Values on Grid - Max/Min/Average Method
This section presents an example using a simple structure consisting of 4 columns, 4 fixed supports, 3 beams, and a concrete slab. After performing the analysis, the results are displayed as colored values on each element of the model. You can view the color legend located at the bottom-left corner of the drawing area during the post-processing.
Method Overview
To use the method, follow the steps outlined below:
- Determine the Grid: Start by selecting a grid within your model. This grid will serve as the basis for calculating values.
- Identify Intersecting Meshes: Next, identify all the meshes that intersect with the chosen grid. For this example, we’ll use the grid from the right side and focus on meshes 2.17 and 2.47, which intersect with this grid.
- Determine Force Values: In this step, we need to determine all the values of the forces at each node of both meshes, the values of the mid-sides of the meshes and the value from the center of the mesh cell.
For these values, we used the "Planar elements forces by element" report.
In this table we will see all nodes value:
- For values of the mid-sides, we will calculate the sum of (value from the first node, value from the second node)/2:
- For the value from the center of the mesh, we will calculate the sum of (value from the 1st node, value from the 2nd node, value from the 3rd node, and value from the 4th node)/4:
- Identify Relevant Nodes for the Grid Cell: Determine which of the nodes (existing or fictitious) belong to the grid cell. This includes nodes where you calculated values for the sides and center of the mesh. In this case, the grid cell contains node 48, the center of the mesh cell, and mid-side values from nodes 52-48 and nodes 48-51.
- In the final step, calculate the min, max, and average values:
- the min = min (node 48, the middle of the mesh cell, and the mid-side nodes (from nodes 52-48, and nodes 48-51),
- the max = max (node 48, the middle of the mesh cell, and the mid-side nodes (from nodes 52-48, and nodes 48-51),
- the average= sum (node 48, the middle of the mesh cell, and the mid-side nodes (from nodes 52-48, and nodes 48-51), then dividing by the number of terms (in this case, 5).
These steps apply to both the "Values on Grid" and "Map on Grid" methods. The difference between them is that the first option colors the values, while the second option colors the grid.