Module category: IO

• ReadPAM
  • Parameters
  • Output Ports
  • Additional remarks
  • Examples

ReadPAM

ReadPAM reads DSY and THP files. From the DSY file it may read the grid, nodal and cell data. Global data may be read from either the DSY file or the THP. Before you try using this module and the examples below you have to set the PAMHOME environment variable. A line setting this variable may be already present in your .covise file. In this case you may have to correct the value for this variable to the path of the directory for your DSY library installation directory. Your license file, without which this module will not work, is found in the subdirectory licenses under this directory.

The module inspects the input file and produces lists for the available variables that you may select for output. The number of cell or global variables may be sometimes very long. There should be no problem with that in principle, but in extreme cases, some important time delays may appear. Then you may limit the number of the different categories of variables by creating a ReadPAM_Limits section in your covise.config file. In this section you may define the following variables:

• CellVarLimit limits the maximum number of cell variables.
• GlobalVarLimit limits the maximum number of global variables.
• MatGlobalVarLimit limits the maximum number of material global variables.
• TsGlobalVarLimit limits the maximum number of transmission section global variables.
• CiGlobalVarLimit limits the maximum number of contact interface global variables.
• RwGlobalVarLimit limits the maximum number of rigid wall global variables.
• AbGlobalVarLimit limits the maximum number of airbag global variables.
• AbChGlobalVarLimit limits the maximum number of airbag chamber global variables.
• AbWGlobalVarLimit limits the maximum number of airbag wall global variables.

We strongly recommend not to use this section in your covise.config unless it is extremely necessary. If you create this section thereby establishing some limits, and create a map with them, in the future you will have to use the same limits in order to run successfully that net file, otherwise ReadPAM will probably crash.

An additional remark about long choice lists is in order. You may have difficulties when trying to access some variable if the choice list is too long for the dimensions of your screen. That is not a real problem, you may also change the appearance of the parameter to a combo box.

ReadPAM is available for COVISE version 5.1 and higher. It has been tested on SGI systems (IRIX 6.5).

SGI only, PAM license required - no LINUX support

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
DSY_file	File Browser	DSY file (used mainly for visualisation).
THP_file	File Browser	THP file (used mainly for global or non-local data).
scale	Scalar	You may modify the default valule (1.0) in order to amplify or suppress the deformation of the grid.
timeSteps	Vector	When you set a DSY file, the components of this vector are automatically set with some default values: the first component is the initial time step for visualisation, and its default value is 1; the second component is the final time step for visualisation and its default value is the number of time steps that have been stored in the file; with the third component you may jump between time steps, the default value is 1, which means that all time steps between the first and the last one that you wish to visualise are read, a value of 2 means that only every second time step is read, and so forth. The time step indicated by the first component is always read in.
Nodal_Var1 Nodal_Var2	Choice	Selection of nodal magnitude.
Cell_Var1 Cell_Var2	Choice	Selection of element-based magnitude.
DSY_or_THP	Boolean	This is only relevant for global variables. When this switch is true, then global variables are read from the DSY file. When it is false, from the THP file.
Global_Var1... Global_Var6	Choice	Selection of non-local variables. These data are not intended for visualisation with a renderer, but with the Plot module.
Port select	switch	You may output tensor objects out of cell-based fields. In order to do that you activate one of the options: Tensor port 1 or Tensor port 2. Then there will appear on the control panel a list of 9 choice parameters for a maximum of 9 components. You may produce tensors of 4 types: symmetric 2D (3 independent components), full 2D (4 independent components), symmetric 3D (6 independent components) and full 3D (9 independnet components). For the 2D cases only the XX, XY, YX, and YY are relevant. If you want to produce a symmetric tensor, it is not necessary to repeat a redundant component.
T1_Component_XX... T1_Component_ZZ	Choice	See parameter Port select. These are the components for the object of the first tensor port.
T2_Component_XX... T2_Component_ZZ	Choice	See parameter Port select. These are the components for the object of the second tensor port.

Output Ports

Name	Type	Description
outputmeshOut	UnstructuredGrid	In general you will get a hierarchy of sets. On the first level you get a set with time steps. The elements of this set are in their turn sets of unstructured grids. All elements in each one of these grids are of a unique type. So you get separate grids according to the element type of their elements: Solids. Shells. Bars. Beams. Bars with material label 205. Springs. Spherical joints. Flexion-torsion joints. Spotwelds. Jets. Kinematic joints. Mesh-independent spotwelds.
outputnodalData1 nodalData2	Float Vec3	Data per node.
outputcellData1 cellData2	Float Vec3	Data per cell.
outputglobalData1 globalData2	Float Vec3	Non-local data. This category may include: Global variables. Material variables. Transmission section variables. Contact interface variables. Rigid wall variables. Airbag or fluid cell variables. Airbag chamber variables. Airbag wall variables.
outputtensorData1	Unstructured_T3D_Data	Tensor cell-based data. See parameter Port select for more details.
outputMaterials	IntArr	A set of sets with the same structure as the grid, but instead of grids, the final set elements are integer arrays storing the material labels for the grid elements. You may find this object useful to visualise parts of the grid using AssembleUsg .
outputElem_Labels	IntArr	A set of sets with the same structure as the grid, but instead of grids, the final set elements are integer arrays storing the element labels for the grid elements. You may find this object useful to visualise parts of the grid using AssembleUsg .

Additional remarks

Some variables of some one-dimensional elements may be vectors defined in the global coordinate reference system or in a local one. In the first case the label for this variable in the choice lists will be terminated with gVEC; in the latter case, with lVEC.

In order to help you identify which kind of element some particular variable is defined for in the case of some exotic one-dimensional elements, we include in the termination of the variable title between parenthesis the following tags:

• bar1 stands for bar with material 205.
• sphJ stands for spherical joint.
• ftJ stands for flexion-torsion joint.
• sptW stands for spotwelds.
• kJ stands for kinematic joint.
• MIS stands for mesh-independent spotweld.

Examples

We present below two examples.

Figure: covise/net/examples/ReadPAM.net

Figure: Shell thickness

Figure: covise/net/examples/ReadPAM1.net

Figure: Temperature in one airbag chamber