Interactive link between MATLAB and ANSYS

This function differs from most links between MATLAB and ANSYS, because ANSYS is started in interactive mode, so not in batch mode. This way if you have a repetitive task that just changes some parameters, you don't have to start up ANSYS for every job, which saves a lot of time. Especially interesting when performing optimizations.
This function is specifically tailored to obtain cross section properties of an I-beam by giving the dimensions. However it can be used for any purpose where a link between MATLAB and ANSYS is required.
To be able to connect to ANSYS, open settings_ANSYS_connection.m and change the version and path of the ANSYS installation if necessary.

The main file is get_geom_props_ANSYS.m. However when the working directory is set to folder where get_geom_props_ANSYS.m is in, it will also support the following commands in your command window:
ansys start
ansys prepare settings
ansys sample cross
ansys exit

Furthermore I would like to give Friedrich some credits for explaining how to override the ANSYS output destination, explained in this post: http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/72356-using-matlab-to-send-strings-to-the-stdin-of-another-console-application

PS You need to compile the .cc files in the "input manipulation" folder. As I'm not allowed by Mathworks to give you the executables. The supported compilers can be found here: http://nl.mathworks.com/support/compilers/R2015b/index.html. What to do after installation can be found here: http://nl.mathworks.com/support/compilers/R2015b/index.html