Importing a Mesh from an Exodus II File
The command to import a mesh from an Exodus II format file is:

Import Mesh '<exodusII_filename>' [Block <block_ids>] [{Group|Body|Volume|Surface|Curve|Vertex} <id_range> | Preview]

 This command permits the user to import a mesh for visualization purpose or to import the mesh onto an existing geometry. CUBIT also has the capability to generate geometry directly from the nodes and elements of a finite element mesh; see Import Mesh Geometry. See also Importing Exodus II Files in the Importing Geometry section of this manual.

Related Commands:

Import Mesh Geometry (options)

Delete Mesh Preview

Export [ Genesis | Mesh ] '<filename>'

List Import Mesh NodeSet Associativity

List [Export Mesh] NodeSet Associativity

set Import Mesh NodeSet Associativity [On|Off]

set [Export Mesh] NodeSet Associativity [On|Off]

Transforming Mesh Coordinates

The user can import a mesh from an Exodus II file and associate the mesh with matching geometry. The resulting mesh may then be manipulated normally. For example, the mesh may be smoothed or portions of it deleted and remeshed. The user can save their work by exporting the geometry and mesh, and then restore the geometry and mesh later. In some cases, saving and restoring can be faster or more reliable than replaying journal files.

Saving and importing a mesh may be useful for teams working on creating a conforming mesh of a large assembly so that they can pass information to one another. For example, a team member can export the mesh on the surfaces between two parts, and another team member import the mesh for use on an adjoining part of the assembly.

As of cubit version 7.0, any higher order elements, block definitions, nodesets, and sidesets are retained on import.

Importing a Mesh with Nodeset Associativity

Meshes can be imported into CUBIT that contain nodeset associatively data used for defining finite element boundary conditions. If an exported CUBIT mesh is going to be imported back onto the same geometry, then before exporting the user should issue the following command:

set export mesh nodeset associativity on

This causes extra nodeset data to be written, which associates every node to a geometric entity, resulting in an import which is more reliable. When importing, if the user does not want to use the nodeset associativity data that exists in a file, then before importing the following command should be used:

set import mesh nodeset associativity off

The user may wish to turn geometry associativity off if, for example, the geometry is no longer identical as a result of curves being composited, or CUBIT names changed due to a ACIS version changes.

Importing a Mesh onto Modified Geometry

Although there are some exceptions, CUBIT requires that the mesh be imported onto the same geometry from which it was exported.

Since merge information is not stored with the ACIS representation, care should be taken that the geometry is merged the same way on export and import of the mesh. If not, importing the mesh one block at a time in successive commands may increase the chance of a successful import, at the cost of more memory and time.

Between exporting and importing a mesh, the geometry may be modified slightly by compositing entities. Mesh import will, however not be successful if entities are partitioned or a body is webcut. In some cases mesh import may be successful on modified geometry if the new vertices match up exactly with nodes of the mesh, and the new curves match up exactly with edge chains of the mesh. Unless this criteria is met, associating the mesh with the geometry will be unsuccessful.

Importing a Mesh without Geometry Associativity

A mesh may be imported without associating the nodes and elements to geometry by using the Preview option. This may be useful, if importing the mesh is unsuccessful with the current geometry representation. In most cases this option is used only to preview the mesh in order to determine where geometry associatively problems may exist. Support for meshes without geometry associativity is limited to List, Draw and view navigation commands.

When a mesh is imported with the Preview option, the imported mesh entities are placed in a group called free_elements. To see if the elements match the geometry, the user may issue the following command:

draw free_elements add

To delete the unassociated mesh elements, use the following command:

delete mesh preview

Specifying a Portion of the Mesh to be Imported

The Block option in the Import Mesh command indicates that only the specified element block should be imported from the Exodus II file. In the same manner, the Volume and other geometry options provide a way to import the nodes and element on the indicated geometry. If neither a block nor a geometry entity is specified, then the entire mesh file is read.

If a block is specified without specifying a geometry entity, associativity or proximity is used to determine which volume the block elements should be associated with. If a block and a volume are specified, the block elements are associated with the specified volume, provided they actually match. If a volume is specified without a block, associativity data is used to find a block corresponding to the given volume.