LS-PrePost Intro 2014

Introduction to LS-PrePost 4.
0
Quanqing Yan, Philip Ho, LSTC 2014
Table of Contents
SECTION WORKSHOPS
Overview -
General Operations Workshop 1
Mesh Generation Workshop 2
Pre-Processing Workshop 3-6
Post-Processing Workshop 7-8
Configuration Files -
LS-PrePost Intro | 2014 2014 Livermore Software Technology Corporation 2

Overview

About LS-PrePost
LS-PrePost is an advanced pre and post-processor
designed specifically for LS-DYNA
LS-PrePost is developed for Windows and Linux
LS-PrePost is Free
Core Functionality
Full support of LS-DYNA keyword files
Full support of LS-DYNA results files
Robust handling of geometry data (new CAD engine)
Pre-processing (meshing, model clean-up, entity creation)
Post-processing (animation, fringe plotting, curve plotting)

Online Resources
Official Website
http://www.lstc.com/lspp
User Group
http://groups.google.com/group/ls-prepost
Latest Release Version:
http://ftp.lstc.com/anonymous/outgoing/lsprepost/4.1/
ftp://ftp.lstc.com/outgoing/lsprepost/4.1/
Beta Version:
http://ftp.lstc.com/anonymous/outgoing/lsprepost/dev
Training notes:
http://ftp.lstc.com/anonymous/outgoing/qyan/Class

GUI Layout
Menus Floting Toolbar

File management & preferences
Movable semitransparent
Right Toolbar
Access to pre and post-processing tools
Graphics Viewport
Command Line Bottom Toolbar

Type in operation command Model rendering controls
Message window
Prompt message

Input / Output
Input (partial list)
FEM: LS-DYNA Keyword, Nastran, I-DEAS Universal,
PAM-CRASH, RADIOSS, ABAQUS
CAD: IGES, STEP
ASCII: glstat, matsum, etc
Binary: d3plot, binout, etc
Output (partial list)
FEM: LS-DYNA Keyword, Nastran, STL
Image: PNG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, JPG, PostScript
Movie: AVI, MPEG, Animated GIF, JPEG
XY Data: CRV, CSV, XML
Other: Post.db, Project File

Mouse and Keyboard
Dynamic Model Operation
Rotate: Shift + Left-click
Translate: Shift + Middle-click
Zoom: Shift + Right-click/Scroll-wheel
(Using Ctrl instead of Shift for edge mode)
Graphics Selection
Pick (single): Left Click
Area (rectangle): Left-click + Drag
Poly (polygon): Left-click at corners / Right-click to finish
List Selection
Multi-Select: Left-click + Drag / Ctrl + Left-click
Mouse over controls for status bar help comments
Graphics Rendering in Vers 4.0+
Starting with version 4.0, LSPP employs a new graphics rendering
scheme (Fast Rendering Mode) that fully utilizes the latest
graphics technology in OpenGL and Shading language. This will
require graphics hardware that supports OpenGL version 3.3 and
higher. If not, LSPP will down grade the graphics rendering to
Normal rendering Mode automatically
For very large model (several millions elements) on a good
graphics card, the fast rendering can be up to 15x faster than the
normal rendering.
After launching LS-PrePost 4.0, enter Cntl-L twice before loading
any data will toggle between the 2 rendering modes
Cntl-LL

File Menu
New Launch a new session of LS-PrePost, all model/data will be
closed (only in version 4.0 and later)
Open Open file (new model created for each file opened)
Import Import file (adds keyword data to current model)
Recent Open recent files (stored in /user/.lspp_recent)
Save Over-write current Keyword or Project file
Save As Save any of the following file formats using advanced
options: Keyword, Active Keyword (visible data), Project, Post.db
(condensed d3plot data), Geometry, Keyword and Project (using same
file name)
Update Load new d3plots for run in progress
Run LS-DYNA pop up LS-DYNA job submission dialog, currently only
limited to the same local machine LS-PrePost is running
Print... Launch printing interface (send to printer or image file)
Movie... Launch movie generation interface
Exit Exit LS-PrePost
Save and Exit Save data to current file and exit LS-PrePost

Misc. Menu
View Model Info Launch model information interface
View Memory Info Launch memory usage interface
View Message Info Launch keyword reader message interface
Display Ruler Launch ruler interface
Set Keyword Title Launch title interface
Swap Byte On Title Swap byte order for title
Start Recording Commands Start/stop recording macro commands
Launch Macro Interface Launch Macro interface
Manage Command File Launch command file interface
Execute System Call Launch system call interface
Keyword File Separate Separate a single keyword file into multiple
files based on *KEYWORD title

View Menu
Full Screen (Esc to Exit) Show graphics area in full screen mode
Background Set background style (plain, faded, or image)
Geometry Shade Set geometry rendering style
Element Shade Set element rendering style
All Element/Geometry Show all elements/geometry
Ref Geometry Show reference geometry
Points/Curves/Surfaces Show points/curves/surfaces
Toolbar Hide/display toolbars, set text/icon mode, and set font size
Local Axes Toggle between global/local
Beam Prism Toggle between line/prism
Smooth Fringe Color Enable smooth contours (when in fringe mode)
Keep Zout Orientation Maintain orientation when zooming out
Show Deleted Nodes Display deleted nodes when viewing results
Show Deleted Elements Display deleted elements when viewing
results
Result On Screen Display results on screen when Ident > Show
Results is active (when in fringe mode)
Smooth Shade Use smooth shading
Record Message Write messages to lspost.msg
Show Mid-Side Nodes for 10-node Tetrahedron element

