IES VisualAnalysis User's Guide
Working in Model View
Set the drawing mode between {Draw Nothing, Draw Members, Draw Areas, Draw Plates, or Draw Cables} to determine what kinds of elements you create by dragging the mouse. These options are available in the tab of the main menu ribbon. You can use the Esc key to enter the Draw Nothing mode.
Drawing Tips: To prevent drawing elements in a Model View use (or the Esc key). If you wish to draw elements between existing nodes but not between grid points, then turn-off any grids using tab of the .
Grids are helpful "layout" tools that let you predefine acceptable locations for nodes in the model. New in this version is the ability to use multiple grids and grids with irregular spacing. The tab of allows you to access the Grid Manager for creating grids or deleting them.
With grids turned on, your mouse dragging operations will "snap" to grid-points as well as to already existing nodes (in that order). You can adjust the grids at any time without affecting any existing model objects. Grids are only used to help define the locations of newly created nodes (or the elements defined between nodes and vertices). Show and hide grids using the check boxes in Project Manager. You may turn on multiple grids at one time to draw in 3D.
In order to sketch a member in the workspace of Model View, make sure that you are in the "Draw Members" mode by selecting this item from the tab in the ribbon menu.
Then drag your mouse and hold the button down while moving. You may drag to and from grid points or existing nodes. The mouse cursor will change to show that you are creating a member and will "rubber band" a line to show where it will go. Simply lift the mouse button to create the member.
If the grid is not turned on you will not be able to create any new nodes by sketching members. You may also sketch beyond the border of the window, watching the coordinates in the lower right corner of the Status Bar to determine when to release the button, or you may wish to "zoom out" before drawing.
Members that you sketch default to the properties of the previously drawn or edited member, so it is helpful to define properties as you create your model.
Make sure that you are in the "Draw Plates" mode by selecting this item from the Model menu.
To sketch a plate element in the Model View, Click once on a grid point or existing node to define the first corner. Then as you move the mouse you will see a "rubber band" line and a special cursor. Click (push and release) on each subsequent corner of the plate to define the four corners. To draw a triangular plate element, click on the starting node to finish the shape. The operation might fail if the plate edges cross, or if the plate would otherwise be ill formed.
Sketching Area objects is similar to plates, except the polygon may have more than four sides.
VisualAnalysis keeps your FEA model well-defined by connecting all elements at nodes as you sketch models. If you sketch a new element such that it crosses or intersects an existing element, VisualAnalysis will automatically split and connect the new element (in a cascading fashion) to produce a well-defined finite element mesh. You can prevent any auto-splitting behavior by selecting one of the crossing members and changing the Connect Crossings option. Then you will need to manually split elements or otherwise insure your model is well defined.
There is a preference setting under , in the section that allows VisualAnalysis to prompt you for the desired action {split, no split, cancel} if you prefer a more explicit method of control.
The normal way of modeling X-bracing members is to draw two independent member elements that cross but do not connect. This is appropriate because the members typically carry only axial forces and do not need to interact for a valid analysis. You can handle any design unbraced length issues in the design group by specifying a mid-point brace, as appropriate for your situation. To use members that cross but do not split, select one of the members and uncheck its Connect Crossings option.
Caution: If you decide to connect your X-braces (so you have four member elements instead of two), do not use the tension-only option and be careful with end releases. Both can easily result in unstable configurations.
Generate new members along the axis of an existing member to either a specified length or to an intersection with another member (if there is such a member). You may extend the member either forward (local +x direction) or backward (-x). If you extend a member to a specific length and your new member crosses one or more existing members, you have the option of combining your new members with the member to be extended or leaving them as separate pieces.
Note: If your extended members cross plate elements, these will be automatically split (meshed) regardless of your auto-split settings.
Members are drawn first to existing nodes, then to grid-points, and then finally to any snap-points visible on the member. You can set the number of snap points on members using the Model Filter.
If no grids are displayed, you can still sketch members between existing nodes or snap points.
VisualAnalysis allows you to "copy & paste" member properties.
You will be prompted with a small dialog box asking you which properties of the original member you would like copied to the others, such as: Shape, Material, Beta Angle, or other properties. The tool also works in Design View to copy design group properties.
You can create a bitmap image of the Model View, by using the command. This puts an image on the Windows clipboard that you can paste into VisualAnalysis reports or other Windows programs. This is true for all of the graphic views: Model, Results, and Design. You can also copy and paste in one step with the command.
The image will be the exact same size and image you see in the window. For the best quality image, make the window as large as possible. Most word processors will scale images nicely to a smaller size for printing, but trying to make the image bigger there will not improve the quality.
You may also use to send the graphic view to the printer or PDF file. The image is scaled to fit the paper, so landscape mode or changing the shape of the VisualAnalysis window by dragging the border may help you fill the page. Page margins are also used as defined in