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Altair HyperLife™ – Temperature Influence

The fatigue strength of a material reduces with an increase in temperature. Temperature influence can be accounted by applying the temperature factor Ctemp to modify the fatigue endurance limit FL.

Tips & Tricks

Altair HyperLife™ – Safety Factor Estimation

Safety factor is calculated based on the endurance limit or target stress (at target life) against the stress amplitude from the working stress history. HyperLife calculates this ratio via two criteria’s.

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Altair HyperLife™ – Vibration Fatigue

Vibration fatigue analysis can be performed with loading options to predict fatigue in the frequency domain.

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Altair HyperLife™ – Modal Superposition

Fatigue analysis can be performed when modal stresses and modal participation factors are available in two different file inputs.Modal stresses are multiplied by modal participation factor, then summed at each point in time. The modal stress file (geometry) is supported for the H3D file format.HyperLife 2020.1 supports OP2 file support for Modal Superposition The supported modal participation factor file formats are PCH and MRF. Currently, only time domain results (from transient analysis) are supported.

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Altair HyperLife™ – Damage and Life Results Contour Per Event

Damage and Life contours are available to plot per Event in the Results Explorer. This output is optional and activated in the Preferences dialog. Output event wise results helps to interrogate the fatigue results to determine which event(s) and subcases are contributing to the fatigue life.

Tips & Tricks

Altair HyperView™ – Design Sensitivity Analysis Utility

Design Sensitivity Analysis Utility • Design sensitivity represents a change in response with respect to a change in a design variable, which is typically used for optimization. • Design sensitivity can also be used as a diagnostic tool to understand what components in the system (through associated properties referenced by design variables) have controlling influence on the response in question. • Traditionally, design sensitivity can be cumbersome to request for frequency response analysis. It can only be requested as a part of an optimization run, where multiple design responses have to be created for each frequency response at each analysis frequency; objective function and constraints have to be defined and set in specific ways to force sensitivity output at all analysis frequencies for all design variables. • In HyperGraph 2D, the Design Sensitivity Analysis utility allows you to plot and rank design sensitivity curves from an OptiStruct dsa.0.h3d file.

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Altair HyperView™ – OrderCut Analysis Utility

OrderCut Analysis Utility • OrderCut Analysis utility generates and post-processes engine order related data from an OptiStruct or Nastran frequency response analysis that contains either RPM-based loading subcases or order-based loading subcases. • Background, engine related noise, and vibration problems are typically linked to engine orders that are harmonic multiples of the engine’s fundamental firing frequency. • Understanding the order content of the problem signal is a way to identify the physical phenomenon that is causing the problem. • To solve the problem, you can adjust the design parameters to modify the engine operation, which in turn reduces the problem orders.

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Altair HyperView™ – Multiple Sample Analysis Utility

Multiple Sample Analysis Utility • This utility allows to post-process results from a Multiple Sample Analysis (MSA), including plotting a spread of responses (+/-95% and mean). • You can choose Structures or Loads MSA processes: o Structures MSA processes results from a randomization of modal and connection parameters. o Loads MSA processes results from a randomization of wheel imbalance forces. • Sensitive parameters filtering is also supported for both Structures MSA and Loads MSA.

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Altair HyperView™ – Radiated Sound Utility

Radiated Sound Utility Radiated Sound Output using Rayleigh’s Integral can be requested for grid points on the structural surface and in the exterior acoustic field. Grid points are used to represent microphones that record the radiated sound, sound power, and sound intensity.

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Altair HyperView™ – Mount Optimization Utility

The Mount Optimization utility helps to predict powertrain rigid body modefrequencies and kinetic energy distribution, which play a critical role in optimizing themount stiffness and layout configuration, by decoupling powertrain rigid body modes andreducing vibration transmission.

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Altair HyperWorks™ – Design Space Management for Concept Design Topology Optimization

Design Space Management: Workflow to support the complete topology modeling (Automotive) and meshing process.

