Release Notes

HyperX Version 2024.2.13 Released October 2024

HyperXpert

Enhancements

• “Limit Design Space” functionality that improves speed by avoiding returning multiple very-similar candidates
• Import runset data from another database
• Structure- and set-based points
• Plotting by geometric variables
• Improvements to HyperXpert plot form user interface

FEM/FEA Import and Export

New Features

• Support for CBEAM, CQUAD8, CTRIA6, CQUADR, CTRIAR element types

Enhancements

• Reduce frequency of unnecessary preview FEM regeneration
• Improved support for MSC Nastran element sets
• Allow sizing/analyzing even if FEA result files are missing, as long as forces have been imported
• Support for Abaqus 2024

Zone Splitter

New Features

• Support for splitting using cylindrical coordinate systems
• New options to merge zones before splitting

Enhancements

• More flexible length-based zone splitting options (user-provided length or number of zones instead of approximate element count)

Scripting API

New Features

• Create new zones
• Import materials in bulk from Excel
• Create and generate effective laminates
• Execute discrete field mapping functions
• Retrieve analysis details
• Execute database compare
• Package/unpackage projects
• Retrieve HyperX installation directory
• Create and manipulate structure folders

Enhancements

• Assign properties in bulk to zones/joints
• Rename materials
• Retrieve zone weights on a per-solution basis

Analysis

New Features

• Additional plugin methods are available upon request for Fatigue, Sandwich, and Spar analysis. See documentation here.
• Option to export stress report after each HyperFEA sizing iteration

Enhancements

• Reduce frequency of unnecessary peak loads regeneration
• Improved accuracy of analysis of open beam sections under torsion loads
• Improved accuracy of crippling and laminate strength checks for bonded panels

CAD

New Features

• Query CAD data in the watch window
• Create and manipulate planes
• Intersection and splitting operations
• Extract sub-entities from CAD geometry (e.g. surfaces from a solid)

Enhancements

• Create curves via “Point and Direction” and “From Points”

Joints

Enhancements

• Ability to specify fastener spacing in terms of diameter multiples
• Add more analysis details to bonded joint methods

Performance

Enhancements

• Design loads overrides form
• Discrete field import for large data sets
• Initial model load
• Interaction with the FEM tree
• Importing large numbers of laminates / laminate families from Excel
• Laminate family forms and workflows

Miscellaneous

New Features

• Create and manage coordinate systems
• General-purpose measuring tool and ability to save measurements
• Visualize elements that are excluded from analysis via a legend plot option
• Create folders containing selected items directly via context menu

Enhancements

• Ability to set a user-defined rotation center (MMB click on model)
• Planar camera rotation is now easier to trigger (hold MMB + RMB)
• Optionally include additional files when packaging a project
• Improved stability when network connectivity issues occur during long-running jobs
• Option to rename existing folders in the Structure and CAD trees

HyperX Version 2024.1.10 Released June 2024

New Features

• New Scripting API Capabilities
• Ability to execute the database compare tool
• Ability to package and unpackage projects
• Allow sizing/analysis without FEA results files if forces have already been imported
• Ability to include additional files in HyperX project packages

Bug Fixes

• Changed crippling calculation of Fc,axial stress allowable to remove over-conservative bending dependence
• Allow user to re-connect to license server if connection is lost rather than closing software
• Improve memory performance of analysis and sizing when using filtered design cases
• Improved support for MSC Nastran element sets
• Fix analysis of hybrid composite materials with Bearing-Bypass correction factors
• Clarified analysis detail reporting for Max Principal Stress failure analysis

HyperX Version 2024.1.9 Released April 2024

HyperXpert™ and Batch Runs

New Features

• HyperXpert provides new workflows to study tradeoffs of weight and producibility
  • HyperXpert generates Design of Experiment (DOE) data on all feasible designs within your defined design space
  • Plotting tools allow you to identify structural designs that are low-weight with reduced design variability zone-to-zone
• New tool for executing many sizing runs in batch with the HyperXpert tool or for upload to the HyperX Cloud Dashboard

Database Comparison Tool

New Features

• A new tool to generate comprehensive comparisons between two databases (and projects). Identifies differences in model definition, settings, sizing results, materials, design/load/analysis properties, and more.

Structure Tree

New Features

• Ability to organize structures, sets, and section cuts into user-created folders. The folders may be nested with as many layers as desired.

