FEMLink

FEMLink provides bidirectional interfaces with a number of finite element codes. These are used to build FEM, post-process FE results and manage sets of frequency domain measurements.

  • FEMLink is designed to pre- and post process industrial size models. It is thus systematically optimized to handle large files (result data > 2 GB and model data with several hundred thousand nodes or elements).
  • By nature, translators such as FEMLink are imperfect. SDTools thus makes a permanent effort to improve FEMLink by taking into account files submitted by users. Users submitting cases where the interface fails, typically get patches within a few days if not hours.
  • Currently FEMLink cannot be run independently from SDT, you thus must be a SDT user to purchase FEMLink.

Supported software

  • Ansys: ans2sdt Reads binary .rst and .emat files for : model definition (nodes, elements), element matrices (for use with upcom), and finite element results. Reads and writes text .cdb files for model input (nodes, elements, materials, boundary conditions, …)
  • Abaqus: abaqus Reads binary .fil files for : model definition (nodes, elements), element matrices (for use with upcom), and finite element results.
    Reads and writes text .inp files for model input (nodes, elements, materials, boundary conditions, …)
  • Nastran: nasread and naswrite read/write BULK files : FE model, boundary conditions, constrains, materials, physical properties)
    Read binary OUTPUT2 files : FE model, full and element matrices, displacements, stresses, …). Out-of-core element matrix manipulations. Read and write binary OUTPUT4 files. Drive NASTRAN from Matlab.
  • Ideas and other software: ufread and ufwrite Universal Files : experimental and FE datasets. Specific datasets supported FEMLink : 772, 788, 789, 2437 : Physical Properties (MASS, SHELL, BEAM, SPRING) 773 : Material Properties 780, 2412 : Elements (beams, 2D and 3D elements, shells, springs, rigids ans bars) 2414 : Analysis data 2432 : Permanent Groups
  • Samcef: samcef reads binary .u18 for models .u11 and .u12 for element matrices.Read and write .dat (samcef input file)
  • Permas: perm2sdt, reads PERMAS (> 7.0) files : for FE model and deformations.