*vabs

Generates VABS cross-sectional ply mesh information along with an OptiStruct solver file.

Syntax

*vabs shell_elements_mark_id, beam_elements_mark_id ?exportvabs=<value>? ?filepath=<value>? ?createelements=<value>?

Type

HyperMesh Tcl Modify Command

Description

This command generates cross-sectional ply mesh information along with an OptiStruct solver file, taking shell elements and beam elements as input. The ply mesh is generated by cutting a plane passing through the center of the beam element and intersecting the shell elements. The mesh is propagated from the cutting points of the shell along the smoothed normals by extracting the numbers of the layers and thicknesses of the plies.

Inputs

shell_elements_mark_id
The ID of the mark containing the shell elements. Valid values are 1 and 2.
beam_elements_mark_id
The ID of the mark containing the beam elements. Valid values are 1 and 2.
exportvabs=<value>
The flag to write the VABS input files in user defined path.
Valid values are:
0 – False
1 – True
filepath=<value>
The path where VABS input file are written. The argument is mandatory when exportvabs is set to True.
createelements=<value>
Defines whether real HyperMesh elements are created on each section and stored in component for debug purpose.
Valid values are:
0 – False
1 – True

Examples

To generate the VABS mesh using shell elements with IDs 100 to 1001 and beam elements with IDs 5 to 8 as input:
*createmark elements 1 100-1001
*createmark elements 2 5-8
*vabs 1 2
To generate the VABS mesh and export the VABS input files to a folder D:/vabs:
*createmark elements 1 100-1001
*createmark elements 2 5-8
*vabs 2 1 exportvabs=1 filepath=D:/vabs createelements=1

Errors

Incorrect usage results in a Tcl error. To detect errors, you can use the catch command:
if { [ catch {command_name...} ] } {
   # Handle error
}

Version History

2021.2

2022.1 - Added new optional arguments exportvabs, filepath, and createelements.