Introduction to LS-PrePost 3.2

Introduction to LS-PrePost 3.2Jacob Krebs, Philip Ho, LSTC July 30, 2012

Table of Contents

LS-PrePost Intro | Jul 30, 2012

SECTION WORKSHOPS

Overview -

General Operations Workshop 01

Mesh Generation Workshop 02

Pre-Processing Workshop 03-06

Post-Processing Workshop 07-08

Command File and Macros Workshop 09

Advanced Applications Workshop 10

Extra Pre-Processing Exercises Workshop 11

Geometry Workshop 12

Configuration Files -

2©2012 Livermore Software Technology Corporation

Overview

LS-PrePost Intro | Jul 30, 2012 3©2012 Livermore Software Technology Corporation

About LS-PrePost

� LS-PrePost is an advanced pre and post-processor

designed specifically for LS-DYNA

� LS-PrePost is developed for Windows and Linux

� LS-PrePost is Free

� Core Functionality

• Full support of LS-DYNA keyword files

• Full support of LS-DYNA results files

• Robust handling of geometry data (new CAD engine in 3.x)

• Pre-processing (meshing, model clean-up, entity creation)

• Post-processing (animation, fringe plotting, curve plotting)


Online Resources

� Official Website

• http://www.lstc.com/lspp

� User Group

• http://groups.google.com/group/ls-prepost

� Latest Release Version:

• http://ftp.lstc.com/anonymous/outgoing/lsprepost/3.2/

• ftp://ftp.lstc.com/outgoing/lsprepost/3.2/

� Beta Version:

• http://ftp.lstc.com/anonymous/outgoing/lsprepost/4.0


Input / Output

� Input (partial list)

• FEM: LS-DYNA Keyword, Nastran, I-DEAS Universal,

PAM-CRASH, RADIOSS

• CAD: IGES, STEP

• ASCII: glstat, matsum, etc…

• Binary: d3plot, binout, etc…

� Output (partial list)

• FEM: LS-DYNA Keyword, Nastran, STL

• Image: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, PostScript

• Movie: AVI, MPEG, Animated GIF

• XY Data: CRV, CSV, XML

• Other: Post.db, Project File


Mouse and Keyboard

� Dynamic Model Operation

• Rotate: Shift + Left-click

• Translate: Shift + Middle-click

• Zoom: Shift + Right-click/Scroll-wheel

(Using Ctrl instead of Shift for edge mode)

� Graphics Selection

• Pick (single): Left Click

• Area (rectangle): Left-click + Drag

• Poly (polygon): Left-click at corners / Right-click to finish

� List Selection

• Multi-Select: Left-click + Drag / Ctrl + Left-click

� Mouse over controls for status bar help comments


GUI Layout

LS-PrePost Intro | Jul 30, 2012 8

Menus

File management & preferences

Command Line

Input (left) / Output (right)

Bottom Toolbar

Model rendering controls

Right Toolbar

Access to pre and post-processing tools

Graphics Viewport

©2012 Livermore Software Technology Corporation

Transition Tips (version 2.4 to 3.X)

� Function Key: F11

• Toggles between v2.4 and v3.X style user interface

� Menu: View > Toolbar > Text & Icon

• Turns on icon labels for bottom and right toolbars

� Menu: Help > Old to New

• Provides mapping between v2.4 page interface buttons and

v3.X toolbar icons

� Menu: Help > Document

• Describes new geometry tools

LS-PrePost Intro | Jul 30, 2012 ©2012 Livermore Software Technology Corporation 9

File Menu� Open – Open file (new model created for each file opened)

� Import – Import file (adds keyword data to current model)

� Recent – Open recent files (stored in /user/.lspp_recent)

� Save – Over-write current Keyword or Project file

� Save As – Save any of the following file formats using advanced

options: Keyword, Active Keyword (visible data), Project, Post.db

(condensed d3plot data), Geometry, Keyword and Project (using same

file name)

� Update – Load new d3plots for run in progress

� Run LS-DYNA – Submit LS-DYNA job on the local machine

� Print... – Launch printing interface (send to printer or image file)

� Movie... – Launch movie generation interface

� Exit – Exit LS-PrePost

� Save and Exit – Save data to current file and exit LS-PrePost


File → Open� LS-DYNA Binary Plot – d3plot, interface file, or d3thdt

� LS-DYNA Keyword File – ASCII formatted input file

� Time History File – d3thdt (after loading d3plot)

� Command File – Command session file

� Post.db File – Database file (created by cdb=input)

� Project File – Project file (pre-processing)

� Interface Force File – Interface force file (post-processing)

� IGES File – Geometry data in IGES format

� STEP File – Geometry data in STEP format

� Nastran File – Nastran bulk data file

� Nastran+pch File – Nastran stress result file

� Lsplot File – Obsolete

� Others – Additional input file types


Misc. Menu� View Model Info – Launch model information interface

� View Memory Info – Launch memory usage interface

� View Message Info – Launch keyword reader message interface

� Display Ruler – Launch ruler interface

� Set Keyword Title – Launch title interface

� Swap Byte On Title – Swap byte order for title

� Start Recording Commands – Start/stop recording macro commands

� Launch Macro Interface – Launch Macro interface

� Manage Command File – Launch command file interface

� Execute System Call – Launch system call interface

� Keyword File Separate – Separate a single keyword file into multiple

files based on *KEYWORD title


View Menu� Full Screen (Esc to Exit) – Show graphics area in full screen mode

� Background – Set background style (plain, faded, or image)

� Geometry Shade – Set geometry rendering style

� Element Shade – Set element rendering style

� All Element/Geometry – Show all elements/geometry

� Ref Geometry – Show reference geometry

� Points/Curves/Surfaces – Show points/curves/surfaces

� Toolbar – Hide/display toolbars, set text/icon mode, and set font size

� Local Axes – Toggle between global/local

� Beam Prism – Toggle between line/prism

� Smooth Fringe Color – Enable smooth contours (when in fringe mode)

� Keep Zout Orientation – Maintain orientation when zooming out

� Show Deleted Nodes – Display deleted nodes when viewing results

� Show Deleted Elements – Display deleted elements when viewing

results

� Result On Screen – Display results on screen when Ident > Show

Results is active (when in fringe mode)

� Smooth Shade – Use smooth shading

� Record Message – Write messages to lspost.msg

� Show Mid-Side Nodes – for 10-node Tetrahedron element


Geometry Menu� Reference Geometry – Access tools for creating and editing

reference geometry (Axis, Plane, Coordinate System, and

Point)

� Curve – Access tools for creating and editing curves (Point,

Line, Circle, Circular Arc, Ellipse, Elliptical Arc, BSpline Curve,

Helix, Composite Curve, Break Curve, Merge Curve, Bridge

Edge, Smooth Curve, Middle Curve, Morphing Curve, Fillet

Curve)

� Surface – Access tools for creating and editing surfaces (Plane,

Cylinder, Cone, Sphere, Torus, Fill Plane, Extrude, Revolve,

Sweep, Loft, N-Side Surface, Patch Surface, Bridge Two Faces,

Combine Faces, Fit From Points/Mesh, Middle Surface, Surface

Morphing)

� Solid – Access tools for creating and editing solids (Box,

Cylinder, Cone, Sphere, Torus, Extrude, Revolve, Sweep, Loft,

Fillet, Chamfer, Draft, Thicken, Wedge, Boolean)

� Geometry Tools – Access other geometry tools (Delete Face,

Extend Curve, Extend Face, Intersection, Offset, Project,

Replace Face, Stitch Faces, Trim Transform, Copy Entity,

Management, Heal, Topology Simplify, Measure)


FEM Menu� Element and Mesh – Access mesh creation tools (Shape

Mesher, Auto Mesher, Solid Mesher, Block Mesher, N-Line

Mesher, Tetrahedral Mesher, Blank Mesher, Element

Generation, Node Editing, Element, Editing, Mass Trimming,

Spot Welding, SPH Generation)

� Model and Part – Access model and part tools (Assembly and

Select Part, Keyword Manager, Create Entity, Display Entity,

Reference Check, Renumber, Section Plane, Model Selection,

Subsystem Manager, Group, View, Part Color, Appearance,

Annotation, Split Window, Explode, Lighting Setup)

� Element Tools – Access element tools (Identify, Find, Blank,

Move or Copy, Offset, Transform, Normals, Detach, Measure,

Morph, Smooth, Part Trim, Part Travel)

� Post – Access post-processing tools (Fringe Component, Fringe

Range, History, XY Plot, ASCII, Binary Output, Follow, Trace,

State, Particle, Circle Grid, Chain Model, FLD, Output, Setting,

Vector)

� Favorites – Customizable toolbar (see Setting → Toolbar

Manager)


Application Menu� Airbag Folding

� Dummy Positioning

� Seatbelt Fitting

� Metal Forming

� Roller Hemming

� ALE Setup

� Model Checking

� Intrusion Measurements

� Head Impact Positioning

� Granular Flow Setup

� Airbag Impact Setup

� Media

� Sled Creation

� DynFold

� Curve Gen

� Customize


Setting Menu� Current Subsystem ID – Set current subsystem ID

� Current Working Directory – Set current working directory

� General Settings – Set general parameters

� Post Settings – Set post processing parameters

� Configuration Settings – Set configuration settings

� Toolbar Manager – Customize toolbars


Help Menu� Document – View LS-PrePost documentation

� Tutorial – View LS-PrePost tutorials

� Will need to download the Help and Tutorial documents from

LSTC’s ftp site the first time these documents are being

accessed

� Old to New – View mapping between old (v2.4) and new (v3.X) GUI

� Release Notes – View release notes

� Check for Update – Check server for newer version of LS-PrePost

� About LS-PrePost – View version info


Bottom Toolbar


Opti Toggle Title, Legend, Min-Max, Time Stamp, Triad,

Background Color, Mesh Color, and Performance Stats on/off

HidEle Display elements with hidden lines removed

ShaEle Display elements in shaded mode with mesh lines off

VieEle Display elements in plain color mode

WirEle Display elements in wireframe mode

Feat Display elements in feature line mode (default angle=30°)

Edge Display elements in edge line mode

Grid Display each nodal point as a colored pixel

Mesh Toggle element mesh on/off

Shrink Draw elements in shrunken mode (default=0.85)

Frin Toggle Fringe/Line-contours/Iso-surfaces

Unref Toggle unreferenced nodes on/off

EdgGeo Display geometry in shaded mode with edges on

ShaGeo Display geometry in shaded mode with edges off

WirGeo Display geometry in wireframe mode

ShfCtr Toggle Off/Shift/Ctrl (for one-handed rotate/pan/zoom)

Clear Clear all picked or highlighted information

AutCen Automatically center model to fit within window

ZoIn Zoom in, click and drag to draw a box

Zout Zoom out to previous zoom position

Pcen Pick node as new center point for model rotation

VCrd View coordinate systems

Top Choose Top, Bottom, Front, Back, Right, or Left view

Angle Left-click to reverse rotation direction

Right-click to modify rotation angle

Rotate Left-click to rotate about axis shown

Right-click to switch rotation axis (X/Y/Z)

Persp Toggle Parallel/Perspective view mode

ActAll Restore all entities to be active

BacCol Toggle background color black/white (Plain background mode only)

Anim Display animation controls or start/stop animation

SelPart Launch Assembly and Select Part interface

ResPart Restore the last removed part (Shift+R)

Plot Open XY plot management interface


General Operations


FEM General Selection

ID Enter Ids of the entity to be selected into

the text box for highlighting

Type When selecting element, choose

element type to be selected

Label selection put a label on the selected

entities

Prop Propagate selection (pick seed)

Adap Propagate across adaptive elements

Ang Feature angle for propagation to stop


Pick Select a single entity

Area Select using a rectangular window

Poly Select using an irregular polygon

Sel1 Pick 1 entity (only 1 will be in buffer)

Sphe Select entities within a sphere

Box Select entities within a box

Prox Select entities within proximity to a part

Circ Select entities within a circle

Frin Select entities within a fringe plot range

Plan Select entities within a plane

In Select entities inside Area/Poly

Out Select entities outside Area/Poly

Add Add entities to a selection set

Rm Remove entities to a selection set


FEM General Selection

ByNode Select nodes

ByElem Select elements

ByPart Select parts

BySet Set based selection

ByEdge Edge based selection

ByPath Select first and last along a path

BySegm Select segments

BySurf Select surface (geometry)


Adjacent Select adjacent elements

Attach Select attached elements

Clear Clear selection

Save Save selection to buffer or to file

Load Load selection from buffer or

from file

Deselect Undo last selection

Whole Select all entities in model

Visible Select all visible entities

Reverse Reverse selection


Model → Assembly and Select Part

Purpose: turn parts on/off (on=“active”)

� Parts listed by PID and name (or element

type)

� Top drop-down menu selects current model

� Parts can be turned on/off by element type

� Use General selection to select parts

� Active parts can be Saved/Loaded from

buffers (via Save button in General selection)

� Selected displays active parts only in list

� Info button launches Part Information

interface for active parts

� SortBy button launches Part Sort interface


Model->Select Part->SortBy


Options to select info

to be tabulated

Each header can be

clicked to sort the IDs

of that column

Highlighted parts can

be set as active part in

the graphics rendering

Model → MSelect → Select

Purpose: switch between loaded models, view multiple

models, perform keyword comparison

� Select – display selected model(s)

� Trans – translate a model (for visualization only,

useful for side-by-side animation)

� Remove – unload a model

� Info – show model summary


Model → Groups

Purpose: create part groups

� Groups are automatically generated for all

*SET_PART that exist in the model

� Create – create a new group from active parts

� Select – load the selected group

� Add – add a group to the current display

� Subtract – subtract a group from the current display

� Save – save groups to an ASCII file

� Load – load groups from file

(Save and Load effective for presentations)

� Or, And, Xor – used for Adding groups

� Auto Center – automatically center the selected

group


Model → Views

Purpose: create views (based on color, appearance,

orientation, and active parts)

� Create – create a new view

� Select – load the selected view

� Delete – delete the selected view

� Save – save views to a binary file

� Load – load views from file


Model → Appearance

Purpose: modify the appearance of parts

� Parts can be selected by Single/Area/Polygon

� Each selected part will have the selected rendering

options applied

� Thick – draw shells with true thickness

� Sphere – draw solid part nodes as spheres (for EFG)

� AllVis – selected rendering options are applied to all

active parts

� Render buttons are disabled while using Appear

interface


Model → Part ColorPurpose: modify part color and transparency

� Set/Show colors for parts or other entities

(background, text, mesh, labels)

� Sky (top), Middle, Ground (bottom) refer to

background color (when View > Background > Tri

Fade is selected)

� Select color from palette or form new color using

RBG

� Editmap – to assign new color to the color map

� Fringe colors can also be changed – select a fringe

color, then after the color selection, click Fringe

button.