Geometry Menu
Reference Geometry Access tools for creating and editing
reference geometry (Axis, Plane, Coordinate System, and Point)
Curve Access tools for creating and editing curves (Point,
Line, Circle, Circular Arc, Ellipse, Elliptical Arc, BSpline Curve,
Helix, Composite Curve, Break Curve, Merge Curve, Bridge
Edge, Smooth Curve, Middle Curve, Morphing Curve, Fillet
Curve)
Surface Access tools for creating and editing surfaces (Plane,
Cylinder, Cone, Sphere, Torus, Fill Plane, Extrude, Revolve,
Sweep, Loft, N-Side Surface, Patch Surface, Bridge Two Faces,
Combine Faces, Fit From Points/Mesh, Middle Surface, Surface
Morphing)
Solid Access tools for creating and editing solids (Box,
Cylinder, Cone, Sphere, Torus, Extrude, Revolve, Sweep, Loft,
Fillet, Chamfer, Draft, Thicken, Wedge, Boolean)
Geometry Tools Access other geometry tools (Delete Face,
Extend Curve, Extend Face, Intersection, Offset, Project,
Replace Face, Stitch Faces, Trim Transform, Copy Entity,
Management, Heal, Topology Simplify, Measure)

FEM Menu
Element and Mesh Access mesh creation tools (Shape
Mesher, Auto Mesher, Solid Mesher, Block Mesher, N-Line
Mesher, Tetrahedral Mesher, Blank Mesher, Element
Generation, Node Editing, Element, Editing, Mass Trimming,
Spot Welding, SPH Generation)
Model and Part Access model and part tools (Assembly and
Select Part, Keyword Manager, Create Entity, Display Entity,
Reference Check, Renumber, Section Plane, Model Selection,
Subsystem Manager, Group, View, Part Color, Appearance,
Annotation, Split Window, Explode, Lighting Setup)
Element Tools Access element tools (Identify, Find, Blank,
Move or Copy, Offset, Transform, Normals, Detach, Measure,
Morph, Smooth, Part Trim, Part Travel)
Post Access post-processing tools (Fringe Component, Fringe
Range, History, XY Plot, ASCII, Binary Output, Follow, Trace,
State, Particle, Circle Grid, Chain Model, FLD, Output, Setting,
Vector)
Favorites Customizable toolbar (see Setting Toolbar
Manager)

Application Menu
Airbag Folding
Dummy Positioning
Seatbelt Fitting
Metal Forming
ALE Setup
Model Checking
Intrusion Measurements
Head Impact Positioning
Granular Flow Setup
Airbag Impact Setup
Media
Sled Creation
Drop Test
DynFold
Curve Gen
THUMS Positioning

Setting Menu
Current Subsystem ID Set current subsystem ID
Current Working Directory Set current working directory
General Settings Set general parameters
Post Settings Set post processing parameters
Configuration Settings Set configuration settings
Toolbar Manager Customize toolbars

Help Menu
Document View LS-PrePost documentation
Tutorial View LS-PrePost tutorials
Will need to download the Help and Tutorial documents from
LSTCs ftp site the first time these documents are being
accessed
Old to New View mapping between old (v2.4) and new (v3.0+) GUI
Release Notes View release notes
Check for Update Check server for newer version of LS-PrePost
About LS-PrePost View version info

Bottom Toolbar
Opti Toggle Title, Legend, Min-Max, Time Stamp, Triad, Clear Clear all picked or highlighted information
Background Color, Mesh Color, Performance Stats on/off, AutCen Automatically center model to fit within window
Feature Tree, ISO View and Animation Play ZoIn Zoom in, click and drag to draw a box
HidEle Display elements with hidden lines removed Zout Zoom out to previous zoom position
ShaEle Display elements in shaded mode with mesh lines off Pcen Pick node as new center point for model rotation
VieEle Display elements in plain color mode VCrd View coordinate systems
WirEle Display elements in wireframe mode Top Choose Top, Bottom, Front, Back, Right, or Left view
Feat Display elements in feature line mode (default angle=30)
Edge Display elements in edge line mode Angle Left-click to reverse rotation direction
Grid Display each nodal point as a colored pixel Right-click to modify rotation angle
Mesh Toggle element mesh on/off Rotate Left-click to rotate about axis shown
Shrink Draw elements in shrunken mode (default=0.85) Right-click to switch rotation axis (X/Y/Z)
Frin Toggle Fringe/Line-contours/Iso-surfaces Persp Toggle Parallel/Perspective view mode
Unref Toggle unreferenced nodes on/off ActAll Restore all entities to be active
EdgGeo Display geometry in shaded mode with edges on BacCol Toggle background color black/white (Plain background mode only)
ShaGeo Display geometry in shaded mode with edges off Anim Display animation controls or start/stop animation
WirGeo Display geometry in wireframe mode SelPart Launch Assembly and Select Part interface
ShfCtr Toggle Off/Shift/Ctrl (for one-handed rotate/pan/zoom) ResPart Restore the last removed part (Shift+R)
Plot Open XY plot management interface

General Operations

FEM General Selection
Pick Select a single entity ID Enter Ids of the entity to be selected into
Area Select using a rectangular window the text box for highlighting
Type When selecting element, choose
Poly Select using an irregular polygon
element type to be selected
Sel1 Pick 1 entity (only 1 will be in buffer)
Label selection put a label on the selected
Sphe Select entities within a sphere entities
Box Select entities within a box Prop Propagate selection (pick seed)
Prox Select entities within proximity to a part Adap Propagate across adaptive elements
Circ Select entities within a circle Ang Feature angle for propagation to stop
Frin Select entities within a fringe plot range
Plan Select entities within a plane
In Select entities inside Area/Poly

