Viewing results: deflections, forces and modes

After an analysis the workspace is in Results mode. The model is drawn with the result you choose — colours, a deflected shape or force diagrams — and a legend along the bottom of the view gives the scale. Two choices control everything you see: what to show, and for which load.

#Choosing the load

In the Simple workspace the Load case list is at the top of the results panel on the left; in the Full interface it is on the results toolbar. Open it and pick, or type to find one:

Option	Tag	What it shows
Envelope	ENV	The worst value over all strength combinations at each point. For forces this draws both the largest and the smallest curve.
Service	SLS	Shown in place of the envelope for displacements: the service combination D + L (service).
Load cases	LC1, LC2…	One case on its own: Dead, Live, each wind direction, Seismic X and Y (marked Response spectrum), template cases.
Combinations	C1, C2…	One factored combination, named by its factors, for example 1.2D + 1.6L.
Vibration modes	M1, M2…	With Earthquake on: each mode with its period and the share of the mass it moves in X and Y.

#Choosing what to show

The Show list (Simple) or the Result list (Full toolbar) and the Results menu offer the quantities that apply to your model:

Quantity	Unit	Shown as
Displacement	mm	The deflected shape over the undeformed model, coloured by movement
Moment	kN·m	Major-axis bending moment diagram (My) off each member
Minor moment	kN·m	Minor-axis bending moment diagram (Mz)
Axial	kN	Axial force diagram, tension positive
Shear	kN	Shear force diagram (the larger of Vy and Vz for each member)
Slab moment	kN·m/m	Bending moments in slabs, walls and plates, as colours (models with plates)
Slab reinforcement	mm²/m	Required bar area in slabs and walls (after a design)
Reinforcement bars	3D	The designed bars in 3D (after a design of concrete)
Steel connections	3D	The designed plates, bolts and welds (after a design of steel)
Utilization	ratio	Each member coloured by its design ratio; over 1.00 is red (after a design)

The 3D views of bars and connections are covered in Reinforcement bars and steel connections in 3D, and utilization in Design and auto-sizing.

#Force diagrams

Axial, moment and shear are drawn as filled diagrams standing off each member, coloured by value, with the peak value labelled on each member (on large models, the twelve largest). Moments are drawn on the tension side of the member, the way engineers sketch them. Slabs and walls turn see-through so the diagrams of the beams inside them show. Read Reading results to learn what the shapes tell you.

#Deformed shape

Only displacements (and vibration modes) bend the model. Force and stress results are drawn on the undeformed structure, so the diagrams sit on the members where they act. The deflection is magnified to be visible; the legend's subtitle gives the scale, for example deformation × 50, and the colours give the true movement in millimetres.

#Vibration modes

Picking a mode switches to the mode shape. Mode shapes have no units — they show the pattern of movement, not its size — so the legend runs from 0 to 1. Modes have no forces of their own; to see forces, pick a load case or combination.

#Animate

For displacements and modes, the Animate button at the left end of the legend plays the deformed shape: a load's deflection grows from nothing to its full value and back, and a vibration mode swings both ways. Click Pause to stop. In the Full interface it is on the results toolbar and in the Results menu.

#The legend

The colour legend runs along the bottom of the view: the quantity and its unit, the load it is for, and the colour scale from the smallest to the largest value. For utilization, values over 1.00 are red.

#Picking members and nodes

Results mode is read-only, but you can still select. Click a member to see its inspector — in the Full interface its Properties show the bending moment My and shear Vz diagrams along the member for the chosen load (for the envelope, the member's governing combination), and its extreme N, Vy, Vz, T, My and Mz. Click a support node to see its vertical reaction under D + L. To edit, click Unlock or Model.

#The results summary

The summary card on the right of the Simple workspace gives, before a design, the largest movement, the load on the supports under D + L, the number of load cases and combinations, and the first period when there are modes, with a Run design button. After a design it gives the result of the checks: how many members fail, the highest utilization (click it to select that member), the members auto-sizing changed, and the results of slabs, walls, footings, composite beams and connections.

#Results tables

The Full interface lists the numbers in tables at the bottom. Open them from the Results explorer, the Results menu or the tabs:

Table	Columns
Member forces	N, Vy, Vz (kN), T, My, Mz (kN·m) per member — for the envelope, the largest value of each over the strength combinations
Reactions	Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, Mz per support, with the totals (for the envelope or a mode, the service combination is used)
Displacements	ux, uy, uz and total in mm, largest first
Modes	Period, frequency, mass share in X and Y and running sums

Signs: tension is positive, and My positive is hogging. The tables follow the load you picked. Filter them, click a row to select that member or node in the view, and export any table as CSV with the download button or File › Export the table as CSV.