Comments, Questions, and Answers about animated load cases using AutoPIPE

Q1. Can AutoPIPE animate any load case?

Answer:

AutoPIPE is able to calculate the displacement of each node point in a model per a specific load case or modal analysis. There is a graphical feature in the program to display the deflection of all these node points simultaneously called the "Deflected Shape". After analyzing a model, select Results> Displacement or Mode Shape, press the dropdown list to select any "Load Combination" (i.e. GR). Now the  "Animate Load Case option is no longer greyed out, enable it and press OK button.

The animation represents the movement from the original model to the deflected shape based on the specified loads or mode shape .

To adjust the speed of animation press the "F" key for faster or the "S" key for slower. A relative measure of the speed is displayed in the command window during animation. In addition, using the VCR buttons on the top toolbar,

Least Stressed, Previous Stressed, Next Stressed, Most Stressed (respectively)

Press the VCR buttons to cycle through the different Load Cases / Mode Shapes.

Note, animate load cases is only available for Non-Code combinations and selected Mode Shapes.

Q2. The deflected shape / animated load case appears to be wrong, why?

Answer:

From the online help:

-The Result> Displacement command produces a deflected shape plot of the current system for a specific "Non-Code" combination.-Select Result> Displacement  to display the Deflected Shape dialog. Choose a combination set (or Scan Only) from the selection list, and the destination (screen or printer). Users also have the option of animating the load case.-After the dialog is accepted, AutoPIPE will plot the deflected shape of the system if a combination name was specified in the dialog.  The deflected shape is from the original model to the deflected shape based on the specified loads and forces.

REMEMBER this deflected shape is a exaggeration that can be controlled by Tools> Model Options> Results> Displacement Scale.

Again, from the online help:

This value is used to scale the magnitude of the maximum displacement as it is shown on the screen (or pen plotter dump) in a deflected system shape plot. The default is 0.5 inches (or the equivalent for the current input unit set). However, any value from 0 to 2.0 inches may be specified.

Changing this value will have a dramatic affect on the deflected shape displayed as shown below:

Left: Displacement Scale = 1, Right Displacement Scale = 0.1

Again the displacement shape is an overly exaggerated display, review the actual displacement report for actual values.  

Q3 The deflected shape / animated load case on occasion changes appearance, one moment the animation looks like this and the next time it looks significantly different why?

Answer:

AutoPIPE 12.07 and 12.08.0.346 has reported this phenomenon. Regardless of the animation, the values used in the stress analysis are correct. This has been fixed in the latest version of the program, upgrade to AutoPIPE 12.08.01.010 or higher. 

Q4. Can the program record the animation and send the recording to another person by email?

Answer:

No, AutoPIPE does not record the screen animation. Consider taking a screen video using one of thousands of programs made to record the screen (ex. Camtasia Recorder, Snagit, OBS, etc..). These external applications have all the capabilities for recording the load case animation, make edits, and save the movie files to a storage folder that can then be archived or sent to others as needed. 

See Also

Loads and Load Sets

Bentley AutoPIPE