Out Select entities outside Area/Poly
Add Add entities to a selection set
Rm Remove entities to a selection set

FEM General Selection
Adjacent Select adjacent elements
Attach Select attached elements
Clear Clear selection
Save Save selection to buffer or to file
Load Load selection from buffer or
from file
Deselect Undo last selection
Whole Select all entities in model ByNode Select nodes
ByElem Select elements
Visible Select all visible entities
ByPart Select parts
Reverse Reverse selection BySet Set based selection
ByEdge Edge based selection
ByPath Select first and last along a path
BySegm Select segments
BySurf Select surface (geometry)

Model Assembly and Select Part
Purpose: turn parts on/off (on=active)
Parts listed by PID and name (or element type)
Top drop-down menu selects current model
Parts can be turned on/off by element type
Use General selection to select parts
Active parts can be Saved/Loaded from
buffers (via Save button in General selection)
Selected displays active parts only in list
Info button launches Part Information
interface for active parts
SortBy button launches Part Sort interface

Model->Select Part->SortBy
Each header can be
clicked to sort the IDs
of that column
Options to select info

to be tabulated
Highlighted parts can

be set as active part in
the graphics rendering

Model Groups
Purpose: create part groups
Groups are automatically generated for all
*SET_PART that exist in the model
Create create a new group from active parts
Select load the selected group
Add add a group to the current display
Subtract subtract a group from the current display
Save save groups to an ASCII file
Load load groups from file
(Save and Load effective for presentations)
Or, And, Xor used for Adding groups
Auto Center automatically center the selected
group
Model Views
Purpose: create views (based on color, appearance,
orientation, and active parts)
Create create a new view
Select load the selected view
Delete delete the selected view
Save save views to a binary file
Load load views from file

Model Part Color
Purpose: modify part color and transparency
Set/Show colors for parts or other entities
(background, text, mesh, labels)
Sky (top), Middle, Ground (bottom) refer to
background color (when View > Background > Tri
Fade is selected)
Select color from palette or form new color using
RBG
Editmap to assign new color to the color map
Fringe colors can also be changed select a fringe
color, then after the color selection, click Fringe
button.
Amap apply the current color map to part drawing
Rstp restore transparency of all parts to opaque

Model Part Color
Smap save the current color map to a file
Lmap load color map from a previous saved file
Transparency draw part in transparent mode,

transparency factor:
0.0 fully opaque (once is set to 0.0, need to click
part again to turn it into transparent)
1.0 totally transparent
Pick toggle pick a part to toggle it from opague
to transparent and vice versa
Pick through pick through a part to set part that
is behind this part

Model Appearance
Purpose: modify the appearance of parts
Parts can be selected by Single/Area/Polygon
Each selected part will have the selected rendering
options applied
Thick draw shells with true thickness
Sphere draw solid part nodes as spheres (for EFG)
AllVis selected rendering options are applied to all
active parts
Render buttons are disabled while using Appear
interface

Model Annotation
Purpose: annotate Graphics and XY-Plot windows
Position interactively position text
Arrow add fixed arrow
Nd Arrow add arrow tied to node location
Move move annotations
Text size, color, and orientation can be adjusted
Annotations can be saved to / loaded from a file

Model Explode
Purpose: separate (explode) parts for better
visualization
Factor scale factor for parts movement
Direction direction for part movement
All explode all parts
Part explode selected parts only
PtGroup explode a group of parts (defined using
Page 1: Group)

Model Lighting Setup
Purpose: adjust model and material lighting
Light adjust model lights
2 lights are on by default
Front position (0.0, 0.0, 1.0)
Back position (0.0, 0.0, -1.0)
Click the Latitude and Longitude to control the light

position
Up to 8 more can be activated
The following properties can be adjusted for each
Ambient
Diffuse
Specular
Material adjust material lighting properties and

the Shininess

Element Tools Identify
Purpose: identify nodes/elements/parts
Uses General Selection interface
Entity types:
Node, Element, Part, Curve, Surface, Particle, constrained
nodal rigid body (cnrb)
Element types:
Shell, Solid, Beam, TShell, SPH, Mass, Discrete, Seatbelt,
Inertia, Nurbs, DiscSph, Any
Max. number of IDs that can be shown is 12800
Can key in xyz coordinates to show position
Can show element directions (shell and beam)
Can show orthotropic material directions

Element Tools Identify
Purpose: identify nodes/elements/parts
Can show node/element results (after fringing in
post-processing)
Can show element results at integration points
To show result on screen, go to pull down menu
View, and turn on Results on Screen
When identifying a very large no. of nodes or
elements, make sure to turn off Echo and turn
on No ID, otherwise will take a long time to come
back

Element Tools Find
Purpose: find nodes/elements/parts/Cnrb
Find any element by ID or specified type
Show Only shows found entity by itself
Highlight highlights found entity
Neighbors propagates to neighboring elements
UnblankAll turns on all elements and parts
UnblankPart turns on all elements in part that
found node/element belongs to

Element Tools Blank
Purpose: temporarily hide or mask elements
Uses General Selection interface
Entity types:
Node, Element, CNRB, Curve, Surface, Particle
Element types:
Shell, Solid, Beam, TShell, SPH, Mass, Discrete, Seatbelt,
Inertia, Nurbs, DiscSph, Any element
UnBlank Part click to restore partially hidden
parts
Auto-Apply blank automatically (no need to click
Apply button)
Auto-Update update display of solid surfaces and
edges automatically (no need to click Update Surf
or Update Edge)
Workshop 1
General Operations

