Elements used in the analysis can exist in the following three states:
- Active elements – included in the analysis and given their true material properties.
- Quiet elements – included in the analysis but given material properties such that they do not affect the simulation. For thermal simulations the thermal conductivity and specific heat are scaled down. For mechanical analyses the elastic modulus is scaled down.
- Inactive elements – not included in the analysis.
(Reference: P Michaleris. Modeling Metal Deposition in Heat Transfer Analyses of Additive Manufacturing Processes. Finite Elem in Analysis and Design, 86:51-60, 2014.)
Element activation