Learning Forum

[RD2016]

Hey guys,

I have a very large imported displacement data set for that I'm trying to make work in Mechanical. Using the external data module, I've imported 1680 text files featuring movement in the x, y, and z directions. I've imported this into Mechanical, and just got done setting up the table specifying which displacement is associated with which direction (see picture below).

When I try to "Import Load", however, it produces a "general error" with no more specifics. Does anyone have any suggestions for me on how to proceed?

[Aniket]

perhaps the node count you are using is beyond required limits?

please check this thread:

/forum/forums/topic/limitations-to-student-license/?order=all#comment-8469c7e4-1156-4272-825d-a8f900296f10

-Aniket

Guidelines on the Student Community

How to access ANSYS help links

[RD2016]

Thanks for the post. I'm actually working with the Research License (not the student version) so I have no restrictions on node count. Further, this appears to be an issue with limitations in the "Imported Displacement" feature and not necessarily the mesh.

[RD2016]

Never mind, I just figured it out. There's a space in between the "File" and corresponding number which is not how Mechanical can them.

For anyone who's curious, the process in which you can import displacements into Mechanical is pretty straightforward. You simply develop a .txt file with the x, y, and z coordinates of your nodes with their corresponding displacements (i.e, Displacement 1, 2, and 3). When you load into Mechanical, you need to specify which file goes with which time step. Typically, this is done via a drop-down menu in the "Imported Displacement" table shown above. For instance, File 1 would go with my first time step (0.0005 s) and so on and so forth. The process is easy to do when your data set is < 20 time points, but less so at higher values. This is where Excel becomes valuable; using the command "CONCATENATE", you can string two cells together to create one cell (i.e., string "File1" together with "isplacement1" to form "File1isplacement1"). This makes it much easier to work with.

When I performed the command, however I did not notice that I had added a space between the "File" and "number", meaning that Mechanical would not be able to read my files. Fortunately, this is a simple fix, but one that was easily avoidable.