You can postprocess element forces only if those forces are written to the database. Database writing is controlled using the OUTRES command at the solver level. You may also printout the loads at the solver level using the OUTPR command.
To print out the reaction forces and element forces in the general postprocessor (/POST1):
/post1 set,last ! last substep of last loadstep ! printout reaction forces force,static ! elastic forces (stiffness) prrfor force,damp ! damping forces prrfor ! printout element forces force,static ! elastic forces (stiffness) presol,F force,damp ! damping forces presol,F
If you use the COMBI214 or FLUID218 element to model the bearings, you can retrieve reaction forces from the element. Details on using this feature after your transient analysis follow.
Transient bearing reaction forces are part of element COMBI214 outputs. Elastic forces (also called spring forces) as well as damping forces are available along the principal axes of the element. All calculated forces include the cross-term effects.
You can use the POST26 time-history postprocessor to print out the stiffness and damping bearing forces, as shown in the following example:
/post26 ! parameters for element and node number BEARING_ELEM = 154 BEARING_NODE1 = 1005 ! define elastic forces as variables 2 and 3 esol,2,BEARING_ELEM,BEARING_NODE1,smisc,1,FE1 esol,3,BEARING_ELEM,BEARING_NODE1,smisc,2,FE2 ! damping forces as variables 4 and 5 esol,4, BEARING_ELEM,BEARING_NODE1,nmisc,5,FD1 esol,5, BEARING_ELEM,BEARING_NODE1,nmisc,6,FD2 ! printout all forces as function of time prvar,2,3,4,5 ! plot all forces as function of time plvar,2,3,4,5
Bearing forces are part of the FLUID218 output. Because it is a 3D element, the element forces must be summed to obtain the total bearing forces. See Example: Calculation of the Pressure Profile of a Plain Cylindrical Journal Bearing with Supply Orifice.