Structural loads

Structural loads are forces applied to a part or assembly during operation. Such loads cause stresses, deformations, and displacements in components.

In product design, it is important to know how your product reacts under normal and excessive working conditions. Know how to determine the response your product has to these loads, and build in an appropriate safety factor. Important aspects of your design include load magnitude, frequency of occurrence, distribution, and nature (static or dynamic). If you can visualize how your product responds to loads, you can better control your designs.

Apply structural loads Normal to the face where the force is perpendicular to the face. Apply structural loads Directional to the face with a magnitude specified in each direction. You can apply moments to solid faces.

Load	Applies to...	Used to...
Force	Faces, Edges, or Vertices	Apply a force to change the state or direction of motion of a body.
Pressure	Faces (single or multiple)	Apply a pressure (force per unit area) to a defined area. Pressure is: Uniformly distributed Always applied normal to the selected faces
Moment	Faces (single or multiple)	Apply a twisting load that simulates the effect of torque on the model.
Bearing Load	Faces (single or multiple)	Apply a load that simulates the effects of cylindrical bodies pushing on one another. Note: The face must be cylindrical, and may be an outside face or an inside face (hole). It may be a full 360° cylindrical face or a partial one.
Remote Force	Faces (single or multiple)	Apply a point load to simulate the effects of a force applied from a point in space that is not on the model.
Hydrostatic Pressure	Faces (single or multiple)	Apply a pressure load to simulate pressure increasing with fluid depth as a linearly varying pressure. Gravity must be enabled, since the direction of the gravity vector controls the direction in which pressure increases.
Remote moment	Faces (single or multiple)	Apply a twisting load, from a remote location, to simulate the effect of torque on the model.