Software Interface Between Pre- and Post-Processor, UNISTRUC, and Finite Element Analysis Program, TEKSAP

This paper on "Software Interface Between Pre- and Post-Processor, UNISTRUC, and Finite Element Analysis Program, TEKSAP" was presented at the International Conference on Quality Assurance and Standards in Finite Element Analysis - 13-15 May 1987, The Grand Hotel, Brighton.

Summary

The purpose of this project was the design, production, and implementation of a "user invisible" interface between the finite element modelling program UNISTRUC II and the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) program TEKSAP. This would allow users to develop their models graphically, specifying all pertinent information, in UNISTRUC and then, by simply using one command procedure, to submit that model for analysis in TEKSAP. The designer would be freed from the tedium, and errors, involved in manually working up an input file for TEKSAP. The decision to go with UNISTRUC and TEKSAP was one dictated by very pragmatic considerations. Basically these were support availability and execution costs.
There exist in Canada, on a nationwide basis through service bureaus, basically only two finite element modelling systems: UNISTRUC and PATRAN (Mufti, 1983). Both of these programs are interactive, graphically based systems that maintain a structural database for editing, display and creation of interface files for use by FEA packages. Hence they both satisfied our basic requirements for a modelling procedure, The final decision was made on the fact that UNISTRUC was already resident on the Technical University of Nova Scotia CAD system and therefore the integrity of our specifications could be maintained at no additional cost.
As for a finite element analysis (FEA) program, there were available numerous programs that would do either: (1) linear, (2) non-linear, (3) static, (4) dynamic analyses or practically all combinations thereof. Again a pragmatic choice was made in favour of TEKSAP, a program which has a proven track record of being very cost efficient, reliable and for which a high level of local support was available. This program can accommodate linear static or dynamic, models.
These factors combine to form a system which is simple to use, meets all the demands of most structural analyses, has a high degree of local support, and, most important of all, is very cost efficient.