GiD + OpenSees Thermo-mechanical Interface

Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, Faculty of Construction and Environment, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

Development team

• M.A. Orabi, PhD, MSc (DIC)

Special thanks

• T. Yarlagadda, M.Tech (IITR) , who came up with the idea to extend the interface in the first place, and who helped me do it myself.

To cite this piece of software

Orabi, M. A., Khan, A. A., Jiang, L., Yarlagadda, T., Torero, J., and Usmani, A. (2022). “Integrated nonlinear structural simulation of composite buildings in fire.” Engineering Structures, 252. https://10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.113593.

(c) 2022

INSTALLATION INFORMATION

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Basic

1. Download and install a compatible version of GiD (i.e. 15.0.2 or later) from https://www.gidhome.com/
2. Download and install tcl, making sure that the environmental variable is created during the installation by ticking the corresponding box: https://www.activestate.com/products/tcl/
3. Download the latest release of OpenSees for Fire that is compatible with GiD from: https://github.com/Anwar8/MyOpenSees/releases
4. Download and install the original GiD OpenSees interface making sure to select the path for OpenSees.exe that you chose earlier: https://github.com/rclab-auth/gidopensees
5. Copy all the files which you downloaded from this repository and replace the files in your GiD problem type which can typically be found in: C:\Program Files\GiD\GiD 15.0.2\problemtypes\OpenSees.gid

Natural fire curves generation

Python with NumPy are needed to enable generation of parametric temperature-time curves tempreature files. A regular installation from the Microsoft Store or from Conda will NOT work. We need to use WinPython.

1. Download a recent release from the WinPython GitHub release page. Make sure to choose the smaller executable with 'dot' in the name (i.e. Winpython32-3.10.11.1dot.exe).
2. Launch the WinPython installer anywhere. It will create a folder with the WinPython version in the name, like WPy64-310111.
3. Create a folder titled bin in the Python folder in the GiD OpenSees directory: \OpenSees.gid\bas\Python
4. Copy or move the contents of the WinPython folder (WPy64-310111) into the bin folder you just created.
5. Launch WinPython Command Prompt.exe from bin, and type pip install numpy to install numpy.

Parametric cases functionality

1. Install Microsoft MPI.
2. Check the MS-MPI installation and that the environment variables point to it by running the command set MSMPI in command prompt. You should see at least 2 lines one of which one would be pointing to \Microsoft MPI\Bin Refer to OSPCR-MP for more information. That is the program used to provide the parameteric cases functionality.

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KNOWN ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS

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• When opening an old meshed project and trying to write a tcl OpenSees input it may be necessary to call the commands: -np- cd $OpenSees::OpenSeesProblemTypePath/exe, then -np- source hello.tcl followed by -np- Transform::PopulateTagsArray
• Currently, the interface is only compatible with 3D analysis. Make sure Z is set as the vertical axis and that 3D analysis is on from the General Data window.
• The postprocessor may import old output files from a previous analysis run if these are not deleted from the project folder. This may cause the postprocessor to stop unexpectadely and fail to generate the output database. Delete previous output files when running a new analysis to prevent this issue.
• Based on Version 2.8.0 of the original GiD + OpenSees Interface so any known issues there may also present here.

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VERSION HISTORY

Version 1.0.0

• Working version compatible with the Integrated Simulation Environment

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Version 0.1.0 (20/11/2020)

• This work is based on Version 2.8.0 of the original GiD + OpenSees Interface: https://github.com/rclab-auth/gidopensees
• Thermal sections: Predefined rotatable fiber I section, Layered Shell Thermal.
• Thermal elements: Displacement based beam, ShellNLDKGQ, and ShellMITC4.
• Added load per area for surfaces.
• Added linear gradient thermal load and thermal history for beam and shell elements.
• Modified interval data interface allowing for user-defined analysis time and number of steps.
• Added temperature and damage indices to the layer recorders and modified post processor to add these results to the output database.

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Based on the tremendous work of the original GiD + OpenSees Interface team: https://github.com/rclab-auth/gidopensees

Lab of R/C and Masonry Structures, School of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Development team

• T. Kartalis-Kaounis, Dipl. Eng. AUTh, MSc
• V.K. Papanikolaou, Dipl. Eng., MSc DIC, PhD, Asst. Prof. AUTh

Project contributors

• F. Derveni, Dipl. Eng. AUTh
• V.K. Protopapadakis, Dipl. Eng. AUTh, MSc
• T. Papadopoulos, Dipl. Eng. AUTh, MSc
• T. Zachariadis, Dipl. Eng. AUTh, MSc

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