Mesh Generation

Create Position Interface
Purpose: define an XYZ location
By picking a position
By picking a node
At an element center
At an edge midpoint
At the average center of nodes or elements
At the center of a circle
New *NODE can be created

Create Direction Interface
Purpose: define a direction
By picking 2 positions
By picking 2 nodes
Along an element edge
Along an element normal
Direction can be rotated about global or local
coordinate system
New *DEFINE_VECTOR can be created

Mesh Shape Mesher
Purpose: mesh basic geometries
Box_Solid, Box_Shell define min/max
coordinates and mesh density
4N-Shell define 4 corners and mesh density
Sphere_Solid, Sphere_Shell define center, radius
and mesh density (quarter circle)
Cylinder_Solid, Cylinder_Shell define center,
direction, radius, length and mesh density (if
number of elements in circumferential direction is
multiple of 4, butterfly mesh will be create)
Circle_Shell define outer radius, inner radius (if
hole is desired), angle (to create an arc), mesh
density, and normal direction

Mesh Auto Mesher (Size)
Size mode creates uniformly sized elements
Can be mix of quad and tri element or all tri only
Compute button will give rough estimate of
element size
Mesh by GPart will create separate LS-DYNA part
for each geometry part
Ignore Hole Size, hole size smaller than this value
will be ignore and be filled with elements
General meshing procedure...
Select surfaces to be meshed
Enter average element size
Click Mesh
Click Accept

Mesh Auto Mesher (Deviation)
Deviation mode is tool mesher for metal stamping
applications
Deviation mode creates small elements on curved
surfaces and large elements on flat surfaces
4 parameters control the element size
Max element size
Min element size
Max deviation
Max angle

Mesh Solid Mesher
Solid meshing by blocks
Uses cut & dice method followed by sweeping
Define cutting planes

on geometry
Cut and trim

into small
blocks
Sweep block faces to

form hex elements

Mesh N-Line Mesher
Purpose: create mesh from 2/3/4 lines
2 Line Shell create mesh between 2 lines
Enter number of elements on each edge
Or enter element size
Or use points on lines to create elements
Line Sweep sweep one line along another line

Mesh Tetrahedron Mesher
Purpose: create solid elements (tets) inside an
enclosed shell volume
Limitation: only 1 skin part is accepted
Requirement: skin normals must be aligned
Skin can be remeshed to give better solid tet mesh
10-node tets can also be created
Solid tet mesh can be translated in space

Mesh Element Generation (Beam)
Purpose: create beam elements
On an edge
On a curve
By dragging nodes
By spinning nodes
Along shell diagonals

Mesh Element Generation (Shell)
Purpose: create shell elements
On all outer surfaces of a solid
On individual solid faces
By dragging an edge
By spinning an edge
By extending an edge
By dragging a curve
By spinning a curve
From a segment set
By filling holes

Mesh Element Generation (Solid)
Purpose: create solid elements
By dragging shells
By offsetting shells
By spinning shells
Using shell thickness
By sweeping shells along a path
Between two shells sets
(must have identical mesh connectivity)
4-noded tet to 10-noded tet
Hex to 4-noded tet

Workshop 2
Mesh Generation

Pre-Processing

Element Tool Element Editing
Purpose: modify an existing mesh by editing elements
Element Editing Tools
Check (quality)
Create (beam, shell, tetra, penta, hexa, discrete)
Delete
Split / Merge
Modify (thickness)
Direction (change for orthotropic materials)

Element Tool Element Editing (Split/Merge)
Shell elements can be split into quads or tris
Constrain Adaptive button If checked
(*CONSTRAINED_ADAPTIVITY automatically
created when splitting deformable elements)
Click edge of element for splitting into 2
elements, can be perpendicular or parallel to
edge
Two quads can be merged into a single quad
Solid elements can also be split

Element Tool Node Editing
Purpose: modify an existing mesh by editing nodes
Node Editing Tools
Create to create new nodes, use Advance button to
create nodes using different methods
Delete to delete unreferenced (no other element or
entity attached to it)
Replace to replace one node with another node
(merge) or take the center point of the 2 nodes
Align to align nodes that is close to a line formed by 2
points
Modify (xyz coordinates)

Element Tool Node Editing (Align)
Define line by picking two points
Select nodes that will be snapped to the line
Option to use Nodes or Point on Element
SpNdEQ special option to put node in equal
spacing when align to the line

Element Tool Node Editing (Replace)
Two nodes replacement
Merge two nodes into one
Option to choose final position of merged node
(Node1, Node2, MidPoint)
Single pick or area select
Multiple (Many) nodes replacement
Merge multiple nodes into one
Option to choose final position of merged node
(Center, Node, Position)
General Selection interface used to select nodes

Element Tools Normals
Purpose: show/reverse/align element normal
Shell color indicates direction of normal
General Selection interface can be used to manually
show or reverse normal vectors
Automatic alignment (Auto Reverse) can be
performed by picking a seed element

Element Tools Duplicate Nodes
show and merge duplicate (coincident) nodes
Tolerance is automatically calculated but can be
overridden
Option to keep smaller or larger Node ID
Option to put new node at the xyz centroid of all
merged nodes
Show Dup Nodes will show all the nodes that
meet the tolerance criterion
Select Nodes allow user to select subset of
nodes shown
Merge Dup Nodes will perform the merging of
the duplicated Nodes
Option to delete degenerated elements (elements
with zero area)
Element Tools Detach
Purpose: detach elements from an existing mesh
Shell, Beam, Solid, Tshell detach elements by type
Node detach all elements connected to a node
Element Select group of elements to be detached
Edge Select edges of elements to be detached
Starting NID Enter starting ID for new nodes

