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Mech UCO 120 Lect 02 APDL Intro
Mech UCO 120 Lect 02 APDL Intro
Chapter
Mechanical APDL
I t d ti
Introduction
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Mechanical APDL can also be run interactively with its own GUI, as
shown below. As noted earlier, it is important to understand how
Mechanical APDL operates in order to take advantage of its solver
technology to its fullest
f
extent.
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Additional considerations:
A user should not transfer from a Geometry or Model cell, as only a
subset of the model will be transferred to Mechanical APDL:
To verify the model in Mechanical APDL, always transfer from the Setup cell
To postprocess in Mechanical APDL, always transfer fro the Solution cell
Transferring from a Geometry cell will only send the geometric entities
Transferring from a Model
Model cell will only send the mesh (MESH200 elements)
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Further Information
Training Manual
There are other ways in which Mechanical APDL can interact with
other ANSYS Workbench components, although the discussion is
outside of the scope of this course.
Refer to the following section of the ANSYS Help for details:
Workbench > Getting Started in Workbench > Systems > Component Systems
> Mechanical APDL
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file.log: Mechanical APDL log (journal) file, which records all actions
performed by the user, whether through commands or the GUI
This file
f is automatically generated and appended to
file.err: Mechanical APDL error log file, containing all warning and
error messages encountered during a session
This file is automatically generated and appended to
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Resuming Databases
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Reading Results
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Further Information
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There are other files that may be created by Mechanical APDL. For
more details, refer to the following section of the ANSYS Help:
Mechanical APDL (formerly ANSYS) > Basic Analysis Guide > Section
20.4.2 Files that ANSYS Writes
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The main components of the Mechanical APDL GUI are shown below:
Utility Menu
Command Prompt
ANSYS Toolbar
Standard Toolbar
Graphics Toolbar
Main Menu
Graphics Window
Output Window
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2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.
Status Area
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Main Menu
Training Manual
Main Menu:
All analysis-specific actions are available from the
Main Menu, located on the left side of the GUI
Each submenu level is color-coded
color coded differently to make
differentiation of levels easy
For each item, the left-most icon indicates the type of
action that will be taken:
A + or - symbol indicates a submenu
An arrow indicates a picking action will be performed
A dialog box icon reflects data to be entered in a window
All actions p
performed in the Main Menu are recorded to
the file.log command log file. Each action is
associated with one or more APDL commands.
The status bar prompts the user for the necessary
input
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Utility Menu
Training Manual
Utility Menu:
Generally used for analysis-independent actions, such as changing graphics
settings, creating local coordinate systems, defining parameters, etc.
The right-most
right most symbol indicates the type of action to be performed:
> indicates a submenu
indicates a dialog box
+ indicates a picking action
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Command Prompt
Training Manual
Command Prompt:
The Command Prompt allows users to type in APDL commands. A dynamic
prompt (blue) is a helpful reminder of the necessary arguments.
A history of previously
previously-entered
entered commands is available by selecting the leftleft
most button (circled below)
To access help for commands or an element, type HELP,command or
HELP,element to bring up the relevant help section (where command is the
APDL command
d name or element
l
t is
i the
th element
l
t library
lib
number)
b )
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Output Window
Training Manual
Output Window:
In an interactive session, the
Output Window provides feedback
for all actions performed.
performed It is the
same output as the Solution
Information branch in Mechanical.
The contents of the Output Window
are not saved to a file in an
interactive session; hence, the user
can make the DOS window buffer
large enough to store as much
information as required
required.
Do not close the Output Window.
By clicking on the x icon, one will
abruptly terminate the Mechanical
APDL session.
i
IInstead,
t d minimize
i i i
the Output Window if it is not
needed.
(The Output Window is typically
grey text on black background but
has been reversed here for clarity.)
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2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.
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E. Graphics
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By pressing down on the Ctrl key, the user can manipulate the model
in the Graphics window:
Ctrl + Left mouse button pans the model.
Ctrl + Middle mouse button zooms in/out (up-down movement of mouse)
or spins the model about the screen Z-axis (right-left movement of
mouse)
The wheel,
heel if present,
present can be used
sed to zoom
oom in/out
in/o t
The user may re-map these actions with the /UIS,BORD command
Ctrl
P Z R
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A single click with the Right mouse button on the Graphics window
brings up a context-sensitive pop-up menu
Click-drag with the Right mouse button on the Graphics window will
perform
f
a box
b zoom
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Pick
Toggle
Pick / Unpick
Cursor display:
p y
Pick
Unpick
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When picking items, Mechanical APDL will highlight the entity whose
centroid is nearest to the location where the pick action occurred
Important Tip: In Mechanical APDL, click and hold down the left mouse
button. Drag the mouse on the screen until the desired entity is
highlighted. Then let go of the left mouse button to complete the picking
operation.
In Mechanical,
Mechanical the item directly underneath the cursor when the left mouse
button is clicked is highlighted. However, in Mechanical APDL, it is the
centroid of the element closest to the cursor that is selected.
Note that Selection Planes and Paint Select features in Mechanical are not
present in Mechanical APDL.
APDL
If a user uses the tip above, it becomes easy to select an item of interest. By
keeping the left mouse button pressed, the user can move the mouse around
until the correct entity is highlighted.
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To exit from Mechanical APDL, use Utility menu > File > Exit or
the x icon on the Utility menu
A dialog box will appear asking what data to save
Note that the x icon is for the Utility menu not the Output Window!
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