Controlling the import of element attributes

During import of an Abaqus simulation, you can select to import the following as either physical property tables or mesh-associated data:

• Beam (B31), spring (SPRING2), and rigid link (Kinematic Coupling) elements

• The orientation of B31 elements

You use the check boxes in the Advanced Options group of the Import Simulation dialog box to control the import.

• Physical Property TableIf you select the Physical Property Table check box, the software creates a physical property table to define the B31, SPRING2, and Kinematic Coupling element attributes. If you clear the selection, the software defines the element attributes using mesh-associated data. A mesh collector exists for each element.

• OrientationIf you select the Orientation check box, the software defines the orientation of B31 elements as element-associated data.If you clear the selection, the software defines the orientation using mesh-associated data. A mesh collector exists for each element.

When you select the check boxes, the software imports the elements into one mesh with their physical property table definitions. If you clear the check boxes, the software imports and groups elements into different meshes according to mesh-associated data definitions.

Verifying the import of the elements

You can verify that the software imported the element attributes and orientation as element-associated data by doing one of the following:

• Use the Element Associated Data Manager You can use the Element Associated Data Manager dialog box to manage the associated data.Choose Nodes and Elements tab→Elements group→Element Associated Data Manager .

• List the element-associated dataWith the FEM or the Simulation displayed, in the Simulation Navigator, expand the appropriate mesh collector node that contains the mesh you want.Right-click the mesh node and choose Element Associated Data→List.For each element in the mesh that contains element-associated data, the Information window lists the element label, type, name of the mesh, and the details of the associated data (such as the material orientation angle, mass, and so on).

Example of importing a model with B31 elements

The example model, beams_no_ead.inp, contains two B31 beam elements, each of them defined with a different orientation node and beam general section.

If you import the model without selecting to create a physical property table for the element-associated data for the beam elements (the Physical Property Table check box is cleared), the FEM consists of two mesh collectors, and each beam collector contains one mesh with one element. The Mesh Associated Data shows that the beam section is oriented by node.

If you select to import the element-associated data in a physical property table (the Physical Property Table check box is selected), the orientation node is stored in the mesh-associated data and the element-associated data is defined in a physical property table. Therefore, the model consists of one mesh collector with two meshes because the beam elements are oriented using two different nodes.

If you import the model and select both check boxes for physical property table and orientation, the model consists of one mesh collector with one mesh. The element-associated data information lists each beam element with its associated physical property and orientation.

Where do I find it?

Application	Pre/Post
Prerequisites	A Simulation file as the work part and displayed partAbaqus as the specified solver
Menu	File→Import→Simulation

Learn more

Controlling the import of elements and nodes

Importing Abaqus assembly models

Import support for Abaqus load cases

Importing Abaqus equations

Importing the Abaqus *NMAP keyword

Combining Abaqus surfaces on import

Controlling the import and export of SPRING2 elements

Compressing node sets when exported

Exporting material definitions

Look up more details

Abaqus keywords supported for import and export

Quick links

Command reference

Pre/Post video examples

Bulk Entry Descriptions

Simcenter 3D tutorials

Browse Simcenter 3D help by product area

Controlling the import of element attributes, Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

© 2020 Siemens

window.mainLanguage="en_US"

window.delivId=""

window.projectId=""

MathJax.Hub.Config({ TeX: { extensions: ["autoload-all.js"] }, tex2jax: { displayMath: [ ] }, "SVG": { scale: 125 } });