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Zone Splitter Utility

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FEM properties define regions of constant dimensions, material and laminate. As imported, the FEM properties may not be defined to the shapes and sizes needed for structural analysis and sizing. HyperX automatically separates FEM property regions into individual Analysis/Sizing Zones. Read more here.

Intro

The Zone Splitter utility provides an automated way to split up Zones (1D or 2D) based on connectivity or boundaries formed by adjacent Zones. Example: if a wing skin was defined with a single FEM property, only one Zone would be generated when the Structure was first created. The Zone Splitter utility would be able to split the skin into many Zones based on where underlying spars and ribs intersect the skin.

ZoneSplitter_example.png

Prerequisites

Note

Any FEM entities being used in the split-up process must be added to Structures, not just the FEM properties being split. Example: orthogonal members must also be in Structures.

Step #1: Open the Zone Splitter Form

Navigate to the Structure Tab of the Ribbon to click the button shown below.

ZoneSplitterIcon.png

Step #2: Select Zone(s) to Split

Zones can be selected in the Viewport or in the Structures Tree. This action can also be performed before the form is opened.

ZoneSplitter_selectzones.png

Step #3: Specify Settings for Zone Split-Up

The settings in this form determine what happens to selected Zones before and after splitting as well as define the boundaries to split along/between.

ZoneSplitter_settings.png

New Zone IDs from First Element ID

If checked, each created Zone will have an ID corresponding to the lowest element ID within that Zone.

Merge All Zones Before Splitting

If checked, combines all selected Zones, according to their type(beam/plate), into one before running the subsequent operations.

Separate Discontinuous Zones

If checked, two or more element groups from the original Zone(s) that aren’t connected via shared element edges are split into new Zones.

Split on Orthogonal Members

Intersections with orthogonal members will be automatically detected and the Zone will be split at the intersection. The image below shows an example of this option. Applicable to both 1D and 2D Zones. For 2D Zones, the intersection orthogonal member must cut across the entire Zone to be used.

ZoneSplitter_orthomember.png

Split on Beam Intersections

Similar to the approach above, except that Zones are split at intersections with 1D Zones.

ZoneSplitter_beamsplit.png

Geometric Split Conditions

Optionally define one or more Geometric Split Conditions to define the space and rules used to split elements. You can add and remove them using the buttons marked 1 and 2 in the image below, respectively.

GeometricSplitConditions.png

The options available will change based on the selected coordinate system. The default is based on the global coordinate system (cartesian). The options for each coordinate system are described below.

Cartesian

If a cartesian coordinate system is selected, you must specify the spacing between splits (in inches or Zones) and the direction to split elements along. Optionally, define where the splitting will start and end.

Start and End Modes

  • Automatic - HyperX uses a bounding box and the direction specified to pick a start or end point that spans the entire Zone(s).

  • Point - Specify a point to project onto selected Zone(s) to start or end the split.

  • Distance - Available for end only. Specify how far along the vector to travel while making splits.

Step #4: Preview and Commit

Once you are satisfied with your settings, you can examine how the Zones will be split using the "Preview" button at the bottom of the form.

Note

You may need to de-select the Zones to see the color coding provided by the Legend.

previewSplit.png

As of HyperX version 2026.1.13, you can select the "Zones to Split/Merge" option to see which Zones will be split, merged, or merged and split.

previewSplitAndMerge.png

Use the preview to tweak your settings and find the optimal split. When done, click the "Commit" button to split the Zones.

Subsequent Actions

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