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Introduction
SWAU — pronounced “swah-oo” — is the Southwest
ANSYS Users (SWAU), an organization of ANSYS users and people interested
in ANSYS, who are located in the Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico,
Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Western Kansas, and El Paso). The goal of
the organization is to provide a sense of community for ANSYS users
in the region, to serve as a means of communication about ANSYS,
and to provide technical and peer resources to those interested in
becoming ANSYS users.
News!
PADT - Wants You!
PADT is looking for a highly motivated individual to join our team in the following positions:
- FE Analysis Engineer
- Medical Lab Manager
For more information please visit the Job Opportunities page on our website.
Become an APDL Master with PADT's APDL Guide
Teach Yourself ANSYS Customization with PADT's APDL Guide
This guide is a compilation of course notes from PADT’s very popular ANSYS Customization with APDL class. By popular demand, PADT has turned these notes into a 288-page guide that steps new and experienced ANSYS users through all of the details of APDL scripting. Its 12 chapters include reference information, examples, tips and hints, and eight workshops. The guide, available in hardcopy only, is an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to start using APDL or become an ANSYS “power user”. At $75 plus shipping, this manual will quickly pay for itself by saving you hours of research and trial-and-error.
For more information on this guide or how to purchase, please visit our website
PADT would like to extend a personal invitation towards everyone who reads the SWAU Report to join us in Pittsburgh this year. This will be the first conference with ANSYS and FLUENT together and we expect a lot of new announcements on future products, changes to Workbench, how the Ansoft purchase changes things, and on how people are using the ANSYS Products in different areas. As always, there will be tons of great papers and presentations of new capabilities in the next release (V12). PADT will be there and we hope to see as many of you as can make it.
Visit www.ansys.com/events/conference2008 for more information.
ANSYS Fluid Flow Modeling Software Improves Vehicle Design at Honda
ANSYS, Inc. announced that its computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT(R) for CATIA(R) V5 was chosen by Honda R&D Co., Ltd. for fluid flow analysis and has contributed significantly to improving design process efficiency. Honda R&D (located in Haga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture; Asaka-shi and Wako-shi, Saitama Prefecture) is a research and development subsidiary of Honda, one of the world's leading automotive manufacturers.
To view full article, please click here:
TGrid 5.0 Advances Automatic, High-Quality Meshing Tools for Increased Productivity
Release from ANSYS Introduces Key New Technologies in Surface and Volume Meshing
ANSYS, Inc. announced the release of version 5.0 of its TGrid(TM) advanced mesh generation software. TGrid technology is a specialized pre-processor for fluid flow analysis. It is used to create large unstructured tetrahedral and hex-core meshes for complex geometry. The software is utilized heavily in large-scale automotive and aerospace applications, in which advanced meshing techniques are required for the computational analysis of fluid flow. This latest version of TGrid software introduces new tools and enhanced capabilities to generate high-quality meshes more efficiently. In addition, this release exhibits a continued commitment by ANSYS to deliver best-in-class meshing technology. .
To view full article, please click here:
Featured Article: User Routines in ANSYS-No Big Deal
By Eric Miller
Recently, on a visit to a mid-west division of a large customer of ours, we were doing our regular “This is ANSYS, Inc” presentation when it became clear that one of the engineers in the room was an ABAQUS user. The fact that he had the same self-satisfied and superior smirk on his face as a Prius owner in the carpool lane was not what identified him as an ABAQUS user (he could have actually been a Prius owner or, even worse, a Mac fanatic). No, what gave his CAE religious leanings away was his claim that ANSYS lacked the capabilities that a typical ABAQUS user needs. Listening to only the ABAQUS community these users believe that their tool of choice is the only one on the market that does non-linear materials, hyper-elasticity, convergence monitoring, stabilization, rezoning, user defined subroutines and a whole list of capabilities that have been included in ANSYS for over a decade.
But user routines are what this article is about. So, getting back on topic, this particular user said: “We have to use ABAQUS because we have our own creep law in a user routine and only ABAQUS supports user creep laws.” Now having personally coded five or more creep laws in ANSYS, starting in the late 1980’s, I felt pretty strongly that he was misinformed. Thinking more about this on the plane ride home it became obvious that everyone in the ANSYS community has done a seriously poor job spreading the word on ANSYS user subroutines, and since spreading the word is what the SWAU report is all about- I decided it was time to get the good word out.
The core ANSYS program is basically a single monolithique executable compiled from mostly FORTRAN routines. Over the years, the developers have added routines for the express purpose of allowing users to change the ANSYS executable to add their own solver capabilities. These routines are cleverly called User Programmable Features or UPF’s. To add your own functionality you simply take the example routine provided by ANSYS, Inc. and modify it to model the behavior you want. Then you compile your routines and link it to an object file that ANSYS provides. The end result is a custom executable that you can use just like the standard ansys110.exe executable, but it contains your own subroutines.
