[colinB]

Hi
I'm currently making my way through the tutorials to get a little bit more acquainted with OF, but in the 2nd tutorial (the one with the stress analyzes) I get stuck in the meshgeneration.

I'm using OF 1.7.1
So I'm going into the case directory and I'm using the provided blockMeshDict file and just type blockMesh. Then the following error message shows up:

 
root@colin:~/OpenFOAM/root-1.7.1/run/tutorials/stressAnalysis/solidDisplacementFoam/plateHole/constant/polyMesh# blockMesh
/*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
| =========                 |                                                 |
| \\      /  F ield         | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox           |
|  \\    /   O peration     | Version:  1.7.1                                 |
|   \\  /    A nd           | Web:      www.OpenFOAM.com                      |
|    \\/     M anipulation  |                                                 |
\*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
Build  : 1.7.1-fffd2c682d50
Exec   : blockMesh
Date   : Aug 30 2010
Time   : 09:51:18
Host   : colin
PID    : 3766
Case   : /root/OpenFOAM/root-1.7.1/run/tutorials/stressAnalysis/solidDisplacementFoam/plateHole/constant/polyMesh
nProcs : 1
SigFpe : Enabling floating point exception trapping (FOAM_SIGFPE).

// * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * //
Create time



--> FOAM FATAL IO ERROR: 
cannot open file

file: /root/OpenFOAM/root-1.7.1/run/tutorials/stressAnalysis/solidDisplacementFoam/plateHole/constant/polyMesh/system/controlDict at line 0.

    From function regIOobject::readStream()
    in file db/regIOobject/regIOobjectRead.C at line 61.

FOAM exiting

I especialy got stuck with the file regIOobjectRead.c for I could not find it, well and if I would find it I propably wouldn't know whats wrong in line 61.
Thanks for your trouble

kind regards
Colin

Edit: I made a new discovery: using the blockMesh command in the polyMesh folder for some reason does not work, but copying the blockMeshDict to the case folder and executing blockMesh does work.
So my question is: Is that normal that it works like this and I have to accept it or is this some irregularity in OF?

[MartinB]

Hi Colin,

it is the usual way to call the blockMesh command from the case folder, although the blockMeshDict file resides in the constant/polyMesh folder. That is the default location where blockMesh looks for the dictionary.

You can select a blockMeshDict at another location with the option

blockMesh -dict full/path/to/blockMeshDict

If you copy the blockMeshDict to the case folder, as you have done, the blockMeshDict from constant/polyMesh is used, not the copy you made. So changes in the copy would not take effect.

Martin

[colinB]

Hi Martin
thanks for the hint. That makes me OF understand little more!
Kind regards
Colin

[colinB]

Hi its me again
new day new problem. I know that the problem is not matching with the title anymore, but I didn't want to open a new thread for every problem I have.
However what is wrong:

I'm trying to model a simple problem with block mesh a box with 4 walls one inlet, one outlet, top and down and in this box is an obstacle slightly irregular shaped.
Aim is it to let some water flow around with icoFoam
So the following blockMeshDict file was set up:

convertToMeters 1;

