancel to
exit the command.
/2

6
77
Y
4 2 ('

*
Z X
8
,'
(

5 Set your snap mode to

points. Select MODIFY-
BREAK. Pick the lower
circle and break it at point
4. Pick the upper circle
and break it at point 3.

6 Select DELETE-GEOME-
TRY-CURVE. Pick the two
inside halves of the circles
and press OK. Press Yes
to delete them.
 Slotted Guide

7 Select GEOMETRY- 1

BOUNDARY SURFACE.
Select the four curves that
make up the slot and press
OK.

Z X

8 Choose GEOMETRY-
SOLID-EXTRUDE. A)
Press the boundary but-
ton and pick the bound-
ary you just created. Make C A
it B) remove-hole C) neg- B D
ative and D) through all.
The Five Bolt Holes

1 Select GEOMETRY-CURVE CIRCLE-RADIUS. Enter a point of -38,0,0 for the center and -
38,5,0 for a point on the circle.
2 Select GEOMETRY-BOUNDARY SURFACE. Select the circle and press OK.
3 Choose GEOMETRY-
SOLID-EXTRUDE. A)
Press the boundary but-
ton and pick the bound- E
ary you just created. Make C A
it B) Remove-hole C) B D
Negative and D) Through
all. E) Press the pattern
button.
4 A) Make the pattern radial with B) a center of 0,0 make 5 cop-
ies and through a total angle of 180. The angle is considered
positive counter-clockwise around the workplane normal.
That is why we made the hole in the negative X. Press OK in
both dialog boxes to make the holes. A
B
 Creating the Geometry 

The Guide Boss

1 Select GEOMETRY-CURVE CIRCLE-RADIUS. Enter points of 0,0,0 and 25,0,0 for the first
circle and 0,0,0 and 16,0,0 for the second circle.
2 Select GEOMETRY- V1

BOUNDARY SURFACE. G3

Select the two circles and

press OK.

Z X

3 Choose GEOMETRY-
SOLID-EXTRUDE. A)
Press the boundary but-
ton and pick the bound- C D
ary you just created. Make B A
it B) Add-protrusion C)
Positive and D) To a
depth of 50. /2

6
Slot in Guide Boss 77
('

*
1 We want to put our work- 8
1
,'
plane at the top of the
guide boss so we can
(
build the slot. First,
change the snap mode to
point. 1

2 3

Z X
 Slotted Guide

2 Select TOOLS-WORK-
PLANE. Press the On Sur-
face button. Pick surface
1, and points 2 and 3 as
shown in the above dia-
gram and press OK.

3 Select GEOMETRY-
CURVE LINE-POINTS.
Select points 2 and 3 in
the diagram and press
OK.
4 Select GEOMETRY-CURVE LINE-PARAL-
LEL. Select the curve you just drew and
enter an offset of 3.5. Press OK. Pick a
point to one side of the curve and press OK.
The command repeats. Select the same
curve, use the same offset but this time pick
a point on the other side. Press OK and
then cancel to exit the command.
5 We want to use the two offset lines we created to
form a rectangle. Select GEOMETRY-CURVE
LINE-POINTS. Select an end point of each line on
one side to draw one line and an end point of each line on the other side to draw the other line.
6 Select GEOMETRY-
BOUNDARY SURFACE. V1

Select the four curves of

the rectangle and press
OK.

X
Z
 Loads and Constraints 

7 Choose GEOMETRY-
SOLID-EXTRUDE. A)
Press the boundary but-
ton and pick the bound-
C D
ary you just created. Make A
it B) Remove-hole C) B
Negative and D) To a
depth of 12.

Z
X

12.2 Loads and Constraints

Add Constraints to Geometry
/2

6
77
1 Select MODEL-CON- ('
STRAINT-ON SURFACE.

*
FEMAP prompts you to 8
create a constraint set. ,'
Type a name and press (
OK.
2 Select the half cylinder at
the top of the slot and
press OK. Fix this sur-
face.

Add Loads to Geometry

1 We want to simulate a load resulting from twisting a rod inserted into the guide boss. Select
MODEL-LOAD-ON SURFACE. Name the load set and press OK. Select two surfaces, one on
each side of the guide boss slot, facing in opposite directions.
  Slotted Guide

2 A) Make the load type

pressure and B) Give it a
value of 100. Press OK.
Press cancel to exit the
command.

