Loads

Click Loads in the Setup panel of the Autodesk Inventor Nastran ribbon tab:

Or, right-click on Loads in the model tree and select New from the context menu. The following dialog appears:

The form has the following main sections:

• Name: Enter a name for a load, for example, Vertical Corner Force.
• ID: The ID of a load is automatically updated sequentially as new loads are created so that it is unique to each of the loads.
• Type: Select the type of load to apply to the model. Currently, the following types are supported:
  • Force
  • Moment
  • Distributed Load
    • Force
    • Moment
  • Hydrostatic Load
  • Pressure
  • Gravity
  • Remote Force
  • Bearing Load
  • Rotational Force
  • Enforced Motion
    • Displacement
    • Rotation
    • Velocity
    • Angular Velocity
    • Acceleration
    • Angular Acceleration
  • Initial Condition
    • Temperature
    • Displacement
    • Rotation
    • Velocity
    • Angular Velocity
    • Acceleration
    • Angular Acceleration
  • Body Temperature
  • Temperature
  • Convection
  • Radiation
  • Heat Generation
  • Heat Flux
  • From Output
  • Rigid Motion (Explicit)
• The following geometric entities are supported for application of loads. However, if a particular load cannot be applied to a particular entity, you will be unable to select that particular entity.
  • Bodies
  • Faces
  • Edges
  • Points
• Selected Entities: This section lists the entities that have been selected to apply a load to. You can select curves, surfaces, and vertices.

  Selection filters are available in the Selected Entities box. Right-click in the selection box and you’ll notice that Select Faces, Select Edges, and Select Vertices options are listed. These options allow you to set filters to select only faces, edges, and/or vertices.

  Activate the Face Chain option to select a chain of tangent faces in a single click.

  

• Subcases: Allows you to select the subcases to which the load will be applied. If multiple subcases were created prior to creating the load, they will show up in the list. Notice Subcase 1 and Subcase 2 in the following example. The load will be applied to Subcase 1 but not Subcase 2, because it is not highlighted. Click an item in the list to toggle its selection state. You can also change the subcases to which a load is applied after the load is defined. Do this by editing the load or cutting, copying, and/or pasting loads from one subcase to another.

  

• Display Options: Allows you to edit the display options of the load.
• Advanced Options: Opens the Variable Load Definition section, where you can define variable loads.
• Load Definition: Varies depending on the Type selected. It has three sub-sections: Direction, Coordinate System, and Magnitude.
• Transient Table Data: Used to define transient loads for Direct Transient, Modal Transient, and Nonlinear Transient analyses.
• Variable Load Definition: Available when you click on the Advanced Options button. It is used to define variable loads.
• Minimize/Maximize the dialog
• New: Apply the current load and clear the form in preparation for defining the next load.
• Create Duplicate: Apply the current load and prepare to define the next load using the same settings. This feature is useful if you want to apply the same type of load to different entities or to apply a different type of load to the same entities. Only revise the settings that must change; keep the settings that are applicable to the next load.
• Preview: By clicking on this checkbox, you can dynamically update the load glyphs display. By default it is unchecked to improve performance while editing the loads defined on multiple faces or edges in large models.

Click the links at the bottom of the page to see more info on some of the settings within the Loads dialog.