Element Tools Measure
Purpose: take measurements of various items
Item list of available measurements
Coordinate xyz coordinate
Dist N2N distance between 2 nodes
Dist N2S distance between a node and a surface
Dist P2P distance between 2 points
Angle 3Node angle between 3 nodes
Angle 4node angle between 2 lines formed by 4 nodes
3Pt Radius the radius formed by 3 nodes
Area / Volume / Mass / Inertia
Ang Vel angular velocity
Separation distance between two parts

Element Tools Measure (continued...)
Active Elements Only for certain quantities (e.g.,
Area, Volume, Mass, Inertia)
Element/Part/All measure by element, by part, or
all
Cancel pick remove last picked entity
Apply take measurement
Reference Axes select current reference axes for
measurement (define axis using Item: Create Axis)
History depends on selected item

Workshop 3
Model Editing

Pre-Processing
(continued)

Element Tools Move/Copy
Purpose: move or copy elements from one part to
another
Use General Selection interface to select elements
Target part can be a non-existent
Starting IDs for new elements and nodes can be
specified when performing a copy

Element Tools Offset
Purpose: offset shells (always in normal direction)
Offset Distance distance to offset
Element normals must be aligned before offsetting
Beware of offsetting small radii inward
Elements can be copied while offsetting

Element Tools Transform (Translate)
Purpose: translate nodes/elements/parts
Translate Distance distance to translate
X,Y,Z directions can be in global or local system
N1-N2 translate in the direction from N1 to N2
N1-N2-N3 translate in the direction normal to
the plane formed by N1, N2, and N3
N1-to-N2 translate using the distance and
direction between N1 and N2
Pt-to-Pt translate using the distance and
direction between P1 and P2
Sh-Normal pick a shell element and use its
normal as the direction of the translation

Element Tools Transform (Translate)
Free Edit after distance, direction and node
selection, user can drag the selected nodes on
screen
Copy Elem copy elements while translating
Copy Node copy nodes while translating
Transfer transfer selection to copied elements
Multiple copies can be created
New elements can be placed in a new part ID
User can enter starting element ID for new
elements
User can enter starting node ID for new nodes

Element Tools Transform (Rotate)
Purpose: rotate nodes/elements/parts
Rot. Angle angle to rotate in degree
X,Y,Z axes can be in global or local coordinates
N1-N2 rotate about an axis from N1 to N2
N1-N2-N3 rotate about the normal formed by
N1, N2, and N3
Origin of rotation can be a node or XYZ location
Elements/Nodes can be copied while rotating

Element Tools Transform (Reflect)
Purpose: reflect nodes/elements/parts
Norm X/Y/Z reflect along global axes
N1-N2 reflect along the direction from N1 to N2
N1-N2-N3 reflect along the normal formed by
N1, N2, and N3
Origin of reflection can be a node or
an XYZ location
Elements/Nodes can be copied while reflecting

Element Tools Transform (Project)
Purpose: project nodes and elements
Norm X/Y/Z project along global axes
N1-N2 project along the direction from N1 to N2
N1-N2-N3 project along the normal formed by
N1, N2, and N3
Can also project To Mesh, To Curve, or To Surface
Point on plane of projection can be a node or
an XYZ location
Elements can be copied while projecting

Element Tools Transform (Scale)
Purpose: scale nodes/elements/parts
Scale Factor greater than 1 to enlarge, less than 1
to shrink (when using Scale+)
X,Y,Z scale in either global or local coordinate
system
N1-N2 scale in direction from N1 to N2
N1-N2-N3 scale in direction of normal formed by
N1, N2, and N3
Origin can be a node or a XYZ location
Elements/Nodes can be copied while scaling

Element Tools Transform (Transform)
Purpose: transform nodes/elements/parts from one
coordinate system to another
From pick 3 nodes (first set of P1,P2,P3) to define
a starting system
To pick 3 nodes (second set of P1,P2,P3) to define
a destination system
P1-P3 buttons launch Create Position interface
Elements can be copied while transforming

Element Tools Smooth
Purpose: smooth a mesh to improve element quality
Use General Selection interface to select elements
Specified nodes can be locked to prevent movement
Nodes along feature angles are not moved
Boundary nodes can be fixed or free
User specified number of smoothing iterations can
be applied
Nodes can be projected back to geometry after
smoothing

Element Tools Part Trim
Purpose: trim a mesh using a curve
Parts first, choose the parts to be trimmed
Trim Curves second, select curves for trimming
Trim Methods (projecting curves to mesh)...
Closest 3D projection
Vector projection (along a specified vector)

Workshop 4
Mesh Transformation

Pre-Processing
(continued)

Keyword Input Form
Example Keyword Input form for *PART
Keyword type List of existing keywords of this type

Keyword Input Form (continued...)
Keyword Input form buttons
Always click first when creating a new card Commit changes
Draw entity in the graphics window
Delete/Undelete
Popup RefBy interface
selected keyword
Open interface to pick

data directly from model
Set all entries to
Create fresh keyword Default values
using default values
Exit keyword editing form

Keyword Input form controls
Card Number
Parameter Names
Link Button
Parameter Values Drop-down Menu

Other Keyword Input form features
Blue parameter titles can be clicked to display description in
bottom text area (see below)
Red parameters indicate that additional cards may be
displayed depending on the parameter value
User comments can be entered here
Click in any field above to display description here

(same information found in LS-DYNA Keyword Manual)

Model Keyword Manager
All LS-DYNA keywords are
accessible through Keyword
Manager tree list (over 900 total)
Keywords that exist in the current
model are shown in Blue
Click All to display all keywords (or
click Model to display only those
that exist in the current model)
Expand the tree and double-click
to edit a keyword (opens Keyword
Input Form)