� Amap – apply the current color map to part drawing

� Rstp – restore transparency of all parts to opaque


Model → Part Color� Smap – save the current color map to a file

� Lmap – load color map from a previous saved file

Transparency – draw part in transparent mode,

transparency factor:

� 0.0 fully opaque (once is set to 0.0, need to click

part again to turn it into transparent)

� 1.0 totally transparent

� Pick toggle – pick a part to toggle it from opague

to transparent and vice versa

� Pick through – pick through a part to set part that

is behind this part


Model → Annotation

Purpose: annotate Graphics and XY-Plot windows

� Position – interactively position text

� Arrow – add fixed arrow

� Nd Arrow – add arrow tied to node location

� Move – move annotations

� Text size, color, and orientation can be adjusted

� Annotations can be saved to / loaded from a file


Model → Explode

Purpose: separate (explode) parts for better

visualization

� Factor – scale factor for parts movement

� Direction – direction for part movement

� All – explode all parts

� Part – explode selected parts only

� PtGroup – explode a group of parts (defined using

Page 1: Group)


Model → Lighting Setup

Purpose: adjust model and material lighting

� Light – adjust model lights

• 2 lights are on by default

� Front – position (0.0, 0.0, 1.0)

� Back – position (0.0, 0.0, -1.0)

• Up to 8 more can be activated

• The following properties can be adjusted for each

� Ambient

� Diffuse

� Specular

� Position

� Material – adjust material lighting


Element Tools → IdentifyPurpose: identify nodes/elements/parts

� Uses General Selection interface

� Entity types:

• Node, Element, Part, Curve, Surface, Particle,

constrained nodal rigid body (cnrb)

� Element types:

• Shell, Solid, Beam, TShell, SPH, Mass, Discrete, Seatbelt,

Inertia, Nurbs, DiscSph, Any

� Max. number of IDs that can be shown is 12800

� Can key in xyz coordinates to show position

� Can show element directions (shell and beam)

� Can show orthotropic material directions


Element Tools → IdentifyPurpose: identify nodes/elements/parts

� Can show node/element results (after fringing in

post-processing)

� Can show element results at integration points

� To show result on screen, go to pull down menu

View, and turn on “Results on Screen”

� When identifying a very large no. of nodes or

elements, make sure to turn off “Echo” and turn

on “No ID”, otherwise will take a long time to

come back


Element Tools → Blank

Purpose: temporarily hide or “mask” elements

� Uses General Selection interface

� Entity types:

• Node, Element, CNRB, Curve, Surface, Particle

� Element types:

• Shell, Solid, Beam, TShell, SPH, Mass, Discrete, Seatbelt,

Inertia, Nurbs, DiscSph, Any element

� UnBlank Part – click to restore partially hidden

parts

� Auto-Apply – blank automatically (no need to click

Apply button)

� Auto-Update – update display of solid surfaces and

edges automatically (no need to click Update Surf

or Update Edge)


Element Tools → Find

Purpose: find nodes/elements/parts/Cnrb

� Find any element by ID or specified type

� Show Only – shows found entity by itself

� Highlight – highlights found entity

� Neighbors – propagates to neighboring elements

� UnblankAll – turns on all elements and parts

� UnblankPart – turns on all elements in part that

found node/element belongs to


Workshop 1General Operations


Workshop 1Load and view an LS-DYNA Keyword file...

� Launch a new session of LS-PrePost

� File > Open > LS-DYNA Keyword

(select /workshop1/belted.k)

� Click View in the Keyword Reader Error interface

� Click Done in the Message interface

� Use Shift + Left Click to rotate the model

� Click the Auto Center (AutCen) render button (or hit

Ctrl+A)

� Click the Mesh / HidEle / VieEle / WirEle / Feat / Edge /

Shrink render buttons

Use the part selection interface...

� Go to Model → Assembly and Part (“SelPart”) and select

individual parts from the list

� Use Ctrl + Left Click to select multiple parts

� Click All to display all parts

� Toggle Beam / Shell / Solid / Disc / SBelt

� Click SortBy button and turn on/off some check boxes in

the setting columns in the Part Sort dialog

� Click the MatTypeName header to see the sorting effect


Workshop 1 (continued...)

Create a part group...

� Go to Model → Groups

� Click Create (all displayed parts will be saved to “Group_43”)

� Go to Model → Assembly and Part (SelPart) and manually turn on

some other parts


� Select “Group_43” from the list and click Select

Identify nodes and elements...

� Turn on the mesh (using the Mesh render button)

� Go to Element Tools → Identify

� Select Node in the Identify interface and pick some nodes in the

model to display their IDs

� Select Element in the Identify interface and pick some elements

� Toggle Elem Dir to display the N1 to N2 direction

� Click the Clear render button to clear all highlighted entities



Modify part appearance...

� Go to Model → Appearance

� Select any one of the drawing modes Hide / Edge / Shad / Wire

� Pick some parts in the model

� Toggle Thick in the Appearance interface and click AllVis

� Click the Zoom In render button (or hit Ctrl+Z) and zoom in on a

shell part to verify that thickness is displayed

Blank some elements...

� Go to Element Tools → Blank

� Select Area in the General Selection interface and draw a box to

blank some elements

� Click Reverse in the General Selection interface

� Click Unblank All in the Blank interface

� Click the Assembly and Part (SelPart) render button

� Select “88 PSHELL” from the list, click the Auto Center (AutCen)

render button, and click Done in the Assembly and Part interface

� Toggle Prop (propagate) in the General Selection interface, select

Ang: 15, and pick an element on the front of the torso

� Click Unblank All



Create a view...

� Go to Model → Views

� Click Create (the current view will be saved as “View_01”)

� Rotate the model and click Create again

� Select “View_01” from the list and click Select

� Click the ActAll render button to display the entire model

Find a node and element...

� Go to Element Tools → Find and select Show Only

� Enter 1439 in the text field and click Find

� Click Neighbors several times

� Select Node in the Find interface

� Enter 5340 in the text field and click Find

� Click Neighbors several times

� Click the Clear render button

� Go to Model → Assembly and Part (SelPart)

� Click All


� Click Unblank All



Modify color and transparency...

� Go to Model → Part Color (PtColor)

� Select Transparency

� Pick the roof of the structure and adjust the slider

� Select Pick Through and pick through the roof to make

some additional components transparent

� Select Pick Toggle and pick the roof again to make it

opaque

� Click Visible and drag the slider to the far left

� Select Color

� Pick a part and adjust its color using the RGB sliders

� Select Set and pick some additional parts

� Select any color from color map

� Click Backg (only works when View > Background >

Plain is selected)


Mesh Generation


Mesh → Shape Mesher

Purpose: mesh basic geometries

� Box_Solid, Box_Shell – define min/max

coordinates and mesh density

� 4N-Shell – define 4 corners and mesh density

� Sphere_Solid, Sphere_Shell – define center,

radius, and mesh density (quarter circle)

� Cylinder_Solid, Cylinder_Shell – define center,

direction, radius, length and mesh density (if

number of elements in circumferential direction is

multiple of 4, butterfly mesh will be create)

� Circle_Shell – define outer radius, inner radius (if

hole is desired), angle (to create an arc), mesh

density, and normal direction


Create Position Interface

Purpose: define an XYZ location

� By picking a position

� By picking a node

� At an element center

� At an edge midpoint

� At the average center of nodes or elements

� At the center of a circle

� New *NODE can be created


Create Direction Interface

Purpose: define a direction

� By picking 2 positions

� By picking 2 nodes

� Along an element edge

� Along an element normal

� Direction can be rotated about global or local

coordinate system

� New *DEFINE_VECTOR can be created


Mesh → Auto Mesher (Size)

� Size mode creates uniformly sized elements

� Can be mix of quad and tri element or all tri only

� Compute button will give rough estimate of

element size

� Mesh by GPart will create separate LS-DYNA part

for each geometry part

� Ignore Hole Size, hole size smaller than this value

will be ignore and be filled with elements

� General meshing procedure...

• Select surfaces to be meshed

• Enter average element size

• Click Mesh

• Click Accept


Mesh → Auto Mesher (Deviation)� Deviation mode is tool mesher for metal stamping

applications

� Deviation mode creates small elements on curved

surfaces and large elements on flat surfaces

� 4 parameters control the element size

• Max element size

• Min element size

• Max deviation

• Max angle


Mesh → Solid Mesher

� Solid meshing by blocks

� Uses cut & dice method followed by sweeping


Define cutting planes

on geometry

Cut and trim

into small

blocks

Sweep block faces to

form hex elements

Mesh → N-Line Mesher

Purpose: create mesh from 2/3/4 lines

� 2 Line Shell – create mesh between 2 lines



• Enter number of elements on each edge

• Or enter element size

• Or use points on lines to create elements

� Line Sweep – sweep one line along another line


Mesh → Tetrahedron Mesher

Purpose: create solid elements (tets) inside an enclosed

shell volume

� Limitation: only 1 “skin” part is accepted

� Requirement: skin normals must be aligned

� Skin can be remeshed to give better solid tet mesh

� 10-node tets can also be created

� Solid tet mesh can be translated in space


Mesh → Element Generation (Beam)

Purpose: create beam elements

� On an edge

� On a curve

� By dragging nodes

� By spinning nodes

� Along shell diagonals


Mesh → Element Generation (Shell)

Purpose: create shell elements

� On all outer surfaces of a solid

� On individual solid faces

� By dragging an edge

� By spinning an edge

� By extending an edge

� By dragging a curve

� By spinning a curve

� From a segment set

� By filling holes


Mesh → Element Generation (Solid)

Purpose: create solid elements

� By dragging shells

� By offsetting shells

� By spinning shells

� Using shell thickness

� By sweeping shells along a path

� Between two shells sets

(must have identical mesh connectivity)

� 4-noded tet to 10-noded tet

� Hex to 4-noded tet


Workshop 2Mesh Generation


Workshop 2Create a solid cylinder and a shell cylinder...


� Go to Mesh → Shape Mesher

� Select Entity: Cylinder_Solid

� Enter Radius: 5, Length: 10,

Num Ele (Circumferential): 32, Num (Length): 20

� Enter XYZ: 0,0,1 for position

� Click dirz (set direction to 0,0,1)

� Click Create and Accept

� Select Entity: Cylinder_Shell

� Enter Num Ele: 30 (leave other parameters unchanged)

� Enter XYZ: 0,0,-1 for position

� Click dirz again (changes direction to 0,0,-1)

� Activate Top And Bottom (meshes ends of cylinder)



� Rotate the model such that you can see the cross-section of both cylinders

(note the different cross-sectional mesh of the two parts)



Create a mesh from 4 lines...


� File > Open > IGES File

(select /workshop2/test_4lmesh_curves.igs)

� Click OK in the IGES Read Options popup

� Go to Mesh → N-Line Mesher

� Select Type: 4 Line Shell

� Pick the longest curve

� Pick the remaining curves in clockwise order

� Enter N1: 24 (and hit Enter)




� Click Mesh It and Accept



Sweep one line along another...



(select /workshop2/sweep_lines.igs)



� Select Type: Line Sweep

� Select Mesh By: Points of Line

� Pick the square line

� Pick the attached curve




Sweep one line along another...

� Go to Curve → Circle

� Select Method: Parameters

� Click the “.” button next to Origin Point X

� Select Geometry in the Create Position interface

� Pick the endpoint of the remaining curve

� Click Done in the Create Position interface

� Enter Direction X Y Z: 1 0 0

� Enter Radius: 50 and click Apply


� Select Mesh By: Number of elements

� Pick the circle and click the up arrow several times to increase N1

� Pick the curve and click the up arrow several times to increase N2

� Click New PID



Auto mesh an IGES file using Amesh...



(select /workshop2/frame.igs)


� Go to Mesh → Auto Mesher

� Select Size

� Enter Elem Size: 1.5

� Click Visible in the General Select interface

� Click Mesh

� Click Accept

� Turn off geometry (iges) rendering by clicking this icon

� Click the Wireframe (mesh) render button




Create a hollow cylinder using the block mesher...


� Go to Mesh → Block Mesher

� Select Type: Butterfly Blocks

� Enter Length: 20

� Enter L: 10

� Activate Is Tubal

� Enter Inner R: 4

� Click Create

� Rotate the model and note the synchronization

between the main window and Computation Window

� Highlight (by clicking and dragging over) the faces,

lines, and vertices in the Computation Window to see

how the 4 blocks are assembled to form the cylinder

� Click Accept



Mesh a part using the solid mesher...


� File > Open > STEP File

(select /workshop2/knuckle.stp)

� Go to Geometry Tool → Heal

(to remove unnecessary vertices)

� Select Vertex

� Select Remove

� Click Analysis (see figure)

� Click Apply

� Go to Geometry Tool → Simplify

� Select Unfillet Face

� Click in the Fillet Surfaces List box

� Pick the small surfaces (see figure)

� Click Apply




� Go to Reference Geometry → Plane

� Select Method: Normal to Curve

� Pick an edge and a vertex to define a trimming plane

(see figure)

� Click Apply

� Repeat 3 times

(to create a total of 4 trimming planes)




� Go to Geometry Tool → Trim

� Select Cut Solid

� Click in the Trim Tool box

� Pick a trim plane

� Click in the Be Trimmed Solid box

� Pick the solid part

� Click Apply

� Repeat 4 times

(to trim the solid into a total of 6 parts)




� Go to Geometry Tool → Heal

(to remove duplicated faces)

� Select Face

� Click Analysis

� Click Apply

� Go to Geometry Tool → Stitch

� Activate All Faces

� Activate Non-manifold Mode

� Deactivate Group by Part

� Click Apply




� Right-click RefGeom under Assembly 1 in the feature

tree (upper left corner of main window) and select

Reverse Blank

� Go to Mesh → Solid Mesher

(to suppress unwanted boundaries)

� Select Suppress

� Pick unwanted boundary lines

(see dashed lines in figure)

� Select Meshing

� Enter Elem Size: 1.2

� Click Try Meshing Automatically

� Click Accept


Pre-Processing


Element Tool → Element Editing

Purpose: modify an existing mesh by editing elements

� Element Editing Tools

• Check (quality)

• Create (beam, shell, tetra, penta, hexa, discrete)

• Delete

• Split / Merge

• Modify (thickness)

• Direction (change for orthotropic materials)


Element Tool → Element Editing (Split/Merge)

� Shell elements can be split into quads or tris

� Constrain Adaptive button – If checked

(*CONSTRAINED_ADAPTIVITY automatically

created when splitting deformable elements)

� Click edge of element for splitting into 2

elements, can be perpendicular or parallel to

edge

� Two quads can be merged into a single quad

� Solid elements can also be split


Element Tool → Node Editing

Purpose: modify an existing mesh by editing nodes

� Node Editing Tools

• Create – to create new nodes, use Advance button to

create nodes using different methods

• Delete – to delete unreferenced (no other element or

entity attached to it)

