nTop Platform 2.11 - What's New

Summary

nTopology’s nTop Platform 2.11 is here! This release features new section cut capabilities for sectioning tetrahedral meshes and static analysis results, as well as a handful of new simulation boundary condition blocks for specifying the coefficient of thermal expansion and applying temperature loads. In addition, this release gives users the ability to perform a free-free modal analysis and the ability to subdivide an FE Lattice Mesh to more accurately model a beam’s behavior. As with every release, nTopology’s dedicated support team is ready to answer your questions.

New Features and Improvements

• Concatenate Lists Block

• Section Cut Static Analysis Results

• Section Cut Tet Meshes

• Simulation: Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Blocks

• Simulation: Free-Free Modal Analysis

• Simulation: Subdivide FE Lattice Mesh

• Simulation: Temperature Load Boundary Conditions

• Usage Improvements

Concatenate Lists Block

• Ribbon Location: Utilities/General
• Description: “Append the items of List 2 to the end of List 1. The lists must be of the same type. To insert a list into another list at specified location (instead of at the end), use the Insert block.”
• Input 1: List 1
  • Type: list
  • Description: “First list to concatenate.”
• Input 2: List 2
  • Type: list
  • Description: “Second list to concatenate.”
• Return Type: list

Section Cut Static Analysis Results

• Users can now cut sections through Static Analysis results in order to see stresses internal to analyzed geometry.

Section Cut Tet Meshes

• Users can now cut sections through tet meshes to visually inspect the tetrahedral element sizing and quality internal to the geometry before creating an FE mesh and model.

Simulation: Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Blocks

• Isotropic Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Property Block

  • Description: “Defines an Isotropic Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Property by specifying the thermal coefficient of expansion, alpha. Providing a scalar field will result in spatially varying material properties”
  • Ribbon Location: Simulation/Material Attributes
  • Input 1: Alpha
    • Type: Scalar field
    • Description: “Linear coefficient of thermal expansion.”
  • Return Type: Isotropic Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Property

• Orthotropic Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Property Block

  • Ribbon Location: Simulation/Material Attributes
  • Description: “Defines an Orthotropic Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Property by specifying the thermal coefficient of expansion, alpha in directions X, Y, and Z. Providing a scalar field will result in spatially varying material properties”
  • Input 1: Alpha X
    • Type: Scalar field
    • Description: “Linear coefficient of thermal expansion in the X direction.”
  • Input 2: Alpha Y
    • Type: Scalar field
    • Description: “Linear coefficient of thermal expansion in the Y direction.”
  • Input 3: Alpha Z
    • Type: Scalar field
    • Description: “Linear coefficient of thermal expansion in the Z direction.”
  • Return Type: Orthotropic Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Property

Simulation: Free-Free Modal Analysis

• The Modal Analysis block has been updated to enable users to perform a free-free modal analysis. The boundary condition list is now an optional input. Not providing the optional boundary condition list input leads to a free-free modal analysis.

Simulation: Subdivide FE Lattice Mesh

• We’ve updated the FE Lattice Mesh block to include a new parameter to subdivide beam elements into a specified number of segments so that simulation engineers can better model the beam segment’s behavior.
• New Input: Subdivisions
  • Type: Integer
  • Description: “The number of finite elements that each beam in the lattice will be subdivided into.”

Simulation: Temperature Load Boundary Conditions

• Initial Temperature Block

  • Ribbon Location: Simulation/Boundary Conditions
  • Description: “Defines the baseline temperature to be used for a thermal stress analysis. The amount of thermal stress in a model will be calculated from the difference in temperature between the initial temperature and the applied temperature.”
  • Input 1: Initial Temperature
    • Type: Scalar field
    • Descriptions: “Temperature that is used as the baseline temperature for a thermal stress analysis.”
  • Return Type: Initial Temperature

• Applied Temperature Load Block

  • Ribbon Location: Simulation/Boundary Conditions
  • Description: “Defines the applied temperature load to be used for a thermal stress analysis. The amount of thermal stress in a model will be calculated from the difference in temperature between the initial temperature and the applied temperature.”
  • Input 1: Applied Temperature
    • Type: Scalar field
    • Description: “Temperature for a thermal stress analysis from which the thermal stress will be calculated.”
  • Return Type: Applied Temperature Load

Usage Improvements

• Degrees are now the default units for all block inputs requiring an angle. Angle inputs now include deg to the right of the input to indicate the unit input type.
• If there is not a new version for a block, and the block has been deprecated, the block will be displayed in the add block search. We will continue to display warnings for deprecated blocks, indicate their deprecation status and notify the user of which blocks to use instead, if relevant.
• Lattice objects with face elements in the FE Lattice Mesh block are now supported. Simulation results now render the resulting fields on both sides of the FE Surface Mesh.
• Variables have been updated to enable type changes to permeate through all properties, if that property is used elsewhere as an input.