POST-PROCESSING
AND VISUALIZING RESULTS
The output resulting from finite element analysis is, to say the least, voluminous. FEMAP visualization and report based postprocessing capabilities help take the drudgery out of interpreting the results of your analysis. FEMAP can display the nodal and elemental analysis results in a wide array of graphic formats or sorted and culled printed output. Post-Processing in FEMAP is broken down into two distinct categories [click on the links below to see more]:
Graphical Post-Processing Text-Based Post-Processing
Both forms are extremely useful in interpreting the results of FEA. Combined, they help make FEA more productive. Graphical Post-Processing allows you to quickly locate gross behaviors of your model, maximum displacements, mode shapes, maximum stress level etc. Plus, the graphic images from FEMAP can easily be turned into presentation materials for your customers, co-workers, or management.
Graphical Post-Processing Options
Deformed Plots - Animations - Multi-Set Animations
Vector Plots
Displays nodal vector data as 3-D vectors on top of your model. This example shows the shape of Mode 2 of a cantilevered plate with a hole.
Contour Plots
Both filled and line contours as shown. For programs where elemental corner data at nodes is available, FEMAP uses these values to create the contour, for results where only centroidal data is available, adjacent elements can be used to calculate the appropriate corner value for contouring.
Criteria Plots
So called because criteria limits can be specified, and different plot options
assigned to elements that pass and elements that fail. In this example,
elements that passed the criterion (centroidal von Mises stress greater
than 750.0 psi) were plotted filled, no label, and elements that failed
were plotted in their native color.
Beam Shear and Bending Moment Diagrams
FEMAP provides full 3-D contour-like diagrams of nearly all output on beam, bar, rod and other line elements.
Iso-Surface Plots
Displays constant levels of stress on the inside of a solid model. In FEMAP Render Mode iso-surfaces can be dynamically manipulated. You can drag a slider to vary the iso-surface contour value and dynamically visualize constant levels of output the inside a solid model.
Section Cut Plots
Displays planar slices of stress data on the inside of solid models. In FEMAP Render Mode cutting planes can be dynamically manipulated. You can drag a slider to move a cutting plane across a solid model and view stresses on the inside.
Contour Vector Plots
Displays elemental data as vectors at the center of elements. Useful for visualizing the direction of principle stresses in a model.
XY-Plots
Display Nodal or Elemental Data as an XY plot. FEMAP provides options for multiple curves, plotting any nodal or elemental data value against the Node or Element ID, Output Set ID, or Output Set Value (used for XY plotting of transient values for a single node or element).
Text Based Post-Processing Options
Text based post-processing provides detailed numerical data often necessary
to fully understand the results of your analysis. FEMAP contains several
unique tools that make it possible to sort and cull the large amount of
nodal and elemental data returned by your analysis program.
Any text output by FEMAP can be directed to the Messages and Lists Window, a printer, or to a file, or at your request to any combination of these three destinations.
Output Query - FEMAP makes it possible to select a single node or element on screen and dump out all associated post-processing data. For example, you could select a critical node, and instantly have a listing of temperature for that node at every step in a transient heat transfer analysis.
Output Listing - Use predefined output formats to list the data that was read into FEMAP. The predefined formats are designed to mimic the formats associated with some of the more popular analysis programs. Using one of the predefined formats, the NASTRAN Displacements format for example, makes it possible to list out the displacements of you model in the familiar format of a NASTRAN printed output file, even if the model was not run in NASTRAN.
Output Listings also have the option of being sorted and ranked based on
your requirements. For example, when listing displacements, you can specify
only the top twenty z displacements, and that is all that you will get. This
functionality is especially useful when looking for maximum stresses in your
model.
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