Create a Periodic Set

To create a periodic mesh entity in AcuConsole, the following process is used.

Note that periodic mesh entities are purely a geometric entity. Thus, this right-click menu that allows you to define the periodic mesh attribute is only available when the Visible entity pull down menu is set to Geometry.

  1. Create a new periodic entity by right-clicking on Periodics and selecting New.
  2. Right-click on the new periodic entity and select Define.
  3. Select the Side 1 and Side 2 surface groups that form the periodic pairs. Selection can either be done from the pull down list or selected graphically by clicking on the eye button next to the pull down list. The selected surfaces (Side 1 and Side 2) should have the same number of geometric faces.
  4. Select the appropriate transformation.
Transformation information should be provided so that the Side 1 face after transformation matches the Side 2 face. For example,
  • If the Side 1 face center is at (0,0,0) and Side 2 face center is at (0.04,0,0), the translation should be set to X-Offset=0.04, Y-Offset=0, and Z-Offset=0.
  • If Side 1 and Side 2 have more than one geometric face, then each of the face pairs from the surface groups must satisfy the transformation requirement.
  • For rotational transformations, you must provide two points on the axis of rotation and the angle from Side 1 to Side 2. Make sure to use the right-hand rule while setting the angle, and remember that the angle reference is from Side 1 to Side 2.