Data supports

• Surface regions: defined by Flux entities of n-1 dimensions (in 3D: faces, surface regions, 2D grids and cut planes; in 2D: lines, line regions and spatial paths)
• Volume regions: defined by Flux entities of n dimensions (in 3D: volumes, volume regions and 3D grids; in 2D: faces, surface regions and 2D grids)
• Imported: defined by an external mesh imported via a file (OptiStruct *.fem file or Nastran *.bulk/*.nas file)

• Associate a region for the computation: this enables a computation on the selected region, including the contour of this support.
• Mesh extrusion: this enables to extrude the mesh of a support in order to obtain a support that will be compatible with a 3D model. This option is only available in 2D, for volume and surface type supports. When an extrusion is needed, the user should enter the number of mesh elements to obtain the discretization in the extrusion direction.
• Rebuild the full device: this enables to rebuild the mesh of a support in the image domains when a project contains symmetries or periodicities. This option is only available for volume and surface type supports.

• Color: color choice
• Aspect: the user can choose among different graphic representations

When the user creates a support, he can access to some information concerning the support characteristics. The user can access to these pieces of information in the Evaluated information tab of the Edit support box.

• Information on the support mesh includes the number of nodes and elements (1D, 2D & 3D) of the support mesh.
• The specific collections compatible with the support list (see Data collection section).

The user can export a data support into different formats. These exports can be accessed via context menu (right click) on the data tree support entity or via the menu Data support > Export a data support > ... :

• Export mesh in OptiStruct format: generates a *.fem file, formatted and using OptiStruct structure to define the mesh. This file is compatible with Nastran standards.
• Export nodes coordinates: generates a *.DEX file, formatted and tabulated, with mesh nodes coordinates (in meters, in the global coordinates system)