Initial tasks will be executed manually. Then a template will be created and run to
automate most of the pre-processing procedure. Finally, some manual operations will
be done to finish the model preparation and transfer it to the case setup
environment.
Overview
HyperMesh CFD’s Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics solutions utilize Altair’s ultraFluidX, an
Immersed Boundary, Lattice Boltzmann solver, which allows for increased flexibility in
its input geometry as compared to other solvers. Definitions, requirements,
recommendations, and considerations related to this input geometry are specified
below:
Definitions
Wetted surface/element
Portion of the input geometry which will be in direct contact with the
flow being simulated
Solid region
Region of the domain where the flow shall not be evaluated
For example, a solid part such as a wheel or any other region that may
contain flow which is not of interest for the purposes of the
simulation, but is enclosed by exterior surfaces such as the vehicle
cabin, tires, engine, transmission, etc.
Class-A surfaces or flow-critical surfaces
Surfaces which are exposed to high-speed flow, large pressure/velocity
gradients and/or surround flow-critical gaps
Baffle surface
A zero-thickness surface which is immersed in the flow and does not form
any enclosed region (it is not part of a solid region)
Requirements
All elements in the input mesh must be triangles.
Note: 1st order triangles are preferred as the solver will ignore any
additional information provided by 2nd order triangles.
The normal vector of all wetted elements must point towards the side of the
element which will be in direct contact with the flow.
Note: The simulation will likely run even if the normal
vectors are incorrectly assigned. However, unexpected changes to the
geometry and/or errors in force measurements would be likely in this
case.
Solid regions may be defined by elements which are not connected, even when
gaps exist between these. However, these gaps must be smaller than ½ the
size of the voxel (a cubic fluid element) which will intersect the element.
Larger gaps may cause the solver to treat the intended solid region as a
fluid region.
Baffle surfaces must be identified as such and in their own separate parts.
Note: Usually, we prefer to thicken baffle surfaces to create a solid
region.
Recommendations
Model all heat exchanger cores as Porous Media, which is represented in the
input mesh as a rectangular volume with separate inlet, outlet, and wall
surfaces. Note: Detailed heat exchanger cores will be accepted by the
solver. However, properly calculating the pressure drop across these would
vastly increase resource requirements while providing little to no benefit
when compared to the alternative.
Mesh all Class-A surfaces with < 0.1 mm deviation for CAD input
Limit maximum element size to 50 mm on full-scale vehicles (scale for
scaled vehicles).
Note: ultraFluidX will write results
directly on the surface elements as defined in the model. If these
elements are larger than the surrounding voxels, some results definition
will be lost upon writing. ultraFluidX provides an option to
automatically split large elements which eliminates the need to limit
the element size within the geometry model. This option is addressed in
the setup tutorial.
Wrap (but do not simplify) components whenever a solid region is desired but
gaps or openings exist which would require more than just trivial manual
work to close. Use HyperMesh CFD’s Auto tool when possible to retain
geometry details. Do not use any other Enclosure tool except Auto on Class A
surfaces.
Note: In CFD modeling, input parts can
have topology issues, like free surfaces and self-intersections, and
part assembly issues, such as parts with very close proximity and
intersecting parts. Manually connecting these parts can be time
consuming and require expertise in certain tools. The Enclosure tool can
generate a watertight manifold model from dirty input with considerably
less manual work.
Considerations
ultraFluidX was built to accept complex geometries without issue. Unless a
portion of the geometry is being replaced by a model (e.g. heat exchanger
core -> porous media), there is no need to simplify the geometry.
Generic Process Diagram
The following diagram shows a top-down generic model preparation process for
aerodynamics and aeroacoustics simulations.
Figure 1.
Tutorial Flow
Figure 2.
Solution and Environment Selection
When opening HMCFD, the Create Session Dialog will appear. Select the
Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics solution and the Geometry Repair
environment.
Note: You may also select the solution and the environment
directly from HMCFD by selecting File > Solution > Aerodynamics and
Aeroacoustics. You may then select the Geometry Repair environment by
selecting from the drop-down to the right of View.
Figure 3.
File Open
From the horizontal toolbar, click File > Open > Model File. The File Browser
opens.
From the File Browser, change the file type to Session file (*.hmcfd).
From the horizontal toolbar, click File > Import > Solver Dek. The File Browser
opens.
From the File Browser, change the file type to STL (*.stl).
