Nodal Orientation objects are meant to rotate the nodes to a given coordinate system that you select in the GUI. By inserting a Nodal Orientation object and scoping it to a subset of nodes, you can create a Nodal Coordinate System and apply nodal rotations to the scoped nodes. Later, other node based boundary conditions (Nodal Force, Nodal Displacements, and Nodal Rotations) can use these Nodal Coordinate Systems.
When two or more Nodal Orientations prescribe different Nodal Coordinate Systems at a single node, the object that is added last (in the tree) is applied.
This page includes the following sections:
| Analysis Types |
| Dimensional Types |
| Geometry Types |
| Topology Selection Options |
| Applying a Nodal Orientation Boundary Condition |
| Details Pane Properties |
| API Reference |
Analysis Types
Nodal Orientation is available for the following analysis types:
Dimensional Types
The supported dimensional types for the Nodal Orientation boundary condition include:
3D Simulation
2D Simulation
Geometry Types
The supported geometry types for the Nodal Orientation boundary condition include:
Solid
Surface/Shell
Wire Body/Line Body/Beam
Topology Selection Options
The Nodal Orientation boundary condition is scoped via node-based Named Selections only. For more information, see the Specifying Named Selections by Direct Node Selection Help section.
Applying a Nodal Orientation Boundary Condition
To define Nodal Orientation and apply it to nodes:
On the Environment Context tab, click > . Alternatively, right-click the Environment tree object or in the Geometry window and select >.
Click the drop-down list and then select the node-based to prescribe the scope of the boundary conditions.
Select the coordinate system that you want to use to define nodal orientation.
Details Pane Properties
The Details pane selections are described below.
| Category | Property/Options/Description |
|---|---|
| Scope |
Scoping Method: Read-only field that displays scoping method – Named Selection. Named Selection: Drop-down list of available node-based Named Selections. Coordinate System: Drop-down list of available coordinate systems. The selected system is used to orientate the nodes in the Named Selection. |
| Definition |
Suppressed: Includes or excludes the boundary condition in the analysis. |
API Reference
For specific scripting information, see the Nodal Orientation section of the ACT API Reference Guide.