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The Three Basic Approaches to Morphing

The Three Basic Approaches to Morphing

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The Three Basic Approaches to Morphing

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HyperMorph contains a wide array of functionality for morphing the shape of FE models.  HyperMorph utilizes six exclusive HyperMesh morphing entities; domains, handles, morph constraints, morph volumes, shapes, and symmetries.  While all the entities and functions are fully compatible, and may be used in a complementary fashion, they can be divided into three basic approaches to morphing; the domains and handles concept, the morph volume concept, and the freehand concept. Each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses when dealing with the numerous applications of morphing and you are advised to gain a basic understanding of each approach so that you can decide which approach is best for your needs. The morphing chapter is intended to illustrate the capabilities of HyperMorph and introduce you to both the basic and advanced functionality to help you get the most out of the tool.

The basics of the three concepts are summarized below:

hmtoggle_plus1greyThe Domains and Handles Concept

This approach involves dividing the mesh into domains containing elements or nodes and placing handles at the corners of those domains.  HyperMorph can automatically divide the mesh into logical domains or you can manually define your own domains and handles. When the handles are moved, the shape of the mesh changes according to the domain boundaries.  The domains and handles approach also allows for parametric morphing of lengths, angles, radii, and arc angles as well as morphing the mesh to match geometric data and other meshes.  The domains and handles approach is the most difficult approach to learn but it is also the most powerful.  This approach is most useful for making detailed changes to any mesh (local domains) as well as general changes to space frame type meshes (global domains). For more information on this approach, refer to the Domains and Handles Concept section.

 

hmtoggle_plus1greyThe Morph Volume Concept

This approach involves surrounding the mesh with one or more morph volumes, which are highly deformable six-sided prisms.  A number of methods exist to create the morph volumes, including single and matrix creation as well as the interactive on-screen method.  Morph volumes support tangency between adjoining edges and allow for multiple control points along their edges.  Handles placed at the corners and along the edges of the morph volumes allow for the morphing of the morph volumes which in turn morphs the mesh inside the morph volumes.  The morph volume approach is quick and intuitive and is most useful for making large scale changes to complex meshes.

 

hmtoggle_plus1greyThe Freehand Concept

This approach involves morphing by moving the nodes directly without the need to create any HyperMesh morphing entities. You define the nodes which will move, the nodes which will stay fixed, and the affected elements, which manually allows for rapid changes to any mesh. You have great flexibility in how the moving nodes are moved, such as translation, rotation, and projection to geometry as well as using a tool to "sculpt" the mesh into the desired shape. You are also able to turn node manipulations made in any panel, such as scaling or node projection, into morphs using the record subpanel. The freehand approach is an ideal introduction to HyperMorph since it allows morphing without the creation of any HyperMesh morphing entities while employing the concepts of domains and handles.  The freehand approach also allows for "customized" morphing, allowing you to do virtually any kind of morphing.