Navigate to Input Files folder and select all STL files and click Open. The
Solver Import Options Dialog opens.
Figure 4.
Keep default options and click Import.
Part Navigation
Part Browser
From the horizontal toolbar, click View > Part Browser to activate the Part
Browser and review the part structure. The checkmark on the left indicates that
the Part Browser is active.
Visibility Settings
Now that the Part Browser is active, you can see all the
different assemblies and the parts associated with them. You can also alter the
visibility of different assemblies and parts through any of the following
ways:
Right-click on an individual assembly/part icon in the browser to show/hide the
specific assembly/part.
Figure 5.
Use the Model icon to show/hide the entire model.
Figure 6.
Right click on a part/assembly and choose any of the available options.
Figure 7.
Select a part/assembly and press A to show, H to hide or I to isolate.
Note: The previous tasks can also be done for multiple
assemblies/parts at once.
Auto-Color
You can automatically assign different colors to parts,
making part visualization more convenient.
Select the parts to automatically assign different colors or use CTRL+A to
select all displayed parts.
On the Part Browser: left click on any of the selected part’s color icon, then
click on the lightning bolt icon.
Figure 8.
Part Management
Part Organization
Fans
From the Part Browser, right click on Model, then select Create > Part
Assembly.
From the Part Browser, right click on the newly created assembly and rename as
Fan_Assembly.
From the Part Browser, type Fan in the Search bar, then select all parts which
do not contain the string Shroud in the name, and drag them into the
Fan_Assembly assembly.
Rename each part in the Fan_Assembly assembly by replacing the Cooling_Module
string at the start of the name with Fan_Assembly.
Clear the search bar in the Part Browser.
Wheels
From the Part Browser, right click on Model, then select Create > Part
Assembly.
From the Part Browser, right click on the newly created assembly and rename as
Wheels.
Select the four imported wheel assemblies (Wheel_Front/Rear_Left/Right.stl)
parts from the Part Browser and drag them into the Wheels assembly.
From the Part Browser, right click on Model, then select Delete Empty
Assemblies.
Heat Exchanger Modeling
Porous Media Boxes
Heat exchanger cores are modeled as boxes which are
identified as Porous Media during Case Setup.
From the Part Browser, type Core in the Search bar, then isolate the listed
parts.
From the ribbon selection toolbar (horizontal toolbar), click Geometry.
From the Geometry ribbon, click on the Simplify Region Tool. The Simplify
Region Guide Bar and Simplify Region Micro-Dialog open.
Figure 9.
Select the Cooling_Module_Transmission_Oil_Cooler_Core part.
From the Simplify Region Guide Bar, set Create simplified part in to New Part,
New part name to Porous_Media_Transmission_Oil_Cooler_Walls, activate the Delete
input checkbox , then press Create.
Figure 10.
Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for the
Cooling_Module_Low_Temperature_Radiator_Core and the
Cooling_Module_Condenser_Core, naming the parts as
Porous_Media_Low_Temperature_Radiator_Walls and Porous_Media_Condenser_Walls
respectively.
Clear the search bar in the Part Browser.
Porous Media Faces
In this step the topology of the created solid boxes will
be destroyed. This will lead to the solid boxes being transformed into surface bodies,
whose surfaces can be selected and organized into new parts. This is done to specify
inlet, outlet and walls for the porous media.
From the Part Browser, type Walls in the Search Bar, then select and isolate
the listed parts.
From the Part Browser, select Porous_Media_Transmission_Oil_Cooler_Walls, then
Left-click > Destroy Solid Topology.
Clear the search bar in the Part Browser.
From the viewer, change the selector to Surfaces, then click on the inlet
surface of the box representing the Transmission Oil Cooler. Once selected,
right click > Create New Part. The Create New Part Micro-Dialog opens.
From the Create New Part Micro-Dialog, enter
Porous_Media_Transmission_Oil_Cooler_Inlet in the Part name field.
Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for the outlet surface of the box
representing the Transmission Oil Cooler, naming the new part accordingly.
Repeat Steps 1-5 for the boxes representing the Low Temperature Radiator and
Condenser, naming the new parts accordingly.
Note: All parts renamed and created in this section should
start with “Porous_Media_” and end in either “_Walls”, “_Inlet”, or
“_Outlet”.
From the Part Browser, right click on an empty space and select Create > Part
Assembly.
Clear the search bar in the Part Browser.
Rename the newly created assembly as Porous_Media.
