GAMBIT 2.

0 Features
GAMBIT is a state-of-the-art preprocessor for engineering analysis.With advanced geometry and meshing tools in a powerful, flexible, tightly-integrated, and easy-touse interface, GAMBIT can dramatically reduce preprocessing times for many applications. Complex models can be built directly within GAMBIT's solid geometry modeler, or imported from any major CAD/CAE system. A comprehensive set of highly-automated meshing tools ensures that the best mesh can be generated, whether structured, multiblock, unstructured, or hybrid. geometry modeling
GAMBIT includes comprehensive, easy-to-use tools for rapid creation, import, cleanup, and simplification of all types of models.

direct solid creation for rapid model building

Direct creation of bricks, cylinders, prisms, frustrums, spheres, tori, and pyramids with numerous options Direct creation of rectangular, circular, and elliptical faces using geometrical data and local coordinate systems

surface and wireframe creation for detailed models

Vertices (points) at specified coordinates, snapped to grids, on edges, on faces, on volumes, and at intersections of edges Edges (curves) between vertices (straight line or projected to curved surfaces), arcs, circles, ellipses, conics, fillets, NURBS (through or fit to sets of points), by revolutions of vertices about edges or vectors, by projecting edges onto surfaces Faces (surfaces) from edge loops (wireframes), planes through 3 points (parallelograms), through vertices (polygons), circles through vertices or given center and points on arcs, ellipses given center and points on curves, lofted from series of edges (skins), through series of points, through series of U and V curves (nets), by revolutions of edges about edges or vectors, and by sweeps along edges or vectors Volumes (solids) from edges (wireframes), from closed surface shells (stitching), by revolutions of faces about edges or vectors, by sweeps of faces along edges or vectors

comprehensive geometry modification tools

Booleans (intersect, unite, subtract, split, blend, fillet) Move or copy any entity or group by revolution about an edge or vector, translation (local or global coordinate system; Cartesian, cylindrical or spherical), mirroring (reflection) about a plane, scaling (local or global coordinate system), aligning with other entities, copying with linked or unlinked mesh Automatically or explicitly connect duplicate or mismatched and/or meshed vertices, edges, and faces within a specified tolerance, including T connections of edges Split edges, faces, and volumes at physical or parametric locations, or through existing vertices/edges/faces to easily clean-up and simplify imported models

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Merge edges, faces, and volumes into single entities to clean-up imported models and remove insignificant features (simplify) Heal (during or after import) geometry to automatically close gaps and automatically construct volumes from imported surfaces

local coordinate systems add convenience

Unlimited number of local coordinate systems can be created Cartesian, cylindrical, or spherical Create explicitly or relative to existing system Snap-to-grid relative to planes of any coordinate system

groups make complex models easy to manage

Unlimited number can be created Can contain any geometrical/topological entities Individual entities can belong to multiple groups

mesh generation
GAMBIT offers state-of-the-art mesh generation technology in a powerful, yet easy-to-use interface. Extensive automation dramatically reduces meshing time for many applications.

edge meshing (bunching)

Defined interactively with real-time, graphical feedback Multiple grading schemes include geometric ratio, first/last ratio, last/first ratio, first or last length, exponential, or bell-curve Double-sided grading with automatic mid-point location Multiple edges automatically linked when meshed together Specify number of intervals or interval size Unmeshed edges are automatically meshed during face or volume meshing Meshes can be smoothed independently, or with face and volume meshes

face meshing
Triangles and quadrilaterals Linear and quadratic Structured, unstructured, and hybrid Numerous meshing schemes available: map, submap, pave, triangle primitive, wedge primitive, hybrids Suitable mesh scheme automatically recommended for each face Automatic domain decomposition for multiblock, structured meshing (submap) Boundary layers automatically generated during meshing (see next page) Numbers of intervals automatically propagated to unmeshed edges Unmeshed faces automatically meshed during volume meshing Meshes can be smoothed independently, or with volume meshes Support of periodic boundaries through linking Embedded vertices and edges supported for extra control

