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Question:

What type of FE data can I export?

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Applies to:

  • Exporting to Simulation software

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Answer:

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FE Volume Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)

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FE Surface Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)

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FE Lattice Mesh (Linear)

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FE Lattice Mesh (Quadratic)

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Material Properties

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Connectors

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Loading Boundary Conditions

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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 MeshXXXXXXX
FE Volume Mesh + Node setXXXX
FE Volume Mesh + Edge set
FE Volume Mesh + Face setX
FE Volume Mesh + Element setXXXXX
FE Surface Mesh (Linear & Quadratic)
Abaqus (.inp)ANSYS (.cdb)Nastran (.bdf)LS-Dyna (.k)Universal (.unv)Patran (.pat)Fluent (.msh)
FE Surface MeshXXXXXX
FE Surface Mesh + Node setXXXX
FE Surface Mesh + Edge set
FE Surface Mesh + Face setX
FE Surface Mesh + Element setXXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh (Linear)
Abaqus (.inp)ANSYS (.cdb)Nastran (.bdf)LS-Dyna (.k)Universal (.unv)Patran (.pat)Fluent (.msh)
FE Lattice MeshXXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh + Node setXXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh + Edge set
FE Lattice Mesh + Element setXXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh (Quadratic)
Abaqus (.inp)ANSYS (.cdb)Nastran (.bdf)LS-Dyna (.k)Universal (.unv)Patran (.pat)Fluent (.msh)
FE Lattice MeshXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh + Node setXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh + Edge set
FE Lattice Mesh + Element setXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh (Quadratic)
Abaqus (.inp)ANSYS (.cdb)Nastran (.bdf)LS-Dyna (.k)Universal (.unv)Patran (.pat)Fluent (.msh)
FE Lattice MeshXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh + Node setXXXX
FE Lattice Mesh + Edge set
FE Lattice Mesh + Element setXXXX
Material Properties
Abaqus (.inp)ANSYS (.cdb)Nastran (.bdf)LS-Dyna (.k)Universal (.unv)Patran (.pat)Fluent (.msh)
Isotropic Elastic PropertyXXXX
Isotropic Thermal PropertyXXX
Isotropic Thermal Expansion PropertyXXX
Orthotropic Elastic PropertyXX
Orthotropic Thermal PropertyXX
Orthotropic Thermal Expansion Property
DensityXXXX
Beam ThicknessXX
Shell ThicknessXXXX
Multiple AttributesXXXX
Connectors
Abaqus (.inp)ANSYS (.cdb)Nastran (.bdf)LS-Dyna (.k)Universal (.unv)Patran (.pat)Fluent (.msh)
Solid - SolidXXXXX
Solid - ShellXXXXX
Solid - BeamXXXXX
Shell - SolidXXXXX
Shell - ShellXXXXX
Shell - BeamXXXXX
Beam - SolidXXXXX
Beam - ShellXXXXX
Beam - BeamXXXXX
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)XXXXX
Force (Solid Edges)
Force (Solid Faces)XXX
Force (Shell Nodes)XXXXX
Force (Shell Edges)
Force (Shell Faces)XXX
Force (Beam Nodes)XXXX
Force (Beam Edges)
Pressure (Solid Faces)XXXXXX
Pressure (Shell Faces)XXXXXX
Remote ForceXXX
Remote MomentXXXX
Displacement RestraintXXXXXX
Acceleration LoadXX
Thermal Boundary Conditions
Abaqus (.inp)ANSYS (.cdb)Nastran (.bdf)LS-Dyna (.k)Universal (.unv)Patran (.pat)Fluent (.msh)
Temperature RestraintXXXXX
Heat FluxXXXXX
Heat GenerationXXX
Radiation Boundary LoadX
Convection Boundary LoadXXXXX
Initial Temperature
Applied Temperature

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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.

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Download the Example file:

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More on this topic:

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Keywords:

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