A B

Z
X

12.3 Meshing the Solid

1 Choose MESH-GEOME-
TRY-SOLIDS.

2 The default values for solid meshing determined by FEMAP are

usually adequate to produce a good tetrahedral mesh. However,
as you gain experience with the solid mesher you may find that
a slightly larger element size will still give you a good mesh but
greatly reduce the number of elements. On the other hand some
parts may need a smaller element size to produce a good mesh
in certain areas. Also keep in mind that you can specify mesh
spacing and mesh hard points on all curves and surfaces individ-
ually. This is often the best way to get the best mesh although it
does take more time and careful planning.
 Meshing the Solid 

3 Since no material has

been created FEMAP
prompts you to make one.
You can enter in values or
press the Load button to
bring up the material
library.
3

4 The material library

shipped with FEMAP
contains material proper-
ties using English units
(lb, in, sec). You can cre-
ate your own materials
and store them in this
library or create your own
library. If you use a
FEMAP material for
this example your
results will be wrong.
The geometry was cre- 4
ated in millimeters.
However if you have no
metric materials available
/2

6
you may use a FEMAP
material to complete the 77
problem as long as you ('
remember any solution

*
will be wrong. 8
,'
(
Note:
Remember, there are no units in FEMAP. All dimensions must be kept consistent with
the unit system you use to define your material properties. Always make sure this is cor-
rect from the beginning because it is extremely difficult to correct inconsistencies in
units once the model has been built.
5 Press OK in the define
material dialog box when
the properties have been
loaded.
 Slotted Guide

6 The automesh solids dia-

log box appears. Leave
the values as the defaults
and press OK.

V1
L1
C1

Z
X

The model is now ready for analysis.

Connecting Rod 13

This example will demonstrate some of FEMAP’s solid modeling capabilities. We will start
by reading in a neutral file that contains the base curves we will use to build the solid. These
curves were created in FEMAP and you could build this model from scratch in FEMAP, but to
save time and get right to the solid modeling we have provided the curves for you. First start
FEMAP and create a new model, or if FEMAP is already running, select FILE - NEW from the
menu.

13.1 Creating the Geometry

Reading the Neutral File

1 Choose FILE-IMPORT-
FEMAP NEUTRAL. The
Windows File Open Com-
mon Dialog Box appears.
Navigate to the \Examples
directory and A) select the
ConRod.neu file and B)
press open.
2 Press OK to accept the
default values in the neu-
tral file read options dia-
log box.
  Connecting Rod

Creating the Solid

The geometry you read in from the neutral file contains all the existing curves and boundaries
you will need to form the solid model. As I said before, this geometry was all created in
FEMAP and is not hard to duplicate but those commands are covered in other examples.

4
5
2
1
3
6
Z

Y 7
X

Extruding the Beam

1 Choose GEOMETRY -
SOLID - EXTRUDE. A)
Press the boundary but-
ton and select boundary 1.
B) This should be a new B C D
solid, in the C) Positive A
direction and D) To a
depth of 0.5. Check these
values and press OK.
2 Choose GEOMETRY -
SOLID - SLICE. Pick the
solid just created and
press OK.
 Creating the Geometry 

3 Now you need to specify

a cutting plane. The stan-
dard plane definition dia-
log box appears. First,
change the snap mode to A
point, by either A) Press-
ing the right mouse button
in the graphics, and then
clicking the point option
under Snap To, or B)
Using the toolbar Snap To
Point icon, or C) Using
the Ctrl-P keyboard short-
B
cut. In the Plane Defini-
tion dilaog box make the
methods locate. D)
Choose points at locations
E
1, 2, & 3 (not necessarily
points 1, 2, and 3) as E
shown in the diagram. E)
In the dialog box subtract
0.05 from the Z values of 3
the first two points and
0.1 from Z value of the
6
third point. Press OK
when done. 2
1
5
Z
4
Y

4 Repeat the above proce-

dure to slice the other
side. A) pick the large
C
section of the split solid.
B) pick pointsat locations C
4, 5, & 6 as shown above.
C) add 0.05, 0.05 & 0.1 to
2
&

the Z values of the picked 1

1
points. (&
5 Choose DELETE - GEOM- 7,
ETRY - SOLID. Select the 1
two slivers on the top and *
2
5

bottom of the beam and

press OK. '

We want to turn this part of our solid into something more like an I-beam instead of a block.
To do this we will remove material by extruding boundaries into the top and bottom of the
beam.
 Connecting Rod

Remove Material from the Beam

1 Choose GEOMETRY - SOLID -

EXTRUDE. A) Press the bound-
ary button and select boundary 2,
B) Check the remove material C D
box, C) Make the direction nega- A
tive and check the vector on the B
model to be sure it is pointing
from the boundary towards the beam, D) Make the length to a depth of 0.175.
2 We now need to do this on the
other side. Choose GEOMETRY -
SOLID - EXTRUDE. A) Press the
boundary button and select bound- C D
ary 3, B) Check the remove mate- A
rial box, C) Make the direction
B
positive and check the vector on
the model to be sure it is pointing from the boundary towards the beam, D) Make the length to
a depth of 0.175.

Forming the Small End of the Rod

1 Choose GEOMETRY - SOLID -

EXTRUDE. A) Press the bound-
ary button and select boundary 5,
the larger of the two small cir- C D
cles. B) Add material. C) The B A
direction should be positive but
check the arrow to make sure it
points in the direction of the beam. D) Make it to a depth of 0.5.
2 Choose GEOMETRY - SOLID -
EXTRUDE. A) Press the bound-
ary button and select boundary 4,
the smaller of the two small cir- C
cles. B) Remove material. C) A
B D
The direction should be positive
but check the arrow to make sure
it points in the direction of the beam. D) Make it through all.
 Creating the Geometry 

Forming the Big End of the Rod

1 Choose GEOMETRY - SOLID -

EXTRUDE. A) Press the boundary
button and select boundary 6, the
larger of the two large circles. B) C
D
Add material. C) The direction B A
should be positive but check the
arrow to make sure it points in the
direction of the beam. D) Make it to a depth of 0.5.
2 Choose GEOMETRY - SOLID -
EXTRUDE. A) Press the boundary
button and select boundary 7, the
smaller of the two large circles. C
B) Remove material. C) The A
direction should be positive but
B D
check the arrow to make sure it
points in the direction of the beam. D) Make it through all.
3 Choose GEOMETRY -
SOLID - SLICE. Select the
solid and press OK.

2
Z

2
&

1
1
(&
7,
1
*
2
5

'
 Connecting Rod

4 The standard plane loca-

tion box now appears
prompting you for a cut-
ting plane. First, change
the snap mode to point, by A
either A) Pressing the
right mouse button in the
graphics, and then click-
ing the point option under
Snap To, or B) Using the
toolbar Snap To Point
icon, or C) Using the Ctrl-
P keyboard shortcut. D) B
Choose point 1, then 2,
then 1 again as shown in
the above diagram.
Before pressing OK, E)
Add 1 to the Z value of E
Point 2 in the plane loca-
tion dialog box as shown
below. Now press OK.
The big end of the rod
should be split in two.
Press OK to continue.
5 Choose DELETE - GEOMETRY - SOLID. Select the disconnected half of the big end and press
OK.
View as Solid

1 A) Press the view style

button on the toolbar and
1

choose Rendered Solid.

A
 Loads and Constraints 

13.2 Loads and Constraints

Prepare the Small End for Load on Surface
We only want to load the bottom half of the small end of the rod, but currently it is split side to
side. We will update the surfaces with a parametric curve at the midpoint of these two sur-
faces to split the inside of the small end into quarters. This will allow us to put a load on the
two quarters of the bottom part of the small end.

1 Choose GEOMETRY -
CURVE-FROM-SURFACE -
UPDATE SURFACES if it is 1
not already checked. This
is so that the curves cre-
ated on the surface will
split the surface.
2 Choose GEOMETRY -
CURVE-FROM-SURFACE -
PARAMETRIC CURVE.
Select one of the inner
surfaces of the small end
and press OK.
2
&

1
1
(&
7,
1
Y Z
*
X

2
5

'
  Connecting Rod

3 In the coordinate location

dialog box press the meth-
ods button and choose
midpoint. Select one of
the arcs of the surface you
picked in step 2 and press
OK.

4 FEMAP prompts you for a parametric curve direction. You can

use the surface lines to determine the proper direction. By default
FEMAP draws 3 divisions in the U direction and 4 in the V direc-
tion. So in this case select the U direction and press OK.

5 Repeat steps 2, 3 & 4 on the other surface of the small end.

Adding Loads on Geometry

We will add a slightly angled force on the lower half of the small end to simulate the piston
pushing down on the rod.
1 Choose MODEL-LOAD-
ON SURFACE, FEMAP
prompts you to select a
load set or create a new
one. Type in a title and
press OK.

2 FEMAP now asks you to

select the surfaces to
apply the load. Select the
two quarter surfaces of
the small end that are near
the beam portion of the
rod and press OK.
 Loads and Constraints 

3 FEMAP displays the

Load on Surfaces dialog
box. A) Select force/area
as the load type. B) Enter
a value of 787 in the x A
direction and 138 in the y
direction and C) Press
OK. This corresponds to
a force/area of 800 at an
angle of 10 degrees with B
the X-axis.

