19.2.2.4.1.9. Beam Probes

The Beam Probe enables you to evaluate any or all of the following force values for a selected Beam object.

  • Axial Force

  • Torque

  • Shear Force at I

  • Shear Force at J

  • Moment at I

  • Moment at J

"I" and "J" are the first and second nodes of the beam element, respectively. These results are local to the individual orientation as defined by the I and J nodes.

See the BEAM188 section of the Mechanical APDL Element Reference for additional information about beam element output definitions.

Requirements

  • You scope beam probes to a defined Beam object. Therefore, you must first specify a Beam.

  • You must store Beam Probe results in the results file. This requires you to set the General Miscellaneous property (Analysis Settings > Output Controls) to Yes.

Supported Analysis Types

The application supports the Beam Probe for Static Structural and Transient Structural analyses.

Application

To define a Beam Probe:

  1. Select the Solution object and select Beam from the Probe drop-down menu on the Solution Context tab. You can also right-click the Solution object or within the Geometry window and select Insert > Probe > Beam. The Beam Probe becomes the active object.

  2. In the Details pane, select the desired beam from the Boundary Condition property drop-down list.

  3. Under Options category, specify the desired result using the Result Selection property. Options include All (default), Axial Force, Torque, Shear Force At I, Shear Force At J, Moment At I, and Moment At J.

  4. Evaluate the result.

Recommendation:  To obtain force and moment values in a global or user-defined coordinate system, Ansys recommends that you use a Force Reaction or a Moment Reaction probe, as the results of the Beam Probe are always based on the beam orientation.