Model Entity Interface
A uniform interface to deal with LS-DYNA
entities that can be shown graphically
Show to show the entities
Create to create the entity
Modify modify the existing entities
Delete delete entites
Write entity data to a file
General selection is used whenever it is
possible for selecting the entities

Model Create Entity Set Data
Show *SET_{OPTION}
Create *SET_{OPTION}
OPTIONS NODE, BEAM, DISCRETE, PART,
SEGMENT, SHELL, SOLID, THICK SHELL
Select entities using General Selection
interface
Modify *SET_{OPTION}
Sets must be shown before they can be
modified
Delete *SET_{OPTION}
Write *SET_{OPTION} to a file

Boundary Spc
Show *BOUNDARY_SPC_{OPTION}
Label None/Symbol/Detail
Local coordinate systems will be shown if used
Match Filter by constrained DOFs
Create *BOUNDARY_SPC_{OPTION}
OPTIONS NODE, NODE_SET
Use General Selection interface to select nodes
Activate constrained DOFs
Use global or local coordinate system
Modify *BOUNDARY_SPC_{OPTION}
Delete *BOUNDARY_SPC_{OPTION}

Constrained Nodal Rigid Body (CNRB)
Show *CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY
Create *CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY
OPTION SPC
Set additional flags
Modify
*CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY
Delete *CONSTRAINED_NODAL_RIGID_BODY

Model Part Data
There are 7 functions in the Part
Data dialog:
Show show existing part data
Create create new part data
Mod modify existing data
Sear search parts by
parameters
Assign assign part data
properties
Prop edit properties of part
data
Replace replace a part with
another part

Model Part Data
Show Show / Delete / Write
part data
Parts can be selected graphically
using Pick/Area/ Poly or from
the list
Show will list element type of
the part, its properties, no. of
nodes and elements, and the
Min/Max IDs

Model Part Data
Cre Create new part
definitions
NewID take existing part data
and create a new part ID
Add create new part with no
data (SECID, MID, etc...)
Contact if this box is check, will
create *PART_CONTACT data

Model Part Data
Mod Modify existing part

definitions
Changes can only be made to
one part at a time

Model Part Data
Assign Assign properties
to parts
Changes can be made to
many parts at once
Multiple select from list to
highlight parts that will be
changed
Empty fields will not be
assigned

Model Part Data
Prop Review part properties
(Section, Material, Hourglass, )
Modify open a keyword input form
for editing
RefBy show all parts that reference
the selected property
RefBy popup
dialog

Model Part Data
Replace replace a part in one model
with another part from another
model
The second model can be loaded with
the Load button
Replace this part with

another part that has
finer mesh

Model Display Entity
Purpose: visualize model entities (keywords) other than
nodes and elements (which are displayed by default)
Available options include
*BOUNDARY_{OPTION}
*CONSTRAINED_{OPTION}
*INITIAL_VELOCITY_{OPTION}
*LOAD_{OPTION}
*RIGIDWALL_{OPTION}
*SET_{OPTION}
Use while post-processing by loading d3plots
followed by the corresponding keyword file

Model Reference Check (Attach)
Purpose: identify entities that are attached to other
model entities
Initial attachment set can be all visible or as selected
(using General Selection interface)
Attachment set can grow By Part or By Element
Final attachment set can be written to a file

Model Renumber
Purpose: renumber and offset model
entities
By Keyword Entities can be
renumbered/offset by Keyword
ID range can be specified
Entities can be picked using the General
Selection interface
By Part Parts/Elements/Nodes can be
renumbered/offset by Part
By Selected Parts/Elements/Nodes can
be renumbered/offset by Selected

Model MSelect Select
Purpose: switch between loaded models, view multiple
models, perform keyword comparison
Select display selected model(s)
Trans translate a model (for visualization only,
useful for side-by-side animation)
Remove unload a model
Info show model summary

Model MSelect Compare
Purpose: compare two similar LS-DYNA keyword input
files that have minor differences
Disregards keyword order, unlike other
compare/difference software
Normalizes data to ignore differences below a
certain tolerance
Provides a summary only when a large number of
differences are detected

Application Model Checking
Element Quality Check: provides
general idea of the quality of the
finite element model
Define allowable value, LS-PrePost will
show no. of elements that violate
the allowable. The violated
elements can be saved into general
selection buffers
Different checking method for different
element types

Element Quality Check example: characteristic length

Comprehensive LS-DYNA keyword data check, to indicate if the
keyword data will or will not fail in LS-DYNA run

File Save Keyword As
Output Version 960/970/971
(only change if using an old
version of LS-DYNA)
Renumber/Offset can
renumber or offset before
saving
BySubSystem activate to save
subsystems to separate files (not
visible unless model contains
subsystems)
Advanced... additional options
(see next slide)
Advanced Settings Interface
Keyword order can be customized
Keywords can be selectively omitted
Title, Field Names, and Comments can be omitted
Parameter names can be output instead of actual values

File Save Active Keyword As
Output Version 960/970/971
(only change if using an old
version of LS-DYNA)
Keywords can be selectively
output using the Advanced
Setting interface

Workshop 5
Create a Keyword File
(Ball to Plate Impact)

Workshop 6
Create a Keyword File
(S-Rail to Rigidwall Impact)

Post-Processing

Animation Interface
The Animation controls are displayed when d3plots are
loaded. If the animation interface is closed, it can be
restored by clicking the Anim render button.
Final State States per Increment
Initial State Eigen SF
Activate Eigen
Mode Animation Current State
Current Time Loop / Play Once