From the Part Browser, type Porous in the Search Bar, then select all parts
shown and drag them in to the Porous_Media assembly.
Clear the search bar in the Part Browser.
Template Manager
Part Groups
The Template Manager uses part groups to execute specified
operations.
From the Geometry Ribbon click on Home > Template Manager. The Template Manager
Dialog opens.
Figure 11.
Figure 12.
Note:
From the Template Manager Dialog, groups can be created by either
clicking the plus sign or the three dots.
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Groups, click the three
dots button. The Group Specification Dialog opens.
Figure 13.
From the Group Specification Dialog, set Entity type to Parts, Selection type
to Per Assembly, enable the Create group per selection checkbox, select the
Wheels assembly and press Ok. Then press Close to close the Group Specification
Dialog.
Note: The created part group is named Wheels, the same as
the selected assembly. The group can be renamed by clicking on the group
name and entering a new name.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3simultaneously selecting the Chassis_Assembly,
Fan_Assembly, and Porous_Media assemblies.
Note: Due to the use of the Create group per selection
checkbox, three different Part Groups have been created, one for each
selected assembly.
Repeat Step 2 and open the Group Specification Dialog.
From the Group Specification Dialog, set Entity type to Parts, Selection type
to Per Part and disable the Create group per selection checkbox.
From the Group Specification Dialog, type Wheel_*_Front_Left in the Search bar,
then select all parts which do not have the string Tire in the name and press
Ok. Then press Close to close the Group Specification Dialog.
Rename the created Part Group as Rim_Front_Left.
Repeat Steps 6-8 for the rear left, front right and rear right
wheel parts.
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Groups, click the plus
sign button. A new row is added to the groups table.
From the newly created row, set Group Name as Body, Type as Parts, Definition
as By Parts Name, and for Value, enter a single string containing the part names
to be included in the group divided by commas (no space) as such: Chassis*,
Body_Exterior*, Underbody_Floor, Underbody_Shield_Front,
Underbody_Diffuser_Rear_RL7, Underbody_Tire_Spoiler_*, Patch*.
Note: The wildcard (*) is used to select all parts whose
name starts with specific phrases. This is useful when we want to create a
group which contains parts from multiple assemblies, but we also want to
exclude some parts from that group. For example, notice that when defining
the Body part group, the Underbody_Shield_Rear_Baffle part was left out of
that part group.
Repeat Steps 10 and 11 using the following parameters:
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Groups, check the Run
operations checkbox and press Run. The parts groups are created. to create them.
You may view the newly created groups Template Manager Dialog > Template
Categories > Groups > Groups Preview.
Note: You may color your model by Part Groups using the
Model Color Tool in the Viewer.
Operations
Delete Heat Exchanger Cores
From the Template Manager Dialog, go to Template Categories > Operation.
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign button. The Operation Definition Dialog opens.
Figure 14.
From the dialog, expand the Home branch.
From the Home branch, select the Delete operation, then press the ESC key to
exit the dialog. A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Group Selection to
Heat_Exchanger_Cores.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, enable Delete Entity, then
press ESC to exit the dialog.
Merge Rim Parts
From the Template Manager Dialog, go to Template Categories > Operation.
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign button. The opens.
From the , expand the Assembly branch.
From the Assembly branch, select the Merge/Split operation, then press the ESC
key to exit the dialog. A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Group Selection to Rim_Front_Left.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, set Split/Merge to Merge, then
press ESC to exit the dialog.
Repeat steps 3-7 for the remaining rim Part Groups
(Rim_Front/Rear_Left_Right).
Wrap Wheels and Fix Normals
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign . A new row is added to the table.
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign . A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Operation to Bulk Operations and Group
Selection to Wheels.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, enable the checkboxes for CAD
wrap parameters, and Fix normal. Within the CAD wrap parameters, enable Split
large elements size > and set its value to 10, enable Stitch free edges and set
the Stitch tolerance to 0.1, enable Resolve Overlaps and set the Overlap
tolerance to 0.1, set the Maximum allowed gap to 4.0, the Baffle treatment to
Remove, and the Baffle thickness to 2.0. Within the Fix normal parameters, set
the Fix method to By Connectivity.
Cap Chassis
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign . A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Operation to Bulk Operations and Group
Selection to Chassis_Assembly.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, enable the checkbox for Fill
holes. Within the Fill holes parameters, enable Consider feature edge loops and
set the value of Patch holes threshold to 400.
