Location: Tool page - HyperMorph module.
The HyperMorph Shapes panel allows you to create, save, load, reposition, reflect, convert, smooth, animate, and apply morphing shapes.
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The HyperMorph Shapes panel consists of several subpanels:save as shape, animate shapes, apply shapes, smooth shapes, autoshape, convert, save, and load.
Settings made on one subpanel are not lost if you switch subpanels, but may be lost if you return out of the panel.
The HyperMorph Shapes panel contains the following subpanels and command buttons:
Use the Save as Shape subpanel to save a morph as a shape, which can then be applied to meshes and used for optimization. After saving the shape, click undo all to go back to the original state of the model or continue morphing.
Handle and Node PerturbationsYou can save a shape as either handle or node perturbations. The difference becomes important when the model is reparameterized or when domains, handles, and symmetries are created or deleted. When a shape is saved as node perturbations, it always has the same shape no matter what changes occur with the morphing entities. If the shape is saved as handle perturbations, changes in the relationships between handles and nodes will alter the resultant node perturbations when the shape is reapplied. For instance, if a new handle is added to the center of a plate, a previously saved shape that moves the corners of the plate will no longer affect the center of the plate in the same way that it did when it was saved. When you edit the domains, handles, or symmetries in a model that has saved shapes or morphs on the undo/redo list, you will be given the option to preserve those shapes as node perturbations. If you click yes, the shapes will be converted to node perturbations and thus remain unchanged regardless of any new domains or handles. If you click no, the shapes will be unchanged internally, but the handle perturbations may not influence the model in the same way as before. You can convert a shape from handle perturbations to node perturbations or vice-versa in the convert subpanel of the Shapes panel.
Shapes can be used for shape optimization. You can create a number of shapes in the morphing panels and associate them with design variables in the Shape panel in the Optimization module. Also in the Shape panel is support for non-linear shapes. Shapes that are "non-linear" because they are constrained to a curved surface or that were created by rotating nodes about an axis can be converted into a form useable by optimization codes that allow the nodes to follow non-linear paths as the design variable values are changed. Details for this process can be found in the help for the Shape panel.
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Use the Animate Shapes subpanel to animate one or more shapes. Completing this subpanel and clicking animate takes you to the Deformed panel, with the shapes loaded as displacement results. There you may visualize the shapes by using them to deform the model or by animating them. You may also visualize the shapes using any other HyperMesh capability in other results panels, such as the Contour and Vector plot panels. The animate button automatically generates and loads a "results" file based on the selected shapes, which you can then view with any HyperMesh post processing feature. The only input on this subpanel is a shapes entity selector, which you use to specify the shapes that you wish to animate.
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Use the Apply Shapes subpanel to apply, translate, position, or reflect one or more shapes to a mesh. The apply option simply applies the selected shapes to the nodes or handles they reference by the specified factor. The translate, position, and reflect options allow you to apply one or more shapes to different nodes in the model, optionally creating new shapes at new locations. The apply shapes function can be used to apply other shapes which are linked to the shapes being applied through DESVAR and DLINK2 cards. These linked shapes will be applied amounts calculated from the equations referenced on the DLINK2 cards. HyperMesh will automatically search your model for linked shapes and if it finds any it will ask you whether you want to apply them simultaneously with the selected shapes. This allows you to apply shapes linked together via the non-linear desvars feature in the Shape panel of the Optimization module. The envelope is the range of influence that a translated, positioned, or reflected shape will have on the new mesh. Since the original mesh (where the shape currently exists) and target mesh may not match exactly, the envelope must be large enough to include nodes that may lie outside the bounds of the original mesh were it to be translated, re-positioned, or reflected on to the target mesh. Nodes inside the envelope will be perturbed proportionally to how close they are to the bounds of the original mesh. If you are using auto-envelope and the copied shape is not affecting all of the nodes that you want, try switching to a manually determined envelope and typing in a value. The default envelope is equal to the average length of the sides of the elements in the shape. Type in a larger value to capture more nodes within the envelope. Similarly, if too many nodes are being affected, try using a smaller envelope. You may also use a very large envelope (a million times the size of an average element) to make sure that the shape is applied to nearby nodes at full value. The undo and redo buttons will undo and redo each applied shape, one at a time. The undo all and redo all buttons undo and redo every applied shape at the same time. Shape variables in optimization analysis decks are read into HyperMesh as shape entities that can be applied, modified, and saved using the morphing panels. You can also generate shapes using the Perturbations panel in the Optimization module and apply, modify, and save them. However, overwriting a shape in the morphing panel that was created using the Perturbations panel is not allowed.