• Replace – to replace one node with another node

(merge) or take the center point of the 2 nodes

• Align – to align nodes that is close to a line formed by 2

points

• Modify (xyz coordinates)


Element Tool → Node Editing (Align)

� Define line by picking two points

� Select nodes that will be snapped to the line

� Option to use Nodes or Point on Element

� SpNdEQ – special option to put node in equal

spacing when align to the line


Element Tool → Node Editing (Replace)

� Two nodes replacement

• Merge two nodes into one

• Option to choose final position of merged node

(Node1, Node2, MidPoint)

• Single pick or area select

� Multiple (Many) nodes replacement

• Merge multiple nodes into one

• Option to choose final position of merged node

(Center, Node, Position)

• General Selection interface used to select nodes


Element Tools → Normals

Purpose: show/reverse/align element normal

� Shell color indicates direction of normal

� General Selection interface can be used to manually

show or reverse normal vectors

� Automatic alignment (Auto Reverse) can be

performed by picking a “seed” element


Element Tools → Detach

Purpose: detach elements from an existing mesh

� Shell, Beam, Solid, Tshell – detach elements by type

� Node – detach all elements connected to a node

� Element – Select group of elements to be detached

� Edge – Select edges of elements to be detached

� Starting NID – Enter starting ID for new nodes


Element Tools → Duplicate Nodesshow and merge duplicate (coincident) nodes

� Tolerance is automatically calculated but can be

overridden

� Option to keep smaller or larger Node ID

� Option to put new node at the xyz centroid of all

merged nodes

� Show Dup Nodes – will show all the nodes that

meet the tolerance criterion

� Select Nodes – allow user to select subset of

nodes shown

� Merge Dup Nodes – will perform the merging of

the duplicated Nodes

� Option to delete degenerated elements (elements

with zero area)


Element Tools → Measure

Purpose: take measurements of various items

� Item – list of available measurements

• Coordinate – xyz coordinate

• Dist N2N – distance between 2 nodes

• Dist N2S – distance between a node and a surface

• Dist P2P – distance between 2 points

• Angle 3Node – angle between 3 nodes

• Angle 4node – angle between 2 lines formed by 4 nodes

• 3Pt Radius – the radius formed by 3 nodes

• Area / Volume / Mass / Inertia

• Ang Vel – angular velocity

• Separation – distance between two parts


Element Tools → Measure (continued...)

� Active Elements Only – for certain quantities (e.g.,

Area, Volume, Mass, Inertia)

� Element/Part/All – measure by element, by part, or

all

� Cancel pick – remove last picked entity

� Apply – take measurement

� Reference Axes – select current reference axes for

measurement (define axis using Item: Create Axis)

� History – depends on selected item


Workshop 3Pre-Processing


Workshop 3Merge duplicate nodes...


� File > Open > LS-DYNA Keyword (select /workshop3/badmesh.k)

� Go to Element Tools → Duplicate Nodes and turn on the mesh

(using the Mesh render button)

� Activate Show Free Edges

� Click Show Dup Nodes (see upper right figure)

� Click Merge Dup Nodes

� Click Accept

� Enter Tolerance: 1.0

� Click Show, Merge, and Accept

Replace nodes...

� Go to Element Tool → Node Editing

� Select Replace

� Select Area and MidPoint

� Select two nodes at a time for merging (by drawing a window)

� Click Accept

� Repeat until all internal free edges have been eliminated



Create a tria element...

� Go to Element Tool → Element Editing

� Select Create

� Select Elem Type: Shell

� Activate PID and pick the part

� Activate Tria Only

� Pick the 3 nodes to fill the final gap in the part

� Click Accept

Align nodes along a line...


� Select Align

� Click the Right render button

� Click the Zoom In render button and zoom in as shown

� Pick 2 nodes to form a line

� Pick the nodes in between

� Click Align

� Click Accept



Split elements...


� Select Split/Merge

� Pick the elements around the hole as shown

� Click Apply

� Click Accept

Fill a hole...

� Go to Mesh → Element Generation

� Select Shell

� Select Shell By: Fill_Holes

� Pick any node on the perimeter of the hole

� Click Create

� Click Accept



Align shell normals...

� Go to Element Tools → Normals

� Select Show Normals (should be already selected)

� Click Visible in the General Selection interface

� Select Vector Size: 0.5

� Select Auto Reverse

� Activate Pick Seed

� Pick any element that is red

� Click AutoRev

� Click Done

Save the modified input file...

� File > Save As > Save Keyword As...

� Click Browse

� Enter a file name (save as /workshop3/newmesh.k)

� Click Save


Pre-Processing(continued…)


Application → Model Checking

Purpose: identify and clean unreferenced or undefined entities


Model → Display Entity

Purpose: visualize model entities (keywords) other than

nodes and elements (which are displayed by default)

� Available options include…

• *BOUNDARY_{OPTION}

• *CONSTRAINED_{OPTION}

• *INITIAL_VELOCITY_{OPTION}

• *LOAD_{OPTION}

• *RIGIDWALL_{OPTION}

• *SET_{OPTION}

� Use while post-processing by loading d3plots

followed by the corresponding keyword file


Model → Reference Check (Attach)

Purpose: identify entities that are attached to other

model entities

� Initial attachment set can be all visible or as selected

(using General Selection interface)

� Attachment set can grow By Part or By Element

� Final attachment set can be written to a file


Model → Renumber

Purpose: renumber and offset model

entities

� By Keyword – Entities can be

renumbered/offset by Keyword

• ID range can be specified

• Entities can be picked using the General

Selection interface

� By Part – Parts/Elements/Nodes can be

renumbered/offset by Part

� By Selected – Parts/Elements/Nodes can

be renumbered/offset by Selected


Element Tools → Move/Copy

Purpose: move or copy elements from one part to

another

� Use General Selection interface to select elements

� Target part can be a non-existent

� Starting IDs for new elements and nodes can be

specified when performing a copy


Element Tools → Offset

Purpose: offset shells (always in normal direction)

� Offset Distance – distance to offset

� Element normals must be aligned before offsetting

� Beware of offsetting small radii inward

� Elements can be copied while offsetting


Element Tools→ Transform (Translate)

Purpose: translate nodes/elements/parts

� Translate Distance – distance to translate

� X,Y,Z directions can be in global or local system

� N1-N2 – translate in the direction from N1 to N2

� N1-N2-N3 – translate in the direction normal to

the plane formed by N1, N2, and N3

� N1-to-N2 – translate using the distance and

direction between N1 and N2

� Pt-to-Pt – translate using the distance and

direction between P1 and P2

� Sh-Normal – pick a shell element and use its

normal as the direction of the translation


Element Tools→ Transform (Translate)

� Free Edit – after distance, direction and node

selection, user can drag the selected nodes on

screen

� Copy Elem – copy elements while translating

� Copy Node – copy nodes while translating

� Transfer – transfer selection to copied elements

� Multiple copies can be created

� New elements can be placed in a new part ID

� User can enter starting element ID for new

elements

� User can enter starting node ID for new nodes


Element Tools→ Transform (Rotate)

Purpose: rotate nodes/elements/parts

� Rot. Angle – angle to rotate in degree

� X,Y,Z axes can be in global or local coordinates

� N1-N2 – rotate about an axis from N1 to N2

� N1-N2-N3 – rotate about the normal formed by N1,

N2, and N3

� Origin of rotation can be a node or XYZ location

� Elements/Nodes can be copied while rotating


Element Tools→ Transform (Reflect)

Purpose: reflect nodes/elements/parts

� Norm X/Y/Z – reflect along global axes

� N1-N2 – reflect along the direction from N1 to N2

� N1-N2-N3 – reflect along the normal formed by N1,

N2, and N3

� Origin of reflection can be a node or an XYZ location

� Elements/Nodes can be copied while reflecting


Element Tools→ Transform (Project)

Purpose: project nodes and elements

� Norm X/Y/Z – project along global axes

� N1-N2 – project along the direction from N1 to N2

� N1-N2-N3 – project along the normal formed by N1,

N2, and N3

� Can also project To Mesh, To Curve, or To Surface

� Point on plane of projection can be a node or an XYZ

location

� Elements can be copied while projecting


Element Tools→ Transform (Scale)

Purpose: scale nodes/elements/parts

� Scale Factor – greater than 1 to enlarge, less than 1

to shrink (when using Scale+)

� X,Y,Z – scale in either global or local coordinate

system

� N1-N2 – scale in direction from N1 to N2

� N1-N2-N3 – scale in direction of normal formed by

N1, N2, and N3

� Origin can be a node or a XYZ location

� Elements/Nodes can be copied while scaling


Element Tools→ Transform (Transform)

Purpose: transform nodes/elements/parts from one

coordinate system to another

� From – pick 3 nodes (first set of P1,P2,P3) to define a

starting system

� To – pick 3 nodes (second set of P1,P2,P3) to define

a destination system

� P1-P3 buttons launch Create Position interface

� Elements can be copied while transforming


Element Tools → Smooth

Purpose: smooth a mesh to improve element quality

� Use General Selection interface to select elements

� Specified nodes can be locked to prevent movement

� Nodes along feature angles are not moved

� Boundary nodes can be fixed or free

� User specified number of smoothing iterations can

be applied

� Nodes can be projected back to geometry after

smoothing


Element Tools → Part Trim

Purpose: trim a mesh using a curve

� Parts – first, choose the parts to be trimmed

� Trim Curves – second, select curves for trimming

� Trim Methods (projecting curves to mesh)...

• Closest 3D projection

• Vector projection (along a specified vector)


Workshop 4Mesh Transformation


Workshop 4Create nodes at circle centers...



(select /workshop4/tube1.k)

� Click the Wire render button


� Select Create

� Click Advanced

� Select 3PtCircle in the Create Position interface

� At one end of the large tube, pick 3 nodes on the

perimeter and click Apply

� Repeat for the other end of the large tube and both

ends of the small tube

� Click Cancel in the Create Position interface

� Click Accept



Transform a mesh...

� Go to Element Tools → Transform

� Select Transform

� Activate From

� Pick one center node of the small tube (as P1)

� Pick the other center node of the small tube (as P2)

� Pick any node on the end of the tube near P1 (as P3)

� Activate To and repeat the same for the large tube

(P1-P3 must be picked in a similar sequence)

� Select ByPart in the General Selection interface

� Pick the small tube

� Click Save → To Buffer → Buffer5 in the General

Selection interface

� Click Transform

� Click Accept



Translate a mesh...


� Select Translate

� Select Direction: N1-N2

� Pick both center nodes of the large tube

(to define Node1 and Node2)

� Enter Translate Distance: 20

� Click Load → From Buffer → Buffer5 in the General

Selection interface

� Click Tran +

� Click Accept

Save the modified input file...


� Click Browse

� Enter a file name (save as /workshop4/newtube.k)

� Click Save


Pre-Processing(continued…)


Model → Part DataThere are 7 functions in the Part

Data dialog:

� Show – show existing part

data

� Create – create new part data

� Mod – modify existing data

� Sear – search parts by

parameters

� Assign – assign part data

properties

� Prop – edit properties of part

data

� Replace – replace a part with

another part


Model → Part Data� Show – Show / Delete /

Write part data

• Parts can be selected

graphically using Pick/Area/

Poly or from the list

• Show will list element type of

the part, its properties, no. of

nodes and elements, and the

Min/Max IDs


Model → Part Data� Cre – Create new part

definitions

• NewID – take existing part data

and create a new part ID

• Add – create new part with no

data (SECID, MID, etc...)

• Contact – if this box is check,

will create *PART_CONTACT

data


Model → Part Data

� Mod – Modify existing

part definitions

• Changes can only be made

to one part at a time


Model → Part Data� Assign – Assign properties

to parts

• Changes can be made to

many parts at once

• Multiple select from list to

highlight parts that will be

changed

• Empty fields will not be

assigned


Model → Part Data� Prop – Review part properties

(Section, Material, Hourglass, …)

• Modify – open a keyword input form

for editing

• RefBy – show all parts that reference

the selected property


RefBy popup

dialog

Model → Part Data� Replace – replace a part in one model

with another part from another

model

� The second model can be loaded with

the “Load” button


Replace this part with

another part that has

finer mesh

Model → Entity Interface

A uniform interface to deal with LS-DYNA

entities that can be shown graphically

� Show – to show the entities

� Create – to create the entity

� Modify – modify the existing entities

� Delete – delete entites

� Write entity data to a file

� General selection is used whenever it is

possible for selecting the entities


Model → Create Entity → Set Data

� Show *SET_{OPTION}

� Create *SET_{OPTION}

• OPTIONS – NODE, BEAM, DISCRETE, PART,

SEGMENT, SHELL, SOLID, THICK SHELL

• Select entities using General Selection interface

� Modify *SET_{OPTION}

• Sets must be shown before they can be modified

� Delete *SET_{OPTION}

� Write *SET_{OPTION} to a file


Boundary → Spc

� Show *BOUNDARY_SPC_{OPTION}

• Label – None/Symbol/Detail

• Local coordinate systems will be shown if used

• Match – Filter by constrained DOFs

� Create *BOUNDARY_SPC_{OPTION}

• OPTIONS – NODE, NODE_SET

• Use General Selection interface to select nodes

• Activate constrained DOFs

• Use global or local coordinate system

� Modify *BOUNDARY_SPC_{OPTION}

� Delete *BOUNDARY_SPC_{OPTION}


Initial → Velocity

� Show *INITIAL_VELOCITY

� Create *INITIAL_VELOCITY

• For *INITIAL_VELOCITY_NODE only


� Modify *INITIAL_VELOCITY

� Delete *INITIAL_VELOCITY


Rigidwall → Rigidwall

� Show *RIGIDWALL_{OPTION}

� Create *RIGIDWALL_{OPTION}

• OPTIONS – GEOMETRIC, PLANAR

• Select geometry type

(cylinder/flat/prism/sphere)

• Activate additional planar options

(finite/forces/moving/ortho)

