Creating a stream

A stream definition has two components: the location of the line segment or the path definition that you want to use as your rake for investigations of velocity or vorticity data, and the number of points along that rake for which you want to display streamlines of fluid flow data. You can specify the rake location by picking nodes from the viewport, by entering coordinates in the dialog box, or by selecting one of the path definitions in your session. Edge list paths cannot be used for stream definition.

Related Topics
Displaying and hiding streams
Customizing stream display

Context:

You cannot save streams to the output database file. If you want to retain a stream that you have defined, record the process of defining that stream as a macro in Abaqus/CAE. For more information on macros, see Managing macros.

  1. From the main menu bar in the Visualization module, select ToolsStreamCreate.

    Tip: You can also create a stream by using the tool in the Visualization module toolbox.

    The Create Stream dialog box appears.

  2. If desired, specify a custom name for the stream definition in the Name field.

  3. If desired, increase or decrease the number of points specified in the Number of points field. By default, Abaqus/CAE creates a rake with five points.

  4. From the Specification options, select By nodes, By coordinates, or By path.

  5. To specify the location of the stream rake, do one of the following:

    Select the nodes directly from the viewport

    1. Click .

      Abaqus/CAE prompts you to select the first point.

    2. Select the starting node for the rake.

    3. Select the ending node for the rake.

    Abaqus/CAE populates the Start and End fields with your selections.

    Enter the coordinates into the dialog box

    1. In the Start (X, Y, Z) field, enter the coordinates of the rake starting point.

    2. In the End (X, Y, Z) field, enter the coordinates of the rake ending point.

    Specify a path as the stream rake

    From the Path name list, select the path that you want to use as a stream rake.

  6. Click OK.

    Abaqus/CAE creates the stream definition and displays it in the viewport.