Use the Gauge panel to create design variables (DESVAR) and property relation (DVPREL1) cards for shell and composite laminate components (PSHELL, PCOMP, and PCOMPG) selected for size optimization.
Use this panel when several shell or composite components have the same or different shell thickness, ply thickness, or ply angle, and size optimization is performed with the shell thickness, ply thickness, or ply angle as the design variable.
Subpanels and Inputs
The Gauge panel contains the following subpanels and command buttons:
Panel Inputs
Input
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Action
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value from property / initial value
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Value from property uses the selected PSHELL, PCOMP or PCOMPG card images to assign initial values for shell thickness, ply thickness, or ply orientation.
Initial value = allows you to assign a nominal initial value for all selected components.
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lower bound / lower bound %
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Use lower bound= to choose a specific value for the lower boundary.
Use lower bound % = to choose the lower bound as a percentage of the initial value.
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upper bound / upper bound %
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Use upper bound= to choose a specific value for the upper boundary.
Use upper bound % = to choose the upper bound as a percentage of the initial value.
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props
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Select the property.
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| Note: | You can input actual values for lower bound and upper bound, or select a percentage (%) of the initial value. For example, if the initial value = 10, lower bound % = -20, and upper bound % = 20, then after exporting the file the lower bound and the upper bound are automatically changed to 8 and 12, respectively. |
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Panel Inputs
Input
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Action
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desvar
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Name for the design variable
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type
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Entity type
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props
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Select the property.
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minimum thickness
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Enter the minimum thickness or select zero to be the minimum.
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maximum thickness
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Choose to use the thickness value from the selected property, or enter a thickness value.
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Panel Inputs
Input
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Action
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desvar
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Name for the design variable
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minmemb off / mindim =
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Enter a value for the member size control, or toggle the switch to off.
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stress constraint
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Enter a value for the stress constraint, or toggle the switch to none.
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fatigue constraint
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Enter a value for the fatigue constraint, or toggle the switch to none.
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For more information on member size control, see Member Size Control for Free Size Optimization in the OptiStruct online help.
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Panel Inputs
Input
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Action
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desvar
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Name for the design variable
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laminate thickness: min thickness = /off
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Enter a value for the laminate thickness minimum, or toggle the switch to off.
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laminate thickness: max thickness = /off
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Enter a value for the laminate thickness maximum, or toggle the switch to off.
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ply thickness: no. of constraints
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Enter the number of constraints for the ply thickness.
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ply percentage: no. of constraints
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Enter the number of constraints for the ply percentage.
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balance: no. of constraints
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Enter the number of constraints for the balance.
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constant: no. of constraints
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Enter the number of constraints for the constant.
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Panel Inputs
Input
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Action
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desvar
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Name for the design variable
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pattern type
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Select the pattern type.
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anchor node
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node id / coordinates
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first node
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second node
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Used for 2-plns sym or 3-plns sym types.
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ucyc
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The number of repetitions in 360 degrees. Used for cyclic or cyc 1-pln types.
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Panel Inputs
Input
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Action
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desvar
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Name for the design variable
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master / slave / none
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Determine whether you are establishing a master coordinate system, a slave design variable, or neither.
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system /coordinates
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Choose to manually enter the values for the coordinate system, or to graphically select the system.
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global system / local system
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Reference coordinate system
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anchor
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Select the anchor node.
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sx /sy /sz
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x, y and z scale factors.
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The following action buttons appear throughout the subpanels:
Input
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Action
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create
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Create the design variable.
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edit
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Opens the property collector panel to edit the property.
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reject
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Reverts the most recent changes.
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review
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Review the load in the graphic area.
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update
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Update the load with the most recent changes.
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return
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Exits the panel.
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