I have imported an IGES file to Gambit for a 2D model but the Z coord values are not precisely zero, i.e. entities are not exactly in the x-y plane. When I create a mesh and try to read it into Fluent 2D I get an error message saying "File has wrong dimensions" (presumably 3D instead of 2D). Can I set the Z values to zero somehow? Can I tell Gambit the IGES geometry is 2D? I tried importing a patran neutral file with the 2D option on the import dialog box in Gambit but even then the z-values are not zero.

At present, Gambit requires all the Z coordinates for a 2d model to be equal to zero within a tolerance. This value is typically 1e-4. So, if || z || < 1e-4 every where, it will write a 2d mesh, else a 3d mesh would be written.

We are considering adding a command that will allow user to transform a 2d model on z=0 plane. For now, one of the two simple workarounds can be used :

1) Export a neutral file from Gambit. Then, import this mesh from a Fluent 2d session. You can also use tfilter fe2ram from a unix command prompt to convert the neutral file to a Fluent mesh file. Please make sure to specify -2d as the dimension.

2) Scale down (move/copy form) the model in Gambit such that || z || < 1e-4 every where. Now mesh exported would be 2d. Once read in solver, scale it up to the original size.