Adding Constraints on Geometry

1 Choose MODEL-CON-
STRAINT-ON SURFACE.
FEMAP prompts you to
select a constraint set or
create a new one. Type in
a name and press OK.

2 FEMAP prompts you to

select surfaces. Select the
two surfaces on the inside
of the big end and press
OK.

3 Constraints on surfaces
are always relative to the
global coordinate system
and can only be fixed,
2
&

pinned or have no rota- 1

1
tions. Make these sur-
faces fixed. Press OK to
(&
7,
create the constraints,
1
press cancel to end the *
command.
2
5

'
  Connecting Rod

13.3 Meshing the Solid

1 Choose MESH-GEOME-
TRY-SOLIDS.

2 The default values

FEMAP calculated for
this model are fine. Press
OK to accept them. Feel
free to experiment with
different mesh sizes to
become familiar with the
meshing process.

3 Since no material has

been created FEMAP
prompts you to make one.
You can enter in values or
press the Load button to
bring up the material
library.
3

4 The material library

shipped with FEMAP
contains material proper-
ties using English units
(lb, in, sec). You can cre-
ate your own materials
and store them in this
library or create your own
library. For this example
select a material from this
library and press OK.

4
 Meshing the Solid 

Note:
Remember, there are no units in FEMAP. All dimensions must be kept consistent with
the unit system you use to define your material properties.
5 Press OK in the define
material dialog box when
the properties have been
loaded.
6 The automesh solids dia-
log box appears. Leave
the values as the defaults
and press OK.

When the meshing completes the model will be ready for analysis.

X
Z
Y

2
&

1
1
(&
7,
1
*
2
5

'
 Connecting Rod
Midsurface 14

To perform this example, you must have FEMAP Professional with Parasolid active. Further-
more, you will not be able to complete this example with the 300-Node Demo version.

14.1 Introduction
The purpose of this example is to demonstrate new semi-automatic midsurface extraction
capabilities included with FEMAP 6. Existing geometry will be imported into FEMAP using
our new STEP interface. The model will then be midsurfaced. There is a small amount of
cleanup that must be performed in order to attain the true idealized model of the electrical box.
The Midsurfaced box will be meshed and boundary conditions applied. The model will then
be analyzed and finally post-processed. Elemental contouring (“Smart Results”) will also be
featured in the post-processing.
Importing the Geometry into FEMAP
1 Choose the File/Import/
Geometry command.

Open the Examples folder

in the FEMAP 6 directory.

Choose the STEP file

named mp.STP and Click
OK.
2 When the Solid Model
Read Options dialog box
appear, make certain

A.) the Geometry Scale

Factor is set to 1,

B) then Click OK.

A

B
  Midsurface

3 When the geometry is

imported the view needs
to be rotated to get a bet-
ter look at the part. 3
Choose View - Rotate
(F8) and click Dimetric,
and then OK.

14.2 Creating the Midsurface Model.

1 Choose the Geometry -
Midsurface - Automatic
command. Click Select
1
All in the dialog box to
choose all the surfaces in
the model and hit OK
2 The Mid Surface Toler-
ance Thickness must be
entered. For this example
enter 0.125

Note:
The target thickness is used to determine which surfaces to place a midsurface between.The
target thickness should be slightly larger than the largest distance between the planes on the
solids which the user wants midsurfaced. If the target thickness is too low, then all of the
desired midsurfaces will not be created. If the target thickness is too high, however, then some
unwanted midsurfaces will be created between the wrong surfaces.

Hint:
An easy way to determine a suitable target thickness is to use the Ctrl-D command while the
Mid-Surface Tolerance dialog box is on the screen. The Ctrl-D command is used to determine
a distance any time a field is highlighted in a dialog box. A dialog box will appear and ask to
define a location to measure from and then a location to measure to. When the Ctrl-D com-
mand is used when the Mid-surface Tolerance dialog box is on screen it will automatically
make the target thickness slightly larger.

Note:
By choosing the Geometry - Midsurface - Automatic command FEMAP is actually going
through three commands: (1) Geometry - Midsurface - Generate, (2) Geometry - Midsur-
face - Intersect, and (3) Geometry - Midsurface - Cleanup commands in that order. If the
Automatic midsurfacing command has removed any necessary midsurfaces, then you may
want to go through the Midsurfacing commands one at a time, which will enable you to pick
 Creating the Midsurface Model. 

and choose which surfaces should be kept. The Geometry - Midsurface - Cleanup command
provides an easy way to remove all of the unnecessary midsurfaces manually by placing all of
the surfaces it would have deleted onto a separate layer.

