MESHGEN

USERS
GUIDE

ICATS
ICON Suite, 58 Princes Gate
Exhibition Road, London SW7 2PG
Tel: + 44 (0)20 - 7594 7068 Fax: + 44 (0)20 - 7584 1560
www.icats.co.uk
info@icats.co.uk

MESHGEN

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p2

MESHGEN

CONTENTS

1. OVERVIEW
2. USING MESHGEN
2.1 WINDOWS Menu
2.2 MAIN Menu
2.3 SETUP Menu
2.4 HELP Menu

3. NEW MESH
3.1 NEW MESH Menu
3.2 VIEW Menu
3.3 LC-SYS Menu

4. MODIFY MESH
5. TRANSFORM
5.1 Menu structure
5.2 Basic Steps of Local to Global Co-ordinate Transformation
5.3 Aligning LC-SYS with the Measurement Directions
5.3.1 Using Cartesian LC-SYS
5.3.2 Using Polar LC-SYS
5.3.3 Using Spherical LC-SYS
5.4 Transforming Mode Shapes From LC-SYS to GC-SYS

6. PROCESS .DSP FOR FINES

APPENDIX I - Mesh Generation Commands
APPENDIX II - Mesh Generation Examples
APPENDIX III - FINES Model Preparation Example

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p3

MESHGEN

WARRANTY
With respect to the physical diskette(s) and physical documentation enclosed herein,
ICATS warrants the same to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a
period of 30 days from purchase. In the event of notification within the warranty period of
defects in material or workmanship, ICATS will replace the defective diskette or
documentation or both. The remedy for breach of this warranty shall be limited to
replacement and shall not encompass any other damages, including but not limited to loss
of profit, special incidental, consequential or other similar claims.

DISCLAIMER
ICATS specifically disclaims all other warranties, expressed or implied, including but not
limited, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with
respect to defects in the diskette and documentation. In no event shall ICATS be liable for
any loss of profit or any commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental,
consequential or other damages.

TRADEMARKS
MESHGEN is a trademark of ICATS.
All product names mentioned in this document are trademarks of their respective
companies, and are hereby acknowledged.

COPYRIGHT 1988-2008 ICATS

No part of this document may be stored, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means without the prior written consent of ICATS.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p4

MESHGEN

MESHGEN
1. OVERVIEW
MESHGEN will run on Intel & compatible CPU microcomputers with
Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. It can be
used for the following tasks:
to generate a new mesh so that a display (.DSP) file can be
created from scratch. The .DSP may contain the location of the
measurement nodes for the animation of the experimental model.
Optionally, it may also contain the material and real properties of the
elements. If available, such data are stored in a .MTR file and the
information is used to prepare the input data file to finite element
program FINES.
to modify an existing mesh by allowing to edit an existing display
(.DSP) file.
to process a .DSP file for FINES by preparing input data for finite
element program FINES (.INP file) and running it.
to convert measurements made in a local co-ordinate system into
a consistent global co-ordinate system.
Default window size/shape
The default window for MESHGEN is square with optimised size for
current resolution. The defaults can be changed by editing file MOD.CFG.
Colour coding:
Blue is used for keywords, dialog box options, menu bar options, mouse
operations.
Bold blue is used for program names.
Dark blue is used for headings.
Bold orange is used for program menus.
Green is used for user tips.
Magenta is used for warnings.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p5

MESHGEN

2. USING MESHGEN
As described in the Introduction manual, MESHGEN can be run
by selecting the MESHGEN button from Main Panel
by double-click on data file
by selecting an analysis type from Main Panel
by using a batch file script, or as a command from the command line
Once the program is loaded successfully, you will see
a copyright and licensing message,
a series of menu titles at the top of the screen, and
memory and disk space available, current I/O path and the date.
MESHGEN Opening Menu has the following options.

A Bar Menu with mesh generation commands is drawn at the bottom of

the screen.

