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# Input deck format

This section describes the input of CalculiX.

The jobname is defined by the argument after the -i flag on the command line. When starting CalculiX, it will look for an input file with the name jobname.inp. Thus, if you called the executable ``CalculiX'' and the input deck is ``beam.inp'' then the program call looks like

    CalculiX -i beam

The -i flag can be dropped provided the jobname follows immediately after the CalculiX call.

CalculiX will generate an output file with the name jobname.dat and another output file the name of which can be selected with the -o flag. If the -o flag is followed by frd a jobname.frd file is generated. It can be viewed with cgx. If the -o option is followed by onf several .onf files are generated. These are needed if an optimization is performed with the proprietary software TOSCA. Default is frd. Hence, the following two commands have the same effect:

    CalculiX -i beam

    CalculiX -i beam -o frd

If the step is a *FREQUENCY step, CalculiX will generate a binary file containing the eigenfrequencies, the eigenmodes and the mass matrix with the name jobname.eig. If the step is a *MODAL DYNAMIC step, CalculiX will look for a file with that name. If any of the files it needs does not exist, an error message is generated and CalculiX will stop.

The input deck basically consists of a set of keywords, followed by data required by the keyword on lines underneath the keyword. The keywords can be accompanied by parameters on the same line, separated by a comma. If the parameters require a value, an equality sign must connect parameter and value. Blanks in the input have no significance and can be inserted as you like. The keywords and any other alphanumeric information can be written in upper case, lower case, or any mixture. The input deck is case insensitive: internally, all alphanumeric characters are changed into upper case. The data do not follow a fixed format and are to be separated by a comma. A line can only contain as many data as dictated by the keyword definition. The maximum length for user defined names, e.g. for materials or sets, is 20 characters, unless specified otherwise.The structure of an input deck consists of geometric, topological and material data before the first step definition, and loading data (mechanical, thermal, or prescribed displacements) in one or more subsequent steps. The user must make sure that all data are given in consistent units (the units do not appear in the calculation).

A keyword can be of type step or model definition. Model Definition cards must be used before the first *STEP card. Step keywords can only be used within a step. Among the model definition keywords, the material ones occupy a special place: they define the properties of a material and should be grouped together following a *MATERIAL card. Apart from this, there is one additional major requirement for all keywords: if any parameter following a keyword points to another entity, such as a set name or a material name, this entity must have been defined BEFORE. In other words, an entity must have been defined before one can refer to it.

An additional particularity concerns transformations. They only apply to SPC's, MPC's and concentrated loads defined further down the input deck. For example, if a SPC is defined for a node for which a transformation is defined further down, the SPC is applied in the global Carthesian coordinate system. Any SPC defined for the same node after the transformation definition applies in the transformed coordinates. It is strongly recommended not to resort to such a mixture and to define the transformations before the definition of any SPC's and MPC's. For concentrated loads there is no problem since transformations have to be defined BEFORE the first step, and concentrated loads at the earliest IN the first step.

Node and element sets can share the same name. Internally, the names are switched to upper case and a 'N' is appended after the name of a node set and a 'E' after the name of an element set. Therefore, set names printed in error or warning messages will be discovered to be written in upper case and to have a 'N' or 'E' appended.

Keyword cards in alphabetical order:

Subsections

- *AMPLITUDE
- *BEAM SECTION
- *BOUNDARY
  - Homogeneous Conditions
  - Inhomogeneous Conditions
- *BUCKLE
- *CLOAD
- *CONTROLS
- *CREEP
- *CYCLIC HARDENING
- *CYCLIC SYMMETRY MODEL
- *DEFORMATION PLASTICITY
- *DENSITY
- *DEPVAR
- *DLOAD
- *DYNAMIC
- *ELASTIC
- *ELEMENT
- *EL FILE
- *EL PRINT
- *ELSET
- *END STEP
- *EQUATION
- *EXPANSION
- *FREQUENCY
- *HEADING
- *HYPERELASTIC
- *HYPERFOAM
- *INCLUDE
- *INITIAL CONDITIONS
- *MATERIAL
- *MODAL DAMPING
- *MODAL DYNAMIC
- *MPC
- *NO ANALYSIS
- *NODAL THICKNESS
- *NODE
- *NODE FILE
- *NODE PRINT
- *NORMAL
- *NSET
- *ORIENTATION
- *PLASTIC
- *RIGID BODY
- *SELECT CYCLIC SYMMETRY MODES
- *SHELL SECTION
- *SOLID SECTION
- *STATIC
- *STEP
- *SURFACE
- *TEMPERATURE
- *TIE
- *TRANSFORM
- *USER MATERIAL

Next: *AMPLITUDE Up: CalculiX CrunchiX USER'S MANUAL Previous: Initial(residual) stresses Contents