,'

0
The Next step is
to delete the 68
original solid. 5
Select the )$
Delete - Geom- &
etry - Solid ,1
command, *
choose Solid 1
(the original geometry) and Click OK.

Note:
Sometimes you may want to keep the original solid for future reference. The original solid and
the midsurfaces could be placed on separate layers or the midsurfaces could be placed in a
group. See the Commands manual for more information on how to use groups and layers.
Click the View Style button (This button appears in the top toolbar. It is the
solid cube with a shaded face) and select Render mode. Click the View

A
Style button again and select Solid mode.
The midsurface geometry should look like this:
 Midsurface

Use the dynamic rotation, accessed by simply clicking and holding the left mouse button while
dragging the mouse to rotate and more carefully examine the model. If you look carefully, this
geometry still requires some additional manual work using one of the other midsurface com-
mands.

The upper portion of the ribs of the box must be deleted in order to create a more accurate
midsurface model. FEMAP offers a specific command which enables a curve to be used to
trim a surface, Geometry - MidSurface - Trim with Curve. In the figure below, we would like
to remove the unwanted section A). This can be accomplished by simply trimming surface B)
with curve C). The specific steps are shown below.

B
 Creating the Midsurface Model. 

3 Choose the Geometry -

Midsurface - Trim with
,'

0
Curve command. You
will be prompted to 1 68
(1) Select the surface: 5
Select one of the eight rib )$
&
surfaces (A above) that ,1
have the “undesired por- 2 *
tion”.
(2) Select the Trimming
entity: Pick the Curve (C
above) to cut the surface.
4 Click OK. Repeat the
operation for the other
seven surfaces until all
eight surfaces have been
trimmed. After all the sur-
faces have been trimmed
click Cancel.

5 Select the Delete- Geom-

etry - Surface Command.
Select the new surfaces
that have been created on
the top portion each rib
and delete them,

Note:
The geometry must be intersected again in order for the newly created surfaces to be com-
pletely intersected. This causes a point to be placed at the pointed tip of the rib, which facili-
tates the mesh to be continuous in these areas.

6 Choose the Geometry -

Midsurface - Intersect
Command. Push the
Select All button and hit
OK.
  Midsurface

The Geometry should look like this:

14.3 Meshing the Model

Note:
The first step before attempting to mesh a midsurfaced model is to assign the mesh attributes
for the different surfaces. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. If the correct attributes are not
assigned then the results will not be correct.

1 To automatically assign
mesh attributes to a model
that has been midsur-
faced, use Geometry -
Midsurface - Assign
Mesh Attributes.
 Meshing the Model 

2 Select All, hit OK, and

choose a “dummy” mate-
rial. It can be changed
later by using the Modify/ ,'

0
Edit/Property for the 68
individual properties.
5
Click OK. FEMAP then )$
creates a different prop- &
erty for each surface. ,1
*

Note:
If any midsurfaces are manually created using commands such as Geometry - Surface - Off-
set or Geometry - Surface - Extrude, THESE SURFACES DO NOT HAVE MESH
ATTRIBUTES, THEY MUST BE ASSIGNED MANUALLY BY CREATING PROPER-
TIES OR ASSIGNING EXISTING PROPERTIES WHICH USE THE CORRECT
THICKNESS.

3 Choose the Mesh - Mesh

Control - Size on Sur-
face Command.

Push the Select All button.

Click OK.

Use the defaults in the

Automatic Mesh Sizing
dialog box.

Note:
If the hex meshing button is selected in the Automatic Mesh Sizing dialog box, FEMAP will
display error messages while trying to set the mesh size on these "solids". These errors will not
have an effect on a midsurface model that contains only surfaces that are to be meshed with
plates. As long as there are no actual solids these error messages can be ignored.
 Midsurface

4 Choose the Mesh -

Geometry - Surface
Command. Push the
Select All button.

5 Click OK.
Notice the Property has
already been selected as
0.Use Meshing Attributes
(A). This was assigned A
because of the Geometry
-Midsurface - Assign
Mesh Attributes Com- B
mand. Make sure the
Quads (B) option is
selected.

Use the View Regenerate (or Ctrl+G) to regenerate the view. The display should look the fig-
ure below.i
 Applying Loads and Constraints 

14.4 Applying Loads and Constraints

The Model is now ready to have Loads and Constraints applied.

,'

0
1 Use the Model - Load -
68
5
Set Command. Name the )$
Load Set Pressure.
&
Click OK. ,1
*

2 Choose the Model-Load-

On Surface Command.
Select Surface 185.
Click OK.

3 Choose (A) Pressure and

enter a value of –1.
Click OK.
Click Cancel.

