Compiling UPFs and Creating Customized ANSYS Executables.pdf

Compiling UPFs Sheldon Imaoka Memo Number: STI0901C ANSYS Release: 12.1 Original Date: February 7, 2009 1 Introduction ANSYS User Programmable Features (UPFs) are quite powerful means of customizing ANSYS beyond the scripting capabilities of APDL (ANSYS Parametric Design Language). Writing one’s own constitutive models or complex loading functions or even creating a user-defined element are pos- sible with UPFs. Because some users may find it challenging to get started using UPFs, this memo attempts to discuss general issues related to compiling and linking a customized version of ANSYS for Windows and Linux environments.1 2 Getting Started Before getting started, the user should refer to two important ANSYS docu- ments. The ANSYS Installation and Licensing Documentation is accessible from an ANSYS installation or from the ANSYS Customer Portal.2 Within this document are the ANSYS, Inc. Windows Installation Guide and the ANSYS, Inc. UNIX/Linux Installation Guide, both of which list the re- quired compilers for each operating system. The user should keep in mind that only the versions of the compilers noted in these documents are sup- ported and have been tested. The second important reference is the Programmer’s Manual for AN- SYS.3 This manual contains very useful information on UPFs and support- 1UPFs are also available on IBM AIX, Sun Solaris, SGI IRIX, and HP-UX systems. 2/customer/ 3From ANSYS 12.0.1 onwards, the Programmer’s Manual for ANSYS is included as part of the regular documentation of an ANSYS installation. For ANSYS 11.0 and prior versions, the manual must be downloaded from the ANSYS Customer Portal. 1 Sheldon’s Tips Compiling UPFs ing routines, so the user should review this document prior to attempting to use any UPFs. Files for the creation of UPFs are not installed by default, so the user must verify that the customization files are included on their computer. In the ANSYS installation directory, a folder called “custom” should be present on Win