Guidelines for Using the nSOFT Interface in HyperView

Overview of how to use the nSOFT interface in HyperView.

  1. Load the FE model of the component to be analyzed into HyperMesh.
    1. Apply the loads that represent the loading environment for which the fatigue life is to be evaluated. Make appropriate output requests.
      The loads can be either static or transient. If the loads are static, stress/strain tensor for elements/nodes is written out from the Fatigue Manager and load histories can be supplied in nSOFT. If the loads are transient, transient dynamic finite element analysis results can be exported to nSOFT via Fatigue Manager. The output file written out by fatigue manager (a partial FES file) contains the stress and strain tensor for each time-step for all the selected elements/nodes.
  2. Analyze the model using the desired finite element solver.
  3. Load the FE model and results into HyperView. (see Load Model panel for more information)
    Note: If the model or results do not read into HyperView, or you wish to perform fatigue analysis with some data type other than the full Stress/Strain tensor, follow these steps:
    • Create a custom fatigue configuration file and copy it to the local working directory or home directory. The default fatigue configuration file in the HyperView bin directory supports Radioss/Nastran, LS-DYNA and Abaqus solvers. See Fatigue Configuration File and Data Groups for details on how to create and use a custom configuration file.
    • Translate the finite element analysis results into the HyperMesh results file format (hmres) using the appropriate HyperMesh results translator.
    • Select this hmres file in the Load Results field on the Load Model panel to make the results available in Fatigue Manager.
  4. In the Fatigue Manager, select the stress/strain data types, or user defined groups, and the finite element entities for which these data types should be written. Write out a FES file in ASCII or binary format.
  5. Load the FES file into nSOFT to complete fatigue analysis setup, which can include supplying load histories, fatigue material properties, and selecting the analysis method.
  6. Conduct an analysis in nSOFT to generate the HyperMesh results file (hmres) containing the fatigue analysis results.
  7. Load this results file into HyperView and use the Contour panel to view the fatigue results generated by nSOFT.