• Define position and normal direction

� Modify *RIGIDWALL_{OPTION}

� Delete *RIGIDWALL_{OPTION}


Database → Cross Section

� Show *DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION_{OPTION}

� Create *DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION_{OPTION}

• OPTIONS – PLANE, SET

• Define position and normal direction

� Modify *DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION_{OPTION}

� Delete *DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION_{OPTION}


Database → History

� Show *DATABASE_HISTORY_{OPTION}

� Create *DATABASE_HISTORY_{OPTION}

• OPTIONS – NODES, BEAM, SHELL, SOLID, SPH, TSHELL

• Use General Selection interface to select entities

� Modify *DATABASE_HISTORY_{OPTION}

� Delete *DATABASE_HISTORY_{OPTION}


Define → Box

� Show *DEFINE_BOX_{OPTION}

� Create *DEFINE_BOX_{OPTION}

• OPTIONS – ADAPITVE, COARSEN

• Define box extents

• Translate or scale box

� Modify *DEFINE_BOX_{OPTION}

� Delete *DEFINE_BOX_{OPTION}


Define → Vector

� Show *DEFINE_VECTOR

� Create *DEFINE_VECTOR

• Define origin and direction

� Modify *DEFINE_VECTOR

� Delete *DEFINE_VECTOR


Define → Coordinate System

� Show *DEFINE_COORINATE_{OPTION}

� Create *DEFINE_COORINATE_{OPTION}

• OPTIONS – NODES, SYSTEM, VECTOR

• Define title

• Pick nodes or define vectors

• Set additional parameters

• Modify an existing coordinate system

� Modify *DEFINE_COORINATE_{OPTION}

� Delete *DEFINE_COORINATE_{OPTION}


Element → Seatbelt Accelerometer

� Show *ELEMENT_SEATBELT_ACCELEROMETER

� Create *ELEMENT_SEATBELT_ACCELEROMETER

• Pick N1-N3

• Set other flags

� Modify *ELEMENT_SEATBELT_ACCELEROMETER

� Delete *ELEMENT_SEATBELT_ACCELEROMETER


Element → Mass

� Show *ELEMENT_MASS

• Label – Mass Value/Mass ID/Detail/None

� Create *ELEMENT_MASS


• Enter mass value

• Activate PID option

� Modify *ELEMENT_MASS

� Delete *ELEMENT_MASS


Constrained → Spotweld

� Show *CONSTRAINED_SPOTWELD

� Create *CONSTRAINED_SPOTWELD

• Use Autocreate to create when N2 is picked

• Enter failure criteria

� Modify *CONSTRAINED_SPOTWELD

� Delete *CONSTRAINED_SPOTWELD

� CDelete (check and delete) invalid spotwelds


Constrained → Generalized Weld Spot

� Show *CONSTRAINED_GEN_WELD_SPOT

� Create *CONSTRAINED_GEN_WELD_SPOT


• Click EditPara to define failure parameters

� Modify *CONSTRAINED_GEN_WELD_SPOT

� Delete *CONSTRAINED_GEN_WELD_SPOT


Constrained → Tied Nodes Failure

� Show *CONSTRAINED_TIED_NODES_FAILURE

� Create *CONSTRAINED_TIED_NODES_FAILURE


• Enter failure strain

� Modify *CONSTRAINED_TIED_NODES_FAILURE

� Delete *CONSTRAINED_TIED_NODES_FAILURE


Constrained → Rivet

� Show *CONSTRAINED_RIVET

� Create *CONSTRAINED_RIVET

• Use Autocreate to create when N2 is picked

• Enter death (failure) time

� Modify *CONSTRAINED_RIVET

� Delete *CONSTRAINED_RIVET


Constrained → Node Set

� Show *CONSTRAINED_NODE_SET

� Create *CONSTRAINED_NODE_SET


• Set active DOF

• Enter death (failure) time

� Modify *CONSTRAINED_NODE_SET

� Delete *CONSTRAINED_NODE_SET


Constrained → Nodal Rigid Body (CNRB)

� Show *CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY

� Create *CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY

• OPTION – SPC


• Set additional flags

� Modify *CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY

� Delete *CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY


File → Import (Combine Keyword Files)

� Each keyword file defines a subsystem

� Import Offset causes all entity IDs to by automatically

offset by largest ID currently in use

� Import NoOffset performs no offsetting (use with

caution)

� Setting Offset allows custom offsetting based on

keyword type (see next slide)


File → Import (Combine Keyword Files)

� Setting Offset interface


Model → Keyword Manager

� All LS-DYNA keywords are accessible

through Keyword Manager tree list (over

900 total)

� Keywords that exist in the current model

are shown in Blue

� Click All to display all keywords (or click

Model to display only those that exist in

the current model)

� Expand the tree and double-click to edit a

keyword (opens Keyword Input Form)


Keyword Input Form

� Example Keyword Input form for *PART


Keyword type List of existing keywords of this type


Keyword Input Form (continued...)

� Keyword Input form buttons


Always click first when creating a new card

Draw entity in the graphics window

Open interface to pick

data directly from model

Create fresh keyword

using default values

Commit changes

Delete/Undelete

selected keyword

Set all entries to

Default values

Exit keyword editing form

Popup RefBy interface



� Keyword Input form controls


Card Number

Parameter Names

Parameter Values

Link Button

Drop-down Menu



� Other Keyword Input form features

• Blue parameter titles can be clicked to display description in

bottom text area (see below)

• Red parameters indicate that additional cards may be

displayed depending on the parameter value


Click in any field above to display description here

(same information found in LS-DYNA Keyword Manual)

User comments can be entered here


Model → MSelect→ Compare

Purpose: compare two similar LS-DYNA keyword input

files that have minor differences

� Disregards keyword order, unlike other

compare/difference software

� Normalizes data to ignore differences below a

certain tolerance

� Provides a summary only when a large number of

differences are detected


File → Save Keyword As…

� Output Version – 960/970/971

(only change if using an old

version of LS-DYNA)

� Renumber/Offset – can

renumber or offset before

saving

� BySubSystem – activate to save

subsystems to separate files

(not visible unless model

contains subsystems)

� Advanced... – additional options

(see next slide)


Advanced Settings Interface

� Keyword order can be customized

� Keywords can be selectively omitted

� Title, Field Names, and Comments can be omitted

� Parameter names can be output instead of actual values


File → Save Active Keyword As…

� Output Version – 960/970/971

(only change if using an old

version of LS-DYNA)

� Keywords can be selectively

output using the Advanced

Setting interface


Workshop 5Create a Keyword File

(Ball to Plate Impact)


Workshop 5Mesh a plate from IGES data...



(select /workshop5/plate.igs)



� Enter Elem Size: 15

� Pick the surface in graphics area

� Click Mesh

� Click Accept

Mesh a sphere...


� Select Entity: Sphere_Solid

� Enter Radius: 50

� Enter Density: 6

� Enter Center Z: 55

� Enter Target Name: ball




Define plate material...

� Go to Model → Keyword Manager

� Select All

� Expand MAT

� Double-click “024-PIECEWISE_LINEAR_PLASTICITY”

� Click NewID in the Keyword Input Form

� Enter TITLE: plate material

� Enter RO: 7.8e-6

� Enter E: 200.0

� Enter PR: 0.3

� Enter SIGY: 0.2

� Enter ETAN: 2.0

� Enter FAIIL: 0.1

� Click Accept

� Click Done



Define plate section...

� Expand SECTION

� Double-click “SHELL”


� Enter TITLE: plate section

� Enter NIP: 5

� Enter T1: 1.5 (and hit the Enter key)

� Click Accept

� Click Done

Import ball properties (material and section)...

� File > Import > LS-DYNA Keyword (select /workshop5/ball_properties.k)

� Click Import Offset in the Import File interface



Assign plate properties...

� Go to Model → Part Data

� Select Mod

� Select “S 1 SHELL1” from the list

� Enter Part Title: plate

� Click SECID

� Select “1 plate section” in Link SECTION interface

� Click Done in Link SECTION interface

� Click MID

� Select “1 plate material” in Link MAT interface

� Click Done in Link MAT interface

� Click Accept



Assign ball properties...


� Expand PART

� Double-click “PART”

� Select “2 ball” in the Keyword Input Form

� Click the Link Button next to the SECID field

� Select “2 ball section” in Link SECTION interface

� Click Done in the Link SECTION interface

� Click the Link Button next to the MID field

� Select “2 ball material” in Link MAT interface

� Click Done in the Link MAT interface

� Click Accept

� Click Done



Create plate boundary SPCs...

� Go to Model → Create Entity

� Expand Boundary

� Select Spc

� Select Cre

� Create Set

� Activate X, Y, and Z

� Select Area in the General Selection interface

� Click and drag to select all plate edge nodes

(select nodes on each edge separately)

� Click Apply



Create ball initial velocity...

� Expand Initial

� Select Velocity

� Select Cre

� Enter Vz: -20

� Select Pick in the General Selection interface


� Pick the ball

� Click Apply

� Click the Left render button



Create part set for contact...

� Expand Set Data

� Select *SET_PART

� Select Cre

� Enter Title: contact


� Click Apply

Define contact...


� Expand CONTACT

� Double-click “AUTOMATIC_SINGLE_SURFACE”


� Set SSTYP: 2

� Click the Link Button next to the SSID field

� Select “1 contact” in the Link SET interface

� Click Done in the Link SET interface

� Click Accept

� Click Done



Set termination time...

� Expand CONTROL

� Double-click “TERMINATION”

� Enter ENDTIM: 10 in the Keyword Input Form

� Click Accept

� Click Done

Set d3plot frequency...

� Expand DATABASE

� Double-click “BINARY_D3PLOT”

� Enter DT: 1 in the Keyword Input Form

� Click Accept

� Click Done



Set ASCII output frequency...

� Expand DATABASE

� Double-click “ASCII_option”

� Enter Default DT: 0.1 (and hit the Enter key)

� Scroll down and activate GLSTAT (global statistics)

� Set BINARY: 3 for GLSTAT

� Activate MATSUM (material summary)

� Click Accept

� Click Done

Save keyword file...


� Deactivate “BySubSystem”

� Click Browse (save as /workshop5/ball_and_plate.k)

� Click Advanced…

� Click Customize Order: Expert

� Click Ok in the Advanced Setting interface

� Click Save in the Save Keyword interface



Compare a set of LS-DYNA Keyword files...



(select /workshop5/compare/belted1.k)


(select /workshop5/compare/belted2.k)

� Go to Model → MSelect

� Select Compare

� Click in the 1st Model field and select model 1

� Click in the 2nd Model field and select model 2

� Click Compare



Compare a set of LS-DYNA Keyword files...

� Select the Common Keywords tab

� Examine the RED items to identify differences


Workshop 6Create a Keyword File

(S-Rail to Rigidwall Impact)


Workshop 6Import and mesh IGES surfaces...


� File > Open > IGES File (select /workshop6/channel.igs)



� Enter Elem Size: 6


� Click Mesh

� Click Accept

� Go to Geometry Tool → Manage


� Click Delete in the Geometry Management interface

� File > Import > IGES File (select /workshop6/flat.igs)




� Click Mesh

� Click Accept


Workshop 6Define section property...


� Select All

� Expand SECTION

� Double-click “SHELL”


� Enter TITLE: 1.0mm

� Enter ELFORM: 16

� Enter T1: 1.0 (and hit the Enter key)

� Click Accept

� Click Done



Define material property...

� Expand MAT

� Double-click “024-PIECEWISE_LINEAR_PLASTICITY”


� Enter TITLE: Mild Steel


� Enter E: 207.0

� Enter PR: 0.3

� Enter SIGY: 0.2

� Enter ETAN: 2.0

� Click Accept

� Click Done



Assign section and material...

� Go to Model → Part Data

� Select Assign

� Click All

� Click SECID

� Select “1.0mm” in the Link SECTION interface

� Click Done in Link SECTION interface

� Click MID

� Select “Mild Steel” in the Link MAT interface

� Click Done in Link MAT interface

� Click Apply

� Select Show



Add mass to end of rail...

� Click the Top render button

� Click the ZoIn render button and zoom in on the right end of the rail


� Expand Element

� Select Mass

� Select Cre

� Enter Mass: 2.0


� Click and drag to select 1 row of nodes along the end of the rail

� Click Apply

Create constraints at end of rail...

� Expand Boundary

� Select Spc

� Select Cre

� Activate Y, Z, RX, RY, and RZ (everything except X)


� Click and drag to select all nodes where masses were added

� Click Apply



Create initial velocities at end of rail...

� Expand Initial

� Select Velocity

� Select Cre

� Enter Vx: -10.0


� Select all nodes where SPCs were added

� Click Apply

Create a rigid wall...

� Expand Rigidwall

� Select Rigidwall

� Select Cre

� Select Planar

� Select NX (you may have to scroll down)

� Pick any node at the left end of the rail

� Select Tran

� Select X/L and enter Distance: 10

� Click Tran -

� Click Apply



Create welds using a master weld file...

� Go to Mesh → Spot Welding

� Select Format: Primer (from the drop-down menu)

� Click Open (select /workshop6/welds.spot)

� Select Properties: File

� Click Browse (select /workshop6/spot.conf)

� Click Create

� Click the Wire render button to see weld locations

� Click Accept

Set termination time...


� Expand CONTROL

� Double-click “TERMINATION”

� Enter ENDTIM: 10 in Keyword Input Form

� Click Accept

� Click Done



Set d3plot frequency...

� Expand DATABASE

� Double-click “BINARY_D3PLOT”

� Enter DT: 1 in Keyword Input Form

� Click Accept and Done

Set ASCII output frequency...

� Double-click “ ASCII_option”

� Enter Default DT: 0.1 (and hit the Enter key)

� Activate GLSTAT

� Activate MATSUM

� Activate SWFORC (spotweld forces)

� Click Accept and Done

Save keyword file...


� Click Browse (save as /workshop6/srail.k)

� Click Save in the Save Keyword interface


Post-Processing


Animation Interface

� The Animation controls are displayed when d3plots are

loaded. If the animation interface is closed, it can be

restored by clicking the Anim render button.


Initial State

Final State States per Increment

Loop / Play Once

Current Time

Current State Control SpeedControl State

Activate Eigen

Mode Animation


Eigen SF

Post → Fringe ComponentPurpose: to select a component for fringing

� Stress – regular stress components

� Ndv – nodal displacements and velocities

� Result – resultant stress components

� Strain – regular strain components

� Misc – pressure, temp, shell thickness, etc...

� Infin / Green / Almans – infinitesimal, Green-St. Venant, and Almansi strains

� S.Rate – strain rates

� Residu – residual elastic strains

� FLD – forming limit diagram strain components

� Beam – beam element forces and stress resultants

� CFD – Navier-Stokes fluid components


Post → Fringe Component (continued...)

� Frin – choose rendering type

• Frin – default fringing

• Isos – iso-surfaces for solid

• Lcon – line contours

• XFrn – fringe max value through all states

• FMes – fringe color on the mesh

• Expr – user define expression

� Max – location of shell surfaces

• Low / Mid / Upp – lower, mid-plane, and upper

• Max / Ave / Min – maximum, average, minimum

• Ipt – shell integration point

• Bpt – beam integration point

� Glob – coordinate system

• Glob / Loca – global or local


Post → Fringe Range

Purpose: control fringe and iso-surface ranges

� Dynamic – min/max adjusted for each time state

� Static – same min/max for all the states

� User – custom min/max for all the states

� Show – show elements within the specified range

� Entire Model – legend based on entire model

� Active Parts Only – legend based on displayed parts

� Active Elements Only – legend based on displayed

elements only


Post → Fringe Range (continued...)