4 Regenerate the Model

using Ctrl-G or the View
- Regenerate Command.

Choose the Model - Con-

straint - Set Command.
Name the Constraint Set
Pinned.
Click OK.
  Midsurface

5 Choose the Model - Con-

straint - On Curve Com-
mand. Select the eight
curves that comprise the
four holes located on the
base of the box. There is
one hole in each corner.
Click OK.
6 Select the button marked
Pinned - No Translation
(A).
Click OK.
Click Cancel.

Note:
If you would like to see exactly on which nodes the Loads and Constraints are applied, simply
use the Model - Load - Expand and the Model - Constraint - Expand Command to expand the
loads and constraints, respectively to the nodes and elements.
The model is now ready to be sent to a solver. Export an Analysis Model and perform a linear
static analysis with an available solver. We used NASTRAN to solve this example. If you do
not have a solver we have included in the example directory a finished model along with a set
of results, open the finished model mpdone.mod and then import the NASTRAN mp.op2
results file and continue on to postprocessing.

14.5 Post-Processing
Import the Analysis Results. (For those
who did not use a solver, import the
mp.op2 file included in the /examples
subdirectory). To facilitate the viewing
of results the Geometry and any Analy-
sis Entities can be turned off. Press C
Ctrl-Q to bring up the Quick Options
dialog box. This can Quick Options
dialog box can also be reached by
pressing the F6 key or using the View -
Options Command and then pushing
the Quick Options button, or by press- A
ing the button with a square with an X
through it on the top toolbar. D
B
 Post-Processing 

Hit (A) All Entities Off, (B) Labels Off and the (C) Element. Press Done (D) and now only the
elements are visible.

,'

0
1 Press the right mouse but-
ton anywhere inside the
68
5
modeling area and a menu )$
will come up. Choose &
Workplane. When the 1 ,1
Workplane dialog box *
appears click the box next
Draw Workplane (1) and
Click Done
2 Now the Yellow Work-
plane is no longer visible.
To view the results choose
the View - Select com-
mand, or press the F5 key,
or pick on the View Select
button in the top toolbar
(The View Select button
has three rectangles fol-
lowed by horizontal
lines). 2
The View Select dialog
box will appear.
3 Press on Deformed and
Contour Data (2 above).
Make certain
(A) 1..Total Translation
is selected as the Defor-
mation Output Vector
and

(B) 7026..Plate Top

MajorPrn Stress
as the Contour Output
Vector.
A
Click OK. Click OK B
again.

The model should look like the figure on the following page.
 Midsurface

Click the left mouse button inside the modeling area and drag it on the screen. As long as the
model is in Render Mode the model will Dynamically rotate and the different faces of the
plate elements can be viewed.
The back of the model looks like this:
 Post-Processing 

The contour for Top MajorPrn Stress is can be shown on both faces of the plate element

4 To view the results choose the View - Select command, or press the F5 key, or pick on the
View Select button in the top toolbar. The View Select dialog box will appear.
,'

0
As Before, Press on
68
5
5
Deformed and Contour )$
Data. Make sure 1..Total &
Translation is selected as ,1
the Deformation Output *
Vector and 7026..Plate
Top MajorPrn Stress as
the Contour Output Vec-
tor.

6 A) Click Contour Options

B) Click the radio button
marked Elemental
C), then click box marked
Double-Sided Planar A
Contours
D), Make sure Average
and Use Corner Data are
selected under Data Con-
version.
Click OK, 3 Times.

D
B
D

Hint:
The Contour Options can also be accessed on the Commands
Postprocessing Toolbar under Post Options. This provides much
quicker access to these commands Contour options instead of
going through View Select, Deformed and Contour Data, Con-
tour Options (or even Post Data, Contour Options).
 Midsurface

The model should now look like this; the contour shown is for Bot MajorPrn Stress

Click the left mouse button inside the modeling area to use the Dynamic Rotate feature again.
Remember; as long as the model is in Render Mode the model will Dynamically rotate.
Because Plate Top MajorPrn Stress has been chosen as the output vector, FEMAP will auto-
matically choose Bot MajorPrn Stress to use as the output vector on the other side of the plate
elements as the default. The backside of the model has a contour of the Top MajorPrn Stress,
as shown below.
 Post-Processing 

7 The Double-Sided results

can be viewed better by
,'

0
showing the element
thicknesses. Press the F6 68
key or use the View/ 5
Options command. )$
&
Choose Element – Orien- ,1
tation/Shape and then *
select 1..Show Fiber

8 Click the button next to

Tools and View Style.
Choose Filled Edges.
Click the box next to
Draw Entity
Click OK.
 Midsurface

The stress is now shown through the thickness of the plate elements:
Hex Meshing Overview 15

This example requires FEMAP Parasolid modeler to complete. If you have the 300-Node ver-
sion you will not be able to save or export the model.