Wrap Body and Fix Normals
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign . A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Operation to Bulk Operations and Group
Selection to Body.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, enable the checkboxes for CAD
wrap parameters, and Fix normal. Within the CAD wrap parameters, enable Split
large elements size > and set its value to 12.5, enable Stitch free edges and
set the Stitch tolerance to 0.1, enable Resolve Overlaps and set the Overlap
tolerance to 0.1, set the Maximum allowed gap to 5.0, enable Auto seal, set the
Baffle treatment to Remove, and the Baffle thickness to 2.0, enable Leak check
and set the Enclosure node coordinates to (X: 1900, Y: 0, Z:815). Within the Fix
normal parameters, set the Fix method to By Connectivity.
Delete Tiny Parts and Cap Powertrain
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign . A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Operation to Bulk Operations and Group
Selection to Powertrain.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, enable the checkboxes for
Remove tiny parts, and Fill holes. Within the Remove tiny parts parameters, set
Tiny parts bounding box threshold to 21.0. Within the Fill holes parameters, set
the patch holes threshold to 100 and enable Consider feature edge loops.
Wrap Powertrain and Fix Normals
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign . A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Operation to Bulk Operations and Group
Selection to Powertrain.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, enable the checkboxes for CAD
wrap parameters, and Fix normal. Within the CAD wrap parameters, enable Split
large elements size > and set its value to 15.0, enable Stitch free edges and
set the Stitch tolerance to 0.1, enable Resolve Overlaps and set the Overlap
tolerance to 0.1, set the Maximum allowed gap to 3.0, set the Baffle treatment
to Remove, and the Baffle thickness to 2.0. Within the Fix normal parameters,
set the Fix method to By Connectivity.
Wrap Fan Parts and Fix Normals
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign . A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Operation to Bulk Operations and Group
Selection to Fan_Assembly.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, enable the checkboxes for CAD
wrap parameters, and Fix normal. Within the CAD wrap parameters, enable Per part
wrap, enable Split large elements size > and set its value to 10.0, enable
Stitch free edges and set the Stitch tolerance to 0.1, enable Resolve Overlaps
and set the Overlap tolerance to 0.1, set the Maximum allowed gap to 4.0, set
the Baffle treatment to Remove, and the Baffle thickness to 2.0. Within the Fix
normal parameters, set the Fix method to By Ray Tracing.
Tessellate Porous Media Surfaces
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, click on the
plus sign . A new row is added to the table.
From the newly created row, set Operation to Tessellation and Group Selection
to Porous_Media.
From the newly created row, click on the Edit button under the Definition
column. The Operation Definition Parameters Dialog opens.
From the Operation Definition Parameters Dialog, set Unmeshed surface meshing
method to Faceting and Faceting size definition to Normal.
Run
From Template Manager Dialog > Template Categories > Operation, enable the Run
operations checkbox and press Run.
Note: Before running any operations, make sure that all
groups and operations are active. Deactivating operations to run a smaller
number of them is a useful tool to check if operations are working as
expected.
Note: If the model is not in Mixed representation, the
baffles will not be deleted during wrapping.
Note: Due to the tessellation operation, the model will be
in FeGeometry representation after the template has finished running.
Template Import/Export
After all the groups and operations have been defined the
template can be exported for future use.
To export the template, from the Template Manager Dialog, click on the save
button on the top of the window.
To import a template into the template manager, from the Template Manager
Dialog, click on the folder
button on the top of the window.
Exit the Template Manager Dialog.
MRF/OSM Regions
Volume of Revolution
Spin Surface Generation
From the Part Browser, type Caliper in the Search bar, Isolate the
Suspension_Brake_Calipers_Front and Suspension_Brake_Calipers_Rear parts, then
clear the search bar and Show the Wheels assembly.
From the Discrete Ribbon go to Edit > Create Topology to open the Create
Topology Tool. The Create Topology Guide Bar opens.
Figure 15.
From the Create Topology Guide Bar, open the Advanced Selection Tool by
pressing the button with the three dots.
From the Advanced Selection Tool, set the selection mode to By Part, then type
Wheel_Rim in the search bar, group select the filtered parts and press OK.
From the Create Topology Guide Bar, press Convert.
From the main Ribbon, click on the Convert Tool. The Convert Model Micro-Dialog
opens.
Figure 16.