vertices        
(
    (0 0 0)
    (29 0 0)
    (49 0 0)
    (67 0 0)
    (87 0 0)
    (100 0 0)
    (0 12.27 0)
    (29 12.27 0)
    (49 12.27 0)
    (67 12.27 0)
    (87 12.27 0)
    (100 12.27 0)
    (0 15.33 0)
    (29 15.33 0)
    (49 13.8 0)
    (67 13.8 0)
    (0 20.7 0)
    (29 20.7 0)
    (87 20.7 0)
    (100 20.7 0)
    (0 26.07 0)
    (29 26.07 0)
    (49 27.6 0)
    (67 27.6 0)
    (0 29.13 0)
    (29 29.13 0)
    (49 29.13 0)
    (67 23.13 0)
    (87 29.13 0)
    (100 29.13 0)
    (0 41.4 0)
    (29 41.4 0)
    (49 41.4 0)
    (67 41.4 0)
    (87 41.4 0)
    (100 41.4 0)
    (0 0 0.1)
    (29 0 0.1)
    (49 0 0.1)
    (67 0 0.1)
    (87 0 0.1)
    (100 0 0.1)
    (0 12.27 0.1)
    (29 12.27 0.1)
    (49 12.27 0.1)
    (67 12.27 0.1)
    (87 12.27 0.1)
    (100 12.27 0.1)
    (0 15.33 0.1)
    (29 15.33 0.1)
    (49 13.8 0.1)
    (67 13.8 0.1)
    (0 20.7 0.1)
    (29 20.7 0.1)
    (87 20.7 0.1)
    (100 20.7 0.1)
    (0 26.07 0.1)
    (29 26.07 0.1)
    (49 27.6 0.1)
    (67 27.6 0.1)
    (0 29.13 0.1)
    (29 29.13 0.1)
    (49 29.13 0.1)
    (67 23.13 0.1)
    (87 29.13 0.1)
    (100 29.13 0.1)
    (0 41.4 0.1)
    (29 41.4 0.1)
    (49 41.4 0.1)
    (67 41.4 0.1)
    (87 41.4 0.1)
    (100 41.4 0.1)

);

blocks          
(
    hex (0 1 7 6 36 37 43 42) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (1 2 8 7 37 38 44 43) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (2 3 9 8 38 39 45 44) (15 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (3 4 10 9 39 40 46 45) (15 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (4 5 11 10 40 41 47 46) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (6 7 13 12 42 43 49 48) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (7 8 14 13 43 44 50 49) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (8 9 15 14 44 45 51 50) (15 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (9 10 18 15 45 46 54 51) (15 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (10 11 19 18 46 47 55 54) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (12 13 17 16 48 49 53 52) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (16 17 21 20 56 52 53 57) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (20 21 25 24 56 57 61 60) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (21 22 26 25 57 58 62 61) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (22 26 27 23 59 58 62 63) (15 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (23 18 28 27 59 54 64 63) (15 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (18 19 29 28 54 55 65 64) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (24 25 31 30 60 61 67 66) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (25 26 32 31 61 62 68 67) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (26 27 33 32 62 63 69 68) (15 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (27 28 34 33 63 64 70 69) (15 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
    hex (28 29 35 34 64 65 71 70) (10 20 1) simpleGrading (1 1 1)
);

edges           
(

 simpleSpline 13 14 
 (
  (33 14.33 0)
  (39 14.13 0)
  )
 
 simpleSpline 49 50
 (

  (33 14.33 0.1)
  (39 14.13 0.1)

  )

 simpleSpline 15 18
 (
  (72 14.3 0)
  (77 15.3 0)
  (82 16.4 0)
  )
 simpleSpline 51 54
 (
  (72 14.3 0.1)
  (77 15.3 0.1)
  (82 16.4 0.1)
  )
 simpleSpline 21 22
 (

  (33 27.07 0)
  (39 27.24 0)

  )
 simpleSpline 57 58
 (

  (33 27.07 0.1)
  (39 27.24 0.1)

  )
 simpleSpline 23 18
 (
  (72 27.1 0)
  (77 26.1 0)
  (82 24.3 0)
  )
 simpleSpline 59 54
 (
  (72 27.1 0.1)
  (77 26.1 0.1)
  (82 24.3 0.1)
  )

);

patches         
(

    wall down 
    (

        (0 36 37 1)
        (1 37 38 2)
        (2 38 39 3)
    (3 39 40 4)
    (4 40 41 5)
     )

    wall solid
    (
      
    (13 14 50 49)
    (14 15 51 50)
    (15 18 54 51)
    (13 49 53 17)
    (17 53 57 21)
    (21 57 58 22)
    (22 58 59 23)
    (23 59 54 18)
     )


