Question open ansys files from a newer version.

[beho86]

Hello,
I have a quick question. I created some models on Ansys Workbench 13, but when I tried to open them in Ansys Workbench 12.1, I couldn't. It said that I cannot open a file created in a newer version!

Is there a way to save it in a different format in Ansys 13 , so it'd work in Ansys 12.1 ?

Thanks

 

[Unrest]

Cynical people would say they do this to force you to upgrade :P You should check with ANSYS if they provide software or a (maybe for pay!) service to do that.

 

[Mech_Engineer]

You can export the mesh to a version-independent format, but you probably won't be able to export the entire setup to a 12.1 compatible file unless you can create a Mechanical APDL input file of the model.

 

[beho86]

importing the mesh is not really going to help that much. I will keep looking, and let you know if I find anything.

 

[FilipJanasz]

Hey, I've got a question about how to export mesh from Ansys 13 to a version-independent format? I've tried File -> export and every available format there but none seem to work in Ansys 12.1. So is there another way around?

 

[xxChrisxx]

It's been a while but I don't think you can do that with workbench.
I think you can open and save it as ANSYS Classic and open it like that, but you lose the WB goodies.

 

[Mech_Engineer]

To make a version-independent mesh, you need to create a geometry, which is then linked to a Mesh object, which is then linked to a Finite Element Modeler object. Once this is done, you edit the FEM object and select "Write Solver File" making sure the target system is "Mechanical APDL." This outputs a mechanical APDL text-based file that can be imported by almost all versions of ANSYS.

It won't be possible to export a full ANSYS 13.0 file to any other format as far as I know.

I've attached a screenshot of the Workbench links.

 

[FilipJanasz]

Thank you very much good sir! This helps me a lot!

 

[FilipJanasz]

Hey
So I did everything the way explained in this thread, and it seems to work - i get an *.inp file as an output. However, while importing to CFX-Pre in Anays v12.1 I get the error shown in the picture below. Do you know what may be causing this problem?

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Hey
So I did everything the way explained in this thread, and it seems to work - i get an *.inp file as an output. However, while importing to CFX-Pre in Anays v12.1 I get the error shown in the picture below. Do you know what may be causing this problem?

The exported ANSYS Mechanical APDL file is basically a big text file. If you exported per my instructions, that means you have a Mechanical APDL input file which has a structural FE element defined in one of the first lines of it. This element is not compatible with CFX, you need to remove the line from the APDL file using a text editor like Notepad.

If you're using this method to get a mesh directly into CFX, why not just do it through the Workbench interface? You can attach a lot of different objects in Workbench to a Mesh object, I attached a screenshot of some examples.

 

[FilipJanasz]

Thanks for your answer. I'm not using workbench to transfer the mesh, because what I'm trying to do is to get a mesh done in Ansys Workbench v13 and then export it to use it in CFX via Workbench 12.1. The reason for doing this is that I can't seem to get the desired mesh properly done in 12.1, contrary to v13, but my solving machine has only version 12.1 installed. I'll try to delete the line you've mentioned and check if this works. - Thanks again!

 

[mpaige1]

Just a quick question about ANSYS. I'm thinking about taking FEA offered next year and was wondering how difficult it is to learn ANSYS. Anyone have any suggestions on books/references I could use as an aid with the class?

 

[FilipJanasz]

So i still have problems with this task. My beginnging of an ADPL file looks as follows:

!
! File created at Tue May 03 14:15:02 2011
!
! This template extracts the FEModeler mesh in a format
! compatible with Mechanical APDL input.
!
/PREP7
SHPP,OFF
/NOPR
!
! COORDINATE SYSTEMS
!
!
! MATERIAL PROPERTIES
!
!
! PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
!
!
! ELEMENT TYPES
!
/com, Element Types <SECTION=ELEMENTTYPES>
et,1,MESH200
keyopt,1,1,8
et,2,MESH200
keyopt,2,1,10
!
! NODES
!
nblock,3
(1i8,3e20.9e3)
1 -3.000000000E+004 2.965000000E+004 3.000000000E+004

I assumed that the bold part is definition of the FE element uncompatible with CFX, however deleting this part only makes CFX pop up another arror saying that elements of an unspecified type won't be imported.
So maybe I should not import this file directily into CFX? Any comments on that?

 

[Mech_Engineer]

What type of element are you trying to utilize in CFX? Can you change the definition to be the element you want in CFX?

 

[FilipJanasz]

So in Mesher in Ansys I'm using patch - conforming method with tetra elemets and also apply an inflation layer at the wall of mu object. Actually, the whole task is about CFD rather then stress analysis.
When I've done this in Workbench v12.1 and then passed it to CFX in Workbench, then it worked , but the quality of the mesh was worse than when I make it in Workbench v13. Thus I was hoping it is possible to use the mesh obtained in v13 in a v12.1 CFX block

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Can you change the callout for a "MESH200" element to some other element that CFX recognizes?

 

[FilipJanasz]

I think that I'm not that proficient about Ansys and I'm not sure about to which type should or even can I change it. Should I just change it in the adpl file or somewhere earlier?

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Well I'm not sure it's even possible to get a mesh into CFX in this manner, I've never done it personally. Are you using the "ANSYS Import" function in CFX-pre? In the documentation, it mentions being able to list supported element types. Have you looked into that?