Materials, Laminates, Fasteners, and Rivets

New Features

• Ability to link many materials at once during structure creation (via Excel)
• New library and picker forms that show material metadata such as density, family, and FEM ID

Enhancements

• Ability to copy fasteners and rivets
• Warning messages are produced when attempting to modify materials, laminates, etc. that are in use in other projects in a database

Scripting API

New Features

• Ability to setup and execute HyperFEA
• Ability to create and edit laminates
• Ability to import FEA results
• Ability to retrieve sizing results for zones and joints

Enhancements

• Ability to return zones to unused FEM
• Ability to edit zone settings in bulk which can substantially speed up these operations when processing many zones

Design Loads Overrides

Enhancements

• Zone-specific overrides of analysis temperature, limit, ultimate, help, and hurt factors are now managed in HyperX and stored in the database rather than in separate CSV files
• Generation and application of filtered design cases per-zone are managed through this same process
• Important: Existing CSV and CLC files will not be automatically migrated. Users must import these lists into the software to continue to use them.

CAD

New Features

• Ability to generate and export to-scale CAD geometry for beam results
• Ability to generate and export to-scale CAD for smeared grid-stiffened concepts

Enhancements

• Ability to configure the fidelity of CAD rendering (e.g. how faceted circles and curved edges appear)
• Ability to generate midsurface stiffeners
• Options to include skin offset when generated smeared or discrete stiffener CAD

Legend

New Features

• Ability to create legend color palettes to span a range of colors automatically

Enhancements

• Usability improvements to the color palette manager

Visualization

New Features

• Ability to view grid-stiffened cross sections in 3D (for smeared concepts)

Enhancements

• Additional model shading modes (ambient occlusion and drop shadow)

Performance Improvements

Enhancements

• User FEA load form when many rows are present
• Structure creation (especially when dealing with joints)
• Overall application startup and model load
• Several scripting API functions

Miscellaneous

New Features

• Ability to place a scale reference human in the viewport
• Ability to import and export CATIA plybook from Ply Manager

Enhancements

• Improved behavior of section cuts when perfectly aligned with mesh boundaries
• FEA loads import is now automatically initiated when appropriate rather than warning the user it had not been done
• FEA loads import and peak load processing are now cancellable
• Support for HyperMesh long format property names
• Support for multi-material laminates for bearing-bypass analysis

HyperX Version 2023.2.6 Released August 2023

Laminates and Laminate Families

New Features

• New picker forms with metadata for laminates / laminate families
• Ability to pick individual laminates from a laminate family for designs and overrides
• Ability to create orphan (not in laminate-family) laminates for skins and stiffeners
• Ability to create and edit stiffener laminate families manually
• Ability to select a new laminate for a zone when viewing its design results
• Overhauled stiffener laminate (and family) workflows, now specifying a stiffener profile during creation
• Ability to automatically generate traditional “quad” (0/+-45/90) and double-double laminate families by specifying angle targets
• Ability to automatically create a laminate family based on a structure’s plies

Enhancements

• Significant performance improvements working in databases with many laminates / families

CAD

New Features

• Basic CAD creation (points, lines, curves)
• Ability to generate parallel offset curves
• Ability to generate stiffener profiles (2D and 3D) for smeared and discretely-stiffened panels and export these entities for use in CAD packages

FEM/FEA

New Features

• Support for HDF5 output files from MSC Nastran and Altair OptiStruct

Enhancements

• Significant performance improvements importing FEA forces in some situations

Projects

New Features

• Project packaging & unpackaging tool – quickly collect all files needed to share a project between computers or users

Enhancements

• Working folders are now unique per project per database, allowing multiple projects with the same name on a single machine
• Additional options are provided to the user when copying projects to control whether design/analysis/load properties are shared, etc.

Legend

New Features

• Ability to create, edit, and delete legend color palettes

Enhancements

• Data outside of user-defined min and max bounds can now be assigned a custom color
• Ability to sort discrete data (controlling design case, controlling criterion, etc.) by count

Section Cuts

New Features

• New tabular form to edit many section cuts simultaneously

Enhancements

• Measuring tool in section cut form 2D cross-section viewer

Analysis

New Features

• Added a method to assess column buckling of panels

Enhancements

• Can now apply beam load properties (i.e. P/V/M) to panels
• Enabled interlaminar shear analysis for web and cap beams
• Enabled Effective Laminate analysis for cap beams
• Laminate family design study can now be run with detailed sizing (support for plugins, required margins, etc.)
• Can now specify interaction exponent for bonded joints analyzed with VCCT power law criterion
• Provide additional analysis details when running bearing-bypass joint analysis

Scripting API

New Features

• Ability to export updated FEM
• Support for section cuts (retrieval of properties/loads, creation, editing of inputs, etc.)
• Ability to retrieve ply information for a structure, and import / export in CSV format
• Ability to import and edit discrete fields, including in VCP format