From the Convert Model Micro-Dialog, set the Convert to parameter to Mixed and
press Convert.
From the Part Browser, type Caliper in the Search bar, Isolate the
Suspension_Brake_Calipers_Front and Suspension_Brake_Calipers_Rear parts, then
clear the search bar and Show the Wheels assembly.
From the Geometry Ribbon click on the Revolve Region Tool. The Revolve Region
Guide Bar opens.
Figure 17.
From the Revolve Region Guide Bar, set the selection mode of the Rotating
components to Surfaces then open the Advanced Selection Tool for the Rotating
components by clicking on the first three dots button from the left in the
Revolve Region Guide Bar. The Advanced Selection Guide Panel opens.
From the Advanced Selection Guide Panel, set the selection type to By Parts and
type Wheel_Rim in the Search Bar.
Select Wheel_Rim_Front_Left from the filtered parts and close the Advanced
Selection Guide Panel.
From the Viewer, unselect (Shift+ left click) the surfaces which are not part
of the spokes until the selection matches that shown in Figure 17 below.
Figure 18.
From the Revolve Region Guide Bar, set the selection type of the Non Rotating
components to Parts then select the Suspension_Brake_Calipers_Front part.
From the Revolve Region Guide Bar, press the Axis button and hover over the
wheel rim cap until the axis snaps to the wheel centerline as shown in Figure 18
below. Once it does, left click to select that as your axis of rotation.
Figure 19.
From the Revolve Region Guide Bar, set the Extraction value to Spin Surface,
the Offset Value form Rotating Region to 9, the Offset Value from Non Rotating
Region to 3 and the New part name value to VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left then
press Create. The spin surface is created.
Note: After the Revolve Region the Spin Surface are
created, you may need to select these and organize them to the
VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left part.
Exit the Revolve Region Tool.
Spin Surface Editing
From the Part Browser, select VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left and
Wheel_Rim_Front_Left parts and isolate them.
From the Viewer, set the selector to Elements, then select the elements as
shown below in the left side of Figure 19 below and isolate them.
Figure 20.
From the Part Browser, select the VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left part and show
it.
From the Viewer’s View Cube select the Front view. Your viewer should reflect
an image similar to that in Figure 20 below.
Figure 21.
From the Geometry Ribbon click on the Split button then select the Interactive
Split Tool.
Figure 22.
Trim the VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left surface near the hub and rim lip regions
as shown in the left and right images of the figure below.
Figure 23.
Delete the trimmed surfaces as shown in the figure below.
Figure 24.
Volume Generation
From the Geometry Ribbon click on the Spin Tool. The Spin Tool Guide Bar
opens.
Figure 25.
From the Spin Tool Guide Bar, click on the hamburger menu to show the tool
options and enable Merge solids at shared surfaces.
From the Spin Tool Guide Bar, set the selector to Surfaces and select the
VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left surface.
From the Spin Tool Guide Bar, click on the Axis button and select the
centerline of the VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left surface as shown in the figure
below. The Spin Input Dialog appears.
Figure 26.
From the Spin Input Dialog, set the spin value to 360 degrees then from the
Spin Tool Guide Bar, press the green check mark to accept. The resulting volume
of revolution should resemble the one shown in Figure 26 below.
Figure 27.
Meshing
Isolate the newly created volume of revolution.
From the Discrete Ribbon click on the Surface Meshing Tool. The Surface Tool
Guide bar and Mesh Operations Micro Dialog open.
Figure 28.
From the Viewer, select all surfaces in the volume revolution.
From the Mesh Operations Micro Dialog, set the Meshing method to Rigid Body,
the Mesh size to Maximum Size, the Maximum element size to 20, the Maximum size
factor to 0.01, the Geometric feature angle to 15, and the Maximum deviation
factor to 0.002, then from the Surface Tool Guide bar, click Mesh.
Exit the Surface Meshing Tool.
From the Viewer, set the selector to Surfaces and select all the surfaces of
the volume revolution then delete them with the delete associated elements
option off.
From the Discrete Ribbon go to Edit > Create Topology to open the Create
Topology Tool. The Create Topology Guide Bar opens.
From the Create Topology Guide Bar, select the VREV_Wheels_Spokes_Front_Left
part elements and click Convert.
Duplicate & Move
From the Part Browser, select the VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left part, then right
click > Duplicate.
Isolate the duplicate part and rename as VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Rear_Left.
