RESULTS CALCULATE AVERAGE

      

This command allows the user to perform nodal averaging on element, gaussian or invariant result data sets. Averaging is carried out on all components of the selected attribute. The resulting data is stored as a new nodal result data set.

This new data set takes the name of the current attribute (the result selected for averaging), unless this attribute name already exists for nodal results, in which case the user is then prompted for a new attribute name.

When the average command is applied to gaussian or invariant results, a results extrapolation is implicitly performed prior to calculating average values (see RESULTS CALCULATE EXTRAPOL). No nodal averaging is performed across material boundaries and the resulting nodal data set is therefore material dependent. Only material discontinuities are considered in the present calculation, other discontinuities, such as difference in shell thicknesses or non co-planar shells, are not taken into account.

Notes:

1.

Loadcases
The averaging is performed on the selected results for all of the selected loadcases.

2.

Coordinate systems
Averaging cannot be performed on results defined in more than one coordinate system (this is based on the value of the FEMVIEW system indicator ISYSTM). An error message is issued if several coordinate systems are encountered for the current data set.

3.

Record variants
The averaging command is only applicable if all results are the same variant record. If the command is applied to results that use more than one variant record, an error message is issued.

4.

Multi-surface results in multi-material models
For models with several materials and several surfaces, there might be a variation in the number of materials from one surface to the other at any one node. In this case a warning message is issued and the averaging is calculated only for the materials that are common to all surfaces.

5.

Averaging of gaussian results
As part of the averaging process an extrapolation is made and the extrapolated results will be valid only if the gauss point coordinates are given in their undeformed state. FEMVIEW assumes that this is the case and the user should take care to ensure that the command is only used in this situation.

6.

Use of averaging with assemblies
It is not currently possible to average results at the assembly level.

See also the following commands

'RESULTS CALCULATE AV-DIFF'
'RESULTS CALCULATE PERDIFF'