15.1 Introduction
This is an example of how solids can be subdivided to facilitate hex meshing in FEMAP. It
assumes you are familiar with FEMAP and do not need step by step instructions for all com-
mands. It is intended to give you one method of approaching the problem of hex meshing solid
models, and demonstrates only a few of the commands that can be used to hex mesh in
FEMAP. For more descriptions and methods refer to the Commands manual and the User
Guide.

15.2 Importing the Geometry

1 Select FILE - IMPORT - GEOMETRY from the FEMAP menu.

2 FEMAP displays the standard Win-
dows File Open Dialog Box.
Maneuver to the /examples subdi-
rectory and A.) select the
Ch15hexmesh.x_t file, and B.) Press A
Open.

3 The FEMAP Solid Model Read Options Dialog Box is

displayed, providing several options for how to treat
the incoming data. Set the Geometry Scale Factor to
39.37 and press OK.
  Hex Meshing Overview

4 A) Press the view style

button on the toolbar and
choose Rendered Solid.

5 Left click and drag in the

graphics window to
dynamically rotate the
model.

15.3 Subdividing the Solid

1 We first want to slice

the solid with three
planes. Use the Geom- 1
2
etry Solid Slice com-
mand three times. Be
sure to select all the
solids each time. Using
whatever method you 3
please, slice the solid
along the planes of the 2
curves pointed to by
1,2 and 3
3
1
 Subdividing the Solid 

2 You should end up with

seven separate solids.
The picture is an
exploded view to
clearly show the sepa-
rate solids. Your view
will still look like the
previous one.

(;

+
3 The square in the cen-
ter is not a hex-mesh-

2
9
(5
able solid. We have A
learned from experi- 9
B ,(
ence that a good way to :
subdivide this part is to
cut it into sixths (A),
and then add pieces
back together to form
three six sided vol-
umes(B) that are easily
hex meshed.
4 Keep in mind that you
need to have surface
meshes that match. The
easiest way to ensure
this on this model is to
also slice the radiused
solids. Try to produce
the 12 distinct solids at
right. The picture is an
exploded view to
clearly show the sepa-
rate solids.
  Hex Meshing Overview

15.4 Preparing for Meshing

1 Select Mesh - Mesh

Control - Size on
Solid and select all the
solids. In the Auto- 1
matic Mesh Sizing dia-
log box choose Hex
Meshing and set the
2
Min Elements on Edge
to 4. The rest of the
defaults are fine so
press OK.

2 The sizes are set and

colors are updated to
show which solids are
hex-meshable and
which surfaces have
been linked.
 Meshing 

15.5 Meshing

1 Select Mesh Geometry

Hex Mesh Solids and
select all the solids.
2 Since no material has
been created FEMAP
prompts you to make one.
You can enter in values or
press the Load button to 3
bring up the material
library.

(;

+
3 The material library
shipped with FEMAP

2
contains material proper- 9
(5
ties using English units
(lb, ft, sec). You can cre- 9
ate your own materials ,(
and store them in this :
library or create your own
library. For this example
select a material from this
library and press OK.

Note:
Remember, there are no units in FEMAP. All dimensions must be kept consistent with
the unit system you use to define your material properties. Always make sure this is cor-
rect from the beginning because it is extremely difficult to correct inconsistencies in
units once the model is built.
4 Press OK in the define material dialog box when the properties have been loaded.
5 The Hex Mesh Solids dia-
log box appears. Leave
the values as the defaults
and press OK.
 Hex Meshing Overview

Finished mesh with all entities but elements turned off.

Notice that one of the surfaces of the square with the sphere cut out has not meshed well. The
reason is that there is a pole on that surface. You could delete all nodes and elements and try to
fix that surface and mesh again. We have done it using explode, deleting that surface, making
a new one from edge curves, and stitch. Remember to re-run the size on solid command to
ensure surface linking.
Hex Meshing 16

This example requires FEMAP Parasolid modeler to complete. If you have the 300-Node ver-
sion you will not be able to save or export the model.

16.1 Importing the Geometry

1 Select FILE - IMPORT - GEOMETRY from the FEMAP menu.

2 FEMAP displays the stan-
dard Windows File Open
Dialog Box. Maneuver to
the /examples subdirec-
tory and
A
A.) Select the
Ch16hexmesh.x_t file,
B
B.) Press Open.