Control Speed
Control State

Post Fringe Component
Purpose: to select a component for fringing
Stress regular stress components
Ndv nodal displacements and velocities
Result resultant stress components
Strain regular strain components
Misc pressure, temp, shell thickness, etc...
Infin / Green / Almans infinitesimal, Green-St.
Venant, and Almansi strains
S.Rate strain rates
Residu residual elastic strains
FLD forming limit diagram strain components
Beam beam element forces and stress resultants
CFD Navier-Stokes fluid components

Post Fringe Component (continued...)
Frin choose rendering type
Frin default fringing
Isos iso-surfaces for solid
Lcon line contours
XFrn fringe max value through all states
FMes fringe color on the mesh
Expr user define expression
Max location of shell surfaces
Low / Mid / Upp lower, mid-plane, and upper
Max / Ave / Min maximum, average, minimum
Ipt shell integration point
Bpt beam integration point
Glob coordinate system
Glob / Loca global or local

Post Fringe Range
Purpose: control fringe and iso-surface ranges
Dynamic min/max adjusted for each time state
Static same min/max for all the states
User custom min/max for all the states
Show show elements within the specified range
Entire Model legend based on entire model
Active Parts Only legend based on displayed parts
Active Elements Only legend based on displayed
elements only

Post Fringe Range (continued...)
Reverse Colors reverse legend colors
Ident Min / Max identify min and max elements by
ID (user defines number of entities to identify)
Lower / Upper set color for out-of-range elements
Levels customize number of fringe levels
Palette allows colors to be modified

Plot Window
Title modify main, axis, legend, and curve titles

Plot Window (continued...)
Title used to modify main, axis, legend, and curve titles
Attr modify curve attributes (symbol, color, width, style)

Filter filter curves (SAE, Butterworth, COS, etc...)
Save write curves to file (.crv, Keep, XY Pairs, .csv, .xml)

Oper perform curve operations (integrate, sum, invert, etc...)

New Plot Interface
New XYPlot
interface puts
plots in the
Main window
Multiple plots
on a page /
multiple pages
Plots from one
port can be
easily moved or
copied to
another port

New Plot Interface (continued...)
Right-click on a Port to Delete it or
launch the Control interface
Control interface allows plots to be

customized

New Plot Interface (continued...)

Post History
Purpose: plot time history data (from d3plots)
Global energies and kinematic data for full model
Part energies and kinematic data for parts
Nodal kinematic data for nodes
Element stress and strain data for elements
Value set to element value or min/max value for the part
E-Type choose element type to plot history
E-Axes global or local
Surface choose shell location (through-thickness)
Int Pt integration point data
Scalar plot scalar value that is being fringed
(choose component in Fcomp interface)

Post History (continued...)
Standard plotting options...
Plot plot selected value in current Plot Window
New plot selected value in new Plot Window
Padd add selected value to current Plot Window
Raise bring forward all open plot windows
Pop open and bring forward all closed plot windows
Interfaces that use these plot functions...
History
XYPlot
ASCII
Binout
FLD
Measure
Section > Force

Post ASCII
Purpose: create XY-Plots from ASCII output files
ASCII File Operations...
File browse and load ASCII file from any directory
Load load selected file type from current directory
Unload unload files from memory
All select all items in the list
Clear clear selected items
Rev reverse selection
Info show information on the loaded ASCII file
Multiple Select plot multiple curves at once when
multiple files are loaded (using File option above)

Post ASCII (continued...)
ASCII Sub-branches...
Lists all data available in the selected ASCII file
Some ASCII files have special toggles that can be used to
process data...
MATSUM, SECFORC, SPCFORC, NODFOR, BNDOUT,
SLEOUT, and GCEOUT [Total] combine multiple ASCII
item selections
ABSTAT [Airb/Mat] select airbag/material ID
ELOUT [Clrcp] clear component list
ELOUT [Stress/Strain/Beams]
DEFORC [Trans/Rotat] force and moments
NODFOR [Group] combine nodal forces of the group
NODOUT [HicCsi] open HIC/CSI pre-filter options
RBDOUT [Local] plot in local coordinate system
SPCFORC [Force/Momt] force and moments

Post XYPlot
Purpose: create and manipulate XY-Plots (all saved XY
data is automatically added to the file list)
File show list of all loaded XY-Plot files
Window show list of all XY-Plot windows
Add import XY data (use CRV, CSV, XY formats)
Remove remove files from list
Info display number of data points
Show show selected plot
Cross create cross plot (e.g., combine Force/Time
and Disp/Time to create Force/Disp)
Curve Clip clip curve
Interpolate modify number of points in curve

Post Binout
Purpose: plot data from binout files
Binout contains same data as ASCII files but in binary
format
Set BINARY=2 on *DATABASE_{OPTION} to generate
binout file
Load load binout file (multiple binout files can be
loaded)
Unload unload binout file
Save save binout branch in ASCII format
Done exit the Binout interface

Post Follow
Purpose: define a reference point or plane for
animation and fringing relative displacement
Animation usage...
Pick node(s) to define reference point or plane
Click Apply
Play animation
To fringe relative displacement...
Pick node(s) to define reference point or plane
Click Apply
Go to Page 1: Fcomp
Select Ndv
Select rx-disp, ry-disp, rz-disp, or r-result disp

Post Trace
Purpose: trace nodal displacements
Set width and color of trace line
Select state to begin trace
Output trace in several formats...
*DEFINE_CURVE
Coordinate history
*BOUNDARY_PRESCRIBED_MOTION_NODE

Post State
Purpose: select/overlay animation states or display
mulitple states in a grid
Select display the selected state or create state
overlays (with customized rendering type)
Inactive make states inactive (remove from
animation playback)
Delete delete states (delete d3plot files if possible)
Multistate display multiple states in a grid

