Pro-Mechanica Tutorial - Part-8: Detailed Discussions On Review FEA Results

Select run a design study or go to analysis>mechanica analysis /studies to open the analysis and design study window. 

The right most icon of the window is “review result” after the analysis is done you need to click on this icon and you will get the result window definition dialogue box. Like below: 

Now you have to tell pro mechanica where the design study or analysis data are. You may recall the run settings icon of analysis and design study window, by which you can specify the location of output files. The same location you have to specify by clicking the icon just below the design study of study selection section. Now you have to select the analysis from the analysis drop down list.

Display type: Which types of representation of your model you want to see in the result window?

If you want to see a graphical representation of your actual model and quantity to be shown by different colours associated with specified magnitude then select fringe.

If you want to see a graphical representation of your actual model and quantity to be measured to be shown by vector arrows, then go for vector.

If you feel that the measured quantity should be plotted by means of graph, you choose graph.

And if you want to see your actual model, go for model.

So as of now you are quite clear about you display type, now notice the bottom three tabs of the window:

Quantity: you can display stress, you can display strain and displacements for structural analysis, similarly for thermal you can display temperature, heat flux etc. Here you have to select what exactly you want to display in result.

Display locations: I have already told you that pro mechanica is having a very powerful and user friendly post processor. Here is how?

The options available under this tab will allow you to specify if you want to see your result with respect to a particular surface or volume or curve.

Note that, the curve option will work well with beam idealization.

Display options: Lots of options (most of them are check box) are available under this tab, moreover the options changes with the change in display type, means if you change display type from fringe to model some more options are added or removed to/from this tab.

Let’s make the things simple, I will explain most of the useful options available under this tab.

Continuous tone: If you check this box, you will see smooth colored fringes (i.e. strips).The transition from one colour fringe to next colour fringe will be smooth.

Legend level: The number of colour legend you want to see in the result window is defined by this option.

Contour: If you check this box, you will see several coloured lines and/or iso surface instead of coloured fringes. You can check the level contour option to see the level attached with each line or iso-surface.

Deformed: If you check this you will see the result in the deformed shape and vice versa.

Show element edges: you will see the boundary lines of different elements.

Animate: This option and all the check box below this controls animation of result.

Some more options are there as well, but I promise you will not be in difficult position to understand those as all are self explanatory. I am rather moving to graph.

Graph: I feel this is a strong and useful option of pro mechanica especially when you are using beam idealization. You can plot shear force diagram (SFD) and bending moment diagram (BMD) of beam easily with this option.

Let’s discuss it with example without going into details of beam idealization. Just remember that to idealize (or create) a beam in pro mechanica you need to have a curve.

Now after analysis of the beam you come to the result window definition dialogue box, you select graph from the display options you will see the window like this:

 

Now you have to choose shear and moment and select the beam curve for graph location and click on “OK and Show”.

Bingo!!!

You got the SFD and BMD of the beam. Please ensure the right component selection.