Point entities in CFD-GEOM are placed in an XYZ (Cartesian) coordinate system. The Construction Plane tool enables you to position a plane in space, and place points on that plane to generate curve entities. The Construction Plane, when visible, is drawn as a uniform mesh to provide visual feedback on its location and orientation.

Construction Plane Options

To display the construction plane in the Graphics Area, click on the Construction Plane button in the Toolbar.

Figure 1.  Construction Plane icon on the Toolbar

To reorient the construction plane, select the Construction Plane Option from “Miscellaneous Tools”  under the Geometry tab.

Figure 2.  Miscellaneous tools button with Construction Plane option outlined

CFD-GEOM has several options for setting the construction plane. Choose the Construction Plane you desire, based on the following descriptions:

• XY, YZ, and XZ - The Construction Plane will be parallel to the XY, YZ or XZ plane.
• Three Points - You can specify three points that uniquely determine the plane.
• Point and Normal - You can select a point, then specify the normal direction to set the Construction Plane.
• Normal to Curve - The Normal to Curve option enables you to place the Construction Plane normal to any location along a specified curve. Choosing this option opens a slider that adjusts the location of the Construction Plane along the specified curve. This can be a useful tool if you want to generate curves which are normal to a curve at a given location.

Set the Parameters based on the following descriptions:

• Snap to Grid - When selected, this option will snap created points to the nearest construction plane grid node. The points will be snapped only if they are created with a left mouse click in the Graphics Area.
  
• Depth - Available only when the Construction Plane is positioned using the XY, YZ or XZ option. The depth controls the position of the plane in the direction perpendicular to the plane.
• Step Size - Controls the gradations of the mesh and provides visual feedback on the physical values on the plane.
• Increments - Controls the overall size of the Construction Plane.

Generating curves using a Construction Plane: 

There are multiple instances when a Construction Plane is useful. One such example would be creating curves on a complicated surface as seen in Figure 3. Here, a curve is created at the intersection of  the Construction Plane and the surface.

To create this curve, do the following:

1. Turn on the Construction Plane by checking the Construction Plane button as shown in Figure 1
2. From the “Miscellaneous Tools”, select the XZ axis and input the desired depth.
3. From the “Intersection Tools,” select the “Intersect Surface/Plane” option.
4. Select the surface and then select the “Construction Plane” option from the menu.
5. Apply

Figure 3.  Surface intersected with the construction plane

If you have any questions about this tip or would like us to discuss other topics in the future, please let us know.

Regards,
ESI CFD Support Team