ZOOMING
It is possible to zoom into any area of the model. To ZOOM IN, define a
zoom rectangle using the left mouse button (keep the button pressed and
drag the cursor). The chosen area will be mapped (i.e. expanded) to the
size of full plotting area. The process can be repeated as many times as
necessary.
To ZOOM OUT, define a rectangle with the right mouse button and the full
plotting area will be mapped (i.e. reduced) into the selected zoom-out
rectangle.
2.1 WINDOWS Menu
The Windows Menu contains the standard Windows tools,
such as Cut, Cut all, Copy and Print. Cut and Cut all store
the selected area from the main window into memory. Copy
copies the stored area to the clipboard. Print queues the
main window to the systems printer.
If Cut is selected, the menus will be disabled until a
region is selected and Copy ed to clipboard.
May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p6

MESHGEN

2.2 MAIN Menu

The MESHGEN MAIN Menu has 4 options:
NEW MESH is used to generate a
new mesh. The aim may be to input
the location of the measurement
nodes for the animation of the
experimental model. It is also
possible to create a finite element
model
for
relatively
simple
geometries. In this latter case, the
material and real properties of the
elements are stored in a .MTR file.
MODIFY MESH reads an existing mesh for further editing.
TRANSFORM LOCAL .EIG converts measurements made in a local coordinate system into a consistent global co-ordinate system.
PROCESS .DSP FILE FOR FINES reads an existing pair of .DSP & .MTR
files and prepares an input data file for finite element program FINES.

File generation commands are given in Appendix I.

Examples are given in Appendix II.
2.3 SETUP Menu
OUTPUT IN ICATS FORMAT and
OUTPUT IN UFF control the data file
format for output operations such as FRF
and .EIG file creation. See Appendix C for
file formats and Appendix D for UFF support.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p7

MESHGEN

2.4 HELP Menu

ICATS HOME PAGE invokes the
default browser and displays the
ICATS home page: www.icats.co.uk
MODENT USERS GUIDE invokes the
default browser and displays the
MESHGEN
Users
Guide.
All
documentation is in \ICATS\HELP in
.PDF format.
MODENT SUITE INTRODUCTION
invokes the default browser and
displays the Introduction Users
Guide. All documentation is in
\ICATS\HELP in .PDF format.
APPENDICES invokes the default browser and displays the Appendices. All
documentation is in \ICATS\HELP in .PDF format.
GUIDED TOUR invokes the default browser and displays the Guided Tour
Users Guide. All documentation is in \ICATS\HELP in .PDF format.
CREATE A DATA FILE runs Windows Notepad and opens a template of the
data file to be created (.MKD file only). The user must edit the data file
according to the format given in Appendix C.
CALENDAR displays a Calendar. Any
date between 1900 and 2199 may be
displayed.
ABOUTBOX displays information about
the programs.
The Help Menu is available during any
MODESH analysis.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p8

MESHGEN

3. NEW MESH
NEW MESH has 5 menus.

3.1 NEW MESH Menu

SAVE .DSP allows the user to save current
geometry and connectivity file.
RE-START MESH initializes the mesh and
discards all current data
BACK TO MAIN returns to the MAIN Menu.
3.2 VIEW Menu
VIEWFINDER option controls the standard
views, the rotations about the X, Y and Z
axes, as well X/Y position on the screen.
DEFINE EYE POSITION allows the user to
define new direction cosines for the eye
position and to enter a new angle of
rotation. The default eye position is
1.0,1.0,1.0. The eye rotation corresponds
to head tilting when looking towards the
origin with the specified direction cosines.
WIRE/SOLID controls the display:
wire frame or solid with hidden lines.
NODE MARKERS puts node markers ON/OFF.
NODE NUMBERS puts node numbers ON/OFF.
ELEMENT NUMBERS puts element numbers ON/OFF.
NODE NUMBER COLOUR & SIZE allows the user to change the font size
and colour when displaying node numbers.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p9

