Viewing Loads

After applying loads to your frame and setting up load cases, you may wish to verify your loads on the members of the frame. The loads displayed will include member loads, area loads and wind loads depending on which load combination you select to display. Select Frame Loads from the top toolbar.

You can display the loads by load case from the drop list of available load cases. This will show the loads from that particular combination of applied loads on the individual frame members.

You can also display particular load groups, eg, dead D1, wind W1, live L2, etc. Set the Load Case to All Loading Cases at the top of the load case drop list. Then set the Load Group to whichever group you wish to view to display just this particular group of loads.

In the Load Display Settings, tick the Draw Distributed Loads and/or Draw Point Loads to show these loads, selecting an appropriate scale for each.

The loads will be displayed in blue. You can move the loads slightly above the members using the baseline distance to make the diagram clearer. The vertical lines on the load diagram can be moved closer or further apart using the interval option. The numerical value of the loads are shown using the 123 kN button. The distance between point loads can be displayed. Setting arrows on the loads indicates the direction of the loads on to the members. A thin or thick blue base line can also be shown at the bottom of the loads. These features should help you create a clear diagram of the loads for checking or printing.

When displaying wind loading, you can select whether to show the W, P (including internal pressure) or S (including internal suction) loads and which wind diagonal values you want to include.

The Display Loads in Direction buttons give you the opportunity to choose which loading directions you want to look at. You can choose more than one direction to be displayed at a time. The directions represent the global X, Y and Z directions, followed by normal to the major and minor axes of the member. The final button lets you switch on/off the member density display.

Whatever diagram you have on the screen can be printed or exported from the Report > Print/Export Current Frame Graphics menu to printer, PDF or Word. As the whole of the graphics area is what is printed, try to make your diagrams fill the full extent of the screen. These graphics displays can also be included in the Report Generator (Pro).

Viewing Area Loading

See viewing area loads section in the Area Loading chapter.

Viewing Wind Loading

See viewing wind loads section in Wind Panel Loading chapter.