Generate a Load-Displacement Plot

Load-displacement plots are commonly used as a tool to determine the global stiffness response of a structure.

They are particularly useful for progressive failure analyses since they are a simple means of determining how the structure behaves as failure initiates and progresses.

1. Click Main Menu > TimeHist Postpro.
2. In the dialog that appears, click the Add Data icon (green plus sign).
3. Select Nodal Solution > DOF Solution > Y-Component of displacement. Click OK.
4. From the graphics window, select the node where the vertical displacement was applied (refer to the Define the Load section). Click OK.
5. Repeat steps 2-4, but select Reaction Forces > Structural forces > Y-Component of force.
6. To plot the reaction force vs. displacement, set the X-Axis to UY_2, select both UY_2 and FY_3, and click the Graph Data icon. Refer to the image below.

   

7. Since we applied a compressive displacement, it may be more useful to export the data to a spreadsheet and plot the results in Quadrant I. With the load-displacement plot, we can easily identify the global damage events and correlate them to the contour plots shown previously.

   

   Note: Be sure to account for symmetry when calculating the reaction force of the beam.