     wall up
    (
    (30 31 67 66)
    (31 32 68 67)
    (32 33 69 68)
    (33 34 70 69)
    (34 35 71 70)         
    )
    empty frontAndBack 
    (
        (0 1 7 6)
        (1 2 8 7)
    (2 3 9 8)
    (3 4 10 9)
    (4 5 11 10)
    (6 7 13 12)
    (7 8 14 13)
    (8 9 15 14)
    (9 10 18 15)
    (10 11 19 18)
    (12 13 17 16)
    (16 17 21 20)
    (20 21 25 24)
    (21 22 26 25)
    (22 23 27 26)
    (23 18 28 27)
    (18 19 29 28)
    (24 25 31 30)
    (25 26 32 31)
    (26 27 33 32)
    (27 28 34 33)
    (28 29 35 34)
    (36 37 43 42)
    (37 38 44 43)
    (38 39 45 44)
    (39 40 46 45)
    (40 41 47 46)
    (42 43 49 48)
    (43 44 50 49)
    (44 45 51 50)
    (45 46 54 51)
    (46 47 55 54)
    (48 49 53 52)
    (52 53 57 56)
    (56 57 61 60)
    (57 58 62 61)
    (58 59 63 62)
    (59 54 64 63)
    (54 55 65 64)
    (60 61 67 66)
    (61 62 68 67)
    (62 63 69 68)
    (63 64 70 69)
    (64 65 71 70)
    )

    patch inlet
    (
     (5 41 47 11)
     (11 47 55 19)
     (19 55 65 29)
     (29 65 71 35)
     )

    patch outlet
    ( 
     (0 36 42 6)
     (6 42 48 12)
     (12 48 52 16)
     (16 52 56 20)
     (20 56 60 24)
     (24 60 66 30)
      ) 
 
);

mergePatchPairs 
(
);

// ************************************************************************* //

Problem now is that I get the following error message by using blockMesh:

Build  : 1.7.1-fffd2c682d50
Exec   : blockMesh
Date   : Aug 31 2010
Time   : 16:27:30
Host   : colin
PID    : 4087
Case   : /root/OpenFOAM/root-1.7.1/run/tutorials/incompressible/icoFoam/simpleShip
nProcs : 1
SigFpe : Enabling floating point exception trapping (FOAM_SIGFPE).

// * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * //
Create time


Creating block mesh from
    "/root/OpenFOAM/root-1.7.1/run/tutorials/incompressible/icoFoam/simpleShip/constant/polyMesh/blockMeshDict"


Creating blockCorners

Creating curved edges

Creating blocks

Creating patches

Creating block mesh topology
--> FOAM Warning : 
    From function cellModel::mag(const labelList&, const pointField&)
    in file meshes/meshShapes/cellModel/cellModel.C at line 128
    zero or negative pyramid volume: -1.49 for face 0

Default patch type set to empty


--> FOAM FATAL ERROR: 
face 4 in patch 1 does not have neighbour cell face: 4(17 53 57 21)

    From function polyMesh::facePatchFaceCells(const faceList& patchFaces,const labelListList& pointCells,const faceListList& cellsFaceShapes,const label patchID)
    in file meshes/polyMesh/polyMeshFromShapeMesh.C at line 124.

FOAM aborting

#0  Foam::error::printStack(Foam::Ostream&) in "/opt/openfoam171/lib/linuxGccDPOpt/libOpenFOAM.so"
#1  Foam::error::abort() in "/opt/openfoam171/lib/linuxGccDPOpt/libOpenFOAM.so"
#2  Foam::polyMesh::facePatchFaceCells(Foam::List<Foam::face> const&, Foam::List<Foam::List<int> > const&, Foam::List<Foam::List<Foam::face> > const&, int) const in "/opt/openfoam171/lib/linuxGccDPOpt/libOpenFOAM.so"
#3  Foam::polyMesh::polyMesh(Foam::IOobject const&, Foam::Xfer<Foam::Field<Foam::Vector<double> > > const&, Foam::List<Foam::cellShape> const&, Foam::List<Foam::List<Foam::face> > const&, Foam::List<Foam::word> const&, Foam::List<Foam::word> const&, Foam::word const&, Foam::word const&, Foam::List<Foam::word> const&, bool) in "/opt/openfoam171/lib/linuxGccDPOpt/libOpenFOAM.so"
#4  
 in "/opt/openfoam171/applications/bin/linuxGccDPOpt/blockMesh"
#5  
 in "/opt/openfoam171/applications/bin/linuxGccDPOpt/blockMesh"
#6  
 in "/opt/openfoam171/applications/bin/linuxGccDPOpt/blockMesh"
#7  __libc_start_main in "/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6"
#8  
 in "/opt/openfoam171/applications/bin/linuxGccDPOpt/blockMesh"
Aborted

so my interpretation of this message is he is doing fine up to some point and then aborting the mesh generation.
He refers to a patch 1 having trouble with face 4 and the neighbors. 4(17 53 57 21).
However I figured out that this might have something to do with the orientation of the patch so I permuted the point numbers both of the patch and the linked box. and it helped nothing.
Also the search in the Forum and with google didn't give me sufficient results to solve the problem.
Thanks for your efforts again
regards Colin

