4.4. Beam to Stacked Shell

This option enables the transfer of fiber orientations represented by beam elements onto a mesh consisting of stacked shells.

4.4.1. Main Mapping Command

ENVYO = BEAM-STACKED SHELL

4.4.2. Input and Output Meshes

SourceFile = STRINGDefine the name and, if needed, the path of the source file (usually a *.dynain file).
TargetFile = STRINGDefine the name and, if needed, the path of the target file. The target file must be an LS-DYNA application mesh.
MappingResult = STRINGDefine the result file name. The mapping result is written into this newly generated file.
OrientationFile = HISVTo enable the transfer of orientations, define this flag. It informs the program that the orientation data is stored within the history variables (HISV). Alternatively, orientations can be derived from the element nodes. This method may yield accurate results if the mesh is well-aligned initially.
TransformedMeshFile = STRINGSpecify the file name where the transformed mesh is written. This option is intended solely for postprocessing of the transformation. For additional details, refer to the Transformation Options section below.

The following are available source and result file formats:

SourceFileFormat = LS−DYNA

ESI−PC

Nastran

HDF5

ESI−HDF5

GCODE

ABAQUS

STEP

CSV

The source file format. The preferred format is LS-DYNA.
TargetFileFormat = LS−DYNAThe target file format. The only format available is LS-DYNA.
ResultFileFormat = LS−DYNAThe result file format. The only format available is LS-DYNA.

4.4.3. Target Part IDs and Source Part IDs

NumTargetPids = INT

Define the number of parts in the target mesh which are considered within the mapping. This option must be followed by TargetPid#i definitions.

TargetPid#i = INTDefine as many part IDs as given in NumTargetPids. These parts are considered for the mapping.
NumSourcePIDs = INT

Define the number of parts in the source mesh which are considered within the mapping. This option must be followed by SourcePID#i definitions.

SourcePID#i = INTDefine as many part IDs as given in NumSourcePIDs. These parts are considered for the mapping.

Note:  The options above specifically narrow down the scope of the mapping procedure to defined-part IDs. Other parts are ignored on both the source and target meshes.


4.4.4. Transformation Options

TRANSFORMATION = YES

NO

Turn the transformation option on or off.

WriteTransformedMesh = YES

NO

Flag to enable output of the transformed mesh used for mapping. This enables verifying the success of the transformation. If set to YES, a TransformedMeshFile must be specified (see Input and Output Meshes).

There are three available methods for performing mesh transformation:

  • TRAFO_OPTION is required:

    • Iterative Closest Point (ICP)

    • Four-Points-Congruent Sets (4PCS)

  • TRAFO_OPTION is not required:

    • User-defined translation and rotation

The 4PCS method must be used with caution, as it is fully automatic and may not accurately transform stress tensors and fiber orientations between different coordinate systems. The ICP algorithm is the recommended approach.

The user-defined translation and rotation options are listed underneath TRAFO_OPTION.


Note:  Transformation options are used to transform the source mesh.


TRAFO_OPTION = 4PCS

ICP

Flag that enables specification of the desired transformation option.
NodalPair#i = INT INTDefine nodal pairs to initialize mesh alignment for the ICP algorithm. You may specify up to ten nodal pairs, with a required minimum of three. In each pair, the first integer represents a node ID in the source mesh, and the second corresponds to a node ID in the target mesh. Input values must be space-separated, with each nodal pair provided on a separate line.
MAX_NUM_ITER = INTMaximum number of iterations to be performed by the 4PCS algorithm.
GLOBAL_ERR = DOUBLEGlobal error messure to accept transformation as best fit 4PCS algorithm.
MATCHING_POINT_DIST = DOUBLE

Maximum distance between points so that they are accepted as matching (4PCS).

PERCENTAGE_OF_MATCHING_POINTS = DOUBLEPercentage of matching points to accept the transformation (4PCS).

Additionally, a custom sequence of user-defined transformations can be applied. These transformations are executed in the order in which they are specified and multiple transformations may be defined.

RotateSRC = DOUBLE;X

DOUBLE;Y

DOUBLE;Z

DOUBLE; DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE

The source mesh is rotated by a specified angle (first value, in degrees) around a defined axis. Predefined axes include X, Y, and Z. Alternatively, a custom axis can be specified by providing three space-separated floating-point values following a semicolon (; x y z).
MoveSRC = DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLEThe source mesh moves along the user-defined vector (x y z).
ScaleSRC = DOUBLEThe source mesh scales around the origin using the defined scale factor.

In addition to the transformation options, there are options to convert the unit system:

ChangeUnitSystem = YES

NO

Activates or deactives unit system conversion.

SourceUnitSystem = kg − m − s

ton − mm − s

kg − mm − ms

g − mm − ms

lb − in − s

If the unit system conversion is activated, provide information about the source unit system.

TargetUnitSystem = kg − m − s

ton − mm − s

kg − mm − ms

g − mm − ms

lb − in − s

If the unit system conversion is activated, provide information about the target unit system.

4.4.5. Mapping Options

ALGORITHM = ClosestPoint

ConsiderOndulation

The ClosestPoint option is the most used feature. It accounts for most of the mapping purposes being targeted with the Envyo application. Beginning from the target mesh, the next element or integration point is identified, and its data is transferred onto the target mesh.

The ConsiderOndulation option does not account for the ordering of the input parts. First, it maps the ones that are closest to the target part, then the second closest, and so forth. No resinuous areas can be assigned with this option. If the MapThickness option is turned on, the offset between the source layers is also considered which typically leads to varying thicknesses throughout the part.

Search_Radius = SrcEleLen

TarEleLen

DOUBLE

Specifies the search radius for the mapping algorithm. By default, SrcEleLen is used, which sets the radius to the average element size of the source mesh. Alternatively, you can use TarEleLen to apply the average element size of the target mesh, or provide a positive DOUBLE value to define a custom radius.
Scale_SearchRadius = DOUBLECoefficient to scale search radius. The default value is 1.0.

MapThickness = YES

NO

Define if thicknesses are transferred or not. This option requires *ELEMENT SHELL THICKNESS cards in the dynain file, and overwrites the value of TargetThickness.
TargetThickness = DOUBLEDefine the thickness in the target shell mesh.
SORT = BUCKETUsing bucket sort is strongly recommended, as it provides a substantial performance improvement for the search algorithm.
REPEAT = YESEnable this option to ensure that all elements and integration points receive mapped data. When there is a significant difference in element sizes between the source and target meshes, the default bucket refinement may be insufficient to cover all points—sometimes by design. In such cases, this flag must be set to guarantee complete data coverage.