MESHGEN

SHOW ALL NODE NUMBERS IN SOLID MODE displays all node numbers
even if the associated node is hidden in solid mode.
BY ELEMENT ATTRIBUTE colours the elements using one of their attributes:
colour (default), type, real properties and material properties.
SELECTED ELEMENTS ONLY displays a subset of elements selected
according to one of the following criteria: colour, type, real properties or
material properties.
RESET resets the view.
3.3 The Local Co-ordinate System (LC-SYS) Menu

DEFINE TYPE sets the LC-SYS to Cartesian, polar or spherical. Default is

Cartesian.
DEFINE ORIENTATION rotates X, Y and Z
axes of the Local Co-ordinate System with
respect to the Global axes. The angle value
must be given in degrees. The order of the
rotation for axis orientation is important and
must be specified. The order value cannot
exceed 3 and 0 is ignored. However, at least
one order value must be specified. The
rotations are performed with respect to each
axis in turn, using the associated order value
and starting from the lowest.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 10

MESHGEN

This option is needed when transforming the local co-ordinate mode

shapes into global co-ordinate mode shapes. It is not part of the mesh
generation process.
RETRIEVE TYPE returns the type of the current LC-SYS.
DEFINE ORIGIN BY NODE moves the origin of the Local Co-ordinate
System to a new node.
DEFINE ORIGIN BY CO-ORDINATE moves the origin of the Local Coordinate System to a new position, defined in relative co-ordinates with
respect to current LC-SYS origin. For instance, (0,0,0) will not move the
origin at all since the relative shift is 0 in all three co-ordinate directions.
All subsequent node co-ordinate entries must be defined with respect to
the new origin. Previously entered co-ordinates will automatically be redefined in terms of the new origin.
RESET makes the LC-SYS coincident with the GC-SYS.
4. MODIFY MESH
The user must first open the .DSP file to be modified. After a .DSP file is
selected, the following will be displayed.

The structure and functionality of MODIFY MESH, VIEW and LC-SYS menus
are identical to those of NEW MESH menus. Please see the previous section
for details.
Menu Bar for mesh generation

See Appendix I for mesh generation commands.

See Appendix II for mesh generation examples.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 11

MESHGEN

5. TRANSFORM
For convenience, FRF measurements are often taken in a Local Coordinate System (LC-SYS). Consider a cylinder with accelerometers
around its circumference. In this case, it is common practice to use a polar
LC-SYS at each circumferential node. The orientation of the measuring
transducer is defined in terms of the type (here Polar) and the orientation
of the LC-SYS. The purpose of the TRANSFORM option is to convert the
local co-ordinate measurements into global co-ordinate measurements.
We will first explain the menu structure and then describe the procedure
with examples.
5.1 Menu structure
OPEN .PRJ opens a .PRJ file which must
contain the names of .DSP & .EIG files.
Some or all co-ordinate directions in the .EIG
file must be 11, 12 or 13, to indicate which
measurements have been taken in the local
co-ordinate system.
START TRANSFORM transforms the coordinates stored in a .EIG file into a
consistent Global Co-ordinate System. Mode
shapes expressed in local co-ordinates can
thus be animated or used for correlation purposes etc.
UNDO ALL restores the original values of the measurements for all coordinates.
LIST NODES displays a list of measurement nodes, together with
associated LC-SYS directions (11, 12 or 13).
SAVE TRANSFORMED .EIG saves the transformed .EIG file.
BACK TO MAIN returns to the MAIN Menu.
The structure and functionality of VIEW and LC-SYS menus are identical to
those of NEW MESH & MODIFY MESH menus. Please see the previous
section for details.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 12