From the Home Ribbon, select the Move Tool. The Move Tool Guide Bar
opens.
Figure 29.
From the Move Tool Guide Bar, switch the move method from Interactive to
Position, and the selector to Parts, then click on the hamburger menu and enable
Show Preview.
Select the duplicate part to specify that it will be moved, then hide it.
Show the Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left and Wheel_Spokes_Rear_Left parts.
From the Move Tool Guide Bar, click on the Source button, then select three
nodes on the Wheel_Rim_Front_Left part as shown on the left image of the figure
below, then click on the Target button and select three nodes on the
Wheel_Spokes_Rear_Left part as shown on the right image of the figure
below.
Figure 30.
Inspect the preview and from the Move Tool Guide Bar, click on the green
checkmark to apply the positioning.
Mirror
From the Geometry Ribbon go to Edit > Mirror to open the Mirror Tool. The
Mirror Guide Bar opens.
Figure 31.
Show all parts, then select the VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left and
VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Rear_Left parts.
From the Mirror Guide Bar, click on the Plane button. The Plane Micro Dialog
opens.
From the Plane Micro Dialog, set the plane vector to (X: 0, Y: 1, Z: 0), then
click on the XYZ (position) button to specify the origin as (X: 0, Y: 0, Z:
0).
From the Plane Micro Dialog, enable Keep original.
Figure 32.
Inspect the mirror preview and from the Plane Micro Dialog, click on
Mirror.
The created parts (duplicate and mirrored) are connected to each other, not
allowing to change their names. The link between them must be broken.
From the Assembly Ribbon, go to Assembly > Part Browser. The Assembly Part
Browser appears as a tab (named Part) next to the Part Browser tab.
Figure 33.
From the Assembly Part Browser, for each duplicate/mirrored part select it
separately, then right click > Instances > Break.
Rename all VREV parts accordingly and place them in a new assembly named
VREVs.
Rim Split Wheel Spokes
Isolate the (total of eight) Wheel_Rim_Front/Rear_Left/Right and
VREV_Spokes_Front/Rear_Left/Right parts.
From the Geometry Ribbon click on the Split button then select the Split
Surfaces Tool. The Split Surfaces Guide Bar opens.
Figure 34.
From the Split Surfaces Guide Bar, click on Target.
From the Viewer, select one surface from the Wheel_Rim_Front_Left part, then
right-click > Select > Attached.
From the Split Surfaces Guide Bar, click on Tool.
From the Viewer, select one surface from the VREV_Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left part,
then right-click > Select > Attached.
From the Split Surfaces Guide Bar, activate the Trim both option then click
Split.
Inspect the trimmed surfaces, then select all surfaces of the
Wheel_Rim_Front_Left part that lie inside the volume of revolution, right-click
> Create New Part and name the part as Wheel_Spokes_Front_Left. The result
should resemble that shown in the figure below.
Note: After organizing the surfaces to the rim part hide
it and inspect if any surfaces have been left out.
Figure 35.
Repeat Steps 2-8 for each of the remaining wheels, naming the new
parts accordingly.
Exit the tool and show all parts.
Grille Bars Monitoring Surface
Select the Body_Exterior_Body part and isolate it.
Set the selector to Elements, then right-click anywhere in the graphics area
and activate Polyline select.
Figure 36.
Select the body area around the grille bars as shown below and isolate
it.
Figure 37.
From the Geometry ribbon, click on the Simplify Region Tool. The Simplify
Region Guide Bar and Simplify Region Micro-Dialog open.
Set the selector to Elements and select all the displayed elements.
From the Simplify Region Guide Bar, set Simplified shape to Convex Fit, Create
simplified part in to New Part, and set the New part name to
Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars.
From the Simplify Region Guide Bar, click Create.
Exit the tool.
Select the Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars part and isolate it.
From the Discrete Ribbon click on the Surface Meshing Tool. The Surface Tool
Guide bar and Mesh Operations Micro Dialog open.
From the Mesh Operations Micro Dialog, set the Meshing method to Rigid Body,
the Mesh size to Maximum Size, the Maximum element size to 20, the Maximum size
factor to 0.01, the Geometric feature angle to 15, and the Maximum deviation
factor to 0.002, then from the Surface Tool Guide bar, click Mesh.
Exit the Surface Meshing Tool.
Set the selector to surfaces, then select all the
Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars surfaces and delete them with the delete
associated elements option off.
