Surface and Solid Results
The results of surfaces and solids are displayed as Isobands by default. The color assignment is managed in the control panel (see Chapter 3.4.6).
The Display navigator provides various display options for surface and solid results by selecting Results → Type of Display.
The results of surfaces and solids can be displayed as Isobands or Isolines. Isolines often prove to be useful for output by a monochrome printer.
The Without graphic representation option allows for an output of pure result values: Isobands or isolines are hidden so that only the result values on the grid or FE mesh points are displayed. This setting is also suitable for printing.
The Differences display option is only available for stresses. With this setting, you can see the stress changes in the finite elements, which makes it possible to draw conclusions regarding the quality of the FE mesh: If there are significant differences in adjacent FE elements, you should entertain the idea of an FE mesh refinement on these locations.
Note
You can select the Solid FE Nodes option to evaluate the stresses inside a solid, provided that the FE mesh is fine enough. The color assignment of FE nodes follows the scale of the control panel. If you additionally activate the Values in the FE mesh points in the Results navigator, you can directly see the solid stresses displayed on the model.
You can control the scaling of deformations and internal forces with settings in the Display Factors control panel tab (middle). The Filter tab (right) is used for a specific selection of members, surfaces, or solids whose results you want displayed (see Figure 9.51). Both panel tabs are described in Chapter 3.4.6.
Criteria for nonlinear material properties
If a material model with nonlinear effects was selected (see Chapter 4.3), you can graphically check, which areas are affected by reduced stiffnesses when reaching the yield strength, for example. This option is only available if the RF-MAT NL add-on module is licensed.
The Nonlinearity Rate describes the proportion of Gauss points that were nonlinearly analyzed at least once during the analysis. With the Design Ratio, you can find out, which plastic hinges arise at a beam, for example.
Load distribution
By selecting the check boxes under the Distribution of load navigator entry, you can display the forces and moments received by the FE Nodes or FE Elements from the entered loads. The forces of the finite elements can be displayed in relation to the global axis system XYZ or the local surface axes xyz.
The mesh loads allow you to check the entered loads. For free concentrated loads, for example, you can check whether the load acts on all surfaces specified in the On Surfaces list (see Figure 6.33).