MESHGEN

5.2 Basic Steps of Local to Global Co-ordinate Transformation

During the measurements, it is possible to use any consistent local coordinate system (Cartesian, polar or spherical) in any order and any
number of times. A typical measurement-analysis-display sequence is as
follows.
Step 1. Measure FRFs in local co-ordinates
Any consistent local co-ordinate system can be used. The FRFs must be
saved with local directions according to the following convention. If local
co-ordinates are used, it is important to save the FRF with response
direction 11, 12 or 13.
Global Cartesian
Local
Cartesian/polar/spherical

1 (=X)
11 (=X/r/r)

2 (=Y)
12 (=Y//)

3 (=Z)
13 (=Z/z/ )

When saving the FRF files, there is no need to distinguish between

Cartesian, polar and spherical co-ordinates; 11, 12 and 13 indicating that
the measurements are in directions 1, 2 and 3 of a consistent co-ordinate
system that is not coincident with the global co-ordinate system.
Once the measurements are complete, follow the following steps to obtain
modal data in a consistent global co-ordinate system.
Step 2. Use MODENT and produce .EIG files in local co-ordinates.
This step, which is the modal analysis of measured data, remains identical
whether local co-ordinates are used or not. Perform the modal analysis as
usual and save the .EIG file. Note that this file cannot be animated
properly since the local co-ordinates may not the same as (and/or will not
align with) the global ones.
Step 3. Transform the local .EIG file into a global .EIG file.
When a session is started with a new .DSP (geometry) file, or when the
LC-SYS is reset, the LC-SYS is set to coincide with the Global Coordinate System (GC-SYS). The LC-SYS origin can be moved to any node
(not necessarily a measurement node) and the LC-SYS can then be
rotated by any angle to be aligned with the actual measurement coordinates. We will use this facility to transform the LC-SYS measurements
into GC-SYS measurements.
May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 13

MESHGEN

Each measurement node must be considered in turn. If there are LC-SYS

measurements associated with that node, move the LC-SYS to this node
and align the LC-SYS with the measurement directions. This way, the LCSYS will have been defined in terms of the global axis system. All
measurements belonging to that particular node can then be transformed
into global co-ordinates and this step is repeated as many times as there
nodes.
For instance, consider N radial measurements taken around a uniform
circular disk. The disks axis is Z. By defining a polar LC-SYS, all radial
measurements will automatically be aligned with the LC-SYS.
5.3 Aligning LC-SYS with the Measurement Directions
There will be several ways of aligning the LC-SYS measurements with the
global axes but some will be easier than others and the judicious choice of
the initial LC-SYS co-ordinate system is very important.
5.3.1 Using Cartesian LC-SYS
Z

13

12
11
Y

Select the Cartesian LC-SYS.

Move the origin and rotate axes, if necessary, until the directions of the
LC-SYS becomes parallel to, or coincident with, those of the
accelerometer as shown above. Matching directions are: 11X, 12Y
and 13Z.
5.3.2 Using Polar LC-SYS

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 14

MESHGEN

Select Polar LC-SYS. Move the origin and

rotate axes, if necessary, until the directions
of the LC-SYS becomes parallel to those of
the accelerometer as shown below.
Matching directions are: 11R, 12T (=)
and 13Z.
R:
The radial direction is outward in the
direction of the radius of the cylinder.
T: The tangential direction is tangent to the
surface and perpendicular to the longitudinal
axis of the cylinder.
Z:
The vertical direction is parallel to the
longitudinal axis of the cylinder.

The origin of Polar LC-SYS must not coincide with any of the
measurement nodes.
Example
Consider a cylinder with surface FRFs being
measured in the radial direction using polar coordinates.
(i) Move the origin of the LC-SYS to a point along
the
main
axis
of
the
cylinder. This point may be an existing node, or its
co-ordinates may be specified explicitly.
(ii) Rotate the axes of the LC-SYS until the z-axis
of the LC-SYS is aligned with the main axis of the
cylinder. The main axis of the cylinder cans any of
the three global axes, ie X, Y or Z.
(iii) Select the type of the local co-ordinate
system (LC-SYS) as polar.
(iv) Transform all nodes in a single step since all radial measurements
are aligned with the LC-SYS. This is due to the fact that there is a single
transformation between the Cartesian and polar co-ordinates of the nodes
of the cylinder.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 15