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Use the Smooth Shapes subpanel to check the element quality of shape combinations and optionally smooth the shapes to improve the element quality when applied individually or as part of a combination of shapes. The check and smooth functionalities in this panel are intended to make shape optimization more productive. Shape optimization solvers like RADIOSS will stop iterating if the element quality falls below certain limits. The check and smooth functions help to improve the element quality when shapes are applied simultaneously as well as calculate the maximum and minimum bounds at which the shapes can be applied to ensure successful completion of an optimization run.
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The report file, which is written out regardless of the option selected, will be broken up into three sections. The first section contains the element quality limits of each active test for each element type. Six element types are supported: trias, quads, tetras, pyras, pentas, and hexas. Seven element quality tests are supported: aspect ratio, skew, minimum angle, maximum angle, warpage, tetra collapse, and jacobian. Each test for each element type has three limits: warning, error, and invalid. If the element quality exceeds one of those limits, a warning or error will be reported. If a test is inactive, dashes will be shown in the limit fields as shown: Element quality limits Trias Test Warning Error Invalid Aspect ratio 50.000 500.000 10000.000 Skew 75.000 85.000 90.000 Minimum angle 15.000 3.000 0.000 Maximum angle 165.000 177.000 180.000 Warpage ------- ------- ------- Tetra collapse ------- ------- ------- Jacobian ------- ------- -------
The second section of the report file contains one sub-section for each combination of the selected shapes. Each sub-section will contain a list of the selected shapes and the multiplier applied to each one for the given combination. Each sub-section will also contain the value of the worst element quality for each of the following active tests: aspect ratio, skew, minimum angle, maximum angle, warpage, tetra collapse, and jacobian. The worst result for each test is measured against the element quality limits to determine whether an optimization run will give a warning or an error, and if so it will be noted in the given sub-section along with the offending element ID and the element test limits for that element type. Here is an example of section number 15 for a report file with sixteen possible shape combinations: Combination 15 Shape 2 applied at 1.0000 Shape 3 applied at 1.0000 Shape 4 applied at 1.0000 Shape 5 applied at 0.0000
***** warning - poor element quality ***** Aspect ratio 4.240 Skew 60.303 Elem id 112 Limits: 60.000 75.000 90.000 Minimum angle 26.718 Maxiumum angle 158.141 Warpage 0.000 Tetra collapse 1.000
The third section of the report file contains the minimum and maximum values for each shape that can be allowed to avoid having an error result, or have the optimization run halt due to element quality. This section appears like so:
If you set the upper and lower bounds on your DESVARs to these values the optimization run should not encounter any errors due to element quality regardless of the combination of shapes applied.
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Use the Autoshape subpanel to automatically generate multiple shapes for individual handles or domains. This feature is intended for shape optimization and allows you to quickly generate many shapes to be used as shape variables. One suggested use is to create handles across the surface of a solid part and use autoshape to generate well-behaved shapes for those handles moving normal to the surface of the part. OptiStruct can be used to optimize the surface shape of the part using these shapes. For standard shapes, a biasing factor of 2 is recommended.
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Use the Convert subpanel to convert a shape to node perturbations, handle perturbations, or to/from a Force, Temperature, Enforced Displacement, or Pressure load collector. Load collectors can be copied between two meshes by combining this feature with the translate, position, and reflect shapes feature. You can convert a load collector to a shape, then translate, position, or reflect the shape to a new mesh, and then convert it to a load collector. A switch allows you to specify the conversion process to perform. A shapes or load collector allows you to pick the shapes that you wish to convert.
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Use the Save subpanel to save shapes to a file for import into other files or for later use in the same file, and to load a shape file that was previously saved.
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The following action buttons appear throughout the subpanels:
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See Also:
HyperMesh Panels Listed Alphabetically