Show and Animate the Deformed FE Structure#

Use the Viewer to visualize and animate the FE structure in its deformed state. Click on the loadcase_small button in the context toolbar to open and close the Load cases and results window. Use the toggle switch Show deformed structure to activate the deformed state of the structure.

Load Case Selection#

Start deformed system visualization with a specific load case by selecting it in the load case table before activating the deformed structure visualization. If no load case is selected, the Viewer will automatically select the first compatible load case.

Uncheck List compatible load case only to also list load cases that are not compatible with deformed structure visualization.

Hint

A load case is compatible with deformed structure visualization if:

  • The load case is of type linear, non-linear, eigenmode, buckling mode.

  • Nodal deformations are available.

Animation#

Use the play/pause/stop buttons to control the animation of the deformed structure. The animation speed is controlled by the viewer_gauge_small slider. The fastest possible period is 0.5 seconds.

The colouring of the model will also be animated from system colours to result colours. Control this behaviour with the toggle switch Animate colouring.

Displacement factor#

The displacement factor corresponds to the factor applied to the deformation result values for the visualization. The Viewer automatically computes a displacement factor based on the system size and shape. Use the viewer_resize_small slider to adjust manually the displacement factor.

Tip

Enter any value for the displacement value by pressing Ctrl+LMB on the viewer_resize_small slider.

For differential comparison of load case deformations, deactivate the Auto checkbox to prevent the Viewer from automatically computing the displacement factor when selecting another load case.

Some displacement factor presets are available in the menu viewer_displ_factor_preset_small.