[MartinB]

Hi Colin,
you mixed up with some of the node numbers.

See the attached image, which is a screen shot from pyFoamDisplayBlockMesh.py, a tool you can download from here:
http://openfoamwiki.net/index.php/Co...Foam#Downloads

Install it and start

pyFoamDisplayBlockMesh.py constant/polyMesh/blockMeshDict

or

pyFoamDisplayBlockMesh.py path/to/your/blockMeshDict

Another way to hunt down bugs is to comment out all blocks except one and try one after another, than several at the same time etc.

Martin

[colinB]

Thanks again Martin
you saved my day.
sometimes you can't see the blocks for the patches.
regards

[colinB]

Hi
I have some trouble with the hint from Martin (pyFoam)
After installing everything that is necessary to run pyFoam or at least the command pyFoamDisplayBlockMesh.py I still get an error message telling me :

Trying VTK implementation from Paraview

PyFoam FATAL ERROR on line 28 of file /usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/PyFoam/Applications/DisplayBlockMeshQt.py : Error while importing modules: No module named paraview

So this is what I did the hole morning:

- installing pyFoam
- installing some numpy files since they were missing

then I got the above mentioned error message

so I downloaded some VTK.tar folder and untared it
I figured out that cmake was missing so I downloaded this as well untared it
and made the binaries and installed it, then did the same with VTK,
configuring the installation like this that python is immediately wrapped in it (I did this intuitive, because I thought it might help)
Well I thought now it actually should work, but it didn't and so I come to you again hoping for some help.
If you have some ideas let me know, if you are missing some information, let me know as well. Can surely be that I forgot something to mention since I messed around the hole morning.

regards Colin

[colinB]

Hi all
I'm still struggling with this issue I mentioned above.
After setting up the whole system new (for some other reason) I installed pyFoam new
more or less straight forward:

- download the latest tar file
- follow the instruction of the pyFoam Wiki
- encounter a error message that numpy and numerical extensions for python are missing
and that plotting is not possible
- installing numpy-Python extension
- installing pyFoam again
- everything works out fine
- test works out fine
- trying to display the Mesh of the cavity tutorials with the command (executing it in the case directory):

pyFoamDisplayBlockMesh.py constant/polyMesh/blockMeshDict

results in a error message:

  PyFoam FATAL ERROR on line 28 of file /usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/PyFoam/Applications/DisplayBlockMeshQt.py : Error while importing modules: No module named paraview

So my question still is what do I have to do to get this running and or what do I have to install?
again I thank you for your trouble
kind regards
Colin

[calebamiles]

Hi Colin,

I recently struggled with this problem myself. I seem to have resolved the issue so I will post the solution here for future reference. Digging into the error a little bit you will find the following lines in DisplayBlockMeshQt.py
which on my system (Ubuntu 32-bit) is located at:

/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/PyFoam/Applications/DisplayBlockMeshQt.py

which relate to importing VTK:

def doImports():
    try:
        global QtGui,QtCore
        from PyQt4 import QtGui,QtCore
        global vtk
        try:
            import vtk
            print "Using system-VTK"
        except ImportError:
            print "Trying VTK implementation from Paraview"
            from paraview import vtk
        global QVTKRenderWindowInteractor
        from vtk.qt4 import QVTKRenderWindowInteractor
    except ImportError,e:
        error("Error while importing modules:",e)

The VTK from paraview is a fallback for a system VTK installation. Installing the Python VTK bindings ("python-vtk" on Ubuntu) resolves the problem. I hope this saves someone a little heartache and time.

Cheers,

Caleb