Penetration Panel

Use the Penetration panel to check for penetrations and/or intersections of elements. After running the check, you can use additional tools to check the penetration depth and move nodes in order to fix the problem areas; both penetrations and intersections can be fixed.

Location: Tool page or Analysis page > Safety Module
Use the Penetration panel to set up and initiate the check; the majority of the checking tool actually resides in a special tab that opens in the tab area. However, this tab only displays after you complete the panel and run an initial check.
Note:
  • A solver interface that supports thickness for 2D shell elements must be loaded.
  • Changing the check settings after the check is run requires that you run a new check by clicking check again. This is necessary because changing the criteria will not update the results in the Penetration tab unless you run the check again.

Panel Options

Option Action
entity switch Select entities to be checked for penetration or intersection.

Regardless of the type of entity selected, the penetrating elements will be found; for example, picking two components locates elements from each component that penetrate elements of the other. After the check runs, the results display in the Penetration browser grouped by component, regardless of the entity type used to select penetration candidates.

all interferences /intersections only / penetrations only Select the type of interferences to check for.
Note: Solid entities only register penetrations in conjunction with shell elements. With other solids, they only register intersections.
2D and 3D elements /2D only elements / 3D only elements Select the type of elements to check.

If you choose 2D only or 3D only, HyperWorks only checks elements of the specified type for penetration. Elements in the selected entities which are not of that dimensional type will be ignored, even if they penetrate or intersect another entity.

allowable interference depth Optional: Specify a tolerance for penetration checking.

For example, if you check a model of a part measured in millimeters, and are not concerned about penetrations of less than a tenth of a millimeter, you could set this field to a value of 0.1. The penetration tool would then ignore any elements that penetrated each other by 1/10 of a millimeter or less, but still locate and highlight elements with a penetration depth greater than 1/10 mm.

In addition, some solvers will not permit direct, adjacent contact between elements. For example, a penetration depth of exactly zero, with no space between elements. For such solvers, you should set this field to any negative value (such as -0.1). This allows the penetration tool to locate and display elements that are exactly adjacent to one another as if they were penetrating each other, so that you can use the penetration fixing tools to add some space between them.

component thickness /thickness multiplier / uniform thickness Optional: Select a thickness adjustment.
component thickness
Use the thickness value specified in a component's property card for each element within that component. Do not apply any adjustments.
thickness multiplier
Multiply the selected entities' thickness by the user specified amount for purposes of the penetration check.
Fractional numbers are acceptable, but negative ones are not.
uniform thickness
Specify a thickness to use when performing the check.
Tip: This option be used to workaround the lack of thickness information in the default HyperWorks solver interface, or when working with models that do not have a thickness specified.
This option can also be used to determine the proximity between non-penetrating parts by specifying a thickness greater than the minimum distance between the selected elements.
Note: Not available when you run the check on groups, because a group's thickness is defined by its control card.
include self interference Check for components that intersect or penetrate themselves (for instance, due to high curvature in the component).
Tip: This option is computationally intensive, therefore it is not recommended that you use it when checking large numbers of elements for penetration.

Command Buttons

Button Action
check Check the selected components, elements, or groups for penetration and/or intersection.

A message in the status bar displays the percentage progress of each step in the check.

To abort a check, right-click in the modeling window and hold the button down. The exact length of time that you must hold the button depends on the size and complexity of the check you are running; the check will cancel once its completion percentage increments. When the check aborts, the status bar turns red and displays a message stating that the check was canceled.

Once completed, the results are displayed in the Penetration tab.

return Exit the panel.