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Altair HyperLife™ – Weld Certification

HyperLife Weld Certification is a specialty module for fatigue strength assessments according to common design codes/norms and guidelines welded structures.

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Altair HyperWorks™ – Pedestrian Impact Tool

The Pedestrian Impact tool automates the vehicle marking, impactors positioning and the export of solver decks with minimal input, therefore reducing the full process lead time.The tool conforms to the pedestrian safety regulations EuroNCAP, CNCAP, UN-R127 and GTR.

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Altair SimSolid™ – 3D Solid Seam Welds

Seam welds are now modeled as 3D solids. This replaces the previous connection based approach. Welds are defined by section size and length along the edge. Simple trapezoidal shapes are used to represent the welds. Weld material properties are taken from the adjacent parts.

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Altair HyperView™ – Integrated Diagnostics Utility

The Integrated Diagnostics utility allows you to: • Calculate response based on sensitivity and forces (power train and road) • Perform contribution analysis for responses calculated using sensitivity and forces • Plot and overlay response curves from an OptiStruct or Nastran punch file • Perform diagnostic studies using the diagnostic result from a solver or sensitivity • Perform study response changes

Tips & Tricks

Altair HyperView™ – Modal Participation Utility

Modal/Panel Participation Utility • The Modal/Panel Participation utility allows you to plot modal/panel participation curves from an OptiStruct .h3d file or an MSC Nastran .f06/.pch file. • Modal participation represents the complex contribution of a structure or fluid mode to a response. • Modal participation can be output from a modal frequency response analysis using the PFMODE output request card. • Panel contribution represents the complex contribution of all grids on a structural panel to a response. It can be output from a modal frequency response analysis using the PFPANEL output request card

Tips & Tricks

Altair HyperView™ – Grid Participation Utility

Grid Participation Utility The Grid Participation utility allows you to plot panel grid participation results and then use advanced scaling contour capabilities in HyperView to isolate key contributing areas. The files that are needed for post-processing are: • OptiStruct.h3d file: PFGRID.h3d - which contains the participation data output, as well as information regarding the fluid-structure grids and elements. • MSC Nastran .op2 file: PFGRID.h3d - which contains the participation data output, as well as information regarding the fluid-structure grids and elements. • OptiStruct punch file: PFGRID.pfmode.pch – which contains the participation data output. PFGRID.interface - which contains information regarding the fluid-structure interface grids and elements.

Tips & Tricks

Altair HyperView™ – Energy Distribution Utility

Energy Distribution Utility Visualize the distribution of energy within a full vehicle NVH model, as a way to understand what components are dominating the vehicle response.

Tips & Tricks

Altair HyperView™ – Transfer Path Analysis Utility

Transfer Path Analysis Utility The Transfer Path Analysis (TPA) utility identifies the complex contribution of the excited structure through attachment points to a response in the responding structure.

Tips & Tricks

Altair Inspire – Altair SimSolid Analysis

Tips and Tricks You can now use SimSolid as your solver when running a structural analysis in Inspire. This gives you the ability to edit geometry, which was not possible in the stand-alone version of SimSolid, as well as yielding significantly faster results when running an analysis in Inspire. Linear static and normal modes analyses are supported when using the SimSolid solver, as well as all boundary conditions and results visualizations. SimSolid extends Inspire’s solver capacity and makes it much faster to analyze large assemblies and complex parts.

Tips & Tricks

Altair Inspire – Toolbelts

Tips and Tricks Inspire now has four toolbelts to help you quickly access the tools you need for geometry, structures, motion, and PolyNURBS. You can use the toolbelts with the default configuration of tools, or you can customize the toolbelts by adding and removing tools.

Tips & Tricks

Altair Inspire – Plot Manager

Tips and Tricks A new Plot Manager is now available which makes it easy for you to manually browse and plot motion results data, create cross plots (i.e. data vs. data), define pages in different layouts, and save the plots you've defined as a template for reuse.

