File Formats

TYPHON solution format

GRESSIER Jérémie — 2011-09-11T14:00:00Z

Typhon solution format uses CFDTOOLS XBIN format. As Typhon format, it needs a TYPHON header which defines the number of expected mesh and solution. The mesh should be defined (see mesh definition) or linked to another mesh file. Each following solution is written with a set of XBIN sections:

solution header

number of elements
number of scalars
number of vectors
number of face sections
number of cell marks sections
number of face marks sections

a set of scalar sections

scalar id
scalar array

a set of vector sections

vector id
(3 components) vector array

TYPHON mesh format

GRESSIER Jérémie — 2011-09-11T13:30:00Z

Typhon mesh format uses CFDTOOLS XBIN format. As Typhon format, it needs a TYPHON header which defines the number of expected mesh and solution. For each mesh, a ordered set of XBIN data sections is needed:

mesh header

mesh type (currently only unstructured mesh)
number of cells, faces and nodes
number of cell sections
number of face sections
number of cell marks sections
number of face marks sections

a set of cell sections

size etc

a set of face sections

size etc

node coordinates section

(number of nodes) x (3 coordinates)

a set of cell marks sections

mark name
indirect ordered array of face index in face sections

a set of face marks sections

mark name
indirect ordered array of face index in face sections

TYPHON internal formats

GRESSIER Jérémie — 2011-09-11T13:00:00Z

Typhon internal formats use CFDTOOLS XBIN format. It can be used for mesh and/or solutions. All Typhon formats start with a XBIN section (name is FILE_HEADER) which defines

Typhon format version number
Typhon type of file (mesh, solution, monitor...)
number of meshes
number of solutions

If this file only has meshes, it is considered as a mesh file and is described in this article.

If there are solutions, it must contain meshes too. The structure of such Typhon solution files is detailed in this article.

Versions

version 2: shared mesh

add cell marks in mesh
mesh definition tag in typhon header (full, shared, shared connectivity)

version 3: spectral solutions (rev742)

number of degree of freedom (dof) per cell
solution structure tag

XBIN open format

GRESSIER Jérémie — 2011-09-11T12:00:00Z

A XBIN file starts with a header. It is then followed by an undertermined number of data sections up to the end of file.

Header

In order to check the file format, one must find a header defined as follows:

4 (1-byte) characters 'XBIN'
a big endian 2-byte integer of XBIN version number
a 4-byte integer to check endianness (1234)

Data sections

Data sections are composed by

a data header
data arrays
a 3-byte end of section ('END' string)

Data header

A data header defines the data section. It includes

a data section name
XBIN data type
user defined type
real and integer size
a set of (integer) parameters
dimensions of data arrays (if needed)
external string (if needed)

Data arrays

There can be defined as

no data section
ordered or indirect ordered arrays
with integers or floating point reals

If ordered, only minimum and maximum indexes are given, otherwise, the data section starts with an array of index indirection. It is then followed by the data itself.

CGNS mesh input

GRESSIER Jérémie — 2009-05-19T15:00:00Z

The only way to read a mesh file in Typhon is to create a CGNS file.

CGNS format specifications are wide. Typhon can currently "only" handle

only one zone per file
2D or 3D unstructured grid
Tri, Quad, Tetra, Prism, Pyramid, Hexa elements
boundary conditions can be specified through face or node tagging

It is currently impossible to read

multiblock mesh

CGNS files from Ansys/IcemCFD or Ansys/Fluent export have been tested. A collection of CGNS files (tested with TYPHON) is available on our mesh repository.

In main.rpm parameter file, one can specify

BLOCK:MESH
 FORMAT = CGNS
 FILE = "my_mesh.cgns"
 SCALE = .001 ! optional scale factor

ENDBLOCK

See mesh import for further details.