MESHGEN

5.3.3 Using Spherical LC-SYS

Activate Spherical LC-SYS. Move the origin and rotate axes if necessary
until the directions of the LC-SYS becomes parallel to those of the
accelerometer as shown below. Matching directions are: 11R, 12T
(=) and 13P (=). In order to define the measurement directions using
Spherical LC-SYS, imagine the sphere is a globe with north and south
poles, and with latitude and longitude lines. Longitudinal lines circle the
globe in an east-west manner and are parallel.
R: The radial direction is outward in the direction of the vector from
origin to the node.
T: The tangential direction is tangent to the latitude line and
perpendicular to the longitudinal line.
P: the perpendicular, or circumferential, direction is tangent to the
longitudinal line and perpendicular to the latitude line.
The origin of spherical LC-SYS must not coincide with any of the
measurement nodes.
A special case arises when a measurement node is at the North or South
Pole (i.e., = 90o). In such a situation, the directions are determined by
using =0o. This means that for a node at the North Pole, the tangential
direction is aligned with the positive Y axis and the perpendicular direction
is aligned with the negative X axis. If the node is at the South Pole, the
tangential direction is aligned with the positive Y axis and the
perpendicular direction is aligned with the positive X axis.
Z
13
11
12

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 16

MESHGEN

5.4 Transforming Mode Shapes From LC-SYS to GC-SYS

1) Open .PRJ file containing the .DSP filename and the .EIG filename
to be transformed. The number of the first node (for which local
measurements exist) will be displayed automatically.
2) Switch to Cartesian, Polar or Spherical LC-SYS system, in which the
measurements were made.
3) Select START TRANSFORM from TRANSFORM menu.
The program will display the first node number at which
transformation is needed and will ask the user to choose one of the
three options:

Choose At all nodes if the LC-SYS is aligned with the measurement

directions at all nodes (eg cylinder with accelerometers placed along
the circumference, measuring in the radial direction). This is the end
of the transformation process since all nodes will be transformed
using the same LC-SYS definition.

Choose At node no to transform the local measurement(s) at the

currently displayed node number.
If the LC-SYS axes are not
orientated as required, Select Pause
&
Re-align.
Select
DEFINE
ORIENTATION from LC-SYS.
Enter the rotation angles and the
axis rotation order for the LC-SYS.
For instance, referring to the cylinder
example, if the cylinders main axis
is X in the GC-SYS, the LC-SYS

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 17

MESHGEN

must be rotated in such a way that its Z axis is aligned with the X
axis.
Upon selecting At node no, the node number will be incremented
automatically and the user will be asked to choose one of the three
options above again. If the same LC-SYS was used for several
nodes, it is best to enter the corresponding node numbers
sequentially into the edit box. This will save the need to re-align LCSYS each time it is moved to a new node.
4) Once the transformation is completed, save transformed mode
shape by choosing SAVE .EIG.

The node that is being processed must NOT be coincident with

the LC-SYS origin. If this happens, the transformation process will
stop with:

The user must move the origin to some other node to be able to
continue.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 18

MESHGEN

6. PROCESS .DSP FOR FINES

When this option is selected, the
user must first open a .DSP file
whose associated .MTR file will
be opened automatically. The
user will also be prompted for a
.INP file name into which the
FINES input data will be written.

PROCESS ELEMENTS reads the .DSP and the .MTR files and
prompts the user for confirming the material properties for each
Material number and the real properties for each element type.

APPLY BOUNDARY CONDITIONS allows the user to ground selected

degrees of freedom at selected nodes. The degrees of freedom are
selected via the check boxes. For vibration analysis, the prescribed
value must be zero.
The box below shows how nodes 1 to 10 are grounded in all 6 coordinate directions.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 19

MESHGEN

The dialog box can be exited by either confirming the boundary conditions,
or by cancelling. The latter option is useful if there are no boundary
conditions to specify, e.g. a free-free system.
On exit, the user will be prompted to specify a further set of boundary
conditions, or to finish the boundary condition input.