� Reverse Colors – reverse legend colors

� Ident Min / Max – identify min and max elements by

ID (user defines number of entities to identify)

� Lower / Upper – set color for out-of-range elements

� Levels – customize number of fringe levels

� Palette – allows colors to be modified


Post → History

Purpose: plot time history data (from d3plots)

� Global – energies and kinematic data for full model

� Part – energies and kinematic data for parts

� Nodal – kinematic data for nodes

� Element – stress and strain data for elements

• Value – set to element value or min/max value for the part

• E-Type – choose element type to plot history

• E-Axes – global or local

• Surface – choose shell location (through-thickness)

� Int Pt – integration point data

� Scalar – plot scalar value that is being fringed

(choose component in Fcomp interface)


Post → History (continued...)

� Standard plotting options...

• Plot – plot selected value in current Plot Window

• New – plot selected value in new Plot Window

• Padd – add selected value to current Plot Window

• Raise – bring forward all open plot windows

• Pop – open and bring forward all closed plot windows

� Interfaces that use these plot functions...

• History

• XYPlot

• ASCII

• Binout

• FLD

• Measure

• Section > Force


Plot Window

� Title – modify main, axis, legend, and curve titles


Plot Window (continued...)

� Title – used to modify main, axis, legend, and curve titles

� Attr – modify curve attributes (symbol, color, width, style)



� Filter – filter curves (SAE, Butterworth, COS, etc...)

� Save – write curves to file (.crv, Keep, XY Pairs, .csv, .xml)



� Oper – perform curve operations (integrate, sum, invert, etc...)


New Plot Interface

� New XYPlot

interface puts

plots in the

Main window

� Multiple plots

on a page /

multiple pages

� Plots from one

port can be

easily moved or

copied to

another port


New Plot Interface (continued...)

� Right-click on a Port to Delete it or

launch the Control interface

� Control interface allows plots to be

customized


New Plot Interface (continued...)


Post → XYPlot

Purpose: create and manipulate XY-Plots (all saved XY

data is automatically added to the file list)

� File – show list of all loaded XY-Plot files

� Window – show list of all XY-Plot windows

� Add – import XY data (use CRV, CSV, XY formats)

� Remove – remove files from list

� Info – display number of data points

� Show – show selected plot

� Cross – create cross plot (e.g., combine Force/Time

and Disp/Time to create Force/Disp)

� Curve Clip – clip curve

� Interpolate – modify number of points in curve


Post → ASCII

Purpose: create XY-Plots from ASCII output files

� ASCII File Operations...

• File – browse and load ASCII file from any directory

• Load – load selected file type from current directory

• Unload – unload files from memory

• All – select all items in the list

• Clear – clear selected items

• Rev – reverse selection

• Info – show information on the loaded ASCII file

• Multiple Select – plot multiple curves at once when

multiple files are loaded (using File option above)


Post → ASCII (continued...)

� ASCII Sub-branches...

• Lists all data available in the selected ASCII file

• Some ASCII files have special toggles that can be used to

process data...

� MATSUM, SECFORC, SPCFORC, NODFOR, BNDOUT,

SLEOUT, and GCEOUT – [Total] combine multiple ASCII

item selections

� ABSTAT – [Airb/Mat] select airbag/material ID

� ELOUT – [Clrcp] clear component list

� ELOUT – [Stress/Strain/Beams]

� DEFORC – [Trans/Rotat] force and moments

� NODFOR – [Group] combine nodal forces of the group

� NODOUT – [HicCsi] open HIC/CSI pre-filter options

� RBDOUT – [Local] plot in local coordinate system

� SPCFORC – [Force/Momt] force and moments


Post → Binout

Purpose: plot data from binout files

� Binout contains same data as ASCII files but in binary

format

� Set BINARY=2 on *DATABASE_{OPTION} to generate

binout file

� Load – load binout file (multiple binout files can be

loaded)

� Unload – unload binout file

� Save – save binout branch in ASCII format

� Done – exit the Binout interface


Post → Follow

Purpose: define a reference point or plane for

animation and fringing relative displacement

� Animation usage...

• Pick node(s) to define reference point or plane

• Click Apply

• Play animation

� To fringe relative displacement...

• Pick node(s) to define reference point or plane

• Click Apply

• Go to Page 1: Fcomp

• Select Ndv

• Select “rx-disp”, “ry-disp”, “rz-disp”, or “r-result disp”


Post → Trace

Purpose: trace nodal displacements

� Use General Selection interface to select nodes

� Set width and color of trace line

� Select state to begin trace

� Output trace in several formats...

• *DEFINE_CURVE

• Coordinate history

• *BOUNDARY_PRESCRIBED_MOTION_NODE


Post → State

Purpose: select/overlay animation states or display

mulitple states in a grid

� Select – display the selected state or create state

overlays (with customized rendering type)

� Inactive – make states inactive (remove from

animation playback)

� Delete – delete states (delete d3plot files if possible)

� Multistate – display multiple states in a grid


Post → Output

Purpose: output post-processing data

� Some available formats...

• LS-DYNA Keyword

• Nastran

• Dynain ASCII

• ASCII and Binary STL

� Active Parts Only – write only displayed parts

� Entire Model – write entire model (use check boxes

to control exactly which entities are written)

� St No – Controls which state is written


Post → Setting

Purpose: control settings and general preferences

� Axes/Surface

• El Axes – set coordinate system for calculation of

component stresses and strains (Global / element Local)

• Surface – set current shell integration point surface and

beam integration point location (this affects what data is

extracted when using Fcomp, History, and Vector)

� Reflections – reflect the whole model or selected

parts about the global planes

� Hic/Csi Const. – change default time scale and

gravitational constant

� SPH Nodes – change appearance of smooth particle

hydrodynamics nodes


Post → Setting (continued...)

� Thickness Scale Factor – related to displaying shells

as solids (set using Thick in Appear interface)

� Fringe Scale Factor – allows small or large changes in

fringe values, active for all fringes after setting

� Concrete Crack Width – associated with D3CRCK file,

sets minimum crack width in mm to be displayed

(MAT_084 only)

� FLD E’Strain – changes display of strains for FLD

fringe components and plots to Engr or True values

� Local B’Strain – converts global strains for solid

elements into element axes values


Post → Vector

Purpose: create vector plots (similar to fringing)

� d3plot (binary plot) options...

• Shell Normal

• Displacement

• Velocity

• Principal Stress

• Principle Strain

� intfor (interface force file) options...

• Force

• Pressure

• Surface Shear


Post → Vector (continued...)

� X, Y, and Z components for displacement, velocity

and force can be selected

� Range settings...

• Dynamic – min/max adjusted for each time state

• Static – same min/max for all the states

• User – custom min/max for all the states

• Show – show vectors within the specified range

� Display settings...

• SF – set vector size scale factor

• Whole – display vectors for the whole model

• Part – display vectors for a specific part

• Area – display vectors for a user defined area

• El/Node – display vectors for specific elements/nodes


Model → Section Plane

Purpose: visualize section planes or take

measurements

� Section plane options...

• FixS – section plane is fixed in space

• FixM – section plane is fixed to the model

• Lagr – section plane is lagrangian type

� Plane definition options...

• 1p+NL – base point + normal direction

• N1-N2 – n1 defines base point, n1 to n2 defines direction

• 3Nds – 3 nodes define the plane

• 2Nds+D – 2 nodes + direction define the plane

• BasePt/BaseNd – select position or node as base point

• NormX/NormY/NormZ – set direction cosines

• Centroid – make centroid of model the base point

• Reset – reset and clear plane definition


Model → Section Plane (continued...)

� Additional options...

• No. of Cut/Distance - divide model along the plane normal

direction

• Right/Left Arrows – move the plane forward/backward

• MP Anim – animate the section

• Upd Bspt – update base point with current position

• Clear Kpsc – clear all kept section cuts from memory



� Additional options...

• Project View – view section normal to section plane

• Off/Clip – turn clipping planes off/on

• Kp Cuts – keep and display all section cuts

• Clr – clear all section cuts (keep only the last cut)

• Cut – perform section cut

• Options – display additional section plane options

• Crush – open crush/intrusion interface

• Model – reset display to full model view

• Meas – open section cut measurement interface

• Line – open line plot interface

• Force – open section force interface

• Save – open interface to save/load planes (to file)

• Done – exit the Section Plane interface



� “Options” Interface

• ShowPl – show section plane on/off

• 3DOutline – show solid part outline after cut

• ShMesh – show section plane as mesh

• Line Width – set section cut line width

• Line Color – set section cut line color

• Color/Cut – use different color for each cut instead of

different color for each part

• Thickness – draw section cut with thickness

• VP – draw vector on section cut

• Write – write section cut to file in selected format

(Keyword, VGA, or IGES)

• Curr State – set current state for writing



� “Crush” Interface – measure distance from node to

plane (intrusion plotting)

• Line Width – Intrusion plot line width

• Line Color – Intrusion plot line color

• PlotType – select history plot type

• Node ID – can be picked or keyed in

� “Line” Interface – plot fringe values at section cut

along the length of the cut

• Mainly used for metal stamping

• Must load fringe value (using Fcomp) and perform cut first

• Pick a part for the line plot



� “Force” Interface – calculate and plot section values

• Forces

• Moments

• Area

• Centroid

� “Meas” Interface – take section plane

measurements

• Coordinate

• Distance

• 3Pt-Angle

• 3Pt-Radius

• 2Ln-Angle

• Measure can be done between any two cuts


Workshop 7Post-Processing


Workshop 7Load results and input file...


� File > Open > LS-DYNA Binary Plot

(select /workshop7/d3plot)


(select /workshop7/ball_and_plate.k)

� Click Yes in the popup

� Click Animate Forward

(click the Anim render button first if necessary)


� Decrease the animation speed using the slider

Generate a movie...

� File > Movie…

� Enter File Name: animation1

� Click Start


Workshop 7(continued...)

Cut a section plane...

� Go to Model → Section Plane

� Click NormY

� Click Cut

� Click Options

� Select Line Width: 5

� Rotate the model for an isometric view

� Click MP Anim

� Click Done



Create a fringe contour plots...

� Go to Post → Fringe Component

� Click Stress

� Select “von mises stress” from the list

� Click the Top render button


(if the animation is not already playing)

� Select “plastic strain” from the list

� Click Ndv

� Select “resultant displacement” from the list

� Click Stop Animation

� Click the Shade Element (ShaEle) render button



Identify nodes and elements by ID...

� Go to Element Tools → Ident

� Select Node


� Pick some nodes by drawing a window

� Select Element

� Select Pick in the General Selection interface

� Pick some elements by clicking

� Click Clear Node

� Click Clear Elem



Plot time history data...

� Go to Post → History

� Select Nodal

� Select “Z-displacement” from the list

� Pick 1 node on the ball and 1 node on the plate

� Click Plot

� Click Quit in the Plot Window

� Select Element

� Select “Effective Stress (v-m)” from the list

� Pick an element on the plate

� Click Plot





Plot ASCII data...

� Go to Post → ASCII

� Select “glstat *” from the top list

� Click Load

� Select the top 3 items in the bottom list

� Click Plot


� Select “matsum *” from the top list

� Click Load

� Click All

� Select “2-Kinetic Energy” from the bottom list

� Click Plot




Plot a measured value...

� Drag the horizontal slider to the first frame

(click the Anim render button first if necessary)


� Go to Element Tools → Measure

� Select Item: Dist N2N

� Select “length” in the bottom list

� Pick 1 node on the ball and 1 node on the plate

� Click Plot


� Click Next State (in the animation interface) several

times and note how the measured value is updated




Plot binout data...

� Go to Post → Binout

� Click Load

(select /workshop7/binout)

� Select the file from the Open File List

� Select “glstat”

� Select “kinetic_energy”

� Click Plot

� Select “internal_energy”

� Click Padd



Format a plot...

� Click Title in the Plot Window

� Enter Plot Title: Global Stats

� Enter X-Axis Label: Time (ms)

� Enter Y-Axis Label: Energy

� Enter Legend Title: Curves

� Click Apply

� Activate Modify Curve Legend

� Select “kinetic_energy” from the list

� Change name to “Kinetic” (and hit the Enter key)

� Select “internal_energy” from the list

� Change name to “Internal” (and hit the Enter key)

Save curve data...

� Click Save in the Plot Window

� Click All next to the curve list

� Click Browse

(save as /workshop7/glstat_energy.crv)

� Click Save in the bottom row of buttons


Workshop 8Post-Processing


Workshop 8View multiple models...



(select /workshop8/example2/d3plot)


(select /workshop8/elastic_plate/d3plot)

� Go to Model → MSelect



� Select “2-BALL AND ELSTIC PLATE” from the list

� Activate Z only

� Enter Trans Dist: 2.500e+002

� Click the Left Arrow button

� Select Select

� Click and drag to select both items in the list

� Click the Auto Center (AutCen) render button

� Click the Hide Element (HidEle) render button




Create a cross plot...



(select /workshop8/elastic_plate/d3plot)


� Select “rcforc *”

� Click Load

� Select “Sl-2” from the middle list

� Select “Z-force” from the lower list

� Click Plot

� Click Scale in PlotWindow-1

� Enter Y-scale: -1

� Click Apply

� Activate Autofit

� Click Save

(save as /workshop8/elastic_plate/force_vs_time.crv)

� Click Save in the bottom row of buttons

� Click Quit in PlotWindow-1



Create a cross plot (continued)...

� Go to Post → XYPlot

� Click Add

(select /workshop8/elastic_plate/disp_vs_time.crv)

� Select Cross

� Select X-Axis

� Select “disp_vs_time.crv”

� Double-click “disp_vs_time.crv:2060”

� Select Y-Axis

� Select “force_vs_time.crv”

� Double-click “force_vs_time.crv:Sl 2”

� Click Plot



Set a reference point...



(select /workshop8/belted/d3plot)

� Click the Left and Hide Element (HidEle) render

buttons


� Click Stop

� Go to Post → Follow

� Pick any node on the structure

� Click Apply




Use Page D entity display...



(select /workshop8/belted/d3plot)


(select /workshop8/belted/belted.k)

� Click Yes in the popup


� Go to Model → Display Entity

� Expand Element

� Select Seatbelt_Accelerometer

� Select the first three items in the list

� Click the Anim render button




Calculate HIC (Head Injury Criteria)...



(select /workshop8/settings_and_hic/d3plot)


� Go to Post → Setting

� Select Hic/Csi Constants

� Select Time Units: msec (kg-mm-ms units)

� Select Gravity Constant: 0.00981

� Click Apply


� Select “nodout *”

� Click Load

� Select “1”

� Select “14-hic36”

� Click HicCsi

� Activate Apply pre-filter

� Click Plot



Modify range settings...



(select /workshop8/range/d3plot)


� Drag the slider to the last frame

� Go to Post → Fringe Component (FriComp)

� Select “von mises stress” from the top list

� Go to Post → Fringe Range (FriRang)

� Activate Reverse Colors

� Enter No. Min/Max Entities: 1

� Activate Ident Min and Max

� Select Level: 20

� Select Avg: None



View velocity vectors...





