Getting started

Installation

PyACP supports Ansys 2024 R2 and later. To install PyACP, run the following command:

pip install ansys-acp-core[all]

You should use a virtual environment, because it keeps Python packages isolated from your system Python.

Usage

Start ACP

Start a Python interpreter and import the PyACP package:

import ansys.acp.core as pyacp

Next, start an ACP instance:

acp = pyacp.launch_acp()

Get a model

You can resume a model from an existing ACP DB (ACPH5) or built it from scratch by importing an FE model (mesh).

To load an existing model with PyACP, use the import_model() method:

model = acp.import_model("model.acph5")

To import an FE model, use the format="ansys:cdb" or format="ansys:dat" parameter, respectively. The following example imports a CDB file.

model = acp.import_model(
    "model.cdb",
    format="ansys:cdb",
    unit_system=pyacp.UnitSystemType.MPA,
)

See FeFormat for a list of supported FE formats. Check out the Create input file for PyACP section to see how input files can be created.

Danger

When working on Windows, be careful of backslashes in paths: These may correspond to escape sequences, resulting in errors. To avoid issues, make sure to quote the backslashes (by using \\) or use a raw string literal by prefixing your string with r, like model = acp.import_model(r"path\to\your\model.acph5").

Start modelling

Start defining new objects in the model. For example, to create a ply and all its dependencies:

fabric = model.create_fabric(name="Carbon Woven 0.2mm", thickness=0.2)
oss = model.create_oriented_selection_set(
    name="OSS",
    orientation_direction=(-0.0, 1.0, 0.0),
    element_sets=[model.element_sets["All_Elements"]],
    rosettes=[model.rosettes["12"]],
)
modeling_group = model.create_modeling_group(name="Modeling Group 1")
modeling_ply = modeling_group.create_modeling_ply(name="Ply 1", ply_angle=10.0)

These create_* methods take additional parameters, which can be used to immediately set the properties of the new object. For example, refer to the documentation of create_modeling_ply.

Alternatively, you can always set the properties of an object after it has been created:

fabric.material = model.materials["Carbon Woven"]
modeling_ply.ply_material = fabric
modeling_ply.oriented_selection_sets = [oss]

Hint

When using PyACP from an IDE, you can use autocompletion to explore the available methods and properties. PyACP provides type hints to make the autocompletion as helpful as possible.

Update and plot the model

The lay-up is not automatically updated. So data such as ply thicknesses and fiber directions are only available after updating the model. To perform the update, use the update method:

model.update()

Many PyACP objects provide data which can be plotted. For example, to show the mesh:

model.mesh.to_pyvista().plot()

Or to show the thickness of a modeling ply or fiber directions:

modeling_ply.elemental_data.thickness.get_pyvista_mesh(mesh=model.mesh).plot()
plotter = pyacp.get_directions_plotter(
    model=model, components=[modeling_ply.elemental_data.reference_direction]
)
plotter.show()

The model can also be opened in the ACP GUI. See View model in ACP GUI.

Continue exploring

This is just a brief introduction to PyACP. To learn more:

• Check out the examples to see complete examples of how to use PyACP.

• The how-to guides provide instructions on how to perform specific tasks.

• The API reference provides detailed information on all available classes and methods.