Tips & Tricks

Altair Inspire – Pressure Mapping

Tips and Tricks Pressure Mapping: It is now possible to apply a non-uniform distributed pressure using an option in the Pressure tool’s micro dialog.

Tips & Tricks

Altair Inspire – Download Offline Help

Tips and Tricks You can now download and install an offline help package from within the product by selecting File > Help > Download Offline Help.

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Altair HyperMesh – Mesh Controls

Tips and Tricks The Mesh Controls browser allows the access of a majority of the supported meshing approaches (e.g. size and bias, surface deviation), an additional method called “feature based,” the assignment of meshing regions, the storage and management of meshing parameters all within a mesh controls tree. For many applications (e.g. structural and CFD) this streamlines the preprocessing and mesh management tasks.

Tips & Tricks

Altair SimLab - Unit System

#1416 Tips and Tricks SimLab 2019.3 version introduces unit system which will allow users to work in a unit system they desire. The introduction of unit system should not disrupt current users from what they are currently used to. The following rules apply for this version.

Tips & Tricks

Altair SimLab - Quick Drop Test Setup

#1417 Tips and Tricks Quick setup - Drop impact test parameters: It will automatically create boundary conditions based on user inputs and user can modify if needed. • Initial velocity will be created based on height, drop direction and gravity. • Rigid wall creation based on direction of impact. • Output request and settings based on solution time after impact.

Tips & Tricks

Using HyperStudy with a remote HPC infrastructure via Altair Access

Altair HyperStudy is a design exploration tool that manages simulation model variability, run submission and extracts simulation responses. HyperStudy allows to seamlessly perform Design of experiments, generate metamodels and perform optimizations and reliability studies. However, some simulations are computationally expensive to run in local machines. Altair Access can assist to submit the jobs to a remote HPC server seamlessly, with the reduced simulation time and increased compliance with IT policies.

Tips & Tricks

Altair SimLab – CAD Shared Faces

Tips and Tricks This tool will help to show the shared faces in connected CAD body. This feature is supported only for Parasolid model imported with “Save geometry in database”.

Tips & Tricks

Altair SimLab – Proximity Mesh Control

Proximity: Automatic mesh refinement will happen on surfaces that are within proximity distance. This will be useful in CFD, Electronics applications etc.

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Altair SimLab – Extract Cavity

Extract cavity option to extract the cavity from the selected bodies by defining the node. To capture the fluid geometry better, turn on ‘Preserve all feature lines’ in Advanced options. It would be useful in CFD to extract the fluid domain.

Tips & Tricks

HyperStudy – New Definition Concept

Every approach now contains a unique definition of the models, variables, and responses for that approach. These “Definitions” streamline the process of making modifications between approaches. This new framework provides more freedom to explore diverse and multi-disciplinary studies in a single session.

Tips & Tricks

HyperStudy – Measure the Difference Between Curves

Area is a new data source tool that defines a metric to measure the difference between two curves. By minimizing this metric in an optimization, it is simple to tune simulation models to match targets.

Tips & Tricks

HyperStudy – Submit Simulations to Altair PBS Works

HyperStudy has new infrastructure to seamlessly interact with the Altair Access high performance computing platform. This connection handles the upload, submission, and download of the simulation files. Easy access to scalable computing enables design exploration for larger problems.

Tips & Tricks

HyperStudy – Compare Fit and Solver Results

Compare fit and solver results in HyperStudy. Verification - This approach compares two data sets in a side by side comparison.

Tips & Tricks

HyperStudy – Extract Responses from Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet is a new data source tool that can be used identify data in a spreadsheet (*xls or *xlsx) by specifying the sheet name and cell ranges. It is now simple to extract results from software that produces output spreadsheets.