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volume meshing
Hexahedra (bricks), tetrahedra, wedges, and pyramids Linear and quadratic Structured, unstructured (both hexahedra and tetrahedra), and hybrid Numerous meshing schemes available: map, submap (automatic, multiblock hexa-hedra), Cooper (automatic, unstructured hexahedra and wedges), Multi-Axis Cooper (automatic, in multiple sweep paths), tetrahedron primitive (unstructured hexahedra in 4-sided volume), tetrahedral meshing, hybrids with prism layers and automatic pyramid transitions, between hex and tet elements, HexCore (hybrid with a Cartesian hexahedra core), stairstep (Cartesian) Suitable mesh scheme automatically recommended for each volume Automatic domain decomposition for multiblock, structured meshing (submap) and unstructured meshing (Cooper) Boundary layers automatically generated during meshing (see below) Numbers of intervals automatically propagated to unmeshed edges Several smoothing schemes available

boundary layers for rapid definition of high-quality elements near walls

On edges and/or faces Define interactively with real-time, graphical feedback Specify any three of: first layer height, geometric growth ratio, number of rows, total depth Transition layers (4:2, 3:1, 5:1) available for rapid size grading Several corner treatments available

sizing functions for automatic mesh refinement in important areas

In areas of high curvature In small gaps (proximity) User-specified mesh size on entity with decay factors (fixed)

mesh editing for fine-tuning

Interactively move individual nodes Automatically re-project onto surface geometry Automatically update/smooth surrounding and linked meshes Split existing mesh into separate regions

extensive element quality metrics

Interactively sweep planes and sphere cuts through mesh Display histograms of element quality and highlight elements in selected bands Numerous metrics include: aspect ratio, diagonal ratio, edge ratio, equiangle skew, equisize skew, midangle skew, stretch, taper, volume

boundary conditions conveniently applied to real model

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Boundary types applied directly to geometry Available boundary types automatically matched to capabilities of selected analysis solver User-specified or default boundary names

CAD/CAE interfaces
GAMBIT provides numerous direct and standards-based options for exchanging geometry and mesh data with all major CAD/CAE systems.

geometry import
ACIS (.sat and .sab, any version up through 6.3) Parasolid (Text and Binary, any version up through 11.1) Pro/ENGINEER (UNIX platforms) STEP (AP203 and AP214) IGES (including MSBO solids, with automatic cleanup of mismatched and duplicate entities) STL (stereolithography) I-DEAS Faceted Part File (FTL) Optegra Visualizer Compatible translators available from several vendors for these and many other formats, including Catia, Pro/ENGINEER, I-DEAS, Unigraphics, Parasolid, DXF, CADDS-5, STEP, IGES,VDAFS, and STL

direct geometry integration

Direct access to Pro/ENGINEER's geometry kernel

mesh import
ANSYS PLOT3D NASTRAN FLUENT 4 PATRAN FLUENT 5 I-DEAS FIDAP Hypermesh Imported meshes can be used to define geometry which can be remeshed as needed Element groupings (zones) automatically extracted from imported mesh Interactive definition and manipulation of geometric edges/faces based on imported mesh

geometry export
ACIS (.sat and .sab, any version up through 6.3) Parasolid (Text and Binary, any version up through 11.1) STEP (AP203 and AP214) IGES (including MSBO solids) Compatible translators available from several vendors for these and many other formats, including Catia, Unigraphics, Parasolid, STEP, IGES, and VDAFS

mesh export
FLUENT 6 TGrid FLUENT 4 FLUENT 5 FIDAP NEKTON POLYFLOW ANSYS Neutral file (fully documented and freely available)

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user interface
GAMBIT's user interface is incredibly powerful and flexible, yet highly efficient and very easy to learn and use.

multilevel undo/redo
All geometry and meshing operations can be undone/redone Number of levels can be set by user from zero through infinity

easy-to-learn GUI
Full graphical user interface with menubars, toolpads, and icons, including instant help descriptions (tooltips) Layout can be fully customized and saved for future sessions Progress bar during long operations, including ability to interrupt before completion Context-sensitive, graphical, HTML-based on-line help can be viewed within GAMBIT or separately

comprehensive journaling for automation and parametric studies

Full journaling language with user-defined parameters, DO loops, IF-THEN-ELSE blocks Automatic or line-by-line playback within full text editor Complete session transcripting (logging)

advanced graphics
Full three-dimensional functionality on all platforms Optimized performance on advanced graphics hardware, including availability of OpenGL support on Windows NT Multiple rendering options include hidden line, shading with user-configurable light sources, and silhouettes Up to four simultaneous windows with individual views and renderings

platforms
All major Unix workstations: Sun, SGI, HP, IBM, DEC Microsoft Windows NT on Intel-compatible and Compaq (DEC) Alpha PCs Red Hat Linux on Intel-compatible PCs Full functionality on all platforms

2001, Fluent Inc. All rights reserved. FLUENT, FIDAP, POLYFLOW, GAMBIT, TGrid and G/Turbo are registered trademarks of Fluent Inc. All other products or name brands are trademarks of their respective holders. GAMBIT-0111-ELE

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