Miscellaneous

Enhancements

• Ability to name load scenarios in user FEA load properties
• Increased the permissible number of points for laminate allowables to 100
• Added an option to create non-FEA panel rather than non-FEA beam from section cut loads
• Ability to create fewer designs (using overrides) when importing laminate designs from a FEM during structure creation
• Laminates created from FEA (e.g. PCOMPs) are now read-only for traceability and their FEM usage is now shown in the property tree
• Added button to trees to expand collapsed nodes incrementally

HyperX Version 2023.1.3 Released March 2023

Miscellaneous

New Features

• Training material is now installed with the software and available from the start screen
• Ability to access help system offline

Enhancements

• Improved forms and workflows for modifying element material directions

Notable Bug Fixes

• Element based margin display now properly includes required margins
• Design Overrides forms now properly show only selected zones when launched from the ribbon
• Analysis properties are now sorted by name in the property tree rather than creation order
• Fixed issue sequencing core plies
• Fixed several issues using the stiffener laminate family form
• Fixed several issues creating section cuts

Analysis

New Features

• Enabled Column Buckling criterion for panels

Scripting

New Features

• Ability to retrieve the project working folder path
• Ability to export FEM

HyperX Version 2023.1.1 Released February 2023

Composites

New Features

• Added ability to manage ply transitions for sequencing, including displaying them in the viewport
• Added ability to specify maximum transition width to limit the number of plies dropped or added across a transition
• Support for analyzing with true fiber directions (TFD) based on discrete fields
• Ability to import/export plies with HDF5 formats, as well as HyperX-format CSV

Scripting

New Features

• New Script Runner feature that allows users to manage and execute scripts from within the HyperX interface (new button on the Run tab)
• Added API functions to upload to the HyperX Dashboard
• Added API functions to manipulate design properties (tooling constraint selections and values, and detailed sizing inputs)

Legend

New Features

• Ability to plot non-structural mass (added weight)
• Ability to plot which zones have overrides for sizing and analysis
• Ability to plot many additional zone settings (reference plane, offset, etc.)
• Ability to plot string discrete fields (formerly known as custom data)
• Ability to plot stiffener and skin weights separately (also available in structure tree data)

Design Properties

Enhancements

• New tabbed layout for design properties to allow easy access to both sizing and analysis inputs

Structure Creation

Enhancements

• Import of Non-Structural Mass (NSM) is now optional on a structure-by-structure basis (controlled by structure creation form)

Joints

Enhancements

• Added analysis details for connector ID, fastener temperature, individual correction factors, and missing bolt information for some analyses

Miscellaneous

Enhancements

• Significant performance improvements for: design loads form, zone overrides form, model load time, design property assignment, and others
• Element-based analysis results are now imported when using the group database manager (“enterprise workflow”)
• Effective laminates are updated when constituent composite material properties change

HyperX Version 2022.2.8 Released October 2022

Section Cuts

New Features

• Ability to create many section cuts simultaneously
• Ability to “heal” section cut cross-sections by connecting nodes that were detected as disconnected

Enhancements

• Closed cells are shaded gray to show where they were automatically detected

Analysis

New Features

• Important: “Size” and “Analyze” are now distinct operations for panels and beams, maintaining separate “Sizing Inputs” and “Analysis Inputs”. See this link.
• Plugin user constants are now handled as settings in Analysis Properties for improved transparency and management
• Added “true average” option to Average load properties
• Ability to specify preferred analysis ID from plugins (rather than HyperX automatically assigning them)

General

New Features

• Added ability to renumber zones (individually and through the zone settings table)

Enhancements

• Ability to number zones created by the split-up utility by minimum element ID

FEM / FEA Import

New Features

• Added support for relative FEM and FEA file paths
• Added support for macro paths using {DATA_FOLDER} and {INSTALL_FOLDER}
• Added ability to create designs from FEM properties as a standalone process

Enhancements

• Added a toggle option on the FEA import option to control whether or not iterated loads (_i files from HyperFEA) are used

Composites

New Features

• Added support for all panel concepts (skins and facesheets only) in the laminate family trade study
• Added ability to create “core plies” and manage them alongside composite plies

Enhancements

• Modified ply sequence and name logic to improve handoff to CAD and other composites design software

Watch Window

Enhancements

• Simplified workflow for creating plots from watch window data, and allow saving and loading or templates
• Can now add element forces, moments and margins of safety to the watch window

Viewport

New Features

• Added “Saved Views” to store camera location, legend plotting options, etc.
• Added coordinate systems and rigid elements to the FEM tree and viewport

Non-FEA

New Features

• Added non-FEA joints

Enhancements

• Added optional indicators for non-FEA zone orientations
• Non-FEA Beams and Unstiffened panels optionally show to-scale dimensions

Tree

Enhancements

• Property tree now shows ply materials nested under design properties using laminates or laminate families, and fasteners and material under joint design properties
• Tree data (weights, margin of safety, etc.) that was being shown is now saved when the application closes and restored on re-opening

