Pre-processing#

Pre-processing is where you describe the physics. Given a mesh, you stamp element types, materials, real constants, and boundary conditions onto it — the output is a Model that can produce global sparse \(K\) and \(M\).

The Model

How to build a Model from a pyvista grid or from scratch with MAPDL-style verbs.

The Model
Element library

The catalogue of registered elements, how to pick one, and the per-element theory / KEYOPT reference.

Element library
Materials

The MP command, supported property names, and the MaterialProperty enum.

Materials
Real constants

Per-element geometric data: shell thickness, beam cross-section, spring constants, point masses.

Real constants and sections
Boundary conditions and loads

Model.d() for Dirichlet, Model.f() for nodal forces / moments, and the prescribed= argument on the solvers.

Boundary conditions and loads