What is Tecplot 360?

Tecplot 360 is Numerical Simulation & CFD Visualization Software. It combines vital engineering plotting with advanced data visualization into one tool.

With one tool you can:

• Analyze and explore complex datasets
• Arrange multiple XY, 2D and 3D plots
• Create animations
• Communicate your results with brilliant, high-quality output

Unlike our competition, Tecplot 360's full range of XY, 2D, and 3D capabilities, multi-frame workspace, and high-quality output gives you total control to get all the types of plots you want to produce for effective analysis, presentation, and publication.

Load on Demand and Parallel Processing

Smarter loading of data results in faster time to first image. Load on demand loads just the data you are actively using. For example, a Temperature contour plot only loads X, Y, Z and Temperature. When you switch to a new variable to contour (i.e., Pressure), Tecplot 360 loads Pressure and unloads Temperature (assuming it is not being used for anything else).

Dual processor Linux and Windows boxes are becoming a standard for desktop engineering workstations. With Tecplot 360, intensive computing operations are spread across all available CPU's, leading to faster streamtraces, slices, and iso-surfaces.

Load and Animate Transient Solutions

Support for time-dependent solutions

Tecplot 360 loads unsteady data and displays only the first time step. Style changes applied to a given time step are propagated to the entire solution. Coupled with load on demand, time to first image is much faster. Tecplot 360 2008 includes several advanced transient analysis options. A user can now synchronize transient animations among multiple frames – effectively showing multiple views of your data through time. Other enhancements include:

• Time-series Add-on which extracts a single point over time and plots the result in a new frame as an XY line plot.
• Extract Over Time Add-on extracts slices, iso-surfaces, streamtraces, and points from polyline geometries in transient data. Resulting zones are then assembled into a new strand with proper solution times set for each zone.

One-click animation controls

Creating animations can be a tedious task. Reducing the number of mouse-clicks to make animations saves time. With the "DVD" like controls on the sidebar, you can quickly step through your solution.

• Animate iso-surfaces with new DVD control options like forward, backward, loop, bounce and throttle control.
• Animate slices with new DVD control options like forward, backward, loop, bounce and throttle control.
• Animate over time

New! Tecplot Polyhedral Grid Format

Tecplot 360 2008 now supports the creation and loading of polyhedral data in Tecplot's native file format, as well as FLUENT, STAR-CD/STAR-CCM+, and CFD-ACE+ polyhedral grid format.

New! Expanded Analysis with the Power of Python

Python is a powerful open-source, object-oriented extensible programming language. Python scripting was added to Tecplot 360 specifically for engineers who require additional analysis (FFTs, splines, statistical functions, etc.) or more scripting flexibility than macro writing/recording. Additionally, you can run your Python scripts on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

Python offers strong support for integration with other languages and tools and comes with extensive standard libraries. The SciPy and NumPy scientific computing libraries are included with Tecplot 360, along with the Tk library for simple GUI development.

New! Share Your Results with X3D Export

X3D is an open source standard viewer. When you export your results into X3D format, users can zoom, rotate, and experience your work interactively, independent of Tecplot 360. Additionally, you can easily add your results to web pages.

Visualization Tools to Get the Most from your Data

One click exploration tools

The important 3D features (slices, stream lines, iso-surfaces) and animation controls are on the sidebar. Double-clicking on any of the 3D feature icons acts as a shortcut to that tool's details menu.

Plotting Tools

• Multiple iso-surface groups - assign and control up to 8 iso-surfaces
• Multiple slice groups - assign and control up to 8 sets of cut planes
• Multiple color maps - assign and use up to 8 different color maps
• Stream Streamtrace seeding plane - quickly seed streamtraces with the new seeding tool
• Surface streamtraces on a no-slip wall - generate streamtraces on a zero-velocity wall
• Edge plots - detect and draw creases based on user-defined angle
• Opt-in value blanking - selectively value blank per zone

CFD Analysis Tools

CFD Analyzer has been rolled into Tecplot 360 and is no longer a separate product. Save time finding, extracting and processing the critical information in your results with the CFD analysis options. The analyzer tools help users examine grid quality, perform spatial integrations, generate particle trajectories, extract flow features, and estimate numerical errors.

• Calculate grid quantities such as aspect ratios, skewness, orthogonality, and stretch factors.
• Calculate pressure coefficient, vorticity magnitude, and other flow field functions.
• Detect Detect and extract shock surfaces, vortex cores, as well as separation and reattachment lines.
• Integrate mass and momentum flow rates to verify convergence.
• IntegraIntegrate particle paths over time and space. Particles may be massless, or you can specify their mass and size and let drag, gravity, and buoyancy influence their trajectories.
• Estimate the order of accuracy of your numerical solutions with Richardson extrapolation analysis.

Structural analysis visualization tools

Perform basic structural analysis post-processing in Tecplot 360 with the expanded data loaders and plot options. Create fluid-structure interaction (FSI) visualization by loading structural analysis and CFD solutions simultaneously, enabling you to see the material deformation and fluid flow changes in one plot.

This provides a cost effective and easy-to-use visualization tool for exploring and analyzing results generated by major structural analysis code vendors.

• Animate displacements
• Derive Von Mises Stress/Strain, Principal Stresses/Strains, Vector Magnitude
• Plot the geometry with deformations applied, and optionally exaggerated

New/Enhanced Data Loaders

Updates:

• FLUENT native polyhedral support
• STAR-CCM+ native polyhedral support
• FLOW-3DFLOW-3D - restart and selected date support
• PLOT3D - read boundary and name files
• CGNS - read and apply PartID information, import without interpolation, time aware
• EnSight - Load EnSight 6 and EnSight Gold files

FEA Loaders:

• ANSYS input (CDWRITE) file
• ANSYS .rst, .rth and .rfl results files
• ESI/PAM-CRASH DAISY files
• FIDAP Neutral file
• ABAQUS input file
• ABAQUS .fil data file
• ABAQUS .odb output data base (Windows)
• LSTC/DYNA input file
• LSTC/DYNA Taurus state databases
• MSC/NASTRAN bulk data input file
• MSC/NASTRAN OUTPUT2 output file
• MSC/Patran neutral files
• PTC/Mechanical design study
• SDRC/IDEAS universal file
• 3D Systems/STL ASCII text and binary file