FINISH PROCESSING allows the

user to user to select two analysis
parameters, namely the frequency
shift (Hz) and the number of modes to
be extracted. The frequency shift
allows the eigensolver to skip lower
frequencies. For free-free systems, a
small frequency shift may improve the
numerical conditioning. It is also
possible to choose the eigen-solver.
SEE/EDIT .INP FILE allows the user
to edit the FINES input file manually.
Please refer to FINES users guide for
details.

See Appendix III for a FINES input data preparation example.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 20

MESHGEN

APPENDIX I
Mesh Generation Commands
The mesh generation commands must be chosen from the bottom Bar
Menu by clicking the mouse in the appropriate command box.

The following commands are available.

NODE:
defines a node in the current co-ordinate system.
FILL:
generates intermediate nodes between two defined nodes.
NGEN:
generates nodes from a given pattern.
NDEL:
deletes specified nodes.
NLIST:
lists all available nodes.
ELEM:
defines connectivities for one element.
EGEN:
generates elements from a given pattern.
EDEL:
deletes specified elements.
ELIST:
lists all available elements.
UNDO:
deletes the last command.

Most parameters below default to initial/computed values and hence

you do not have to enter all values. You can skip parameters by
using ,, if further values are to follow, or
discarding them totally if no further values are required on the
input.
You must click on Bar Menu label & enter parameters into the dialog
boxes
NODE (NODE, X, Y, Z)
Enter Node number & associated X, Y and Z
co-ordinates.
X, Y, Z should be replaced by R, THETA and Z
for
cylindrical co-ordinates, and by R,
THETA and PHI for spherical co-ordinates.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 21

MESHGEN
Use Add/Replace to enter new data.
Use Delete to delete current node.

Because of auto-scaling the nodes entered will be placed as far apart as

possible to make use of all available plotting area.
FILL (NODE1, NODE2, NFILL, NSTART, NINC, ITIME, INC, SPACE)

The sample panel shows how to

generate 8 intermediate nodes
between nodes 1 & 10.

NODE1, NODE2: First and last nodes for filling

NFILL:

Use NFILL nodes between NODE1 and

NODE2. Default=NODE2-NODE1-1

NSTRT:

Node number for first intermediate node

NINC:

Increment for intermediate nodes. Defaults

to (NODE2-NODE1)/(NFILL+1)

ITIME:

Number of times the FILL operation is to be

performed. Defaults to 1.

INC:

Increment NODE1, NODE2 and NSTRT by

INC for each ITIME operation.

SPACE:

Spacing ratio between the nodes. If SPACE>1.0

divisions increase. If SPACE<1.0 divisions decrease.
Defaults to 1.0

FILL without any arguments fills in between last two nodes with increments of 1.
May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 22

MESHGEN

NGEN (ITIME, INC, NODE1, NODE2, NINC, DX, DY, DZ, SPACE)
ITIME:

Total number of sets to be generated including the

original set. Hence ITIME must be at least 2.

INC:

Node number increment from set to set.

NODE1,NODE2, NINC

Set of nodes defining the basic pattern for node

generation. NINC defaults to 1.

DX, DY, DX:

X, Y and Z increments for co-ordinates of the

nodes to be generated. These become R, THETA and Z
increments for cylindrical co-ordinates, etc.

SPACE:

Spacing ratio between the nodes. If SPACE>1.0

divisions increase. If SPACE<1.0 divisions decrease.
Defaults to 1.0

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 23

MESHGEN

NDEL

By node (NODE1, NODE2, NINC)

Deletes a set of nodes from NODE1 to NODE2 in increments of NINC.

By element

Deletes all nodes without an associated element.

