Need help using Frame analysis

[martijn.schrager]

Hello everyone,

I am currently testing Inventor's frame analysis to see the displacements in drawn portals for the Dutch railway.

The calculations are currently done with MatrixFrame and the company i work for wants to switch to Inventor if possible. I have run into a problem and an annoyance...

First the problem;

A portal carries the cables that supply the train with power and as a result need to withstand a lot of different types of forces/loads. Within Matrix all forces are put into categories, such as, for example; the loads at a temperature of -20 C. A different one would be all forces that belong to the wind.

When al these categories are done and calulated, Matrix will combine them with certain factors to create maximum displacements. (I have included a picture to show an idea of what this is like)

My question is if anything like this is possible? Ofcourse i could do this by hand and just add the total to see the results. But the workflow would be a lot faster and more organised with this.

Then the annoyance:

Any time I let Inventor make a report in either PDF or Word it ruins the image only displaying half of it (as shown in picture). I'm sure that I'm probably just an idiot but if somebody knows what to do to fix it I will be forever grateful!

Thanks in advance!

Martijn.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Martijn,

Frame Analysis does not deal with temperature. It uses the classic static equations and beam profile to solve the stress. I suspect you need to use Inventor NASTRAN or Fusion Simulation.

Many thanks!

[martijn.schrager]

Hi Jason,

I'm not really dealing with temperatures directly nor using them. Calculations have been done as to what the weight and pressure of the cables would be in a temperature. These forces are then added to the portal normally. The problem sits with being able to combine simulations with each other and see the combinations in a report.

[tobias · Accepted solution]

The calculation engine of Frame Analysis comes frome Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis.

You need this software to do what you want. It is part of the AEC collection from Autodesk.

If you press Export within Frame Analysis you get the following window:

Robot Structural Analysis Pro (RSA Pro):

https://www.autodesk.com/products/robot-structural-analysis/overview?term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription

Others:

Scia Engineer

Skyvic (Online)

[martijn.schrager]

Aha, thanks!
So I'm basically using a demo version of another package thats going to cost me a kidney?

Well, now i know... I'll just do it by hand then.
Thanks again!

Cheers,
Martijn

[tobias]

Helaas...

Nevertheless I think Frame analysis is usefull for engineers to have a first impression of the stability of their frame design. But if you want to confirm to codes, wind pressure, safety factors are whatever, and have it checked by third parties, then yes, "insufficient".