Tips & Tricks

OptiStruct – Imperfection

Tips and Tricks #1403: OptiStruct – Imperfection Geometric imperfection can be applied to stability sensitive structures which have difficulties in being solved, because of local or global buckling.Imperfection helps to transform the bifurcation problem into a limit point problem.

Tips & Tricks

OptiStruct – PSEUDO Damage Calculation

Tips and Tricks #1404: OptiStruct – PSEUDO Damage Calculation PSEUDO damage calculation • Speedup the fatigue calculation dramatically. • Effective if the small damaged elements are not of concern. • SN/EN and Uni-axial/Multi-axial base metal fatigue with static subcase • Optimization supported.

Tips & Tricks

OptiStruct – Membranes in LGDISP & Plasticity

Tips and Tricks #1405: OptiStruct – Membranes in LGDISP & Plasticity Membranes are supported now for LGDISP NLSTAT analysis.For Nonlinear materials, plasticity is supported for membranes– both SMDISP and LGDISP.Both 1st order and 2nd order elements are supported for SMDISP and LGDISP NLSTAT.Stress on membranes should be comparable (not exact) to surface stresses on solids (which can be obtained with specifying ISOP option as INT0 in PSOLID, and output stress at GAUSS location).

Tips & Tricks

OptiStruct – New Beam Formulation

Tips and Tricks #1406: OptiStruct – New Beam Formulation New Beam Formulation (Timoshenko) • Timoshenko beam theory formulation is introduced with PARAM,BEAMALT,YES for CBAR/CBEAM.Default is NO. • With this formulation turned on, the shear deformation of the beam will be more accurate and rotary inertia will alsobe added. For the maximum accuracy, it is recommended to use PARAM,COUPMASS,YES.

Tips & Tricks

OptiStruct – CGAP Force Output Includes Preload

Tips and Tricks #1407: OptiStruct – CGAP Force Output Includes Preload CGAP Force Output Includes Preload • Preload force ‘F0’ is included in the CGAP element force output. • Preload force ‘F0’ is supported for Nonlinear static analysis (SMDISP/LGDISP), and ignored in linear analysis. • The output is available in *.h3d and/or *.op2. & with OPTI forces are written to a .force file. • With NLOUT request, incremental CGAP force output is available in *.h3d and .force file. • Currently ‘on the fly’ CGAP force output in *.impl.h3d file is not available.

Tips & Tricks

Automatic Refinement in the Next Generation HyperWorks

Use the tool to refine elements as quads based on a given refinement size.

Tips & Tricks

HyperWorks Next Generation – Find and Fill Cavities

Find and Fill Cavities: Use the Plug tool to find and fill cavities. The Plug tool can also be used to remove protrusions, holes, and complex features.

Tips & Tricks

HyperWorks Next Generation – Remove Small Features

Defeature – Small Features tool: The Small Features tool finds and deletes small solids and deletes or suppresses sliver surfaces. The Small Features tool is available within the Defeature tool.

Tips & Tricks

HyperWorks Next Generation – Replicate Mesh

Replicate Mesh - Use the tool to replicate a mesh from one location to another, with options to keep the original mesh, as well as to replicate into multiple copies. The replicated elements replace the original elements, maintaining relevant information like properties, thicknesses, and other solver attributes.

Tips & Tricks

HyperWorks Next Generation – Tools Finder

The purpose of this tool is to help you find tools that you used in Legacy HyperMesh by selecting the menu or panel from the classic interface to be shown the location in the new HyperWorks interface.

Tips & Tricks

Altair Inspire Cast – Filters for Gravity Casting

Filter is one of the crucial components of filling system in Castings used for multiple purpose as: • Maintain metal flow at gate. • Avoid turbulent behavior of liquid metal during filling. • Retain impurities, foam and slag from the metal. • To avoid sudden impact of metal in the cavity due to head height.

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Altair Radioss – Automatic Dynamic Relaxation

Automatic dynamic relaxation in Radioss.

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