Mechanical APDL Basic Analysis Guide

other miscellaneous functions. Clicking on the contour legend area provides a complete set of menus

to customize your contour legend.

The legend setting and font control menus can be accessed from any of the legend context menus.

7.3. Additional POST1 Postprocessing

The following additional POST1 postprocessing techniques are covered in this section:

7.3.1. Rotating Results to a Different Coordinate System

7.3.2. Performing Arithmetic Operations Among Results Data

7.3.3. Creating and Combining Load Cases

7.3.4. Mapping Results onto a Different Mesh or to a Cut Boundary

7.3.5. Creating or Modifying Results Data in the Database

7.3.6. Splitting Large Results Files

7.3.7. Magnetics Command Macros

7.3.8. Comparing Nodal Solutions From Two Models or From One Model and Experimental Data (RSTMAC)

7.3.1. Rotating Results to a Different Coordinate System

Results data, calculated during solution, consist of displacements (UX, UY, ROTX, etc.), gradients (TGX,
TGY, etc.), stresses (SX, SY, SZ, etc.), strains (EPPLX, EPPLXY, etc.), etc. These data are stored in the
database and on the results file in either the nodal coordinate system (for the primary, or nodal data)
or the element coordinate system (for the derived, or element data). However, results data are generally
rotated into the active results coordinate system (which is by default the global Cartesian system) for
displays, listings, and element table data storage.

Using the RSYS command (Main Menu> General Postproc> Options for Outp), you can change the
active results coordinate system to global cylindrical (RSYS,1), global spherical (RSYS,2), any existing
local coordinate system (RSYS,N, where N is the local coordinate system number), or the nodal and
element coordinate systems used during solution (RSYS,SOLU). If you then list, display, or operate on
the results data, they are rotated to this results coordinate system first.You may also set the results
system back to global Cartesian (RSYS,0).

Note

The default coordinate system for certain elements, notably shells, is not global Cartesian

and is frequently not aligned at adjacent elements.

The use of RSYS,SOLU with these elements can make nodal averaging of component element

results, such as SX, SY, SZ, SXY, SYZ, and SXZ, invalid and is not recommended.

Figure 7.20: Rotation of Results by RSYS (p. 183) illustrat es how displacements are reported for several
different RSYS settings. The displacements are in terms of the nodal coordinate systems (which are always
Cartesian systems), but issuing the RSYS command causes those nodal systems to be rotated into the
specified system. For example,RSYS,1 causes the results to be rotated parallel to the global cylindrical
system such that UX represents a radial displacement and UY represents a tangential displacement.
(Similarly, AX and AY in a magnetic analysis and VX and VY in a fluid analysis are reported as radial and
tangential values for RSYS,1.)

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The General Postprocessor (POST1)