What types of FE data can I export?

Question:

What type of FE data can I export?

Applies to:

Exporting to Simulation software

Answer:

FE Volume Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)

FE Surface Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)

Thermal Boundary Conditions

FE Volume Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)
	Abaqus (.inp)	ANSYS (.cdb)	Nastran (.bdf)	LS-Dyna (.k)	Universal (.unv)	Patran (.pat)	Fluent (.msh)
FE Volume Mesh	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
FE Volume Mesh + Node set	X			X	X	X
FE Volume Mesh + Edge set
FE Volume Mesh + Face set	X
FE Volume Mesh + Element set	X	X		X	X	X

FE Surface Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)
	Abaqus (.inp)	ANSYS (.cdb)	Nastran (.bdf)	LS-Dyna (.k)	Universal (.unv)	Patran (.pat)	Fluent (.msh)
FE Surface Mesh	X	X	X	X	X	X
FE Surface Mesh + Node set	X			X	X	X
FE Surface Mesh + Edge set
FE Surface Mesh + Face set	X
FE Surface Mesh + Element set	X	X		X	X	X

FE Lattice Mesh (Linear)
	Abaqus (.inp)	ANSYS (.cdb)	Nastran (.bdf)	LS-Dyna (.k)	Universal (.unv)	Patran (.pat)	Fluent (.msh)
FE Lattice Mesh	X	X		X	X	X
FE Lattice Mesh + Node set	X	X		X	X	X
FE Lattice Mesh + Edge set
FE Lattice Mesh + Element set	X	X		X	X	X

FE Lattice Mesh (Quadratic)
	Abaqus (.inp)	ANSYS (.cdb)	Nastran (.bdf)	LS-Dyna (.k)	Universal (.unv)	Patran (.pat)	Fluent (.msh)
FE Lattice Mesh	X	X			X	X
FE Lattice Mesh + Node set	X	X			X	X
FE Lattice Mesh + Edge set
FE Lattice Mesh + Element set	X	X			X	X

Material Properties
	Abaqus (.inp)	ANSYS (.cdb)	Nastran (.bdf)	LS-Dyna (.k)	Universal (.unv)	Patran (.pat)	Fluent (.msh)
Isotropic Elastic Property	X	X	X	X
Isotropic Thermal Property	X	X	X
Isotropic Thermal Expansion Property	X	X	X
Orthotropic Elastic Property	X	X
Orthotropic Thermal Property	X	X
Orthotropic Thermal Expansion Property
Density	X	X	X	X
Beam Thickness	X	X
Shell Thickness	X	X	X	X
Multiple Attributes	X	X	X	X

Connectors
	Abaqus (.inp)	ANSYS (.cdb)	Nastran (.bdf)	LS-Dyna (.k)	Universal (.unv)	Patran (.pat)	Fluent (.msh)
Solid - Solid	X	X	X		X	X
Solid - Shell	X	X	X		X	X
Solid - Beam	X	X	X		X	X
Shell - Solid	X	X	X		X	X
Shell - Shell	X	X	X		X	X
Shell - Beam	X	X	X		X	X
Beam - Solid	X	X	X		X	X
Beam - Shell	X	X	X		X	X
Beam - Beam	X	X	X		X	X

*If you want to export BC with Ansys Fluent, check out this article

Loading Boundary Conditions
	Abaqus (.inp)	ANSYS (.cdb)	Nastran (.bdf)	LS-Dyna (.k)	Universal (.unv)	Patran (.pat)	Fluent (.msh)
Force (Solid Nodes)	X	X	X		X	X
Force (Solid Edges)
Force (Solid Faces)	X	X	X
Force (Shell Nodes)	X	X	X		X	X
Force (Shell Edges)
Force (Shell Faces)	X	X	X
Force (Beam Nodes)	X	X			X	X
Force (Beam Edges)
Pressure (Solid Faces)	X	X	X	X	X	X
Pressure (Shell Faces)	X	X	X	X	X	X
Remote Force	X	X	X
Remote Moment	X	X	X		X
Displacement Restraint	X	X	X	X	X	X
Acceleration Load	X	X

Thermal Boundary Conditions
	Abaqus (.inp)	ANSYS (.cdb)	Nastran (.bdf)	LS-Dyna (.k)	Universal (.unv)	Patran (.pat)	Fluent (.msh)
Temperature Restraint	X	X	X		X	X
Heat Flux	X	X	X		X	X
Heat Generation	X	X	X
Radiation Boundary Load	X
Convection Boundary Load	X	X	X		X	X
Initial Temperature
Applied Temperature

A Note on Sets:

The FE Sets (e.g., FE Boundary and FE Region) created in nTop can be made of up nodes, elements, edges, or faces, but only certain target formats support all of these. In general, the Abaqus .inp format is very robust and well-supported and even works well when translated into other tools including ANSYS Workbench using the “External Model” system. If applicable, this format is generally recommended when communicating FE data for mechanical applications. *You can only export one FE Mesh at a time when exporting it with FE Sets.

Download the Example file:

Example File

Keywords:

analysis mesh simulation fea export fe ansys nastran abaqus cae fluent inp cdb bdf k unv pat msh universal patran LS-Dyna dyna

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What's New?

What types of FE data can I export?

Question:

Applies to:

Answer:

FE Volume Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)

FE Surface Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)

FE Lattice Mesh (Linear)

FE Lattice Mesh (Quadratic)

Material Properties

Connectors

Loading Boundary Conditions

Thermal Boundary Conditions

A Note on Sets:

Download the Example file:

Keywords:

​Question:

​Applies to:

​Answer:

​A Note on Sets:

​Download the Example file:

​Keywords:

Question:

Applies to:

Answer:

A Note on Sets:

Download the Example file:

Keywords: