12.1 Restrictions on virtual topology removed

Product: ABAQUS/CAE

Benefits: Introducing virtual topology no longer prevents you from performing certain operations on a part or part instance. Therefore, you can create virtual topology when you need it; creating virtual topology is not restricted to being the last operation that you perform prior to meshing.

Description: If you add virtual topology to a part or a part instance, you can now do the following:

Partition the virtual topology.
Use the Repair toolset on the virtual topology.
Use Part module tools on the virtual topology, such as extrude, sweep, and blend.
Mesh a solid region with hexahedral or hexahedral-dominated elements using the swept meshing technique with the advancing front algorithm selected.

As a result, you can use a combination of virtual topology, partitions, and Repair toolset operations to modify a part iteratively until the generated mesh is acceptable. For example, Figure 12–1 shows a piston containing virtual topology after it has been cut using the extruded cut tool in the Part module.

Figure 12–1 A part containing virtual topology is cut.

ABAQUS/CAE Usage:

Part module:
   ShapeExtrude, Sweep, or Blend
   ToolsRepair
   ToolsPartition
Mesh module:
   ToolsVirtual Topology
   ToolsPartition

Reference:

ABAQUS/CAE User's Manual

Chapter 49, “The Virtual Topology toolset”