Femap Version 10 Announced

By DE Editors

Femap version 10, the upcoming release of Femap, Siemens PLM Software’s finite element analysis application for preprocessing and postprocessing is expected to launch in September, 2008. Together with the NX Nastran CAE solver, Femap is a part of the Siemens PLM Software Velocity Series. For more than 20 years, Femap has provided productivity and functionality improvements in FEA modeling and postprocessing for engineers.

Example 1: original geometry	Interactive geometry feature removal	Interactive geometry feature removal – fillets removed
Shows detail of small holes to be suppressed during meshing	Shows small holes selected for suppression	Final mesh illustrating interactive feature suppression at the time ofmeshing

Example 2 – original geometry	Mesh on original geometry	Internal surface boundaries can be removed interactively with the mesh updatingaccordingly.
The underlying surfaces are also updated (merged together) when the internalsurface boundaries are removed

Features of the v10 release will focus on core simulation tasks, including preprocessing and meshing. Among the new tools to look forward to are tools for meshing complex structures more accurately, verifying mesh integrity and accuracy, and optimizing the mesh to efficiently capture the true structural response.

Because of the importance of meshing, Femap will focus on the meshing process in this latest release. A good finite element model is dependent on the ability to create an accurate finite element mesh easily and quickly. In order to calculate an accurate response to stresses, for example, meshes must incorporate sufficient detail in the areas of rapidly changing stress. Femap v10 will add automated meshing tools plus new interactive meshing and checking capabilities for more accurately produced meshed models.

Benefits (as provided by press material):

• Will improve accuracy of FEA results through higher quality meshes
• Will reduce modeling times with more intuitive work flows
• Promises to be easier to use with more automated meshing and simulation processes
• Will optimize modeling process with increased modeling fidelity only where it is needed to ensure efficient analyses and faster turnaround times

New Features

• True 3D meshers will produce top quality meshes first time and will not be constrained by the limitations of parametric meshers
• Interactive mesh generation will give you greater control over mesh generation, and streamlines the whole meshing process
• Live element quality feedback will allow you see how good the mesh is as you create it, so you can be sure of getting answers that are as accurate as they can be
• Geometry clean-up tools will simplify the process of creating a viable FEA model from CAD data by cleaning up the geometry and preparing it for meshing
• NX Nastran support enhancements will include axisymmetric elements (quads and trias), solution monitor display in Femap so you can check solver progress during analysis
• 64-bit support will allow large models to fit into available memory so you will be able to preprocess and solve larger models in shorter times
• Stress and displacement transformations will be able to be performed on-the-fly,  adding versatility to postprocessing

Siemens PLM Software
Plano, TX