3 The FEMAP Solid Model

Read Options Dialog Box
is displayed, providing
several options for how to
treat the incoming data.
Set the Geometry Scale
Factor to 39.37 and press
OK.

A) Press the view style

button on the toolbar and
choose solid.
A
B) Press the view style
button on the toolbar and B
choose Render.
  Hex Meshing

Left click and drag in the

graphics window to
dynamically rotate the
model.

16.2 Subdividing the Solid

1 We want to subdivide this

solid into the ten indepen-
dent solids shown here.
The solids are shown
exploded for viewing
only.

2 Start with Geometry -

Solid - Embed Face, pick
surface A. Repeat this
command for surfaces B
and C. A

B C
 Meshing 

3 Now use Geometry-

Solid-Extrude and press
the surface button (A) and
pick surface A above.
Change the direction to
negative (B) and enter a B C
depth of 10 (C). A

4 Next pick Geometry-

Solid-Embed. Pick the
solid with the tube as the
base solid at (A), and the
one you just created at (B) A
as the one to embed.
B

(;

+
5 You now need to make
two slices. Slice the tube

0
off at the top of the radius (+
(C), and slice the three 1 6,
1
solids (1,2,3) near the
tube in half. Refer to the C *
exploded diagram if you 2
have difficulty visualiz-
ing the individual solids. 3

16.3 Meshing
We will begin setting up a hex mesh using the default approaches and let FEMAP set up the
mesh automatically. You will find that the defaults provide a good hex mesh but we will mesh
the solid again using some of the more advanced options to obtain a mapped mesh.
  Hex Meshing

16.3.1 Free Meshing

1 Use Mesh-Mesh Con-
trol-Size On Solid, select
all solids and
A
(A) Turn on Size for Hex
Meshing, and

(B) Enter a Min Elements

on Edge of 2. B

This command will also

link all the shared sur-
faces to ensure a consis-
tent mesh.

2 Use the Mesh-Geometry-

Hexmesh Solids com-
mand and select all the
solids to hex mesh. If you
have properly set mesh
sizes and linked surfaces,
the hex mesh should run
automatically.
 Mapped Meshing 

As you can see on the previous page, FEMAP has produced a mesh with good hexahedral ele-
ments except for some hexes and wedges shown bellow.

By defining special Approaches on the geometric surfaces in question we can achieve a better
mesh.

16.3.2 Mapped Meshing

Brick meshing inherently requires the mesh to be propagated throughout the solid geometry.
Therefore if the surfaces are mixed meshed with triangles and quads then the final hex mesh
(;

+
will include bricks and wedges. The default free mesher will always use a combination of tri-
angles and quads on any surface that is not a simple 4 sided region. To force FEMAP to map

0
mesh surfaces that are not 4 sided we will use the Mesh-Mesh Control-Approach on Sur-
face command.
(+
6,
1
*
We must first delete the existing mesh using Delete-Model-Mesh and Select All to delete the
entire mesh.

1 To force FEMAP to pro-

vide a mapped mesh on
surfaces we will need to
set up approaches on the
surfaces that we want
mapped.

2
 Hex Meshing

2 Use Mesh-Mesh Con-

trol-Approach on Sur-
face

FEMAP will ask you to

B
pick the surface you wish
to put a approach on.
Choose surface 1 on the
previous page.
A

When the Surface

Approach dialog box
comes up select A.)
Mapped - Four Corner

3 Since this surfaces has

more than 4 corners you
must specify which cor- 1
ners you want FEMAP to
map between. 2 2
1
B.) Choose the corners as
3
shown for the first surface
and say OK. The com- 3
mand will auto repeat
allowing you to choose
4
surface 2 on the previous
page and select the four 4
corners from the diagram
to the right.

Now we will set up sur-

faces 3 and 4 for mapped
meshing. Use Mesh-
Mesh Control-Approach
on Surface again. 4
FEMAP will ask you to
chose the surface to set
the approach on
Select surface 3 and 4 3
from the diagram to the
right.
 Mapped Meshing 

After selecting the sur-

faces choose the Mapped
Four Corner approach
and select the four points
as shown to the right.
Then say OK. 3 4
2
1

4 Mesh all of the solids

using Mesh-Mesh Con-
trol-Size On Solid, select
all solids and A
(A) Turn on Size for Hex
Meshing, and

(B) Enter a Min Elements B

on Edge of 3.
5
Select Mesh-Geomerty-
(;

+
Hexmesh Solids and
select all of the solids to

0
hex mesh. (+
By applying approaches on surfaces of the model the quality of the mesh can be greatly 6,
1
improved. *