CAE Modelling Product Information

Model creation

The CADfix CAE modelling product provides all the tools necessary to prepare models for finite element, boundary element, and finite difference analysis.
The interactive graphics environment simplifies the creation and manipulation of geometry. Models can be imported from CAD data and the CADfix tools used to clean them and prepare them for meshing.
Boundary conditions, loadings, material and physical properties can be defined and assigned to the model. Advanced capabilities include allowing the user to define multi-point constraints, and interpolating analysis results onto a new mesh as a loading.
The images below show a CAD model which has been imported, defeatured to varying levels, and meshed using CADfix.


Meshing

CADfix meshing provides mesh generation functionality to create volume, surface and beam element meshes. These can be quad or triangular meshes for surfaces, tetrahedral or hexahedral for volumes. The finite difference mesher produces cartesian grids for wires, surfaces, and volumes.
Meshing tools enable the setting up of controls for meshing, whether element size, meshing algorithm, or the lattice grading for finite difference meshes. A range of mesh quality checking facilities are provided to ensure mesh integrity.


Results presentation

CADfix also gives the user powerful visualisation facilities for analysis results. These include:

• contour plots
• animation
• graphing
• model probe line plots
• sections
• polar plotting - 3D and 2D graphs

The image below shows a CADfix model of the Eurofighter 2000 aircraft. This model was created by British Aerospace based on importing data from Catia. The geometry was meshed and analysed for lightning strike behaviour. The results shown in the image are from this analysis, taken at sections cut through the aircraft and the surrounding airspace.



Interfaces

A range of import and export translators are provided for leading analysis packages, including:

• ABAQUS
• Nastran
• PAFEC
• Dyna3D

An advanced data access toolkit is available for users to create interfaces to their own analysis codes, and a neutral mesh format is also provided.