When calculating a surface model, the internal forces are determined separately for each finite element. Since the element-by-element results usually represent a discontinuous distribution, RFEM performs smoothing of the internal forces that takes into account the influence of adjacent elements. The discontinuous distribution of internal forces is adjusted with this method. The result evaluation is thus clearer and easier.
![Display of FE Mesh Quality](/en/webimage/010170/3070074/01_EN.png?mw=512&hash=04386fe518c9401a2549f99e2a19c81d75ac0a44)
![Options for FE Mesh Settings](/en/webimage/010208/3070959/01-EN.png?mw=512&hash=17127434c06258f349409b3e8f047f6d0e8c4ea7)
![Variants of Display of Result Values](/en/webimage/010258/3042968/01-en.png?mw=512&hash=65e98cfe859ce35a3e3e9da47a0ef9335401520e)
![Factor for Taking into Account Unloading of Soil Pressure](/en/webimage/010343/3017742/01-en.png?mw=512&hash=65e98cfe859ce35a3e3e9da47a0ef9335401520e)
![Feature 002423 | Displaying Results in Solids](/en/webimage/031923/3325382/FE_Solid_EN.jpg?mw=512&hash=d2950a5e2123942fab13aad296e814c67695c955)
The results of solid stresses can be displayed as colored 3D points in the finite elements.
!["Number of Load Steps" Check Box](/en/webimage/006820/474759/Laststufen.png?mw=512&hash=86a97661327f3d8358af87ea81e03bce82a18fd1)
If the check box 'Number of load increments' is deactivated, the number of load increments will be determined automatically in RFEM to solve nonlinear tasks efficiently.
The method used is based on a heuristic algorithm.
![Adaptive Mesh Refinement](/en/webimage/006819/474662/Adaptive_Netzverdichtung.png?mw=512&hash=5315fbfdc9d3d47616aaaacb7247316444ef977b)
With this function, it is possible to refine the FE mesh on surfaces automatically. The mesh refinement is gradual. In each step, the FE mesh is recreated based on an error comparison of the results in the previous calculation step. The numerical error is evaluated from the results of surface elements and is based on the energy formulation of Zienkiewicz-Zhu.
The error evaluation is carried out for a linear static analysis. We select a load case (or load combination) for which the FE mesh is generated. The FE mesh is then used for all calculations.
![Calculation Process with Diagram of Deformations](/en/webimage/007161/1593168/000038-en-png-png.png?mw=512&hash=867d00d27b9c598fd9d9f4ce4b0ae410d31d22b5)
The equation solver includes an optimized FE mesh generator and supports the latest multi-core processor and 64-bit technology. It enables parallel calculations of linear load cases and load combinations using several processors without additional demands on the RAM: The stiffness matrix only has to be created once. The 64-bit technology and the enhanced RAM options allow for calculation of complex structural systems using the fast and direct equation solver.
The development of the deformation is displayed in a diagram during the calculation. This way, you can easily evaluate the convergence behavior.