Element

class ansys.dpf.core.elements.Element(mesh, elementid, index, nodes)

Contains all properties of an element of a mesh.

The element is created from the MeshedRegion class. Properties include the element ID, index, type, shape, and connectivity.

Parameters:

• mesh (ansys.dpf.core.meshed_region.MeshedRegion) – Mesh containing the element.

• elementid (int) – Number (ID) of the element.

• index (int) – Fortran-based (1-based) index of the element in the result.

• nodes (list) – List of DPF nodes belonging to the element.

Examples

Extract a single element from a meshed region.

>>> import ansys.dpf.core as dpf
>>> from ansys.dpf.core import examples
>>> model = dpf.Model(examples.find_static_rst())
>>> elements = model.metadata.meshed_region.elements
>>> element = elements[0]

List the coordinates belonging to the first node of the element.

>>> element.nodes[0].coordinates
[0.015, 0.045, 0.015]

Overview

Properties

node_ids	IDs of all nodes in the element.
id	ID of the element.
index	Index of the element in the result.
nodes	All nodes in the element.
n_nodes	Number of nodes in the element.
type	Type of the element.
shape	Shape of the element.
connectivity	Ordered list of node indices of the element.

Special methods

__str__

Provide more details in the string representation.

Import detail

from ansys.dpf.core.elements import Element

Property detail

property Element.node_ids

IDs of all nodes in the element.

Returns:

List of IDs for all nodes in the element.

Return type:

list

Examples

>>> import ansys.dpf.core as dpf
>>> from ansys.dpf.core import examples
>>> model = dpf.Model(examples.find_static_rst())
>>> elements = model.metadata.meshed_region.elements
>>> element = elements[0]
>>> element.node_ids
[1, 26, 14, 12, 2, 27, 15, 13, 33, 64, 59, 30, 37, 65, 61, 34, 28, 81, 63, 58]

property Element.id: int

ID of the element.

Returns:

ID of the element.

Return type:

int

property Element.index: int

Index of the element in the result.

Returns:

Index of the element in the result. This uses zero-based indexing starting at 0.

Return type:

int

property Element.nodes

All nodes in the element.

Returns:

List of all nodes in the element.

Return type:

list

Examples

>>> import ansys.dpf.core as dpf
>>> from ansys.dpf.core import examples
>>> model = dpf.Model(examples.find_static_rst())
>>> elements = model.metadata.meshed_region.elements
>>> element = elements[0]
>>> first_node = element.nodes[0]

property Element.n_nodes: int

Number of nodes in the element.

Returns:

Number of nodes.

Return type:

int

property Element.type: element_types

Type of the element.

Returns:

Type of the element. For more information, see ansys.dpf.core.elements.element_types.

Return type:

element_types

Examples

>>> import ansys.dpf.core as dpf
>>> from ansys.dpf.core import examples
>>> model = dpf.Model(examples.find_static_rst())
>>> elements = model.metadata.meshed_region.elements
>>> element = elements[0]
>>> element.type

property Element.shape: str

Shape of the element.

Returns:

Shape of the element, which can be "shell", "solid", "beam", or "unknown_shape".

Return type:

str

Examples

>>> import ansys.dpf.core as dpf
>>> from ansys.dpf.core import examples
>>> model = dpf.Model(examples.find_static_rst())
>>> elements = model.metadata.meshed_region.elements
>>> element = elements[0]
>>> element.shape
'solid'

property Element.connectivity

Ordered list of node indices of the element.

Returns:

Ordered list of node indices.

Return type:

list

Method detail

Element.__str__()

Provide more details in the string representation.