Element Clusters

Element clusters are used to describe an assembly of elements for post-processing and failure control.

In Radioss, element clusters are defined with a set of elements (brick or spring) in the related keyword /CLUSTER, inside of which a failure model can also be specified.

Element clusters have a display state, either ON or OFF, which controls the display of an element cluster in the graphics area. To hide or show an element cluster, activate the "Hide Attached" option in the Model Browser configuration window. You can control the display state of an element cluster using the icon next to the element cluster entity in the Model Browser.

Element clusters also have an active and export state. The active state of an element cluster controls the display state and the listing in the Model Browser and any of its views. If an element cluster entity is active, its display state can be turned ON or OFF and is listed in the Model Browser and any of its views. If an element cluster entity is inactive, its display state is turned OFF permanently and is not listed in the Model Browser or any of its views.

The export state of an element cluster entity controls whether that element cluster is exported when the custom export option is used. The all export option is not affected by the export state of an element cluster. The active and export states of an element cluster can be controlled using the Entity State Browser.

Table 1.
Card	Description	Parameters	Notes
/CLUSTER	Define an element cluster		Related keywords: /TH/CLUSTER and /ANIM/VECT/CLUSTER