� Go to Post → Vector

� Select Velocity from the drop down menu

� Click Apply

� Click Next State (in the animation interface) to step

through the animation frame by frame



Colors, Groups, and Views...





� Go to Model → Part Color

� Click Lmap

(select /workshop8/colors_groups_views/colors)


� Click Load

(select /workshop8/colors_groups_views/groups)

� Select “dummy” from the list

� Click Select

� Go to Model → Views

� Click Load

(select /workshop8/colors_groups_views/views)

� Select “View_01” from the list

� Click Select



Plot section plane forces...



(select /workshop8/splane/csforce/d3plot)

� Go To Model → Section Plane

� Activate BaseNd

� Enter Node: 1550 (and hit Enter)

� Click NormX (directional cosine)

� Click Cut

� Click Force

� Select “Normal Force” from the list

� Click Plot



Take section plane measurements...



(select /workshop8/splane/measure/d3plot)


� Go to Model → Section Plane

� Click NormY

� Click Cut

� In the animation controls, advance to State# 9

� Click Meas (NOT Measur)

� Select 2Ln-Angle

� Click two points to form a line on the left top

� Click two points to form a line on the right top

� Click Options

� Select Line Width: 2

� Activate ShMesh (section plane as a mesh)

� Click Curr State

� Click Write to save the section data

(writes keyword file with beam elements only)



Output dynain file...



(select /workshop8/dynain_output/d3plot)

� Go to Post → Output

� Select Format: Dynain ASCII

� In the animation controls, advance to the last state

� Click Curr (current state)

� Click Write

(writes a dynain ASCII file that contains stress, strain,

and thickness information)



Save LS-PrePost database (post.db)...



(select /workshop8/dynain_output/d3plot)

� In the animation controls, advance to the desired state

� File > Save As > Save Post.db As…

� In the main window, go to Model → Assembly and

Part (SelPart)

� Select “S 2” and “S 3” only



� Select Out

� Draw a box around a portion of the model

� In the Save PostProcess DB interface, select the data

you want

� Click >>

� Enter a file name

(select /workshop8/dynain_output/post.db)

� Click Write DB


Command File and Macros


Command File

� All commands are written to lspost.cfile

• Created in same directory as input file

• Can be modified to help automate repetitive tasks

• Call other command files using “include” statements

• Skip commands using “skip” and “endskip”

• Enter interactive mode using “interactive” (us Esc key to

continue)

� 3 ways to execute command files:• File > Open > Command File

• lsprepost c=commandfile.ses

• lsprepost c=commandfile.ses –nographics


Command File (continued...)

� Parameters can be used in command file

• Parameter definition can be numbers or strings

� parameter directory “c:\Home\Test\problem\”

� parameter rotang “45.0, 0.0, 30.0”

� parameter filename “testcase1.key”

• Use “&” to mark parameters

� open d3plot &filename

• Use “{“ and “}” when combining parameters

� open d3plot &{directory}&{filename}

� Command file structure is not yet fully documented, but

more commands and details can be found here:• http://www.lstc.com/lspp/content/other/command/command.shtml


Misc. → Macro Interface

Purpose: load and execute macros

� Macros allow multiple commands to be grouped and

executed as often as desired

� Parameters can be used in macro files

� Parameters can be defined on the fly (see “matid”

and “fname”)

� Macro syntax...

• *macro begin name

� Command 1

� Command 2

� Command 3

• *macro end


Misc. → Macro Interface (continued...)

� Macro example...

• *macro begin plot_matsum

� ascii matsum plot 2 &matid

� raisewin

� xyplot 1 savefile curve_file C:\temp\&fname 1 all

• *macro end


Function Keys

� F1 launches Function Key interface shown below (shows

layout of the function keys)

� Except for F1 and F10, all other function keys can be

programmed to act as a button

� Also, a command file with the name F#.cfile can be

called using F# (place file in current working directory)

� Function keys can be customized in the configuration

file (.lspostrc)


Workshop 9Command File and Macros


Workshop 9Run a command file...



(select /workshop9/C2500D-V4f_rotated.k)

� File > Open > Command File

(select /workshop9/free_edges.ses)

� Click Start in the CFile interface

(the session file contains “interactive”

commands and thus waits for a user input to

perform the next action)

� Hit the Esc key to cycle through the parts

checking each for free edges or click the “Stop”

button in the CFile interface



Use a macro to create two solid spheres...


� Go to Misc. → Launch Macro Interface

� Click Add (select /workshop9/sphere.txt)

� Select “Sphere1” from the list

� Click Show

� Click Exec (a red sphere is created)

� Select “Sphere2” from the list

� Enter x: 10

� Enter y: 10

� Enter z: 10

� Enter radius: 6

� Enter density: 8

� Click Exec (a blue sphere is created)


Special Applications



Purpose: “Keyword Check” tab checks model for input errors

� Keywords are listed alphabetically



� Double-clicking an Error or Warning loads Extended Information

� From there, the Keyword Input Form can be opened (Read)



Purpose: “Contact Check” tab checks for contact issues

� Tying and initial penetrations can be examined (see next slide)



� Penet – check contacts (for initial penetration)

• ByParts – check for penetrations based on part thicknesses

• Contact – check for penetrations based on contact definitions

• Show: CE – show crossed edges

• Show: Penet – show initial penetrations

• SF – apply scale factor to penetration vectors

• Fix – penetrations can be fixed automatically, but this option must be used

with caution

� Tied – check tied contacts (to see if nodes are tied)

• Tied / Label – show labels for tied nodes

• Not Tied / Label – show labels for nodes that are not tied



Purpose: “Element Quality” tab checks overall mesh quality

� Available for beams, solids, shells, and thick shells


Application → Airbag Folding

Purpose: to create fold definitions and fold airbags

� Fold types...

• Thin

• Thick

• Tuck

• Double Tuck

• Spiral

• Scrunch

� Folding can be performed step by step

� Fold definitions can be saved, loaded, and modified

� Fold process can be animated (for visualization)


Application → Occupant Positioning

Purpose: to load and position occupant models

� Latest build of LS-PrePost should always be used

� LS-PrePost and Primer tree file formats are supported

� Working with multiple occupant models is supported

� Comprehensive documentation and the latest LSTC Semi-

Deformable Hybrid III Dummy models are available here:ftp://user:[email protected]/lstc-dummies/LSTC.H3.081030_V1.0.zip


Application → Belt Fitting

Purpose: to automatically generate seat belts

� First, a segment set for contact must be chosen

� Second, nodes defining the belt path can be selected

(keyed in or picked from the graphics window)

� Simple – generate a belt using 1D elements

� Mixed – generate a belt consisting of 1D and 2D

elements


Application → Intrusion Measurement

Purpose: to generate IIHS (Insurance Institute of

Highway Safety) plots

� Type: Nodout

• Must load nodout file first

• Contains node data for which intrusion will be measured

� Type: IN

• Must load IN file second

• Links node IDs from nodout to “Measured Points”

• If IN file does not exist, node numbers can be entered

keyed in manually or picked from the graphics window

� Type: Out

• Can load Out file containing previously saved intrusion data


Mesh → SPH Generation

Purpose: to create SPH particles

� Available methods...

• Box – define min/max points

• Sphere – define position and radius

• Cylinder – define position, radius, and length

• Cone – define position, radius1, radius2, and length

• SolidCenter – at center of solid elements

• SolidNodes – at solid element nodes

• ShellVolume – from an enclosed shell volume

� Pitch – distance between particles

� Density – used to compute particle mass

� Fill% – fill level

� DirX/DirY/DirZ – direction of gravitation force


Mesh → SPH Generation (continued...)

� ShellVolume notes...

• Can use multiple parts

• Only shell parts can be used

• Shell parts must form a “water-tight” enclosed volume

• Shell normals should all point outward

• Shell thickness is taken into account for particles close to

the boundary


Workshop 10Advanced Applications


Workshop 10Model checking...


� File > Open > LS-DYNA Keyword (select /workshop10/modelcheck/C2500_modelcheck.k)

� Go to Application → Model Checking → General Checking → Keyword Check

� Click Write in the Model Checking interface to write a summary of the errors and warnings



Model checking (continued)...

� Double-click Warning(4) on the *AIRBAG row

� In the “Extended Information” interface...

Click each item in the right hand side list to view the

warning details (4 airbags have open surfaces)

� Exit the model checking interface

� Go to Model → KEYWORD

� Expand AIRBAG

� Double-click “SIMPLE_AIRBAG_MODEL”

� In the Keyword Input Form, click SID

(note that PSID 908 contains part ID 168 and 169)

� Click Done in the *SET Keyword Input Form

� Click Done in the *AIRBAG Keyword Input Form





� Expand SET

� Double-click “PART_LIST”

� Select “908” in the Keyword Input Form

� Change PID1 from 168 to 167

� Click Replace

� Click Accept

� Click Done

� Recheck the model (there are now 3 airbag warnings)




� Double-click Error(4) on the *CONSTRAINED row


Click each item in the right hand side list to view the error details

(4 nodes are shared between multiple nodal rigid bodies)



� Expand Constrained

� Select Nodal Rigid Body (CNRB)

� Select Label: Symbol

� Enter ID: 920 (and hit Enter) in the General Selection interface




� Click the Assembly and Part (SelPart) render button


� Turn off the RHS (right-hand side) door (PID 115)

� Click Done

� Label CNRB 920 again (if it becomes unhighlighted)

� Enter ident node 26112 on the command line

� Select Mod (in the Create Entity interface)

� Zoom in and pick CNRB 920

� Right-click node 26112 to remove it from the CNRB definition

� Click Apply

� Recheck the model (there are now 3 constrained errors)




� Double-click Error(1) on the *CONTROL row


View the error message for *CONTROL_BULK_VISCOSITY

(Q2 should not be greater than Q1)



� Expand CONTROL

� Double-click “BULK_VISCOSITY”

� In the Keyword Input Form, click Default

� Click Accept

� Click Done

� Recheck the model (there are now no control card errors)




� Double-click Warning(1) on the *INITIAL row


View the warning message for *INITIAL_VELOCITY

(*PART_INERTIA and *INITIAL_VELOCITY are not consistent)



� Expand INITIAL

� Double-click “VELOCITY” (note that VX=1.341e4)

� Click Done

� Expand PART

� Double-click “INERTIA”

� Enter VTX: 1.341e4 in the Keyword Input Form

� Click Accept

� Click Done

� Recheck the model (there are now no initial velocity errors)




� Double-click Error(2) on the *MAT row


View the error messages for *MAT_PIECEWISE_LINEAR_PLASTICTY

(curve 871005 is not monotonically increasing, and SIGY≤0 for MID 1)



� Expand DEFINE

� Double-click “CURVE”

� Select “871005” in the Keyword Input Form

� Click Plot (note that the last point should be removed)

� Click Quit in the PlotWindow

� Select the last data point (line 8)

� Click Delete

� Click Accept

� Click Done





� Expand MAT

� Double-click “PIECEWISE_LINEAR_PLASTICITY”

� Make sure MID “1” is selected

� Change the sign of SIGY (from -270 to 270)

� Click Accept

� Click Done

� Recheck the model (there are now no material errors)



Belt fitting...



(select /workshop10/beltfit/body.k)

� Click the Front render button

� Go to Application → Seatbelt Fitting

� Enter “195“ next to Pick Nodes (and hit Enter)

� Do the same for nodes “444“ and “177“

� Select “2 - pelvic (sub:1)” from the list

� Select Mixed

� Deactivate Tria Shell Element

� Click Fit

� Click Stretch

� Click Accept

� Select “1 - torso (sub:1)“ from the list

� Enter “177“, “138“, “50“, and “168“ (in that order)

� Click Fit

� Click Accept



Contact checking...



(select /workshop10/conchk/s-rail.k)

� Go to Application → Model Checking → General

Checking → Contact Check

� Select Penet

� Select Contact

� Select “2 PSET 201 All 0 (sub:1)” from the list

� Click Check

� Select SF: 0.5

� Activate Lock Nodes


� Pick the middle part (red)

� Click Fix

� Select Tied

� Select “1 PSET 100 PSET 200 (sub:1)” from the list

� Click Check



SPH generation...



(select /workshop10/sphgen/tank.k)


� Go to Mesh → SPH Generation (SphGen)

� Pick the tank

� Activate Clearance

� Enter Clearance: 5

� Select Fill%: 60%

� Enter Pitch in X: 15

� Enter Pitch in Y: 15

� Enter Pitch in Z: 15

� Enter Density: 1.0e-6 (and hit Enter)

� Click Set Params

� Click Apply

� Click Accept


Workshop 11Extra Pre-Processing Exercises


Workshop 11Create a 4-node shell mesh...



� Select Entity: 4N_Shell

� Enter P1: 100,100,0

� Enter P2: 100,-100,0

� Enter P3: -100,-100,0

� Enter P4: -100,100,0

� Enter NxNo.: 10

� Enter NyNo.: 10

� Enter Target Name: plate

� Click Create

� Click Accept




Detach elements...



(select /workshop11/4n-shell.k)


� Go to Element Tools → Detach Element

� Active Free Edges


� Draw a box to select some elements

� Click Detach

� Click Accept



Create shells using Element Generation...



(select /workshop11/sphere.k)




� Select Shell

� Select Shell By: Solid_Face

� Select ByElem

� Activate Prop

� Set Ang: 45.0

� Pick an element on the curved outer surface

� Click Create

� Click Accept



Create solids using Element Generation (continued)...


� Select “S 2” only


� Select Solid

� Select Solid By: Shell_Offset

� Enter Thickness: 5

� Enter Segment: 1


� Click on the shell layer

� Click Create

� Click Accept



Delete elements...



(select /workshop11/4n-shell.k)



� Select Delete


� Select the center 4x4 section of elements

� Select Rm in the General Selection interface


� Click Delete

� Click Accept



Split elements (continued)...

� Select Split/Merge in the Element Editing interface

� Select Add in the General Selection interface


� Click Apply

� Click Accept

Create elements...

� Select Create in the Element Editing interface

� Select Element Type: Shell

� Activate PID

� Pick the part

� Pick 4 nodes to create a quad element in the gap

� Click Accept

� Continue creating 4-node quads (leaving empty

wedges as necessary)

� Activate Tria Only

� Fill in the remaining wedges with 3-node tria elements



Create nodes...



(select /workshop11/node_edit.k)



� Select Create

� Select ByTwo

� Enter Num: 3

� Pick node 14

� Pick node 49

� Click Create

� Click Accept



Align nodes (continued)...

� Select Align

� Pick node 11

� Pick node 46


� Draw a window to select nodes 21, 30, and 39

� Click Align

� Click Accept

Replace nodes...

� Select Replace

� Select MidPoint

� Pick nodes 18 and 19



� Click Accept



Reflect elements...



