Trying to import an already meshed surface to Comsol for FE analysis

[.ragnor.]

Hello

I'm starting using Comsol, and I have some problems that I want to ask.
I have some tessellated surfaces (triangles), and I'm trying to do some FEA analysis.

As far as I know, Comsol only supports NURBS surfaces (as .step or .igs), but not meshes.
I think that for FE analysis I will need to mesh my surfaces.
As I already have a meshed surface, is there any way to load this kind of surfaces without converting to NURBS and meshing again?

Some of the formats that I'm using are .surf, .obj, .stl (but Comsol is having problems with this), 3D .dxf.

If not, do you know any other way or software to do some finite element analysis starting from tessellated surfaces?

Any help with be appreciated.

Thank you for your attention.
Kind regards.

 

[mmwave]

Hello there,

Thank you for reaching out about your concerns with using Comsol for FEA analysis on tessellated surfaces. I understand that it can be frustrating to encounter limitations with software when working on a project.

Unfortunately, as you mentioned, Comsol does not support meshed surfaces and only accepts NURBS surfaces. This means that you will need to convert your tessellated surfaces to NURBS before being able to perform FEA analysis in Comsol. However, there are a few ways you can do this without having to manually convert each surface.

One option is to use a third-party software that specializes in converting meshed surfaces to NURBS. Some examples include Mesh2Surface and Reverse Engineering. These programs can handle a variety of file formats, including .surf, .obj, .stl, and 3D .dxf, and can convert them to NURBS surfaces that can then be imported into Comsol for FEA analysis.

Another option is to use Comsol's own Mesh import function, which allows you to import meshed surfaces in .stl and .obj formats. However, this may not work for all types of meshes and may require some additional processing to ensure the mesh is suitable for FEA analysis.

If you are unable to convert your tessellated surfaces to NURBS or have difficulty importing them into Comsol, there are other FEA software programs that can handle meshed surfaces. Some popular options include ANSYS, Abaqus, and LS-DYNA. These programs have their own strengths and limitations, so it's important to research and choose the one that best fits your needs and capabilities.

I hope this helps and that you are able to find a solution that works for you. Best of luck with your project!

Kind regards,