Deformed node positions

[DARYLREECE]

I have this roughly spherical part for which I have been asked to determine the radius as a function of load over a small section of the sphere. My thinking was perform a best fit to the deformed nodes.

Questions:

1) Is there a better way, since I have to do the fit in some external package?

2) How do I get the deformed mesh coordinates? I've looked at the ASCII output files and don't see the node coordinates, but I might not be looking in the right place.

Thanks,
Daryl

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[randyspeed]

Regarding the radius function, just a thought here, but unless you are running contact, or material non-linear model, or large deflection solution, the deflection/radius function will be a constant (straight line). Seems like the search for deformed coordinates has come up on this forum in the very distant past, but I don't recall the solution. Let me know if you don't find it as I might have saved it.

Randy Speed
www.speedconsulting.com
(800) 256-7140 ph/fax

[TrainStopper]

Your description sounds like its related to a contact mechanics problem, those are non-linear solutions,

[DARYLREECE]

I did a little more digging and found the displaced node coordinates. First you have to turn on ASCII output in the run settings. Then the displaced values are in the study.d##, where ## is the load set number.

Now I just have to do the parse and fit. ☹

Best,
Daryl

[DARYLREECE]

I wanted to expand onlast post because it wasn't exactly accurate. The study.d## file is just the nodal displacements, not the final coordinates. You can export a NASTRAN deformed mesh, which seems to have the nodal coordinates. They are referenced to the World Coordinate System, which isn't ideal for me, so I'd like to export referenced to a local CSys. I haven't figured that out yet. Then I just have to parse out the region of interest.

Best,
Daryl

[mlindqvist]

The original coordinates are in a different file... the *.neu file if I remember correctly.

/Mats L/