NLIST Lists all available nodes in the local or global co-ordinate system.
No arguments are needed.

ELEM (I, J, K, L) - Defines element data.

An element type must be chosen first.

Optional Material &

Real no if FE mesh

Element colour
See existing
Material, Real &
Element lists
Confirm all
selections
The connectivity pattern for each element is different. So, a different dialog box will be
used for each type. The user must enter the node numbers in the way they are defined
in the individual element dialog boxes. Any number of elements may be entered in
succession. The individual element dialog boxes are shown below.
May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 24

MESHGEN

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 25

MESHGEN

Rotate plot

May 2008

Undo last elt

Add to
element
database

ICATS 1988-2008

Finish
adding this
element

p 26

MESHGEN

Notes:
o The element numbering is carried out internally so that the user does not need to
enter an element number.
o Solid elements do not require a Real No. (when generating an FE mesh)
o Spring and mass elements do not require a Material No. (when generating an FE
mesh)
o Multi-layer composite elements are characterized by Material and Real numbers of
the first layer. The real and material numbers for subsequent layers are
incremented automatically.
o If a Real No is selected, user input is provided by a general Material Properties
Bialog Box.
o If a Material No is selected, user input is provided by an element-specific Real
Properties Dialog Box.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 27

MESHGEN

EGEN (ITIME, NINC, IEL1, IEL2, IEINC)

ITIME:

Total number of sets to be generated including

the original set. Hence ITIME must be at least 2.

NINC:

Node number increment from one element set to

the next.

IEL1, IEL2, IEINC:

Set of elements defining the basic pattern for

element generation. IEINC defaults to 1.

If IEL1 is <0, ignore IEL2 and IEINC and use the last ABS(IEL1) elements.

EDEL IEL1, IEL2, IEINC

Deletes a set of elements from IEL1 to IEL2 in increments of IEINC.

ELIST
Lists all available elements. No arguments are needed.

Finally, it should be noted that it may be convenient to input complex

drawings using a XY digitizer program and import them to MESHGEN by
creating a .DSP file externally. All you need to do is to create a file with 4
columns, containing the node number, x, y & z coordinates. Please see
Appendix C how to edit this file into the standard .DSP format. Such XYDigitizer programs can easily be found via a web search.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 28

MESHGEN

APPENDIX II
Mesh Generation Examples
1. Plate
Generate the mesh and connectivities for a 2x3.5 (arbitrary units) plate.
STEP 1 - Define Node 1 at (0,0,0).
o Click on NODE.
o Fill the blanks in the NODE panel.
o Click on Add/Replace

STEP 2 - Define Node 5 at (0,2,0).

o Use the same NODE panel.
o Enter values
o Click on Add/Replace.

STEP 3 - Fill 3 nodes between Nodes 1 and 5

o Close the NODE panel.
o Click on FILL.
o Accept default values in the FILL panel.
May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 29

MESHGEN

STEP 4 - Generate 8 sets of nodes from pattern 1 to 5.

o Click on OK to close the FILL panel.
o Click on NGEN.
o Increment node numbers by 5
o Increment x co-ordinates by .5 units
o Click on OK to close NGEN panel.

STEP 5 - Define first element at nodes 1, 6, 7, 2.

o Click on ELEM
o Select 4-noded shell
o Accept default value of 0 for Material & Real nos
o Accept default colour (grey=8)
o Press on OK

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 30

MESHGEN

o Enter the element nodes: 1, 6, 7 & 2

o Select Exit

STEP 6 - Generate 4 sets of elements from element 1

(generation in the Y direction)
o Close the ELEM panel
o Click on EGEN
o Fill the required values:
IEL1=1, ITIME=4, NINC=1
o Click on OK

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 31

MESHGEN

STEP 7 - Generate 7 sets of new elements from previous 4 elements

(generation in the X direction)
o Click on EGEN
o Fill the required values
IEL1=1, IEL2=4, IEINC=1
ITIME=7
NINC=1
o Click on OK

The resulting mesh is shown below:

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 32

MESHGEN

2. Cylinder
Generate a cylinder which is 4 units high and which has a radius of 1 unit.

STEP 1 Select DEFINE TYPE from LC-SYS Menu. Select POLAR.