In order to do your own routine you need four things:
- The proper FORTRAN compiler
You must use the same compiler that ANSYS, Inc. used. This is listed in chapter one of the Installation Guides under Installation Prerequisites. - The official manual
ANSYS Programmer’s Guide: User Programmable Features. You can buy a hardcopy or get a PDF on the customer portal at: www1.ansys.com/customer/content/documentation/110/ansys/aprog110.pdf - A very good understanding of the algorithms you want to implement in the user routine
- A verification case to test out your UPF’s
Almost every part of the ANSYS solver has a UPF, but the most commonly used ones can be grouped into the following categories:
- User defined material models
There are really few limits on what you can do with these user material routines. They work with the old and new element formulations and there are special routines for the most common application: creep. - User Elements
We most commonly see these being used by PhD candidates trying out a new element formulation or some specialty formulation. These routines will support pretty much any formulation in the finite element method and is a great way to add a unique simplification to your models. - Property Definitions
Sometimes you want to define a property like a real constant, element orientation, shell thickness or beam orientation on the fly as you solve a model. The large collection of user routines for calculating properties enable this. Many of these routines are referenced in the documentation for loads or elements. - User Commands
The Programmer’s Guide actually documents a large number of routines in ANSYS that allow the user to define their own custom pre/post and solve commands. Once you start using these routines, there truly is no limit on what you can do.
The whole thing is pretty simple, and you can get more information on the process by reading an article we did in 2004 in “The Focus:” It gives a good review of what the routines are, what you need to create your own ANSYS executable, and shows some of the basic examples.
The bottom line is that ANSYS actually has a very-well documented and robust collection of user routines that allow users to do pretty much anything they need beyond what comes in the pre-compiled version, and implementing your own routines is easy. So, don’t let some ABAQUS bigot lord it over you because he has his own user creep routine and he thinks you are not worthy or capable of doing the same. Instead of keying his Prius, whip out your own USERCR.F and show him what is what.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.
Visit us @ www.padtinc.com or call us at (480) 813-4884 or (800) 293-PADT
GOT CFD?
GOT CFD?
Whether you feel you need to start implementing CFD into your engineering analysis or you are looking for increased compute power, PADT, Inc. can assist you! We use two of the best and most comprehensive CFD tools available, FLUENT and CFX, which are unmatched in their breadth and depth of capability when solving the toughest or even the simplest CFD problems.
PADT, Inc. has CFD experienced engineers who are very familiar with FLUENT, CFX and a host of other CFD codes. This experience enables us to quickly assess an application, understand the challenges and provide you with timely, accurate and detailed results.
Give us a call or send us an email if you:
- Want to bring CFD into your engineering design and analysis and don’t currently have the expertise
- Don’t have the compute power to solve larger CFD problems
- Have purchased CFX or FLUENT and want some help, such as mentoring or services to get up to speed quicker
- Need a CFD job done now
- Or just need additional CFD resources
To speak with someone about your CFD and other engineering needs, please contact Stephen Hendry at: steve.hendry@padtinc.com or call 1-800-293-PADT (7238).
To view PADT’s CFD webpage, click here.
Promotions!
There are currently no promotions available
Have You Considered Mentoring?
Mentoring is one of the services we provide at PADT. Typically, it consists of one-on-one interaction between a PADT expert and a simulation tool user at your facility. Mentoring goes beyond training to address specific applications of the software to the critical projects at your organization and is tailored to fit your needs.
Here are some testimonials:
"With your help, I was able to complete my task on time."
"Trying to use ANSYS with little prior ANSYS experience and training, and to finish the project in a specified deadline was quite a challenge… Each time PADT was there to get me through."
"PADT, as I found, has a unique system… because they have a pool of ANSYS experts - with different levels and area of expertise - who can help their clients with combined efforts."
To discuss how PADT's mentoring capabilities in the ANSYS family of products can benefit your organization, please contact Ted Harris (ted.harris@padtinc.com, 480-813-4884) or Steve Hendry (steve.hendry@padtinc.com, 207-541-9198).
Questions?
For more information or questions about these promotions, please contact PADT Sales.
PADT Training
Courses Offered in June, July, and August
| 6/2 | - | 6/4 | 101 - Introduction to ANSYS, Part I (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 6/9 | - | 6/10 | 201 - Basic Structural Nonlinearities (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 6/11 | - | 6/12 | 204 - Advanced Contact and Fasteners (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 6/19 | - | 6/20 | 301 - Heat Transfer (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 6/29 | - | 6/30 | 107 - ANSYS Workbench DesignModeler (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 7/8 | - | 7/9 | 104 - ANSYS Workbench Simulation – Intro (in Albuquerque, NM) |
| 7/10 | - | 7/11 | 205 - ANSYS Workbench Simulation Dynamics (in Albuquerque, NM) |
| 7/14 | - | 7/15 | 801 - ANSYS Customization with APDL (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 7/21 | - | 7/22 | 203 - Dynamics (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 7/24 | - | 7/25 | 102 - Introduction to ANSYS, Part II (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 8/4 | - | 8/5 | 104 - ANSYS Workbench Simulation – Intro (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 8/6 | - | 8/8 | 152 - ICEM CFD/AI*Environment (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 8/11 | - | 8/12 | 202 - Advanced Structural Nonlinearities (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 8/14 | - | 8/15 | 501 - ANSYS/LS-DYNA (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 8/18 | - | 8/19 | 604 - Introduction to CFX (in Tempe, AZ) |
| 8/28 | - | 8/29 | 701 - Design Optimization & Probabilistic Design (in Tempe, AZ) |
SWAU Seminar Series
Seminars Offered in June, July, and August
| 6/25/2008 | PADT, Inc. - Seminar Series for June 25, 2008 |
| 7/30/2008 | EKM - ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager |
Other Offerings
Did You Know that PADT, Inc. Offers:
Want to Stay Up to Date on ANSYS Technical Information?
To subscribe to The Focus, or any other PADT electronic publications (including this newsletter), please visit our subscriptions center. To view the most recent issues of the SWAU Report, please visit the SWAU Center.