(select /workshop11/star.k)



� Select Reflect

� Select Plane: Norm Y

� Activate Pick origin

� Pick the top node

� Activate Copy Elem

� Enter 2 next to Pick Part


� Click Reflect

� Click Accept




Translate elements...







� Select Direction: X

� Enter Translate Distance: 75


� Enter No. of Copies: 2



� Click Tran +

� Click Accept




Rotate elements...






� Select Rotate

� Select Rot. Axis: Z

� Enter XYZ: 0,0,0

� Enter Rot. Angle: 36


� Enter No. of Copies: 9



� Click Rotate +

� Click Accept




Create a CNRB (*CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY)...



(select /workshop11/bolt_hole.k)



� Expand Constrained

� Select Nodal Rigid Body (CNRB)

� Select Cre

� Click the Unreferenced Node (UnRef) render button

� Pick the middle node first

� Pick the nodes around the hole perimeter

� Click Apply

� Go to Model → Keyword

� Expand CONSTRAINED to verify that a

“NODAL_RIGID_BODY” has been created



Create a cross section (*DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION)...



(select /workshop11/tube.k)




� Expand Database

� Select Cross Section

� Select Cre

� Select Plane

� Select NX

� Pick a node on the desired plane

� Click Apply


� Expand DATABASE to verify that a

“CROSS_SECTION_PLANE” has been created



Create a coordinate system (*DEFINE_COORDINATE)...






� Expand Define

� Select Coordinate

� Select Cre

� Select Type: *NODES

� Pick nodes 5, 9, and 7 (in that order)

� Enter Title: CS1

� Click Apply


� Expand DEFINE to verify that a “COORDINATE_NODES”

has been created



Create a node set...



(select /workshop11/sphere.k)




� Expand Set Data

� Select *SET_NODE

� Select Cre

� Enter Title: node set 1

� Select ByElem in the General Selection interface

� Activate Prop

� Set Ang: 45.0


� Click Apply



Create a segment set (continued)...

� Select Show

� Click None

� Select Cre

� Select *SET_SEGM

� Enter Title: segment set 1

� Select ByElem in the General Selection interface

� Activate Prop

� Set Ang: 45.0


� Click Apply


� Expand SET to verify that sets have been created

(NODE_LIST, SEGMENT)



Create curves (geometry)...



(select /workshop11/wavy_shell.k)


� Go to Curve → Spline

� Select Method: Interpolation Points

� Click the nodes along right side of the gap in order

from top to bottom

� Click Apply

� Do the same for the left side of the gap



Create a mesh using curves (continued)...


� Select Type: 2 Line Shell

� Select Element Size

� Click both lines in the graphics area

� Enter S1: 18 (and hit the Enter key)

� Enter S2: 18

� Enter S3: 18

� Enter S4: 18

� Enter Part ID: 3

� Click Mesh It

� Click Accept




Part trimming...



(select /workshop11/ptrim/C2500D-V4f_single.k)

� Enter m 140 on the command line


� Deactivate CNRB, Mass, and Disc




� Click the “.” button next to Origin Point X

� Select Node (in the Create Position interface)

� Pick a node in the middle of the truck bed

� Click Done (in the Create Position interface)

� Enter Radius: 400

� Click Apply



Part trimming (continued)...

� Go to Element Tools → Part Trim

� Select Parts

� Pick the truck bed in graphics window

� Select Curves

� Pick the circle in the graphics window

� Click Z

� Click Trim

� Click Accept

� Go to Geometry Tool → Manage


� Select Delete in the Model Management interface


� Select Delete

� Activate Prop in the General Selection interface

� Pick an element in the middle of the trimmed area

� Click Delete

� Click Accept



Mesh morphing...



(select /workshop11/morph/8lines.iges)



(select /workshop11/morph/tube.k)





Mesh morphing (continued)...

� Go to Element Tools → Morph

� Select Morphing Type: 8 Line Cons

� Select Source

� Select SLine1

� Pick lines 1,2,3,4 in that order

(you must select the same end of each line)

� Select Target

� Select TLine1

� Pick lines 5,6,7,8 in that order

(order must be consistent with source lines)

� Activate Select Nodes To Be Morphed


� Click Map

� Click Close



Spotweld generation...



(select /workshop11/swgen/rail.k)


� Go to Mesh → Spotweld Generation

� Click Open

(select /workshop11/swgen/rail.spot)

� Enter Search Radius: 1.0

� Click Mat. Properties


� Enter E: 210.0

� Enter SIGY: 0.35

� Enter ET: 0.3

� Click Create

� Click Accept



Mesh smoothing...



(select /workshop11/ptrim/C2500D-V4f_single.k)

� Enter m 146 on the command line


� Deactivate CNRB, Mass, and Disc

� Click the Mesh and Auto Center (AutCen) render

buttons

� Go to Element Tools → Smooth

� Select Select Elements

� Activate Prop in the General Selection interface

� Pick an element in the middle of PID 146 in the

graphics window

� Click Smooth several times

� Click Accept



Find and delete unreferenced entities...



(select /workshop8/belted/belted.k)



� Click the Unreferenced Node (UnRef) render button

� Go to Application → Model Checking

� Click Model Clean


Geometry


Geometry Terms

� LS-PrePost 3.0 uses a new geometry engine

• Open CASCADE Technology (http://www.opencascade.org)

� Terminology

• Vertex: a point in 3D space

• Edge: a curve bounded by two vertices

• Closed Edge: an edge with only one vertex

• Wire: a curve constructed from multiple edges

• Face: a surface bounded by one or more wires

• Infinite face: a face with no bounding wires

• Shell: one or more faces with shared edges

• Solid: one or more shells with no open faces

• Compound Solid: one or more combined solids


Geometry General Selection


Pick Select a single entity

Area Select using a rectangular window

Poly Select using an irregular polygon

Sel1 Pick 1 entity (only 1 will be in buffer)

Sphe Select entities within a sphere

Box Select entities within a box

Prox Select entities within proximity to a part

Circ Select entities within a circle

Frin Select entities within a fringe plot range

Plan Select entities within a plane

ID Manually key-in entity IDs

In Select entities inside Area/Poly

Out Select entities outside Area/Poly

Add Add entities to a selection set

Rm Remove entities to a selection set

Adjacent Select adjacent entities

Attach Select attached entities

Clear Clear selection

Save Save selection to buffer

Load Load selection from buffer

Deselect Undo last selection

Whole Select all entities in model

Visible Select all visible entities

Reverse Reverse selection

Filters are provided because geometry objects often

overlap (ex: Edges and Wires). Data types can be

turned on/off using the filters so that the desired

selection can be made

Row 1: Clear All Filter, Select All Filters

Row 2: Reference Axis, Plane, Point, Coordinate

Row 3: Node, Vertex, Edge, Wire, Face, Solid/Shell

Row 4: Line, Circle, Plane, Cylinder/Cone Surface


Ref. Geometry → Axis

Purpose: create a reference axis using one of the

following methods...

� Parameters – create axis with a point and a direction

� Line – create axis with a line or an edge

� Two Planes Intersect – create axis from the intersection of two

planes

� Axis of Cylinder/Cone/Revol – create axis from the axis of a

cylinder, cone, or revolute object

� Tangent with Curve – create axis that is tangent to a curve at a

point on a curve

� Point to Plane – create axis that passes through a point and is

normal to a plane

� Point to Surface – create axis that passes through a point on a

surface and is normal to the surface


Ref. Geometry → Plane

Purpose: create a reference plane using one of the


� Parameters – create plane with a point and a normal

� Through Line/Point – create plane through a point and normal

to the selected line

� Parallel with Point/Plane – create plane through a point

parallel to a plane or face

� Rotate with Point/Line – create plane through an

edge/axis/line at an angle to a plane or face

� Offset Plane – create plane by offsetting another plane

� Normal to Curve – create plane through a point and

perpendicular to an edge or a curve

� Tangent with Surface – create plane that is tangent to a non-

planar surface

� 3 Points – create plane containing 3 points


Ref. Geometry → Coordinate System

Purpose: create a reference coordinate system using

one of the following methods...

� Parameters – create coordinate system by defining an origin

point, a Z direction, and an X direction

� Origin/Direction – create coordinate System by picking an

origin point, an axis as Z-direction, and an axis as X-direction

� Point/Curve - create a coordinate system by selecting a point

on a curve/surface. The point is projected to the curve/surface

and then used as the origin. The normal of the projected

position is used as the Z-direction, and a local coordinate

system is created automatically.


Ref. Geometry → Point

Purpose: create a reference point using one of the


� Parameters – create point by entering the X, Y, Z coordinates

referenced to an optional coordinate system

� Circle/Ellipse Center – create point at the center of a circle

� Shape Center – create point at the gravity center of a shape

� Curve/Curve Inter – create point at the intersection of two

entities (edges or reference axis)

� Curve/Surface Inter – create point at the intersection of a

curve and a surface

� Point to Curve/Surface – create point that is directly projected

to an edge or surface

� 3 Point Arc Center – create point at the center of a circle that

passes through 3 points

� Sample Curve – create points that are on a curve


Curve → Point

Purpose: create a point using one of the following

methods...

� Parameters – create point by entering X, Y, Z coordinates (or

click a position on a plane when “Sketch on Plane” is active)

� Project to Curve – create point by projecting a point onto a

curve

� Project to Surface – create point by projecting a point onto a

surface


Curve → Line

Purpose: create a line using one of the following

methods...

� Parameters – create line by entering X, Y, Z coordinates of 2

end points

� Point/Point – create line segments by picking points. If more

than 2 points are selected and “Closed” is active, a closed loop

will be created.

� Point/Axis – create line by picking a point and defining a

“Length” along an axis. A negative length will reverse the

direction.


Curve → Circle

Purpose: create a circle using one of the following

methods...

� Parameters – create circle by entering a center point, a normal

direction, and a radius

� Point/Axis – create circle by selecting a center point and a

normal axis

� Coordinate – create circle by selecting a coordinate system

� 3 points – create circle by selecting 3 points


Curve → Circular Arc

Purpose: create a circular arc using one of the following

methods...

� Parameters – create circular arc by entering a center point, a

normal direction, a start direction, a radius, and start and end

angles

� Point/Axis – create circular arc by selecting a center point and

a normal axis

� Coordinate – create circular arc by selecting a coordinate

system

� 3 point – create circular arc by selecting 3 points


Curve → Ellipse

Purpose: create an ellipse using one of the following

methods...

� Parameters – create ellipse by entering a center point, a

normal direction, a start direction, and major and minor radii

� Point/Axis – create ellipse by selection a center point and a

normal axis

� Coordinate – create ellipse by selecting a coordinate system


Curve → Elliptical Arc

Purpose: create an elliptical arc using one of the


� Parameters – create elliptical arc by entering a center point, a

normal direction, a start direction, major and minor radii, and

start and end angles

� Point/Axis – create elliptical arc by selecting a center point and

a normal axis

� Coordinate – create elliptical arc by selecting a coordinate

system


Curve → Spline

Purpose: create a b-spline using one of the following

methods...

� Interpolation Points – create b-spline by interpolating selected

points. If more than 2 points are selected and “Closed” is

active, a closed loop will be created.

� Curve on Surface – create b-spline by interpolating selected

points on a surface

� Sketch on Mesh – create b-spline by interpolating selected

nodes

� Curve from Mesh – create b-spline by selecting nodes

� Shell Intersection – create b-spline at the intersection of 2 FE

shell parts

� Snap Edge End – snap the end points of unconnected b-splines

together


Curve → Helix

Purpose: create a helix using one of the following

methods...

� Distance and Loop – create helix by entering distance between

loops and number of loops. A circle or arc must also be

selected.

� Height and Loop – create helix by entering total height and

number of loops

� Height and Distance – create helix by entering total height and

distance between loops


Curve → Wire (Composite Curve)

Purpose: create a wire using one of the following

methods...

� Edge list – create wire by connecting edges together

� Bounds of shell – create wire by using the boundary of a shell


Curve → Break

Purpose: break a curve into multiple sub curves using

one of the following methods...

� Auto Break – split curve automatically by defining a feature

angle

� Manual Break – split curve by picking positions on the curve

� Batch Break – split multiple curves on faces by defining a

feature angle


Curve → Merge

Purpose: merge neighboring curves into a single curve.

If the “Multiple” method is used, curves do not need

to be selected in order. The curves will be sorted

automatically according to neighbor distance.


Curve → Bridge

Purpose: bridge curves together according to the

module length of the tangent directions


Curve → Smooth

Purpose: smooth a noisy curve by entering an

appropriate tolerance. A new curve can be created if

“Copy” is active.


Curve → MidCurve

Purpose: create a new curve between 2 existing curves.

The location of the new curves can be defined as a

percentage from the first curve. A mid point can also

be created using this interface.


Surface → Plane

Purpose: create a planar surface using one of the


� Coordinate System – create surface plane by selecting a

coordinate system and entering the starting and ending X,Y

location (in the local coordinate system)

� 3 Point – create surface by selecting 3 points (the size can be

adjusted using a “Scale” factor)

� Fit Plane – create plane by fitting through selected points


Surface → Cylinder

Purpose: create a cylindrical surface using one of the


� Parameter – create cylinder by selecting a coordinate system,

entering a radius, and entering start and end angles

� Bottom/Top Center – create cylinder by selecting points at the

bottom center and top center


Surface → Cone

Purpose: create a conical surface using one of the


� Parameter – create cone by selecting a coordinate system,

entering a semi angle of apex, entering a bottom radius,

entering start and end angles, and entering the bottom and top

height (from the origin of the coordinate system)

� Bottom/Top Center – create cone by selecting points at the



Surface → Sphere

Purpose: create a spherical surface using one of the


� Parameter – create sphere by selecting a coordinate system

and entering the radius, the start and end U angles, and the

start and end V angles

� Center Point – create sphere by selecting a center point and a

point on the sphere (or by entering a radius)


Surface → Torus

Purpose: create a toroidal surface by selecting a local

coordinate system (default is global) and entering

the following parameters...

� Path radius

� Profile radius

� U start and end angles

� V start and end angles


Surface → Fill Plane

Purpose: create a surface by connecting edges or

points to fill a plane...

� By Edges – edges will be used for the boundary of the surface

� By Points – straight lines will be created between points


Surface → Extrude

Purpose: create a surface by extruding an edge or a

wire using the following steps...

� Pick edge/wire as the profile

� Pick another edge or axis as the direction

� Enter start and end distances


Surface → Revolve

Purpose: create a surface by revolving an edge or a



� Pick an axis of revolution

� Enter start and end angles


Surface → Sweep

Purpose: create a surface by sweeping an edge or a



� Pick a curve that defines the sweep path


Surface → Loft

Purpose: create a lofted surface. A loft is a face or shell

passing through a set of sections in a given

sequence. Usually, sections are edges or wires, but

the first and the last sections may be vertices

(punctual sections).


Surface → N-Side

Purpose: create a surface from a set of (N) bounding

edges. Constraints can be applied as follows...