From the Discrete Ribbon go to Edit > Create Topology to open the Create
Topology Tool. The Create Topology Guide Bar opens.
From the Create Topology Guide Bar, select the Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars
part elements and click Convert.
Select all surfaces except the front one and delete them with the delete
associated elements option on.
Note: In case the front surface cannot be selected
differently from the other surfaces, form the Discrete Ribbon, go to Edit >
Update Topology. While in this tool, click on the hamburger menu located on
the far left off the Guidebar and change the method from Simple to
Connected.
Figure 38.
Show the Body_Exterior_Body and Body_Exterior_Grille_Bars parts.
From the Home Ribbon, select the Move Tool. The Move Tool Guide Bar
opens.
From the Move Tool Guide Bar, set the move method to Interactive.
Select the Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars part, then click on the x-axis arrow
and move the part in the positive x direction by 28.5mm.
From the Discrete Ribbon go to Edit > Create Topology to open the Create
Topology Tool. The Create Topology Guide Bar opens.
Isolate the Body_Exterior_Body part, then select the elements as shown in the
figure below and click Convert.
Figure 39.
Without exiting the tool, isolate the Body_Exterior_Grille_Bars part then,
select all elements of that part and click Convert.
Exit the Create Topology Tool.
Isolate the Body_Exterior_Body and Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars parts
From the Geometry Ribbon click on the Split button then select the Split
Surfaces Tool. The Split Surfaces Guide Bar opens.
From the Split Surfaces Guide Bar, click on Target.
From the Viewer, select all the Body_Exterior_Body and
Body_Exterior_Grille_Bars surfaces.
From the Split Surfaces Guide Bar, click on Tool.
From the Viewer, select all the Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars surfaces.
From the Split Surfaces Guide Bar, activate the Trim both option then click
Split.
Isolate the Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars part.
Hovering over the part shows that the trim has left some openings. Those need
to be closed to get the desired surface. To make them more visible, switch the
Mesh visualization to Geometry only.
From the Geometry Ribbon click on the Split button then select the Interactive
Split Tool.
Use the Interactive Split Tool to close all openings remaining from the surface
split operation.
Once all openings are closed, delete all surfaces protruding from the edges
created from the split. Notice that when deleting the surfaces, the delete
associated elements option must be on. The final surface should resemble that
shown in Figure 39 below.
Figure 40.
The monitor surface also needs to have a good mesh resolution, so that the
desired quantities are monitored correctly. Therefore, a finer surface mesh
needs to be generated for it.
From the Discrete Ribbon click on the Surface Meshing Tool. The Surface Tool
Guide bar and Mesh Operations Micro Dialog open.
From the Viewer, select the Monitoring_Surface_Grille_Bars surfaces.
From the Mesh Operations Micro Dialog, set the Meshing method to Surface
Deviation, the Mesh size to Average Size, the Average element size to 5.0,
enable Curvature based surface refinement, set the Maximum size factor to 0.1,
the Geometric feature angle to 22.5, and the Mesh growth rate to 1.3.
From the Mesh Operations Micro Dialog, click Mesh.
From the Discrete Ribbon, click on the Decimate Tool. The Decimate Tool Guide
Bar and Decimate Tool Micro Dialog open.
Figure 41.
From the viewer, select the Monitor_Surface_Grille_Bars part.
From the Decimate Tool Micro Dialog, set Decimate with element size to 1.0 and
Feature angle constraints to 1.0.
From the Decimate Tool Guide Bar, click on Decimate.
Place the Monitor_Surface_Grille_Bars part in a new assembly named
Monitor_Surfaces.
Scale Model
In this step we will scale the model by a factor of 1e-3
to convert the units from millimeters to meters. This is essential, since in the Case
Setup environment meters are used as the main unit.
From the Geometry Ribbon go to Edit > Scale to open the Scale Tool. The Scale
Guide Bar and Scale Micro Dialog open.
Figure 42.
Select all parts in the model.
From the Scale Micro Dialog, set the scale factor to 0.001.
From the Scale Guide Bar, click on Scale button.
Data Transfer to Case Setup Environment
From the Home Ribbon, click on the Data Transfer Tool.
Figure 43.
The Data Transfer Guide Bar opens.
Select all parts in the model.
From the Data Transfer Guide Bar, click Transfer.
The model is transferred to the Case Setup environment.
. A new row is added to the table.
on the top of the window.
button on the top of the window.