STEP 2 Define Node 1 at R=1, THETA=10 degrees, Z=0

STEP 3 Define Node 18 at R=1, THETA=350 degrees, Z=0

STEP 4 Fill between nodes 1 and 18

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 33

MESHGEN

STEP 5 Generate 5 sets of nodes from pattern 1 to 18

STEP 6 Define first element at nodes 1,2,20,19

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 34

MESHGEN

STEP 7 Generate 17 elements from the first element

STEP 8 Define next element at nodes 18,1,19,36 (last in circle)

STEP 9 Generate 4 sets of elements from pattern 1 to 18 by

incrementing node numbers by 18

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 35

MESHGEN

The resulting mesh is shown below:

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 36

MESHGEN

3. Half sphere
Generate a half-sphere of unit radius.

STEP 1 Select DEFINE TYPE from LC-SYS Menu. Select SPHERICAL.

STEP 2 Define Node 1 at R=1, THETA=10 degrees, PHI=0
STEP 3 Define Node 18 at R=1, THETA=350 degrees, PHI=0

STEP 4 Fill between nodes 1 and 18

STEP 4 Generate 5 sets of nodes from pattern 1 to 18

Note that only the PHI increment must be set to 20 degrees

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 37

MESHGEN

STEP 5 Define first element at nodes 1,2,20,29

(Select 4-noded shell first)

STEP 6 Generate 17 elements from the first element.

STEP 7 Define next element at nodes 18,1,19,36 (last in circle)

(Select 4-noded shell first)

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 38

MESHGEN

STEP 8 Generate 4 sets of elements from pattern 1 to 18 by

incrementing node numbers by 18

The resulting mesh is shown below:

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 39

MESHGEN

APPENDIX III
FINES Model Preparation Example
We will build a simple bridge model consisting of a concrete base and steel
beams forming side railings.

o Select NEW MESH from MAIN and generate the following bridge
mesh using Node, Fill and NGEN commands. Refer to Example
4.1.1 for node generation.
o Select Element type (4-noded shell), Real no (1) and Material no (1)
for the base of the bridge.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 40

MESHGEN

o Define first element for base of bridge

o Define the rest of the base elements using EGEN.

o Select Element type (2-noded beam), Real no (2) and Material no

(2) for the railings of the bridge.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 41

MESHGEN

o Generate elements for the bridge railings using E and EGEN

commands.

o Save the model by selecting SAVE .DSP from NEW MESH. Use
bridge_1.dsp. The real and material data will automatically be saved
in bridge_1.MTR. Do not use any spaces in directory and
filenames.

o Select BACK
o
o
o
o
o

TO MAIN to exit NEW MESH.

Select PPROCESS .DSP FOR FINES.
Open bridge_1.dsp
Choose bridge_1.inp as FINES input filename that will now be
created.
Select PROCESS ELEMENTS
Confirm properties for Material no 1 (shell) and no 2 (beam).

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 42

MESHGEN

o Confirm properties for Real no 1 (shell) and Real no 2 (beam).

o Select APPLY BOUNDARY CONDITIONS to ground nodes 1-10 and

91-100, i.e. both ends of the bridge. Set 1 is nodes 1-10.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 43

MESHGEN

o Select Confirm BCs, then New Set

o Repeat for Set 2 (Nodes 91-100).

o Select Done.
o Select FINISH PROCESSING.

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 44

MESHGEN

o Select RUN FINES

o The FINES output will appear in a Notepad window.

o To animate the modes, run MODESH
o Inspect the first mode using the ANIMATE

May 2008

ICATS 1988-2008

p 45