� Continuity 0 – the surface must pass by 3D representation of

the edge

� Continuity 1 – the surface must pass by 3D representation of

the edge, and it must respect tangency with the first face of

the edge

� Auto Close – automatically connect each neighboring edge

� Smooth Curve – smooth boundary curves


Surface → Patch Surface

Purpose: create a surface from a region bounded by

contiguous b-spline curves. The algorithm accepts 2,

3, or 4 bounding curves. A range of filling styles (flat,

middle, and round) are available.


Surface → Bridge

Purpose: create a surface by bridging faces using the

following steps...

� Select an edge from one face

� Select an edge from another face


Surface → Combine

Purpose: create a surface by combining neighboring

faces or shells using the following steps...

� Select faces or shells

� Define number of U, V control points

� Define degrees, max tolerance, and smoothness

� Select final surface type (Natural or Trimmed)

� Activate "Replace Raw Faces" to remove original faces

� Activate "Preview" to preview result


Surface → Fit Surface

Purpose: create a fitted surface based on an FE mesh,

nodes, or curves


Surface → Mid Surface

Purpose: create a mid surface from a solid or from top

and bottom surfaces

� By Surfaces – manually create a mid surface from two surfaces

� By Solid – automatically create all mid surfaces from a solid

object


Solid → Box

Purpose: create a solid box using one of the following

methods...

� Parameters – create box by selecting a coordinate system

(default is global) and entering min and max X, Y, Z coordinates

� 2 Points – create box by selecting 2 points located at opposing

corners


Solid → Cylinder

Purpose: create a solid cylinder using one of the


� Parameters – create cylinder by selecting a coordinate system

(default is global) and entering a radius, height, and angle

� Bottom/Top Center – create cylinder by selecting points at the



Solid → Cone

Purpose: create a solid cone using one of the following

methods...

� Parameters – create cone by selecting a coordinate system

(default is global) and entering bottom and top radii, height,

and angle

� Bottom/Top center – create cone by selecting points at the



Solid → Sphere

Purpose: create a solid sphere using one of the


� Parameters – create sphere by selecting a coordinate system

(default is global) and entering a radius, U start and end angles,

and V start and end angles

� Center Point – create sphere by selecting a center point and a

point on the sphere (or by entering a radius)


Solid → Torus

Purpose: create a solid torus by selecting a local



� Path radius

� Profile radius

� U start and end angles

� V start and end angles


Solid → Extrude

Purpose: create a solid object by extruding surfaces in a

specified direction. The direction can be a reference

axis, a line, or an edge.


Solid → Revolve

Purpose: create a solid object by revolving a group of

faces about an axis


Solid → Sweep

Purpose: create a solid object by sweeping a surface

along a curve


Solid → Loft

Purpose: create a solid object by lofting through a set

of closed sections in a given sequence. Usually,

sections are edges, wires, or faces, but the first and

the last sections may be vertices (punctual sections).


Solid → Fillet

Purpose: creates rounded internal or external faces on

shell or solid shapes. Fillets can be applied to all

edges of a face, selected sets of faces, selected

edges, or edge loops. “Equal Radius” or “Various

Radius” can be used. If “Whole Shape” is active, the

entire solid will be filleted.


Solid → Chamfer

Purpose: create beveled edges using one of the


� Angle-Distance – create chamfer by defining distance and an

angle

� Distance-Distance – create chamfer by defining a pair of

distances


Solid → Draft

Purpose: create tapered faces using a specified angle.

One application is to make a molded part easier to

remove from a mold. A draft can be inserted in an

existing part, or a draft can be applied while

extruding a feature. Drafts can be applied to solid or

surface objects.


Solid → Thicken

Purpose: create a solid object by thickening one or

more adjacent shell or solid surfaces using the

following steps...

� Select a solid object

� Select faces that will be removed for thickening


Solid → Wedge

Purpose: create a solid wedge by selecting a local



� Length

� Width

� Height

� Min and Max coordinates


Solid → Boolean

Purpose: combine, subtract, or find the common space

occupied by two solid objects


GeoTool → Delete Face

Purpose: delete independent or dependent faces from

a shell or solid

� Delete – simple deletion of faces

� Delete and Repair – delete dependent faces from shell/solid

and try to extend neighboring faces (and trim with each other)

� Delete and Fill - delete dependent faces from shell/solid and fill

gaps with N-Side surfaces


GeoTool → Extend Curve

Purpose: extend a curve by selecting an edge or a

vertex

Stop Condition:

� Distance – extend curve by a distance

� Up to Face – extend curve to a face

� Up to Vertex – extend curve to a vertex

Extension Type:

� Linear – extend curve tangent to the original curve

� Same Curve – extend curve using existing curvature

� Extend on Face – extend curve on the face (if the curve is

located on a face)


GeoTool → Extend Surface

Purpose: extend a surface by selection a face or an

edge

Stop Condition:

� Distance – extend surface by a distance

� Up to Face – extend surface to a face

� Up to Vertex – extend surface to a vertex

Extension Type:

� Linear – extend surface tangent to the original face

� Same Surface – extend surface using existing curvature


GeoTool → Intersection

Purpose: create entities at the intersection of two

geometry data sets using one of the following

methods...

� Standard – create intersections of data in set 1 with set 2

� Mutual – create intersections within a single set of data

� Note: a vertex will be created when a curve intersects

another curve or a surface. A curve will be created when a

surface intersect another surface.


GeoTool → Offset

Purpose: create geometry offsets using one of the


� Face/Shell – select a face or shell, enter an offset distance, and

activate the “Round Corner” option

� Plane Edge/Wire – select planar edge/wire and enter an offset

distance. The resulting edge/wire will be in the same plane.

� Edge on Face – select edges from a face and enter an offset

distance. The resulting edge will locate on the same surface.


GeoTool → Project

Purpose: project vertices, edges, and wires onto a face

or shell

� Normal Projection – first select a destination face/shell. Then

select a vertex/edge/wire. Finally, select a line or an axis as the

projection direction. If a direction is omitted, LS-PrePost will

test to see if the destination object is planar. If yes, the normal

of the destination object will be used. If no, LS-PrePost will test

to see if the source object is planar.


GeoTool → Replace Face

Purpose: replace a face using the following steps...

� Create a new surface using N-Side surface

� Select surfaces to be replaced with the new surface


GeoTool → Stitch

Purpose: stitch independent faces into a shell

� Try to Make Solid – convert the shell to a solid if it forms an

enclosed volume

� All Faces – select all faces from the current model

� Dis Tol – set distance tolerance to control the stitching

� Non-manifold Mode – stitch faces that come together in a t-

configuration

� Group by Part – stitch faces that belong to the same part


GeoTool → Trim

Purpose: use edges or faces to trim other edges or

faces

� Standard – define a trim tool and select entities to be trimmed.

Activate “Raw Trim Tool” to extend the tool if it does not reach

the entities to be trimmed

� Mutual – trim multiples faces using the faces themselves

� Cut solid – trim a solid object

� Split face – split a face by picking 2 face edge points


GeoTool → Transform

Purpose: perform standard 3D transformations

� Translate – translate geometry objects in a specified direction

� Rotate – rotate geometry objects about an axis

� Scale – scale geometry objects about a reference point

� Mirror – reflect geometry objects about a reference

point/axis/plane

� Transform – transform geometry objects from one coordinate

system to another

� Copy – create new geometry entities while performing

transformations


GeoTool → Copy

Purpose: copy geometry entities

� To Current Assembly – new geometry entities will be created in

the current assembly

� To New Assembly – new geometry entities will be created in a

new assembly

� To Specify Assembly – new geometry entities will be create in a

specified assembly

� Move to Specify Assembly – geometry entities will be moved

from one assembly to another


GeoTool → Manage

Purpose: manage geometric entities

� (un)Blank – blank or unblank independent entities

� Delete – delete independent entities (you can't delete a face

from a shell or an edge from an face)

� (un)BlkAll – blank or unblank the whole model

� Export – export entities in IGES or STEP format

� SplitShell – split all shells and solids into independent faces

� Glo/Loc – Glo lists only independent objects, Loc lists all

� To 2.x – convert points/curves/surfaces to version 2.4 data

structure

� Undo – undo last (un)Blank or Delete operation

� ClearModel – remove all geometry objects and reference

geometry from current model


GeoTool → Heal → Face

Purpose: fix problems related to faces

� Find and remove duplicated faces

� Find and remove small faces/edges


GeoTool → Heal → Edge

Purpose: fix problems related to edges

� Toggle – stitch neighboring faces by selecting a seed edge

� Untoggle – unstitch neighboring faces

� Replace – replace a raw edge with another edge

� Suppress – under development (not currently used)

� Small Edges – find small edges

� Break – under development (not currently used)


GeoTool → Heal → Vertex

Purpose: fix problems related to vertices

� Add – insert a vertex into an edge (break the edge into two sub

edges at the new vertex)

� Move – move a vertex on a edge to a specified position (the

new position should not be far away)

� Remove – search and remove redundant vertices according to

a specified break angle


GeoTool → Heal → Hole

Purpose: find and remove holes

� Inner Hole – find and remove holes that are entirely within a

single surface

� Outer Hole – find and remove holes that are located on

multiple surfaces or on the outer boundary of a surface


Outer hole

Inner Hole

GeoTool → Simplify → Untrim Surface

Purpose: untrim surfaces

� All Trim Edges – select wire from a face or faces to recover the

raw surface

� Inner Trim Edge Only – select wire from a face or faces to

remove all the inner edges (all holes) on the face

� Manual Selection Edges – select edge from a face to remove

the selected edges by connecting or extending two neighboring

edges on the face


GeoTool → Simplify → Fillet Surf. Remove

Purpose: remove filleted edges from a solid surface

� Find – search for filleted surfaces

� Apply – remove fillets by extending neighbor faces and

trimming them


GeoTool → Simplify → Fillet Edge Remove

Purpose: remove filleted edges from a shell surface

� Find – search for filleted surfaces

� Apply – remove fillets by extending neighbor faces and

trimming them


GeoTool → Simplify → Edge Reshape

Purpose: reshape surface boundaries based on edge

tangents at two selected points


GeoTool → Measure

Purpose: measure the distance between two points,

the radius and angle of a circular arc, the normal of a

plane, whether two circles are co-centered, whether

two lines are parallel, etc... You can also show or

hide the ID of any geometry object.

� If Vertices/Edges/Faces/Shapes are active, the label of each

corresponding entity will be shown

� If a geometry object is selected, its information will be listed

� If two geometry objects are selected, the relationship between

the objects will be evaluated


Workshop 12Create Bottle Geometry


Workshop 12Create construction vertices...


� Go to Curve → Point



� Click Apply

� Enter XYZ: 25,7.5,0

� Click Apply


� Click Apply

� Enter XYZ: -25,7.5,0

� Click Apply

� Enter XYZ: -25,0,0

� Click Apply




Create profile edges...

� Go to Curve → Line

� Select Method: Point/Point

� Click the Selection List box

� Pick vertices 1 and 2

� Click Apply

� Pick vertices 4 and 5

� Click Apply

� Go to Curve → Circular Arc

� Select Method: 3 Points


� Pick vertices 2, 3, and 4 (in that order)

� Click Apply



Create a reference axis for reflection...

� Go to Reference Geometry → Axis

� Select Method: Two Points


� Pick vertices 1 and 5 (in that order)

� Click Apply

Reflect the profile edges...

� Go to Geometry Tools → Transform

� Select Transform Type: Reflect

� Click in the Source Entity box

� Pick all 3 edges

� Select By Axis

� Select Dir: Sel. Axis

� Click in the Point/Axis/Plane box

� Pick the reference axis

� Activate Copy

� Click Apply



Create a surface from the profile edges...

� Go to Surface → Fill Plane

� Select Method: By Edges



� Click Apply



Create a solid (the Body) by extruding the profile surface...

� Go to Solid → Extrude

� Click the Face List box

� Pick the surface

� Enter End Distance: 70

� Click Apply




Round the edges of the Body...

� Go to Solid → Fillet

� Click the Shape List box

� Pick any face of the solid

� Select Equal Radius

� Enter Radius: 2.5

� Activate Whole Shape

� Click Apply



Create a reference coordinate system...

� Go to Reference Geometry → Point

� Select Method: Barycenter


� Pick the top face (farthest from extruded edges)

� Click Apply

� Go to Reference Geometry → Axis

� Select Method: Point to Plane


� Pick the top face and the reference point

� Click Apply

� Go to Reference Geometry → Coordinate System

� Select Method: Origin/Direction

� Click the Origin box

� Pick the reference point

� Click the Z Dir box

� Pick the reference axis

� Click Apply



Create a solid cylinder (the Neck)...

� Go to Solid → Cylinder


� Click the Coordinate Sys box

� Pick the coordinate system


� Enter End Height: 7

� Enter End Angle: 360

� Click Apply

Combine the Body and Neck (to form a Bottle)...

� Go to Solid → Boolean

� Select Method: Union

� Click the Solid Shapes box

� Pick the Body

� Pick the Neck

� Click Apply



Hollow out the Bottle...

� Go to Solid → Thicken

� Click the Solid Shape box

� Pick the Bottle

� Click the Remove Faces List box

� Pick the top surface of the Neck

� Enter Thickness: 0.6

� Click Apply



Create some circles (to create Threads on Neck)...


� Select Method: Coordinate




� Click Apply




� Click Apply

� Click the Wireframe Geometry (WirGeo)

render button



Create helices from the circles...

� Go to Curve → Helix

� Select Method: Height and Loop

� Click the Circle/Arc List box

� Pick one of the circles

� Enter Height: 7

� Enter Loop Number: 3

� Click Apply

� Click the Circle/Arc List box

� Pick the other circle

� Click Apply



Loft the helices and extrude the surface...

� Go to Surface → Loft

� Click the Profile Shapes box

� Pick both helices

� Click Apply

� Go to Solid → Extrude

� Click the Face List box

� Pick the lofted surface

� Click the Direction List box

� Pick the axis normal to the top Neck face

(in the reference coordinate system)

� Enter End Distance: 0.4

� Click Apply



Remove redundant shapes...

� Go to Geometry Tools → Management

� In the Entity List box, select all items except the two

solid entities

� Click Delete


� Click the Shaded Geometry With Edges (EdgGeo)

render button


Configuration File


Configuration

� Configuration files

• Lsppconf – record general configuration parameters, user the

pull down menu “Setting”->”Configuration Settings” to set

parameters

• Lspplasttouch – record last session windows size, dialog

location, file path, etc.

• Configuire_Toolbar.cfg – record toolbar configurations

• .lspp_recent – record recently used files and their locations

� Configuration file location

• Windows – c:\users\uname\AppData\Roaming\LSTC\LS-PrePost

• Linux - $HOME/LSTC/LS-Prepost


Documents

Introduction to LS-PrePost 3.2