Post Output
Purpose: output post-processing data
Some available formats...
LS-DYNA Keyword
Nastran
Dynain ASCII
ASCII and Binary STL
Active Parts Only write only displayed parts
Entire Model write entire model (use check boxes
to control exactly which entities are written)
St No Controls which state is written

Post Setting
Purpose: control settings and general preferences
Axes/Surface
El Axes set coordinate system for calculation of
component stresses and strains (Global / element Local)
Surface set current shell integration point surface and
beam integration point location (this affects what data is
extracted when using Fcomp, History, and Vector)
Reflections reflect the whole model or selected
parts about the global planes
Hic/Csi Const. change default time scale and
gravitational constant
SPH Nodes change appearance of smooth particle
hydrodynamics nodes

Post Setting (continued...)
Thickness Scale Factor related to displaying shells
as solids (set using Thick in Appear interface)
Fringe Scale Factor allows small or large changes in
fringe values, active for all fringes after setting
Concrete Crack Width associated with D3CRCK file,
sets minimum crack width in mm to be displayed
(MAT_084 only)
FLD EStrain changes display of strains for FLD
fringe components and plots to Engr or True values
Local BStrain converts global strains for solid
elements into element axes values

Post Vector
Purpose: create vector plots (similar to fringing)
d3plot (binary plot) options...
Shell Normal
Displacement
Velocity
Principal Stress
Principle Strain
intfor (interface force file) options...
Force
Pressure
Surface Shear

Post Vector (continued...)
X, Y, and Z components for displacement, velocity
and force can be selected
Range settings...
Dynamic min/max adjusted for each time state
Static same min/max for all the states
User custom min/max for all the states
Show show vectors within the specified range
Display settings...
SF set vector size scale factor
Whole display vectors for the whole model
Part display vectors for a specific part
Area display vectors for a user defined area
El/Node display vectors for specific elements/nodes

Model Section Plane
Purpose: visualize section planes or take measurements
Section plane options...
FixS section plane is fixed in space
FixM section plane is fixed to the model (3Nds only)
Lagr section plane is lagrangian type
Plane definition options...
1p+NL base point + normal direction
N1-N2 n1 defines base point, n1 to n2 defines direction
3Nds 3 nodes define the plane
2Nds+D 2 nodes + direction define the plane
BasePt/BaseNd enter XYZ or select node as base point
NormX/NormY/NormZ set direction cosines
Centroid make centroid of model the base point
Reset reset and clear plane definition

Model Section Plane (continued...)
Additional options...
No. of Cut/Distance - divide model along the plane normal
direction
Right/Left Arrows move the plane forward/backward
MP Anim animate the section
Upd Bspt update base point with current position
Clear Kpsc clear all kept section cuts from memory

Additional options...
Project View view section normal to section plane
Off/Clip turn clipping planes off/on
Kp Cuts keep and display all section cuts
Clr clear all section cuts (keep only the last cut)
Cut perform section cut
Options display additional section plane options
Crush open crush/intrusion interface
Model reset display to full model view
Meas open section cut measurement interface
Line open line plot interface
Force open section force interface
Save open interface to save/load planes (to file)
Done exit the Section Plane interface

Options Interface
ShowPl show section plane on/off
3DOutline show solid part outline after cut
ShMesh show section plane as mesh
Line Width set section cut line width
Line Color set section cut line color
Color/Cut use different color for each cut instead of
different color for each part
Thickness draw section cut with thickness
VP draw vector on section cut
Write write section cut to file in selected format
(Keyword, VGA, or IGES)
Curr State set current state for writing

Crush Interface measure distance from node to
plane (intrusion plotting)
Line Width Intrusion plot line width
Line Color Intrusion plot line color
PlotType select history plot type
Node ID can be picked or keyed in
Line Interface plot fringe values at section cut
along the length of the cut
Mainly used for metal stamping
Must load fringe value (using Fcomp) and perform cut first
Pick a part for the line plot

Force Interface calculate and plot section values
Forces
Moments
Area
Centroid
Meas Interface take section plane measurements
Coordinate
Distance
3Pt-Angle
3Pt-Radius
2Ln-Angle
Measure can be done between any two cuts

Workshop 7
Post-Processing

Workshop 8
Post-Processing

Configuration File

Configuration
Configuration files
Lsppconf record general configuration parameters, user the
pull down menu Setting->Configuration Settings to set
parameters
Lspplasttouch record last session windows size, dialog
location, file path, etc.
Configuire_Toolbar.cfg record toolbar configurations
.lspp_recent record recently used files and their locations
Configuration file location (each version of LS-PrePost
has its own directory)
Windows C:\Users\uname\AppData\Roaming\LSTC\LS-PrePost4.0
Linux - $HOME/LSTC/LS-Prepost4.0

Function Keys
F1 launches Function Key interface shown below (shows
layout of the function keys)
Except for F1 and F10, all other function keys can be
programmed to act as a button
Also, a command file with the name F#.cfile can be
called using F# (place file in current working directory)
Function keys can be customized in the configuration file
(lsppconf)

Thank You!

LS-PrePost Intro 2014

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Introduction to LS-PrePost 4.

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Menus Floting Toolbar

Command Line Bottom Toolbar

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In Select entities inside Area/Poly

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Options to select info

Highlighted parts can

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Transparency draw part in transparent mode,

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Back position (0.0, 0.0, -1.0)

Click the Latitude and Longitude to control the light

Material adjust material lighting properties and

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Define cutting planes

Cut and trim

Sweep block faces to

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