Data Generation Wizard : 2D Element Skew Mesh

The information supplied on this page provides a description of a regular warped grid of 2D elements, which is subsequently used to generate the structural model. The units of length are reported on the dialog, alongside a sketch of the structural form.

Definition

Coordinates

Specify the coordinates of the four corners of the grid. The program will generate a mesh with in the boundary defined by straight lines between the corners, but the resulting mesh may be warped since the corner nodes are not required to lie in a plane.

Mesh Density

This width is subdivided by the number of elements in the two directions.

2D Property

Opens the 2D Element Property dialog to allow the element properties to be defined. This is marked as unspecified until a section is assigned when the actual section will be displayed.

Include Spacers

This generates spacer elements along the 2D element edges for use in form finding.

Internal & Edge

If spacers are to be generated this opens the spacer properties wizard to allow properties to be defined for internal spacer elements (those between 2D elements) and around the edge.

Generate Edge Elements

This generates 1D elements around the edge of the grid of the type selected.

Section

If edge elements are to be generated this allows the properties for the edge elements to be specified.