Materials

Enhancements

• Improved copy-paste behavior on material form data grids

Scripting

New Features

• Ability to pipe status updates from the API to the calling script (for long-running operations like sizing)
• Ability to create databases
• Ability to create, copy, and delete projects
• Ability to view and change rundecks for a project and set FEM units
• Ability to create new zones and edit membership of existing ones
• Ability to view, create, and edit panel segments
• Ability to renumber zones

Miscellaneous

New Features

• Added ability to open a database without loading a project (for management of materials, properties, etc.)
• Added setting to show reserve factor instead of margins of safety (controlled through Viewport Settings form)

Enhancements

• Overhauled custom data import form and renamed as “discrete fields” stored in a library in the property tree and easily exported, imported or edited after import.

HyperX Version 2022.1.7 Released May 2022

CAD

New Features

• Ability to import and export CAD files through IGES and STEP files. CAD files are imported and stored in the HyperX database and managed through the CAD tree.

Plies

New Features

• The ply manager is a new tool for working with composite plies efficiently. Add, remove, and modify plies individually or together; adjust stacking sequence; import plies using CATIA XML format.
• Create plies using CAD curves, with automatic mapping to FEM elements
• Import plies from CAD and analyze in HyperX
• Create CAD curves from plies and export them to CAD tools such as CATIA, 3DX, or Creo

Section Cuts

New Features

• Ability to calculate built up section forces and moments for each load case, including Excel reports
• Ability to constrain the position of the stiffness-weighted centroid, shear center, and angle of the principal bending axes during sizing
• Ability to automatically create a non-FEA beam with user loads corresponding to the computed section cut forces and moments

Enhancements

• Enhanced algorithms for sizing section cut to stiffness requirements (EI, GJ), including user-customizable preference for smooth stiffness distributions vs. targeted
• Section cut stiffness requirements are now managed separately from user-defined panel stiffness requirements for improved transparency
• Section cuts remain visible in the viewport even when they do not intersect any elements
• Ability to define section cut origin location by picking a grid point

Non-FEA

New Features

• User loads for rapid sizing, detailed sizing, and final analysis
• Ability to create and analyze/size non-FEA zones with user loads

Scripting

New Features

• Retrieve and assign designs, load properties, and analysis properties to zones and joints
• Retrieve margins of safety and associated information for zones and joints
• Retrieve weights for zones
• Create and manage the membership of structures

Materials

New Features

• New node in property tree and form for viewing effective laminates and their properties, including ability to modify constituent materials or ply percentages
• When editing a composite material’s properties, changes will automatically be reflected in any effective laminates using that material without having to regenerate them
• New node in property tree and form for viewing adhesive materials and their properties

Enhancements

• Support for polynomial laminate allowables for composites
• Ability to plot laminate allowable curves

Analysis

New Features

• Peak element load processing for discretely-stiffened models (DSM)

Enhancements

• Rapid sizing, element sizing, and design studies now fully support temperature-dependent properties during sizing

FEM Import

New Features

• Support for Abaqus 2022

Enhancements

• Users can now edit paths directly in the FEM import form
• Improved consistency of unused FEM loading when toggling it on in the FEM tree

Legend / Watch Window

Enhancements

• Can now plot assigned design, load, and analysis properties from legend / watch window
• Can now plot weight from the legend / watch window
• Added additional color pallets for plotting from the legend

Plugins

New Features

• Plugins can now prescribe QuickHelp information to be displayed on the failure mode forms, including multiple sections and figures

Performance

Enhancements

• Improved performance in selecting FEM tree nodes
• Improved performance of structure creation
• Improved performance of model load and FEM import
• Improved performance of hiding and showing entities in the viewport
• Improved performance of plotting data from the legend

Miscellaneous

Enhancements

• Search tool (Ctrl+H) now includes all primary materials, properties, and entities
• Selection from the FEM tree is now more powerful when the selected entities are in-use in structures
• Improved accuracy of automatically-calculated buckling spans, curvature directions, and centroids for panels
• Feature (“surface”) selection is enabled for unused FEM
• Ability to enter values in various forms in scientific notation (e.g. 5e4 instead of 50000)

HyperX Version 2022.0.0 Released February 2022

Sample Projects

New Features

• Quickly create sample projects for simple use cases to review supported modeling approaches and use cases

Section Cuts

Enhancements

• Indicators for centroid, shear center, etc. on the section cut form
• Improved form usability for calculated properties

Bearing Bypass Joint Analysis

New Features

• Support for analysis of effective laminates

Enhancements

• Clearer behavior when correction factors and allowables are “out of bounds”
• Improvements to overall robustness